Friday update

Today is going to be a hell day. I can already tell. My to-do list is long; the day-job will, once again, bleed into my weekend; my partner here is at a high level of anxiety over a new client and their data demands; I've got an SSL issue to fix for a client we've been nibbling at with errors for the last two weeks.

Oooooh, yeah. Keepin' the ibuprofen close. Now if I just had some brandy or cognac.

Friday update

Today is going to be a hell day. I can already tell. My to-do list is long; the day-job will, once again, bleed into my weekend; my partner here is at a high level of anxiety over a new client and their data demands; I've got an SSL issue to fix for a client we've been nibbling at with errors for the last two weeks.

Oooooh, yeah. Keepin' the ibuprofen close. Now if I just had some brandy or cognac.

Rules for Writing

Rules for Writing, by Wil Wheaton. Yeah, THAT Wil Wheaton.

1. Don't be afraid to suck. It's easier to fix something that's broken than it is to create something from nothing.

2. Write your first draft "with the door closed."

3. Don't try to make everyone happy. If you try to make everyone happy, you end up with According To Jim. Write what you're passionate about, and write to entertain, amuse, and satisfy yourself. To borrow a phrase from Joel Hodgeson, the creator of MST3K: don't ask yourself, "Will anyone get this?" Instead, tell yourself, "The right people will get this."

4. If you're going to write, you have to read. If you're going to write screenplays, you have to read, and you have to watch lots and lots of movies, both for entertainment and for education.

Damn, he's good.

Rules for Writing

Rules for Writing, by Wil Wheaton. Yeah, THAT Wil Wheaton.

1. Don't be afraid to suck. It's easier to fix something that's broken than it is to create something from nothing.

2. Write your first draft "with the door closed."

3. Don't try to make everyone happy. If you try to make everyone happy, you end up with According To Jim. Write what you're passionate about, and write to entertain, amuse, and satisfy yourself. To borrow a phrase from Joel Hodgeson, the creator of MST3K: don't ask yourself, "Will anyone get this?" Instead, tell yourself, "The right people will get this."

4. If you're going to write, you have to read. If you're going to write screenplays, you have to read, and you have to watch lots and lots of movies, both for entertainment and for education.

Damn, he's good.

Tag, I'm it.

Alright, neemauri , here we go. Eight things about me.

1. I hate listening to myself sing. Michelle and Lezlie both are going to bitch-slap me expressing this, but let's walk on the wild side: there are a few songs I "own", but by and large, I believe I suck.

This is why when guests are over the guitar stays put unless I'm asked.

2. I'm pretty good at "estimation math", the practice of taking two bits of information, rounding them off to something a little easier to chew, and coming up with an answer that's usually pretty close. Spatial relationships, area calculations, etc. I can do the same thing with time of day, but only if I'm outside.

3. I listen to books on tape because my internal dialog is usually angry and bitter, and I don't have anything to say worth listening to.

4. I'm not afraid of hard work (as long as I'm in the shade and have a breeze) but it wasn't always that way. Work of all kinds is now a compulsion of sorts (been to the house? You understand), and I sleep best if I'm tired all the way down to my bones. See #3.

5. It was in counseling in 1997-98 that I learned that my general state of being has a name: HSP. Electronic toys are put away before I get home from work, and several have had their batteries mysteriously disappear. Crowds, even small intimate ones, are extremely tough to cope with. I overwhelm easily. Check it out.

6. I have a somewhat paranoid sense of my own day to day mortality, and am more than a little hypochondriacal. I just don't talk about it.

7. The wheel doesn't squeak very often. What happens is the passengers suddenly find themselves bruised, shaken and walking when the engine explodes.

8. I love and depend upon my family, sometimes too much - my mood is directly affected by their overall state, Michelle's in particular - though sometimes I wish for the opportunity to miss them a little.

The rules of the game say I'm supposed to tag eight people. If you're reading this and haven't already done it for yourself, well...there you go. (Purpledumbass, I'm waiting.)

Tag, I'm it.

Alright, neemauri , here we go. Eight things about me.

1. I hate listening to myself sing. Michelle and Lezlie both are going to bitch-slap me expressing this, but let's walk on the wild side: there are a few songs I "own", but by and large, I believe I suck.

This is why when guests are over the guitar stays put unless I'm asked.

2. I'm pretty good at "estimation math", the practice of taking two bits of information, rounding them off to something a little easier to chew, and coming up with an answer that's usually pretty close. Spatial relationships, area calculations, etc. I can do the same thing with time of day, but only if I'm outside.

3. I listen to books on tape because my internal dialog is usually angry and bitter, and I don't have anything to say worth listening to.

4. I'm not afraid of hard work (as long as I'm in the shade and have a breeze) but it wasn't always that way. Work of all kinds is now a compulsion of sorts (been to the house? You understand), and I sleep best if I'm tired all the way down to my bones. See #3.

5. It was in counseling in 1997-98 that I learned that my general state of being has a name: HSP. Electronic toys are put away before I get home from work, and several have had their batteries mysteriously disappear. Crowds, even small intimate ones, are extremely tough to cope with. I overwhelm easily. Check it out.

6. I have a somewhat paranoid sense of my own day to day mortality, and am more than a little hypochondriacal. I just don't talk about it.

7. The wheel doesn't squeak very often. What happens is the passengers suddenly find themselves bruised, shaken and walking when the engine explodes.

8. I love and depend upon my family, sometimes too much - my mood is directly affected by their overall state, Michelle's in particular - though sometimes I wish for the opportunity to miss them a little.

The rules of the game say I'm supposed to tag eight people. If you're reading this and haven't already done it for yourself, well...there you go. (Purpledumbass, I'm waiting.)