Personal Stuff

Articles in This Category

• Trusty little netbook worked great for writing in hospital — get one if you can: That trusty little netbook I bought a few months ago paid off last week as an excellent writing tool during a couple of days I spent in the hospital. No, [...]
• When it comes to computers — backup, backup, backup: I’ll bet you’ve heard this advice more than a few times: Always backup the data on your computer in case of hard drive failure, fried motherboards, or whatever might destroy [...]
• Got the netbook, here’s my initial review: Not long ago, I wrote an article here about netbooks and my plan to buy a netbook. I did buy one. Here’s my initial reaction to using the one I [...]
• Do you take ascorbic acid or Vitamin C? What chemicals do you swallow daily?: Jargon, which I’ve written about several times before, comes in many varieties. Yesterday’s physical exam was a real lesson about how NOT to use jargon we writers can learn from. [...]
• Those of us without health insurance appreciate ‘sliding fee’ clinics: On a personal note, I’ve mentioned several times that I am not able to afford health insurance. The good news is, we have a very well-equipped, HUGE “sliding fee” clinic [...]
• How do you support your writing habit? What’s your ‘day job’?: How do you support your writing habit? Are you fortunate enough to be able to make a living writing full-time? Or do you rely on some sort of “day job” [...]
• Establish your writing priorities; restablish them when you stray: I have to confess that I’ve spent most of my writing life in a sort of tension between “wannabe” and “gottabe.” I’ve always told myself I want to be successful [...]
• Personal note — why such divisions among temp agencies?: From time to time, I still hit the temp agencies looking for part-time or temporary work. (We all gotta eat and pay the bills, don’t we?) One of the odd [...]
• Mini-vacation may really improve your writing perspective: If you’re more dedicated as a writer than I — and you undoubtedly are — you probably put in lots of hours at the computer most days, tap, tap, tapping [...]
• Most writers have a love of words, all sorts of words: Most writers I know who have had any success getting published, or who blog regularly or otherwise self-publish, have a great love of words, all sorts of words. A few [...]
• Goodbye Twitter, hello all my blogging friends: Sometimes you make a decision and you just feel downright good and RIGHT about it. I did that about 10 minutes ago when I deleted my Twitter account, freeing up [...]
• Helpful hint: Locate and learn to use public ‘office space’ to stay online: I’m writing this from one of our public library study rooms here in beautiful Springfield, MO. My “real” office at home was offline all day yesterday and I was stuck [...]
• Moving experiences — got any to share?: This is pretty much totally off-topic. But, hey, since this is my blog, I suppose I can make the “topic” anything I wish on any given day, can’t I? In [...]
• Why do people sign up for a blog using some idiotic, spammy name?: One of the great mysteries I find about running blogs is that some people register using obviously false names and email addresses. And usually those usernames and/or email addresses are [...]
• Personal note: Time to get serious about writing goals: This is sort of a personal note, based on a milestone in my life this last week. I was reminded again that it’s time to quit procrastinating and get more [...]
• Freelancers’ plea: Fix health care in America, please: Let me make a special, quiet little plea on behalf of freelance writers, editors, and other self-employed “word people” everywhere. This is directed at President Obama (I doubt he reads [...]
• Year-end reminder: Yes, I am real, I am me, I am here regularly: Editor’s Note: This post has been “recycled” as part of a process to bring old posts back to the front of the blog for the “light of day” one more [...]
• How vain is it to search for your own name on Google Images?: For years now, people have Googled their own names surrounded by quote marks to see what sort of information is easily available about them on the Internet — but how [...]
• ‘Ultimate Key Finder’ could be a real problem solver for many: The Ultimate Key Finder The “Ultimate Key Finder” could be a real problem solver for many of us. Okay, I don’t actually do much affiliate marketing in such a direct [...]
• Earth to Me: Make up my mind on a site theme, please: Okay, yeah, I know. If you come here regularly, you’ve seen the basic look and “feel” of the site change several times in recent weeks. Heck, you’ve seen it change [...]
• Go ahead and goof off a little for the holidays, I say: Go ahead and goof off a little for the holidays, I say. That’s my best advice for you as a writer/blogger/affiliate marketer/whatever this time of the year. Christmas Eve, Christmas [...]
• What are you looking for when you register for a blog? Are you expecting a newsletter?: On most days, I get two or three people or more who register when they visit this blog. Each time someone registers, I get an email notifying me of the [...]
• Give the gift of writing for the holidays: I was browsing around our local sporting goods store for some new Nikon rifle scopes for holiday gifts for all my friends … Okay, that’s not really true. I rarely [...]
• Care to share your ‘NaNoWriMo’ info so we can look for you there?: Wow, “NaNoWriMo info” — I love speaking “acronym-ese,” don’t you? The title of this post really isn’t intended to be jumble or jargon, it just sort of worked out that [...]
• Hey, I suddenly find myself ‘working’ full-time again — not an easy step to take: Okay, well, get the drum roll ready. (Or at least turn up the lights on your home theater lighting in that fancy big-screen TV setup. What? You don’t have a [...]
• Changes in my work style seem to be helping with the arm: I just wanted to say thanks to all who have expressed your concerns for my arm and wrist problems. I also wanted to say the stretching exercises, more “ergonomically correct” [...]
• Personal Note: My blogging days may become much more limited — ‘real life’ is rearing its ugly head: Easter Sunday is a time of good news for our family. We are Christians and we rejoice in calling it “Resurrection Sunday” — the day when we rejoice in the [...]
• Personal Note: It REALLY rained where we live — everyone out there okay?: Wow. Now I have a feeling for what may have been running through their minds as Noah and his family battened down the hatches on the Ark. We’ve enjoyed a [...]
• Blogging: I am appealing to your spirit of teamwork — post your comments: One of the most enjoyable things I do in life is write this and three other regular blogs. I really enjoy the opportunity to put my words down on “virtual [...]
• I decided to change the look of things again — what do you think?: The thing about writing and running a regular blog is it keeps you as busy as an insurance adjuster handing out life insurance policies at an undertaker’s convention. You not [...]
• ‘Kiva’ offers a concrete step you can take to help the poor earn a living: I don’t know where I’ve been, but it took me until just last evening to find this “Useful Website” which specializes in helping those in Third World nations make a [...]
• ‘Lucy, I’m home …’ or, the move to the new webhost worked: Did you miss me? No? I really missed all of you — sort of. If you came by earlier today, you saw a post at the top of the page [...]
• Another year comes to a close — how was 2007 for you?: This year has been a series of tremendous ups and downs, mostly ups, for our family. I won’t get into the details. On the one hand, it’s been nice to [...]
• Faith has been the primary force which has shaped my writing career: I have a longstanding interest in Christianity, having gone through a sort of “spiritual journey,” which I’ve mentioned from time to time here and which I refer to in the [...]
• If you’re wondering where I’ve been — boy, do I have a tale to tell: I was abducted by a dragon just after midnight Sunday and taken to a far away land … No? Okay. I’m lying. There was no dragon. I wasn’t abducted. And [...]
• Changes coming to improve the look and usability of this website: This is a quick “heads up” about the work I’m going to be doing in the next few days on this website. Yes indeed, it’s time for a new look. [...]