Several Exciting Things in Blogging

iPad Paper sketch, MadeWithPaper FiftyThree

Turns out, trying to rebuild a website in Squarespace v6 with almost no spare time and not enough sleep is pretty hard. 

But I’m working on it. I’m just working on so many other things, too. I’m almost done with several reviews for some really cool products, and I’m really looking forward to updating SaysBrad with new visuals and features. 

If you’re thinking about creating or updating a website, I think Squarespace is a great option. And no, they aren’t paying me to say that — though I wish they were!

However, if you just want a simple blog, I’d recommend Posthaven. I’ve been experimenting with their service for about one month and it’s excellent, especially for mobile users (iOS, anyway — I’m not able to test Android). Priced at $5/month, the guys behind Posthaven promise to keep your content online forever after one year of paid service. I believe that they mean it, but only time will tell whether or not this promise holds up. Posthaven isn’t a huge company with massive, private resources. 

If you like trying new things and experimenting with code, maybe try Ghost. 

My experimental site, Bradtastica, is a Ghost blog hosted by the awesome guys at Ghostify. As is, Ghost is somewhat lacking and I think that there are too many bugs and uncertainties for business use, but the platform is new and full of potential. Within one or two years, Ghost will be a top contender and solid choice for blogging. Right now, it’s more… just kinda cool.

One more thing! 

Over the past several months (during my illness, mainly), I’ve tried several new capacitive touch styluses and have received offers to try a few more. I’m looking forward to posting some comprehensive reviews with sketches and photos. I’d wanted to get Says Brad moved to SS6 first, but with everything going on right now (disability, illness, moving, etc…), I’m not sure when that would be. (I’m also having major problems with the building that I’m in. Will probably have to write/share some scathing comments about PBT sometime.) I really want to separate the technology, political and personal content — just really lacking time and energy. So I’m formatting my reviews for this blog! I’m particularly looking forward to sharing my thoughts on Pencil, the stylus for Paper by FiftyThree. Have had a lot of fun with that. 

As usual, if you have questions or comments, you can reach me via my SaysBrad contact form (email), or through Twitter or Facebook. It’s nice to hear from everyone!

I hope you have a great week!

The Best and Worst Things about Medium (Review)

Have you ever thought about using Medium for blogging? Here’s my take on the blogging craze powered by Twitter tweeters.

Hope you like it! Might be doing more of that. Especially after I’m moved.

Moving from Squarespace 5 to Squarespace V6

So I finally found a theme that I kinda like at Squarespace 6.

At least it’s the best that I’ve seen so far. Like WordPress, Squarespace is really in the CMS/full website building business and is moving away from blogs. With that in mind, I was hesitant to make the switch.

There’s that, and Squarespace won’t let third party apps like Blogsy work with version 6.

I have no idea why this is. I’ve asked, heard nothing. fomola (Blogsy dev) has asked numerous times… nothing.

Seems stubborn.

But after spending some time looking at the UI and figuring out what does what, I’ve figured out something really, pretty important. SIX is damned powerful. It absolutely blows FIVE away. Tons of little things that I’ve wanted to do here, things that I’ve wanted to add that requires custom code, are just built-in options with SIX.

Now I just need to figure out the best way to move my content and move over to SIX.

There are still a lot of things that I don’t care for with SIX, but I think I can tweak most of it. Basically, it’s just not that readable and usable. I don’t like the typography. It still feels more like flash and style than substance. Also, I can’t seem to get autocorrect, text replacement and substitutions to work in the SSV6 editor.

But I guess people like that. I like this theme that I’ve been playing with. It’s a lot of work trying to get the new, old site up; meanwhile, I’m trying to plan out the rest of my writing. I’m going to add an entertainment section to talk about video games and anime. My personal stuff will be elsewhere, entirely (at the moment, it’s called “Bradtastica”), as well as politics. I don’t think I want to deal with all of those insipid comments insults.

By the way, is it just me, or is this Spacecraft website builder look a lot like… Squarespace 6?

Starting the Process

Starting the process of streamlining this site and getting my other writing officially online and organized.

It’s quite a stressful process really, because I was having some issues with Squarespace — speed, connectivity, etc. The company itself is pretty great; some of the best customer service (by email only, though), ever.

I’ve shut down the sparse personal section here, since most of that content will find its home at my disability blog — which will really be more of a personal blog to share thoughts on things not tech-related.

Although I’m very cogniscent of Andrew Keen’s Cult of the Amateur and don’t want to contribute to it, I have to believe that it mightn’t apply here. Perhaps that’s just ego. But being a professional writer isn’t really what people think. There’s only one JK Rowling. Authors, like painters, seem to renowned only after they’re dead. There are a handful of exceptions, but aside from major media and tabloid journalists, most writers have some kind of day job or other thing on the side that they do to just to cover the basic things, like electricity, an internet connection, and sometimes luxuries like food, heat and running water.

Why pay for something that’s offered up for free?

It’s really tough, and in many ways blogging makes it tougher, because it has the potential side-effect of devaluing writing and creative content.

On the flipside, it can open up new avenues of expression and exploration, bridge the gaps of age, race and physical distance, raise awareness of important issues, bring popularity to a topic or author, and can become (sort of)-on-the-job training. I think blogging can be used to help a writer find his or her voice and develop a personal style, as well as procedurally train him (me) in an oft-idiosyncratic creative process.

So.

I am dealing with domain issues. Once those are straightened out and I can reliably say go to (this-here-great) dot com and read away, I will share it with you. I’m still not good at just getting the content out there; I keep thinking, edit this, change that. I really hope that this gets easier.

Mac and More, "Quick" Update!

Hey, everyone. Things have been hectic and stressful around here, but I’m hoping to get some writing finished today and tomorrow. I was going to write about markdown and apps straightaway, but I want to address recent revelations about the theft of customer information at Target — the 2013 Black Friday hacks. I don’t like the way Target is handling it, and I’ll explain why in detail. I found out about the severity of the issue because of an email target sent! but almost didn’t trust it because their email is super-sketchy and looks like phishing spam!

I hope that you aren’t affected by Target’s negligence and the data thieves. Everything about identity theft is stressful.

Also, I want to share more Mac OS X (Mavericks) tips that I’ve come across, in particular:

• How to get rid of (disable) the pesky, nigh-useless (redundant, slow) OSX Dashboard… and how to get it back again later if you change your mind.

• How to access the iCloud Photo stream without opening iPhoto.

Sort of like my post about removing apps from Launchpad, these are a few things that I wanted, and believe that it may be of interest to other Mac users.

---

Last, if you like strategic cards games and anime, check out Tanto Cuore.

Superb gameplay that really doesn’t have much to do with anime or maids. I’ve been a bit obsessed with Crunchyroll recently.

If you’d like a 48-hour all access pass, leave a comment about your favorite anime or drama, and send me an email!

I need some way to send you the code :-) I only have a few, and it’s first come, first served!

Well, if you get Tanto Cuore and want to play it with me, you’re at the top of the list. ;-)

Bradtastic likes Blogsy!

Says Brad 2014!

Happy New Year! I’m excited about 2014.

2013 didn’t start well for me. I was sick throughout. I feel like I didn’t get much of anything done, like it was a lost year. Looking back at 2013, it feels like it went by before I realized it but simultaneously, it didn’t feel quick. Time feels quite different when you’re sick, and I was sick for probably more than half of the year, including the final weeks of December.

This year will bring more significant changes. I’m going to move out of California! That’s an exciting thing for me; a chance for a new beginning, to meet new people, and find new opportunities to learn, grow, and hopefully work. I’m hopeful that November’s mid-term elections will signal a shift in America as well, and I’m making every effort to get my political site up and running as quickly as possible to share some of my libertarian conservative ideas, specifically regarding controversial topics such as gay marriage and abortion. Far too often, people steer conversation away from these serious matters toward the mundane and inconsequential, all in effort to keep peace and to not offend. I think this is usually done with good intentions, I just don’t think it’s a feasible long-term solution, and has aided in alienating people and polarizing the country in ways I’ve never seen before in my life.

But enough of the serious and personal, onto Says Brad!

For about a month, I’ve been writing exclusively in Markdown, and I’m thrilled with this change. Two critical components that’ve made this pain-free and pleasurable: Daedalus Touch (universal iOS) + *Ulysses III* (Mac), and Byword** (universal iOS, Mac).

Ulysses III is so good that while I’m working on a full review, I’ve spent enough time with it to know — it’s indispensable for anyone interested in a fluid, natural, comprehensive and beautiful writing/note-taking environment. (That it syncs automatically with Daedalus Touch via iCloud is a huge bonus.)

I’ve never used a more beautiful writing app… or had as much fun. Ulysses III inspires me to write more, and helps keep me organized and efficient with everything neatly in one place, sans messy file folders and miscellaneous doc names.

Byword is a fantastic markdown/rich text editor that I’ve written about before, but I really only use it on my iPad and iPhone right now because it includes a markdown preview and live, in-line styling — and Daedalus doesn’t. It’s also possible to post to blogs from within Byword, but it’s an IAP priced at $4.99. I’d use it if it were included. (Having communicated with Daedalus/Ulysses debs, The Soulmen, I’m confident that Daedalus Touch will include these things in the future. If you have an iOS device, there’s no reason not to try Daedalus, as it’s now freemium.)

Switching to markdown has helped me to focus on content and forget about formatting. The text is clean and readable, links can be added in as reference-style footnotes, and words can be emphasized and emboldened without ever using brackets or clicking a toggle.

Blogging, 2014

Over a decade ago, I was happily posting to Livejournal without a care or concern for the underlying technology or the longevity of the platform. As a teenager, I just didn’t think about those things. This changed when a Livejournal admin censored me. I hadn’t been posting as frequently and had just undergone surgery to fix my shoulder (bad idea), and didn’t realize that they’d contacted me by email, instructing me to self-censor and remove someone’s full name. As I hadn’t replied, my site was shut down.

It wasn’t just that my content was pulled from public view. I was locked out.

My account had been suspended for violating one of their rules. I was cut off from my own writing, years of work, completely unavailable. I was lucky; able to save my site, discovering what had happened before my account was permanently closed, but the process alerted me to the fact that my content was not my own.

I decided that I was done with LJ. I didn’t like the fact that someone could put extra restrictions on my content and that those rules could change at any time, that I could lose my writing. Since then, I’ve been very concerned about terms of service and content restrictions and ownership. I used WordPress for several years and then stumbled upon Squarespace, and although I’m presently (mostly) happy with the service, I’m always looking at alternatives.

I think that both WordPress and Squarespace do a remarkable job at managing a full-featured website, but lately, I’ve been intrigued by the “just blogging” platforms like Ghost. I’ve been testing different services: Roon, Posthaven, Silvrback… I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on these services and hope that I can help someone pick his/her best fit blogging platform.

More in 2014

In the coming months, I’ll be adding reader-requested reviews of styluses, including a more-detailed review of Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus and thoughts on Pencil by FiftyThree. Also, some app devs have graciously provided copies of their apps for me to try and write about, so I’ll have that upcoming as well. I’m excited about another year of cool technology and discussing these things with you! (The latest Apple rumor is about an iPad Pro iOS/OSX hybrid device — I really hope that it’s Penabled, wouldn’t that be something?!)

In the interim, if you want to chat, send me a message at Twitter or Facebook! I hope you have a great year!

23andMe, SaysBrad 2013, and screw the FDA

Dealing with medical problems and disability, I missed out on a lot of things this year. It's easy to just get upset about that — and everything else going on in the world — it's extremely easy to forget how amazing life is and how much technology has changed everything, for almost everyone.

Sometimes, it seems like the Internet is just full of complaints. And cats. Much of it is superfluous, and I've spent some time on this blog trying to point that out to people. But some complaints are valid, and the Internet has given a voice to many who would otherwise remain silent.

I mention this, because the FDA has blocked 23andMe, a DNA analysis company, from releasing medical information related to DNA as part of their $99 mail-order test kit.

Personally, this genetic information could be very valuable; it could tell me if I'm a carrier for the condition that killed my two brothers, why my nervous system responds the way it does and how best to treat my chronic pain, muscle spasms and disability.

I found out about 23andMe because of their Black Friday sale and ordered a kit, only to find out the day the kits arrived, that 23andMe would only be able to supply ancestry related information.

Basically, the FDA is stopping me from seeking affordable advice about my own DNA.

And I'm upset about that.

I've tried to distract myself with technology and blogging, and even managed to figure out how to stop the spam problem that I was having for quite awhile here at Says Brad. I was contacted by a few blog readers, which is super, as well as an app developer (so I'll be reviewing a new note taking app soon).

I found out that the new iPad Air might have some problems detecting and interacting with pressure-sensitive styluses, and read a bit more about the new iPad mini. I'm now reconsidering it as the superior (personal) choice for all-around use, despite the color accuracy/range issue.

I was going to write about testing blogging platforms such as Roon and Postagon, questions and thoughts that I have about pure blogging options Posthaven and Ghost, as well as testing — and my likely move to — Squarespace 6, but it's been hard to focus on with all of the issues I'm having and becoming aware of concerning the Federal government. I want to make Says Brad purely about design and technology (mostly apps and mobile products), but I haven't had the motivation to do anything about it yet.

Perhaps getting this rant out of the way will help. I know that lack of interest and general depression is a byproduct of chronic pain and the medicines used to treat it, and that awareness is usually accompanied by a resolve to push past it and try to do something — anything...

I really put a lot of hope and faith in my DNA results that now, at least anytime soon, won't be able to get... unless I can find some reliable, affordable expert to help me interpret the raw genetic data that I can still get from 23andMe.

Maybe if enough people out pressure on their Congressman (and women), something can be done about the ridiculously backward, prohibitive, abusive and dictatorial federal government and FDA. I don't think that that will happen, however, unless things get much, much worse. Congress is part of the problem — it's systemic, and it's affecting people. Small businesses, individuals, people with medical problems. I don't want government handouts and help. I want them to get the fuck out of the way.

Well.

Hopefully now I can get back to graphic design and the fun stuff. That is, after I stretch and take a few hour's nap. Word of warning: if your health is good and your body works (at least somewhat) as it should, take care of it and don't take it for granted. Chronic pain and disability is a neverending nightmare.

Before Christmas. Happy holidays. Oh, and don't be offended if you don't like or celebrate Christmas, but someone says Merry Christmas or whatever. Just say thanks. Don't be miserable.

Bradtastic supports Blogsy

Burned Out Site

For whatever reason, over the past few days, my website has been hit by numerous spam reference links & comments. It's tiresome going through it all, and Squarespace said that there isn't a great automated option to solve the problem. It's time-consuming cleaning out the crap, and it feels like it isn't worth it at times. I'm already overloaded by emails because I don't have enough time awake to manage all of it, and now there's this to deal with. So I suppose there's another reason to look at either: migrating to WordPress with DISQUS comments, or finding someone to help me manage the site (and add content) — or both. I don't suppose you're interested? :-) I wanted to write about iOS 7 today but I feel like I just don't have the energy. I'll likely add a few more photos to my Instagram, however. @bradtastic Thanks for the continued support!

Content & Thank You!

New content coming soon, I promise. I've been really sick — fever and infection for six days now, so I haven't been able to do much of anything except drink water, sleep, and a few less pleasant things... the fewer details, the better, yeah?

Talking to some friends about the blog has inspired me to streamline the content and focus on he fun stuff that I like to write about — and what's popular. That means: more app reviews, product reviews, tech insights, tips, suggestions, maybe some games, that sort of thing. My other writing will go elsewhere. Also, I'm going to try to reorganize the categories and tags to be more efficient and usable — I'm also going to make a few adjustments to the layout, so if you see something broken, please let me know!

Thanks for your support; I think I'm starting to feel a little better (2013 has been one rough year!), so this weekend I hope to update. Also, if you haven't already, you can follow me at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr — all @bradtastic — I post links and photos there throughout the day.

A BIG thank you to the people using my Amazon links to buy stuff — getting a few bucks per week helps me stay motivated to write, and the Amazon credit allows me to get a few new things to review each year! If you have an app or product you'd like me to review, please get in touch!

(Estylo guys! I hope you read this, I've been trying to reach you to talk about the Estylo stylus — I hope all is well!)

My birthday is less than three weeks away — I hope I'm healthy enough to have dinner with my family!

Posted with Blogsy

Two Email Tips: Lifehack Your Inbox

Oops! Scheduled post failed, so it didn't post in May!

 

I do just about everything from an iPad.

Almost everything tech-related, that is. More accurately, iOS. (I'm sure I could use Android just as efficiently with ample time, effort and money invested in it, but I'm sort of locked into the Mac ecosystem with apps and generations of OS X computers)

[ tl;dr – digital life is tough to manage and email is getting out of control. Try shortmail & apps such as Mailbox (free, universal) for iOS to manage Gmail. ]

There's probably enough posted here about the iPad — I just mention it again because, being so sick this year, I really haven't had a choice — if it couldn't be done on a lightweight, handheld mobile device, I couldn't do it. Still, I've become back-logged; behind on emails, writing and blogging, reading, art and design. Very frustrating. [fyi: If I post all that I want to say on topics optimization and organization, it'll span thirty pages, so I'll break it up into sections.]

E-maelstrom, email storm

Recently I stumbled upon a site called AppSumo, a collection of lifehacks and productivity tools/info, primarily for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Browsing the site led me to rethink email and task management, calendar planning and organization. I've been sort of on the fence about Gmail, unsure of what to think or how seriously to invest in it. As a platform, there are wondrous components to Gmail via Google Labs and integration with all of Google's apps (Android and Google Glass eyewear also pretty cool). But I also think that there are reasons to be hesitant, or at least vigilant.

So I have email boxes at all of the major services, for various things. Yahoo was a big deal at one point, and they may be again, buying tumblr. (I still haven't figured out how to effectively use tumblr, however.) XBOX LIVE requires a Microsoft account so there's Live mail (used to be Hotmail, is now Outlook.com), dot Mac turned into MobileMe followed by iCloud… it's tough to keep up with it all and keep it all straight.

All made more complicated (difficult) being limited to an iPad and iPhone 4. At least Siri helps — a bit.

So in my quest for some semblance of order, some quieting of the chaos, I turn to apps.

Shortmail — email, simplified. (free, iPhone only)

Shortmail is a unique concept: keep emails under 500 characters. Recent updates to the service allow attachments via Evernote and Gmail linking; any email under 500 characters goes to shortmail, over and it's sent to gmail. Each shortmail.com address is based on your twitter account handle, but you can also make up your own shortmail.me address. I don't know how much traction it's gained, but I like it and hope to use it more for quick conversations when text messaging isn't an option. My main email box gets cluttered with too many messages. Shortmail is quicker. I just wish they'd release an iPad app or universal update.

Mailbox — currently Gmail only (free, iOS universal)

Mailbox is beautiful, minimalist and intuitive — and I'm excited to see where it's going. I already prefer it to the iOS Gmail app, and in some ways it's nicer than the native Mail app. It's new (so don't expect it to be perfect) but I haven't run into any issues other than a lack of portrait mode (it's landscape only on the iPad). It would also be nice to be able to edit/add labels and move/archive/delete messages in bulk. I hope developer Orchestra, Inc. adds Outlook.com mail support!

The Email Quest, Objective: Empty Inbox

Email is the digital equivalent of physical mail, right? An inbox is like a physical mailbox — except people don't leave envelopes stuffed in their mailboxes after receiving and opening them. For many, myself included, getting that Inbox to "0 messages" is a battle, a constant effort — time-consuming. Frustrating, even. Often, people just give up and let messages accumulate, or they don't care to sort messages. Over time, Inboxes can collect thousands of messages, and this inhibits usability.

An example.

Say you're searching for an email about an event, but you can't remember what that event was called — perhaps it was six months ago and you're looking for some pics from it. If you have a cluttered mailbox, the keyword "event" could pull up hundreds of messages, most of them unrelated to your intended query. An organizational system can alleviate this frustration.

Second.

Search doesn't always function properly when there are too many emails to sift through. If you store emails locally (on your computer or device), those emails take up space, and searching takes up memory. If you use cloud or IMAP mail, those messages take up server space and extra bandwidth to search through. A large inbox — messages unfiltered and unorganized — takes longer to download and thus, search.

These two apps can help you clean up your inbox. Both services offer tips on how to do this, and in the future I'll make a post about Google features for automatically sorting emails and something they call "canned responses."

For now, take a look at these two apps, Shortmail & Mailbox, and tell me what you think. If you have email tips and tricks, I'd love to hear about them!

Posted with Blogsy

Brad's Personal Update No. 2

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let you know that I think I’m starting to feel a bit better. But I don’t want to jinx it. I do, however, want to share a few things. I downloaded the update for Paper by FiftyThree and I’m so happy about the new zoom tool. Although I think it still needs some tweaking, it’s a very clever way to achieve a blend of style and functionality that fits the theme and mission of the Paper sketching app. If you have an iPad, you need Paper, even if you don’t consider yourself an artist or creative. It’s just that cool.

I’m writing this blog entry from the official (semi-janky) Squarespace app because for some reason, my favorite, go-to app Blogsy isn’t able to load my categories. I don’t yet know if that’s a Squarespace problem or a fomola (Blogsy devs) issue, but I emailed Lance (fomola Big Boss aka CEO aka awesome friend) to find out. [I’m still very interested in migrating from Squarespace to WordPress, but I don’t have the knowledge or energy yet to start making that happen — I’d want a nice WP theme and don’t know how to go about putting that together.]

Paper by FiftyThree art

Inspired in-part by the Guild Wars 2 Mesmer profession (which reminds me of Accel World’s Kuroyukihime character), this purple abstract butterfly was created on the iPad mini using Paper specific tools (primarily the pencil and watercolor) in order to familiarize myself with the color wheel and zoom. Although it’s still work-in-progress in both forms, one is a screenshot showing off the new zoom/magnifying tool. It took a few minutes to get used to, but in general, I like it; although I might’ve preferred a more traditional zoom functionality, this style does have advantages because you can see exactly where you are drawing relative to the whole page/screen, without zooming in and out, back and forth. It’s also very fast with a decent margin for error, and doesn’t interfere with the undo/redo feature.

I’m excited, because Paper is finally an app I can use start to finish for my style of design. Until now, it’s been a rough ideas and sketching tool; first it was limited by a restricted color palette — they fixed that — and now they’ve added zoom. I’d still like to see a smaller eraser tool (or a variable one with opacity adjustment) and portrait mode, but as is, it’ll work well. I’ve come to prefer the two-finger circular undo/redo and now wish that other apps had it.

Next

I have to take things slow and pace myself, but I’ll see about adding new sketches and designs to dribbble along with more blog entries here such as app and stylus reviews & tips. Until then, take care, enjoy life, and wish me luck. Thank you all!

Added Features

Hey everyone! Still plinking away at getting this website and blog updated and the way I want it. I added a few things, including search, categories and a tag cloud.

I’ve also been playing around a little bit with Squarespace 6 and WordPress (bradtastica – my test site) but haven’t managed to find themes or get them looking the way I want. Also, I’m having an issue with MediaTemple and my self-hosted WordPress install. So I think I may just backup my content there and scrap the thing, start over from scratch. I also want to learn how to use Google’s web font thing, instead of Typekit. Not that I know how to use that, either.

Trying to edit the website

So I switched my Squarespace hosting to take advantage of the free Squarespace 6 site, and spent some time playing around with the template/site builder. It really isn’t that simple. Maybe I need to read through all of the support materials.

Didn’t really feel like doing that because I spent over an hour trying to remove Microsoft Silverlight from Stephanie’s MacBook. Uninstalling Silverlight on Mac should be easy; delete the silverlight.plugin in the Library > Internet Plugins folder. Except it’s not that simple at all. I had to use Terminal and find all of the hidden files Microsoft sneaks into the computer.

When it rains it pours?

I’m also having problems with my iMac. Time to get a new computer, definitely. This thing is just too old and slow now — it freezes up and hiccups every few minutes. Another reason why I prefer working from my new iPad.

Problem is, I can’t edit the style and theme of this Squarespace site from my iPad. It requires desktop Safari. I hope one day Squarespace will enhance their iOS app to support layout/code editing. So I’ve been sitting here, at my desktop (physically pretty painful!), trying to figure out what overrides what, just trying to get simple things like colors and fonts as I want them. I’ll have to pick this up another day.

It’s okay as is.

Also, I cancelled TypePad Pro (new link) and MediaTemple hosting. Now I’ll have more time and energy to focus on this and my portfolio site, a few designs and graphics, packing up the house to move, and my health — though not necessarily in that order.

What?! Blogsy compatible with Squarespace!

Blogsy is now compatible with Squarespace.

 

Blogsy is iOS’ best blogging tool. No doubt. If you have an iPad and you blog, you need Blogsy… that is, if your service is compatible with it. Blogsy has such a feature-rich, elegant environment that it enhances creativity. It does everything you'd expect — and a lot more.

One great, main feature is its WYSIWYG environment. It is structured similar to a word processor so it's automatically familiar. I think that this helps when blogging from the iPad, and also makes blogging more accessible to those without coding knowledge. Blogsy also has an HTML edit mode, but it isn't color-coded — serious programmers and coders may want to look at the other iOS options.

Overall, Blogsy is fantastic. And now, it's fully compatible with Squarespace, my favorite blogging platform! In particular, I like the drag-and-drop image uploader — Blogsy is much better than the universal Squarespace app.

Awesome Squared Cubed

I'm pretty sure that this new development means you'll see more blogging from me, as well as more #madewithpaper — perhaps in the Gallery!

Posted with Blogsy

iPad can do anything, quickly

The iPad really is an amazing tool — in can do practically everything!

(Yes, I know that the browser lacks Flash, but with HTML5 sites these days and the sheer number of iOS devices out there, Flash is on the decline, anyway.) Years ago, I was a skeptic; like many others, I saw the iPad as an oversized iPod touch, but once I actually held one and played with it, I realized what an impact the screen size makes. The iPad has come a long way since then, adding retina display (2048x1536 resolution, greater than 1080P)

It's much more than a toy. Just yesterday I painted a graduation card for my sister using Procreate, and I routinely use ThinkBook, Infinite SketchPad, NoteTaker HD, Byword, iA Writer, Evernote & Skitch, Blogsy and Noteshelf (now with retina graphics and Smart Pen support) for writing and note taking.

That might seem overwhelming, so here's an example of a simple, attractive way to capture ideas.

I use an oStylus DOT and Paper by FiftyThree to create simple, attractive mind-maps.

Paper is a minimalist sketching app I've become fond of for its unique style and dedicated community. It isn't a full-featured drawing tool, and many have complained about the freemium pricing, but if you can get past that, you may discover that Paper is a rich environment that can make you more productive.

Instead of fussing with neatness, perfect shapes and clean-lines, I put ideas on paper.

I like to start by capturing the mood with the watercolor brush, and add text, basic shapes and sketches with the write, draw and sketch tools. I like to connect concepts using lines, and group ideas by color. Paper allows me to work quickly; each page can become an outline or a piece of a larger mind-map, and an entire book can be complete within minutes. Individual pages can be saved as a photo or published to social networking sites, like my tumblr.

With the new version of Paper, I can export a notebook as a PDF and view it in iBooks.

For me, a capacitive touch stylus is essential, but you might not need one. Steve Jobs didn't like styli and designed the iPad to be finger-friendly… and it is. I use my oStylus DOT less than 50% of the time. However, certain tasks require precision not suited for fingertips — such as writing and drawing.

I'm constantly amazed by the amazing iOS development community; there are some stunning apps for iPhone and iPad, better than anything I've ever used on a desktop or anywhere else. Let me know what you think of Paper and the other apps I've mentioned, or if you know someone with an iPad, please bring them to my site!

If you have iPad questions, you can contact me directly: my name at gmail.

Changes, says Brad

Things have been sort of static. Many changes this year; friends, people, politics, society, work, health. If I had more time during the day to do things, you'd probably be able to read all about it. As things are, I just can't keep up. Kim Jong Il is dead now, though. Merry Christmas.

So here's what's going on. I'm spending time on illustrations, science, physics and general design, and I've been looking into my disability, health and general well-being. Made some discoveries. I've gotten a lot of great ideas this year from Apple, Disney, console video games and iOS apps (and their developers).

I'm going to try to get out more, and use the iPhone's good-enough camera. Instagram, Hipstamatic, Camera+ and a number of photo editing apps make iPhotography really fun. I've been thinking about switching to 4S (8MP camera, Siri and Sprint — AT&T SUCKS), but I'm hesitant, because of the 3GS. I think the iPhone 5 isn't far away and will be a major upgrade over the 4S, and will share hardware with the iPad 3. Why wouldn't Apple do this? The iPhone 4 form factor isn't that great, and it'll soon be surpassed by Android alternatives (some think that this has already happened). I'm excited about a retina display iPad.

If you have an iPad and you like games, oh wow. Infinity Blade II, GTA3, Bard's Tale... how many hours of fun is that?! Enjoy it. This is an amazing time, despite the turmoil that the world is going through. If life outside is looking too bleak, step into Skyrim. It's great there — you can kill dragons!

I want to share more about health, fitness, self-defense (these are crazy times) and my disability, and this is probably the place to do that. I don't need Typepad. I've tried to like SAY's service, but I just don't, really. If I knew how to properly monetize my blog, it might be worth it, but I'm not sure that I'd want to do that. I wouldn't mind advertising on my blog, but I'd want to advertise Bradtastic Approved things, things I use and love. Maybe there's content there worth saving; I'll have to spend a few hours going through it and figuring out what to bring over here... maybe I'll setup a few pages with the best of the best content.

I've decided to change my diet and focus on super foods and micronutrients. Veggies, fruits (I love satsuma oranges) and some mercury-free fish every now and then. No more red meat. More brain foods.

There are a few people I'm interested in spending more time with... I'm going to change my schedule to accommodate this change. I think I need to. I had so much more energy in Disneyland because of the sheer number of people there... it was amazing. It felt like 2008; needing only a few hours of sleep, that sense of true clarity. And now that the weather is more to my liking, it's the perfect time to take advantage. Of everything.

Enjoy the holidays. Life is short.

Tablets... Game, yes. Work? Not so much.

Mo' blogging options, writing on the run

Even though the iPad market alone is worth like $20B (USD) and tablets are finally being taken seriously, even with millions of apps available on the App Store and Android Marketplace — with millions of people buying apps and downloads every second, still no one has released a decent (or better than) blogging app. There are serious gaps in mobile software.

Mobile gaming is different; there, there's at least six of everything. Anyone know exactly how many tower defense games are available for iOS? I've seen hundreds; maybe a few dozen great ones, twice as many good rip-offs of those great ones, and a plethora of crap. How many versions of Angry Birds do we need? Ten different racing games with the same cars, a dozen FPS offerings, hundreds of sudoku apps... seriously?!

Also, this micro-transaction, in-app purchases (IAP) business is frankly ridiculous — especially the pay-to-pwn model in certain games, such as Glu's Gun Bros. and its clones. The best items cost around $200 USD, and there's really no other way of getting those items other than spending cash. I understand the freemium model; make a game, offer it free, and people can pay for it in increments based on how much they enjoy it. Often, these games have no end, much like MMORPGs — the game is updated to add more, so to continue enjoying the game, players need to spend a few more dollars. Time management freemium games (farming games, building games, restaurant sims) usually offer some IAP that speeds up the process by offering instant gratification. "This plant will take 48 hours to grow, but for $2.50, you can have it now!" This is how hard-earned money is being blown spent.

Freemium is one thing, and some are fair enough that you can play without spending any money. But now there are premium games offering IAP "cheats." Example: Angry Birds offers an instant-win item for $0.99 — an Eagle that automatically clears any level. EA's Dead Space has a in-game store offering power node and credit pack IAPs.

The iPad is clearly a fantastic portable game console; dual processors, large multi-touch screen... there are Android devices with NVIDIA Tegra2 chips that have similar power. Beyond the toy factor, there are a lot of cool utilities and productivity apps. Also, mobile blogging has changed; people use the Facebook wall, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to share media. That is blogging, though people might not realize it.

There's a market for and a demand beyond casual, social network blogging, however. There are some decent writing utilities for the iPad and some blogging services have released apps (WordPress, Squarespace, LiveJournal), but many of these apps are problematic and lackluster. The Squarespace app is the most complete that I've used (for blogging), but still far from perfect. None of the apps take full advantage of the capabilities of the services and formats. For writing/word processing, Apple's Pages comes close. I could've used it for work far more often if the app supported vector graphics.

I was on the fringes of the Tablet PC community that existed prior to multitouch displays, iOS, Android, Vista and Windows 7. People had inkblogs and used slate and convertible Tablet PCs as primary work machines. On the few occasions that I interacted with some of the GottaBeMobile guys and other tablet enthusiasts, I got the distinct impression that for some, the slate wasn't a passing trend, it was the Grail.

The iPad is my primary computing device. The iPhone 4 has filled my portable point-and-shoot camera desire. With the right software, the iPad could replace notebook computers; it's fast, has front and rear-facing cameras, wireless internet, decent memory and capacity, a good screen and keyboard support. Of all things, it's the apps (and lack of) that retard it.

Mail supports HTML, but it's only usable via copy/paste. The email editor is weak. Safari is restricted to nine windows as a form of tabbed browsing; this might have something to do with memory, but the iPad can run Infinity Blade and Safari with nine pages.

There are some great iOS apps; I've shared and reviewed a few, and with time, I hope this rant becomes irrelevant. ThinkBook is phenomenal, and I'm enjoying Writing Kit, Daedalus, Day One, iA Writer, Penultimate, Wunderlist and Idea Store. Evernote and Dropbox also work well, despite iOS limitations. I can do just about everything on the iPad... but where's Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator for iPad? Where's ecto or MarsEdit, Scrivener or Storymill? Where are the programming tools and font designers? Where's Firefox?!

It's great that the tablet market has made it possible for two-man teams to create and sell apps... I just hope some established developers start taking these devices seriously for something other than gaming.

Why blog at all?

I feel like I finally understand blogging; this is major, because although it seems straightforward simple, it's actually intricate and evolving. Journalism has been a mainstay of the civilized world for how long? Then somebody, maybe Al Gore, invented weblogs, and news media shows a new chink in its armor. Within a few years, it's adapt or perish; as publishing empires crumble, news organizations scramble to join the blog room blitz. Blog room blitz!

And the man in the back said everyone... kidding.

What I've come to realize (finally) is that everyone blogs differently, and the rules of the game are loose-fitting and malleable. "What's the point of a personal blog, my personal blog?" I seriously asked myself that, and concluded that "what's the point of" could be asked of just about everything we do, and there isn't always a great answer. Sometimes, even "what's the point of breathing," is convoluted.

I know that reading Andrew Keen's poignant but somewhat unimpressive and lackluster book The Cult of the Amateur had had an influence on me akin to that of the movie Super Size Me. I gave up blogging, just as the film had caused me to give up junk food. Why? Because, at that time, it seemed disgusting.

I was wondering what changed... what brought me back?

Anyone else noticing the strange weather? Recently, well... perhaps as far back as across the past few years, it seems like the weather's gone topsy-turvy on us. Like now; it's summer, yet most mornings — when the sun starts to break over the horizon and blinding light should pour through my useless blinds covering the south-facing windows, when instead, I'm greeted by the soft luminescence of lovely overcast skies — I feel a sensation that makes me think aloud, "Today will be a great day, finally," because it seems like it'll be dark all day.

Abruptly, at some point, the clouds lift — or fizzle, or dissolve or whatever — the sun lay its fireball beat-down, and I'm struck by the nasty, blinding realization of my wishful thinking. "It won't be that great; the damned sun is going to kill me."

Fortunately, that heated feeling fades as the sun sets — clouds begin to again blanket the sky — and for a moment, I could forget what season it's supposed to be. Overall, it feels like we're having cold summers and warm winters; that's wrong, on this side of the equator... right?

Perhaps this has had an influence; instilling in me new passions and desires, ambitions and motivations. Maybe it's all this worry over the economy; inflation, higher taxes, the weakening dollar: the state of our Union (and its credit rating), or the rest of the world — 2012 and the supposed possibility of a civilization-melting coronal mass ejection (that sounds kind of dirty). Maybe it's because of the IBC Cream Soda that I drank last week; I savored one for the first time in years, and oh-my-oh-my, it was fantastic!

I love the cold summer, but I also want my cold winter. What's the point of having cake if you can't eat it, too? There it is again, "what's the point of!" And blogging?!

I want to write, not blog, I'd think, until it reverberates for long enough that I stir, get annoyed and stop for awhile. "What the blog?!" comes next, in an introverted, furious firestorm of synaptic proportions.

"What the blog?!?" Am I insane? Short answer... dunno. Long answer? You're reading it, right now. Each entry, I've been answering that puzzlement.

I'm just doing... writing, blogging, sometimes ranting (because I'm either too old or too young for more tact, I can't remember). Now it doesn't matter much why, because byproduct of this process is profound — a collection of writing that I'm actually starting to like.

I'm starting to really like my own writing. I'm enjoying this, this... non-work work. I needed to write that. I'm staring at this text; "I did this... just now. Just because," and it feels amazing.

Blogging doesn't need to be about news, flaming, or whatever was for dinner. Blogging doesn't need to contain perfectly-proper writing. My blogging consists of written American English, occasional gibberish, images or artwork, and now? It's experimentation, growth, everything and nothing in particular, in no particular order, except maybe chronological, pedagogical, illogical, unnatural, and preferential... to state a few.

Change; the inevitable. In us, all around us.

My no-longer-superfluous blogging is starting to become exactly as it should be — should've been; my bradtastical journal and a shared, unspoken conversation. To mix things up. Like weather.

Something brewing.

# for the moment, it isn’t coffee.

However, it is morning. Another morning, another day, soon-to-be another weekend and another week — time does feel like it’s moving faster now. Some science channel show I’d seen mentioned that time seems to speed up as we get older, and for me, that’s certainly the case. In grade school, weeks seemed long, the school year lasted forever, and although summer seemed a bit short, I was involved in plenty of activities and got a lot of playing done, too.

It’s easier to lose sight of things now. I’ve always made an effort to plan things out — though the best laid plans often go astray — but now, my days just don’t last long enough. In addition, I used to have this Mercedes-Benz-*esque* attitude: the best, or nothing… though that was not their slogan at that time. Now it’s often about just GTD… getting things done. Good. Complete. But not necessarily perfect, rather, nearest as one can get.

## moving forward

### I’ve been giving less thought to this blog and blogs of mine in general; the concepts, the effort, the actual work involved, the purpose… thusly, I haven’t concluded anything. But I have thoughts.

1. I want to write more about living with a disability and getting by. Life in America is changing, and for the disabled, everything is harder — more complex. Work, relationships, fun, you name it. Don’t say “parking,” thinking that you’re clever, either. ([handicappedfraud](http://handicappedfraud.org) <— more thoughts on that, soon.)

1. I’d like to share more artwork, even if it’s just doodles. For posterity, even.

1. I’d like to fix my websites; I’d like to make them look prettier. Obviously, I can’t make it appeal to everyone, but right now, it’s a little messy.

1. I want to get Bradtastic back up and running something. It’s been down for too long. I have things that I could share there, and it could be valuable for people… including me.

1. I want to read and write more fiction. I’m not exposed to enough of it anymore. Sure, I’ve read some sappy teen vampire books and some Orson Scott Card, but I want to expand out. No Harry Potter, though — not then, not now. Please don’t try to tell me it’s great stuff; she’s a billionaire now, okay, I get it.

## レヂセタゴ ready, settago!

Yes, I will still play video games and mess around with iOS software. It’s fun, and practical; video games are indeed art, and it’s an industry bigger than music and movies — the iOS platform is only getting better, the apps are inexpensive and sometimes free, and can help organize, get things done, and importantly, reduce stress and increase happiness. Being disabled, fun is often rare, in only slightly greater supply than that elusive contentment and mythical “true happiness.”

However, I am now more selective about the games I play. I’m interested in story-based games, and will choose them over graphics and sometimes even gameplay. I rarely watch movies anymore — most of them, pure crap — so it’s a sort of trade-off… passive for interactive.

I have a fantastic set of stories stirring ‘round my mind, invading my dreams and bursting out every orifice. Sorry, gross visual. It’s just… I’ve never been this eager to share a piece of myself, and it’s fictional.

I do think that isolation is the mother of inspiration. Pure creativity — perhaps that’s more genetic. Combine it all, what do you get? Stuff like Teletubbies. Joyous day!

Update on 2011-08-13 16:20 by Bradtastic

Going to make an attempt at fixing the markdown dilemma. I don’t understand what the @SquarespaceHelp account is for — all they ever do is write back, “submit a ticket.” 

Anyway… submit a ticket I have. We shall see. 

Say "goodbye" to Superfloo.us!

Originally, I was going to post a piece of artwork to commemorate this entry (as well as make it more visually appealing), but chances are, the Squarespace iOS apps wouldn't handle it properly anyway, and I'd either end up with: an entry with image and without text — or vice versa. Besides, how many "Dear John" letters come with attached graphic design and imagery? Not that that's what this is...

It's been a few years since I'd registered this domain and setup this blog, and a lot has changed between now and then; for me, probably for you, America, and our planet. Entropy is a fact of life; and I suppose, in some sense, so is blogging.

Blogging is definitely changing, but did we change it, or is it changing us? Years ago, I remember telling people that Twitter was going to be the next big thing — I got replies like, "why do I need this?" and "but I already have Myspace!"

'Superfluous' begins.

Originally, I just wanted something funny — a catchy name, something self-deprecating and light — and a play on the word "superfluous" seemed to fit. After all, blogs are somewhat superfluous in general, and I felt... something like "pride," using a "dot us" domain name.

But here we are, in 2011, on the precipice of world annihilation according to the Mayans and some other honey crusted nut bars. Re-registering a dot us domain is expensive, and none of that money really goes to making this country better (I think).

All I've done is fund Bob Parsons' hunting trips. Some large game had to die — because I wanted to be funny.

So, I'm going to change the name of my blog — that'll teach him and President Obama a lesson! Yeah! A whopping few dozen people read my blog; in case you weren't aware, they're the keys to the hearts and minds of America — my readers. Bless you all.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure about what to call my blog; if not "(not) superfluous," then what?

By the way, I just want to mention quickly: Damn you, Bono. I write many entries on my iPad, and when I use HTML for "Header 2" (H2), iOS decides to auto-correct, because I must've meant U2. Why can't you learn, damn it?! Someone get on Apple about this, stat.

Got any 'new blog name' suggestions? I'm actually interested in what you think — yes, I know how unusual that is. I see the irony; people usually come to me for advice, and here I am, using my blog to try and talk about renaming my blog.

I don't know how easy Squarespace will make the renaming process. I haven't asked them about it, but I hope it's simple, because I've had enough Squarespace trouble. There is a lot that I like about Squarespace, most of it is awesome, actually — but for me, the little things are often most upsetting.

Presently, I have a special Squarespace rate plan — I was grandfathered in... can you believe that? I'm a grandpa! If I were to simply open a new account and close this one, I'd have to first migrate the content somehow, and I don't know how many (if any) links will need to be recoded. Maybe it's more trouble than it's worth.

I just thought that, if I were to rename my blog, perhaps I should do it sooner rather than later. I would've just used "Bradtastic," but I was warned that my unprofessional content might bite me in the ass one day if directly associated with some kind of "business website..." though in my mind, it's not too hard to figure out whom wrote what.

Lastly — because this blog is random superfluousness, I guess it doesn't have to exist. I can always "write for me" and not share it. Every now and then, someone will send me an email or say something, making it clear that they've been here and read my ramblings — and every once in a while, someone will benefit (somehow) from this blog. I have too many other projects to work on, and another blog that I do want to do more with, so maybe I actually kiss Superfloo.us goodbye, archive all of the entries, and move on.

I won't be shutting down or renaming immediately, so let me know what you think. My domain expires soon, however. Also, "no reply" is a valid enough response.

Update on 2011-06-30 00:34 by Bradtastic

I’ve created a support ticket on this “issue” to learn more of the details — and consequences — of my impending decisions, as well as to determine alternative solutions. I will most likely follow-up on this via Twitter (@Bradtastic)

Update on 2011-07-01 16:12 by Bradtastic

I was contacted by Squarespace support within minutes of creating my ticket. Essentially, I can change my account name (aka domain.squarespace name), and it won’t effect my legacy plan. This, I might do.

For whatever reason though, (not) superfluous is not popular. Anymore. It used to do okay… in fact, earlier this month, when I was writing about iPad software, I had visitors. At the moment though, it seems like no one really cares. 

I already know that my readers don’t comment, and I kinda get that. I usually don’t comment, either. To solve this, I think I’m going to install DISQUS — because (if I understand this right) the service allows people to “comment” via Twitter entries. People love Twitter. 

Well, that’s that — for now. The world will go on just fine without something superfluous or not, and I will have just that much more free time to work on… well… another blog, I guess.

superfloo sign off