Reno is fantastic!

Instagram @bradtastic

I'm absolutely loving it here. I just wish I had more time and energy each day because unpacking is time consuming. I suppose I have too much stuff... in addition to everything from my previous place, a bunch of furniture from the office came with.

Still sorting and organizing a month in, but even with the still packed boxes everywhere, it already feels like home. Many friends and acquaintances from the Bay Area were puzzled by my decision to move here — some called Reno boring — they really have no clue. Reno has just about everything I'd want in a city, and it's not that far from Lake Tahoe.

I just got my iPad replaced at the local Apple Store, and it's running great. It's encouraged me to work on iPad art again! And hopefully I can finish a few projects that have been held up due to my health issues. Perhaps it's too soon to get excited, but the atmosphere here is overall, more comfortable. I've only had one migraine thus far!

Also, I'm hoping that I can refocus on writing as well. Writing is a depreciating skill, and I'm somewhat out of practice. Although I've outlined many different ideas, I haven't been able to focus on publishing decent content. The environment and atmosphere in my new condo by the river should be much more conducive — all around, I feel better here, for whatever that's worth.

Hopefully things are good wherever you are, too... but if not, consider Nevada!

Now, if only we could do something about Harry Reid...

Posted with Blogsy

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.