Writing

My New Year’s Resolutions

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I figure, if I make them publicly, I’ll have slightly more motivation to keep them. In the end, it won’t likely matter, because let’s face it — you aren’t the boss of me. (Well, not true, a few of you might actually be the boss of me. Your powers are limited to the ability of adding a new resolution to my list that looks something like “get a job” though…)

Anyway, in no particular order, here’s what I hope to do in 2010:

1) Finish the project I’m horribly behind on.

Unfortunately, it’s a time sensitive project, and the time has long since passed the sensitive zone. The people I’m working with on this project are incredibly wonderful to work with, and beyond understanding when it comes to my crazy schedule — but I gotta be honest, they deserve better. I’d like to get this particular resolution done in January.

2) Learn to use a Linux video editor.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a zealot when it comes to Linux. I’m really not. Here’s the deal though, I’d really like to make the videos I do for Linux Journal on a Linux machine. It just seems like the right thing to do. My lack of motivation for switching has been because I can already edit video really efficiently on OSX, and it took me a long time to learn Final Cut. Still, I’d like to use Linux as my primary system, so this is a goal. (Kris Occhipinti has been a huge motivation on this front. Thanks Kris.)

3) Change the way I eat.

Note: This is not a, “Lose Weight” resolution. This is an, “Eat Better” resolution. There are two major problems with my current eating lifestyle: Quantity & Quality. Once I finish resolution #1, hopefully I can take some of that time to actually cook food. I still eat at restaurants way too often.

4) Exercise.

I’ll be honest, this is the least likely resolution I’ll be able to accomplish. Donna convinced me to go into the local gym every morning and work out with her for a month. Since I’ll have to pay for the membership, I’ll do my best to accomplish it. Perhaps walking on a treadmill next to Donna will make it less horrifying. Man, I really hate exercise…

5) Write a Book.

I don’t care if it’s a little all year, or a cram session in November (NaNoWriMo), I really want to write a book. I’m not sure if I’ll start with fiction or technology — but I must write a book. Really.

So that’s it. It’s a lot, but I purposefully didn’t put anything on there I don’t think I can accomplish. If all you’re lacking for your New Year’s Resolutions is the commitment to make them, feel free to do so in the comment section. If you slip up, we’ll know. Well, ok, only if you tell us. But still, feel free to commit below. 🙂

Happy New Year’s!!!!

My Favorite Editorial Task

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I have a bunch of duties over at Linux Journal. I’m certainly better at some things than others, and if you ask Jill (the Executive Editor), deadlines are not one of the things at which I’m particularly skilled. 🙂

There is one task I find especially enjoyable, however: Answering letters to the editor. I’m not entirely sure why I enjoy it so much, but for some reason, interacting with readers that take the time to write in to the staff really makes me proud to be part of something bigger than myself. It’s also interesting that while I answer a bunch of the letters, it’s not always me that does so. See, all the responses are signed simply “Ed”, meaning it comes from the editorial staff in general. Yes, it’s pretty humbling to represent everyone.

So if any of you were wondering what being one of the editors of an international magazine is like, well, it’s pretty cool. The best part, however, is simply responding to people. Because it’s the people that make a community, and it’s the community that makes my job so awesome.

-Ed

Everything I Managed to Write for Nanowrimo This Year

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Don’t worry, it won’t take you long to read. I still like the ideas I had, so perhaps I’ll finish it sometime this winter. 🙂

Black Holes, and Other Things That Suck

You ever bark at a dog, and wonder if you’re really saying something? I always imagine we sound absolutely ridiculous to our canine buddies when we try to bark back at them. And don’t get me started on mooing at cows. (But yes, I do that too)

Imagine for a minute, if someone tried to create a human being without any real idea regarding what was important to look human. That’s basically what I was looking at. This “thing” towered over me at about 7 feet tall, and yet the skinniest little legs you could imagine. Since it was naked, I can give you some uncomfortably specific information about misshapen breasts, strange patches of hair, and anatomically oh-so-incorrect placement of certain things. But that wasn’t the disturbing part. It had hairy eyes. Like, actual eyes with hair growing from them.

And it wanted to have sex with me.

Thankfully this wasn’t the strangest thing I’d seen today. In fact, I was sort of expecting it, although in my wildest dreams I didn’t expect it to look like this. Let me catch you up though, because I’d like to get the image of this “thing” out of my mind. Things got weird this morning with Ed.

In Which I Pimp My Own Interviews

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I’m sure it makes me horribly narcissistic, but I’m just so humbled that people actually want to hear what I have to say, I thought I’d pass the links on to you. In case, you know, you’re one of those people. 😉

First: Back at The Ohio Linuxfest, I was interviewed by Aaron Newcomb from The Source. It’s a video interview, and my section starts around 18:45 (not that you shouldn’t watch the whole thing, I’m just sayin…)

Second: I was asked to do an interview via Twitter, and was happy to do so. Jacob Kuehndorf (@BIOSShadow) posted me as his celebrity interviewee. I find that incredibly flattering. The interview is HERE on his site.

That’s it. Just wanted to give some linkage.

Brain Flood

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Warning: This is all about me. More so than usual. If you’re here to hear about notme things, well, turn back now. You have been warned…

First off, you should know about my accident. Reminiscing about childhood memories is much less significant unless you have acute amnesia. That said, even with amnesia (yes, it still sounds to me like something out of Jerry Springer too), Google Street View shouldn’t really have such an effect on me 10+ years after my accident. Yet, here I sit all strange-ified.

Here is the house I grew up in. The odd part is that I remember the house. The even odder part is I only remember weird fragments from the house. I remember a bungie-corded milk crate attached to one of those posts in the front that we used as a basketball hoop. I remember that fire hydrant being illegally opened so the kids in the neighborhood could play in the water. But I don’t actually remember any of the people. I remember walking to this library, but I don’t remember the actual trip. I know kids used to hide their knives in these bushes before going into Munger Middle School so they didn’t set off the metal detectors. But I don’t remember going into the school. (Don’t get me wrong, I could probably take you to my locker — I just don’t remember ever opening it. SO WEIRD.)

So while this evening I’ve been walking around my old neighborhood with Google Street View, and remembering things like Stan’s Whip and Whirl, they’re all hollow memories. I wish I could explain it better, but it’s as if I’m remembering a setting with no characters.

And yes, it creeps me right friggen out. That library I linked earlier? I know where the good books are inside. I know the smell of the back room full of grown up books that only the nerdiest kids ever checked out. Sadly, it’s all an odd, empty, lifeless memory.

Except that back room. I think I could sit in the old leather chair and smell that book dust for hours. I might drive there just to smell that smell one more time. 🙂

A Month of Schedules?

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Look at THIS guy, he LIVES in a calendar. You'd think he'd be a bit more organized.I’ve spoken of this before, but the truth of the matter is that I’m a terribly disorganized person. I have an aversion to schedules, and I am a world class procrastinator. (Ask poor Jill, the editor at Linux Journal, about my deadline pushing. It’s disgusting. I have 2 more articles due today — and it’s already tomorrow AM.)

Once upon a time, I did a 30 day experiment in which I woke up at 5:00 AM every day. It was horrifying, but I figured if at the end I liked being a morning person, it would be worthwhile. As it turns out I don’t like being a morning person, so that plan sorta fizzled. I still consider it a success though, because now I know sleeping later isn’t just a bad habit.

I’m considering doing the same thing with scheduling. See, I’m convinced that I’m all artsy-fartsy, and I work better without a schedule. There is a distinct possibility, however, that I’m just fooling myself. Maybe if I learned to be better organized, I’d be even MORE creative. Sounds cool, eh?

I’m going to spend the rest of this week figuring out just how to schedule things. I think I’ll need to use Google Calendar, since I already have lots of stuff in there, including shared calendars with my co-workers. If I can get my iPhone to reliably give me notifications, it might work. But I’ll hate it, I know I will.

So I have a few questions for you uber-organized folks out there:

  1. Do you schedule “free” time?
  2. If you get behind, how do you fix it?
  3. Are todo lists helpful, or should everything just be scheduled into timeslots?
  4. Should I print out my daily schedule, or does digital-only seem practical?

Thanks for any feedback. Again, this is an experiment, so at the end of 30 days I’m allowed to quit if I so desire. 🙂 (And no, I don’t know what the official start date will be yet.)

Forts, Ads, and Really Awesome Cow Orkers

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Have I mentioned how awesome the folks at Linux Journal are to work with? Well, they are. Last Friday that created an ad, and put it live on the www.linuxjournal.com website. This is not to be confused with the ad I created, oh no, this is much better. Much.

I don’t want to post a screenshot, because the ad is still running through this Thursday. It’s so much better to see it in its native environment. If you go to www.linuxjournal.com, and hit refresh a few times, you should see it. You absolutely can’t miss it.

If you can’t seem to get it to appear, after Thursday I’ll post a screenshot — but really it’s hilarious. I hope you get to see it. 🙂

Listen To My Dulcet Tones, and Win Stuff

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You know those videos I do all the time, teaching folks how to do stuff with Linux? Well, humor me and pretend you do. Anyway, this week Linux Journal is giving stuff away. And not a limited amount of stuff either. Everyone that plays can win. You can play. You can win. Watch this video for details, and if you don’t want to win, then you don’t have to play. See how easy I make it for you?

That thing over my shoulder is a speaker to our surround sound system. No, not that. That one is a clock, I meant the other shoulder.
Just click the thumbnail to go to the video contest page


Go now! Tell all your friends! Have your dog blog about it! Tweet it! Dent it! Tell your neighbors with smoke signals. (Be careful with that last one though, fire is dangerous, and this blog isn’t insured)

When I Grow Up

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We all have silly dreams about what we’d like to do. As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut. (And by kid, I mean last week…) Silly things like mortgages, food buying, and raising a family can often squelch our dreams. So what do you do with those unmet longings? Well, I’m not a soothsayer or anything, but I can tell you what I’m trying to do. Maybe you will find a way to scratch your itch as well.

As a career, I’ve always wanted to do one of three things:

  • Be a writer
  • Be a radio DJ
  • or own a coffee shop

My career is related to none of those. Sadly. Rather than live a life of disappointment, however, I’ve try to never forget my dreams and aspirations. As far as the first point goes, writing for Linux Journal has certainly scratched that itch a bit. THIS blog, however, really does allow me to express myself in any way I see fit. Since it’s just my personal space, and not a topic specific blog — I can write about anything I so desire. It’s actually pretty nice.

As far as being a DJ, well, you’ve all seen my attempts to fill that void. Videos, podcasts, etc. I’m actually cooking up the idea for a regular podcast over at Linux Journal, and I have some pretty good audio equipment. Every time I perform either live or recorded, it just feels good. Perhaps it’s narcissism. Perhaps it’s conceit. Or maybe I just like to entertain others. I’m hoping for the latter.

And lastly, a coffee shop. So far all I’ve managed to do in that venue is drink a lot of coffee. I still haven’t given up the dream, but the actual coffee shop itself might have to wait until I retire. When I’m 92. 🙂

What about you? Do you have any silly aspirations that you keep pushing back into your subconscious because it’s not practical? Do you have an itch that needs to be scratched? Are you living your dream? Inquiring minds want to know.