Freedom From The Mundane

Image: Online Casino

Dear Lord, I thank myself for my blessed foresight when I purchased a Netbook last year, for it has gotten me out of quite a few scrapes already. I bought it to support my writing in a mobile environment, but it has also given me the ability to access vital day job facilities [...]

March 3rd, 2010 | Tags: 30-something, backups, birthday, computers, Day Job, dinner, Family, hardware, I.T. Microsoft, Ranfurly Review, software, Vista, Writing | Category: Day Job, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Publishing and Marketing | Comments (2)

Image: MS Vista

Thanks for all your birthday wishes posted on the blog yesterday—I passed them all on. Perhaps the most scary comment left was: “A teenage female in the house, good luck mate.” Cheers Stevie—just when I needed a laugh!
I got the feeling all day that yesterday was a public/local holiday of some [...]

March 2nd, 2010 | Tags: 30th Anniversary Tour, birthday, computers, Dominos, DVD, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, I.T, Microsoft Vista, MS Windows, Music, Netbook, PC, pizza, public holiday, Ranfurly Review, ska, teenagers, The Specials | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Music, Publishing and Marketing, Video | Comments (1)

Image: A Humuhumunukunukuapua’a fish

At one point on Wednesday I sent out a tweet that read “I’m having a great day!” And it was: I was rocketing through my project work at the day job, solved two complicated high priority system problems, and was on a general high from all the progress I’d made with my [...]

February 20th, 2010 | Tags: anti-racism, Chinese meal, computers, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, glasses, Guinness, Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, I.T., Mercat Bar, Peter Sellers, Pink Panther, police, Politics, protest rally, SDL, spectacles, Tropical Fish | Category: Animals, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Film & TV, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Politics, Writing | Comments (1)

Image: How Stuff Works.com

The writing and posting of this blog entry will be my only foray to my PC today. I need to get away from the screen for a few hours after a week doing nothing else but watching cursors and thinking technology. One needs to step away.
I forwent my usual Saturday morning gander [...]

January 23rd, 2010 | Tags: Blogging, computers, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, getting old, gig, Music, PC, review, sleeping, technology | Category: Books, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, I.T., Writing | Comments (1)

Image: Ian Colston

One would have hoped after a weekend of creative indulgence and some quality me time, that the start of the week would have been an easier slide back into my day job in I.T. But no, it was as though the weekend never happened. From 8am I was back into it 100% [...]

January 19th, 2010 | Tags: computers, data backup, Day Job, e-zines, Homeys, I.T., PC backup, Publishing and Marketing, Ranfurly Review, slippers, Tania Hershman | Category: Day Job, I.T., Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (1)

Image: Dennis Wong

Yesterday was the kind of Saturday I’ve needed for quite some time. If I could have wished for a better feeling come the twilight of the afternoon, then I got what I desired. It was a nice day but not all that exciting. It was low level boring stuff to most, but for [...]

January 17th, 2010 | Tags: alarms, Arab Strap, Boots, chapbook, Coffee, computers, DVD, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Editing, External Hard Drive, Freelance, iPod, Me Time, moleskin notepad, movie, PC World, pizza, poems, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Samuel L Jackson, Saturday, Scotland's Treasure, scrabble, security, Starbucks, Ten Years of Tears, Tesco, The Cleaner, writers, Writing | Category: Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Family, Film & TV, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Music, Poetry, Publishing and Marketing, Reading, Travel, Writing, Writing Process | Comments (2)

Image: Homeys.co.uk

I’ve ordered some new slippers. I came across some fabulous foot offerings called Homeys and was swept away, not only with the comfort they look like they have (like walking on shag pile) but also their designs—take a look for yourself! I ordered a pair of Crazy Feet; purple weave with innards like lambs [...]

January 12th, 2010 | Tags: baffies, computers, creativity, Day Job, Electronic Voice Phenomena, Enchiladas, EVP, Fiction, Freelance, gig review, Homeys, I.T., Mexican food, movies, office, slippers, Writer's Group, Writing | Category: Day Job, Editorial Comment, Fiction, Film & TV, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Freelance, I.T., Writing, Writing Process | Comments (4)

Image: BorisWatch.com

Yesterday’s blog tour stop over at Cate Master’s was a great success. Cate gave me a special interview plus the spot came with a free giveaway of a copy of STELLA. It’s open until Sunday so you can still be in with a chance of winning, you only have to point your browser to [...]

June 19th, 2009 | Tags: 2-Tone, 30th anniversary, blog tour, Blogging, Boris Johnson, Cate Masters, computers, Day Job, debate, discussion, drinks, Edinburgh Book Festival, Family, friends, I.T., in the groove, Interview, macaroni and cheese, marriage, Open University, psyched, Publishing and Marketing, ska, skanking, The Beat, writers, Writing | Category: Books, Day Job, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Interviews, Publishing and Marketing, Writing | Comments (2)

Image: Hitchster

When I typed the words, “I have a book coming out this week” in yesterday’s blog post, something happened inside me – I got my first blast of nerves. It’s gone away now that the promo merry-go-round has begun, but I find I get excited about it in waves instead. I suspect when the [...]

June 2nd, 2009 | Tags: blog tour, book marketing, computers, friends, GDR, I.T., media, Netbook, photographer, Photography, press, promotion, Samsung NC10, Stella, writers | Category: Books, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, I.T., Internet, Photography, Publishing and Marketing, Writing Process | Comments (2)

Image: Top Banana

I hope Devon doesn’t mind me naming today in her honour, but after the Sunday I’ve had I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate. When I went to bed last night everything was fine in computer land, but when I woke up this morning, a technical apocalypse had ensued.
Over the last week or [...]

April 19th, 2009 | Tags: Apple, computers, Devon Ellington, Dominos, Football, GDR's, Ink in my Coffee, Mac, Microsoft, PC problems, pizza, plans, Windows, Windows Vista | Category: Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Internet | Comments (2)

Image: Source Unknown

I used the company canteen for only the second time since I moved to this building. Tempted by the macaroni with cheese on the menu I was rewarded with a very healthy portion including chips to go with it, and still it was cheaper than a large cup of soup I would normally [...]

April 9th, 2009 | Tags: baggy, book reading, breeks, canteen, computers, Day Job, e-books, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Ghoulnet, GNHosting, jeans, lasagne, macaroni, Poetry, presentation, slimming, trousers, web hosting, websites, Writing | Category: Day Job, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, I.T., Internet, Poetry, Writing | Comments (1)

Image: Ambient Damage

As I said before, I knew it was going to be a tough weekend; I just didn’t appreciate how tough it was going to be. As I write this I am still in the recovery zone, the place where stress and caffeine levels drop to normal, and where my body tries to return [...]

April 6th, 2009 | Tags: author, computers, Day Job, dead, e-books, Freelance, I.T., Interview, plotting, poet, Poetry, Sage Cohen, Stella, stress, trilogy, Website, Writing | Category: Day Job, Fiction, Freelance, I.T., Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

Image: John McTarnaghan

I hope you all had a great Valentine’s weekend whatever you chose to do – and whoever with.
Gail and I had a nice time yesterday. Our initial plan had been to drop Laura off at her Gran’s house, go and see an afternoon movie, then come home and have a few drinks and [...]

February 15th, 2009 | Tags: Bevvy, coffee shop, computers, Editing, Fiction, Freelance, Indian, meal, movie, pets, Rabbits, Reading, Research, Shopping, Valentine's Day, websites, Writing | Category: Animals, Edinburgh: the City & the Festivals, Fiction, Film & TV, Food, Drink, and Bevvy, Freelance, I.T., Reading, Writing | Comments (2)