Random, funny URLS of the day

The first one may require a little setup. So first take a look at this: http://www.pmsclan.com/pmselite.htm It's an example of some women who play video games banding together in "clans" trying to push an image. They're not the only one. Well, someone's finally spoofed them. And I love them for it. Don't miss the video: http://www.mega64.com/ On to wacky URL #2 (yes, it is) http://www.codemasters.com/dirtydancing/ http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/05/30 self-explanatory, I think. Now, I really must get to work. Right after lunch.

On the list

Right now I'm building a NCAA-basketball-style bracket based on characters and events from one of the TV shows I cover. It's fun, but damn, I wish I got paid more for this. Goals for the week: write and send cover letter for picture book write and send pitch for one travel article write and send pitch for one other article Hold me to those, ok?

not a wasted day... I think

Let's see... what have I done today? * I got the dog's nails clipped. You have no idea how much of a chore that can be. She's getting better, but it's still a two-person job. * I researched the death of a childhood friend. it's amazing what you remember, and what you forget about big events in your childhood. Also - a new philosophical question for you to ponder. If there's no evidence of some big event on the Internet - did it really happen? * I checked one thing off my todo list. * I figured out what the ultrasound article will be about this week and got it approved by the editor. * I wrote an email to a radiologist.

do I have to go to work today?

Even though I get to work from the comfort of my own couch, it's touch to go back to work after a long holiday weekend. I didn't do anything too exciting yesterday, but still it seemed like it was more fun than trying to understand statistics in scientific abstracts. Still, it's a new week, time to buckle down.

article done for this week!

It got turned in around 1am last night, but hey - it's finished. Now I can take Saturday off like a normal person!

The perils of the shiny

I do actually exist, and I am part of this blog. My problem at the moment involves motivation -- how to get motivated when you are the only one supervising your work. Like many writers, I am plagued by the sort of inherent ADD that makes me especially susceptible to distraction. I'll get to that pitch... as soon as I check out this one web site to check a fact, or pull that other fact fromthis reference book, and oooh, look at that, that's interesting, let's follow that up, and hey! I didn't know that, and I wonder if this will be interesting, and .... hey, what have I been doing for hte past three hours? Curses! I have once again been seduced by shiny distractions, and I've managed to get nothing done. I'm in the lucky position that I have enough regular work to pay the mortgage and the bills. These are expected weekly deadlines, and I know I have to complete these tasks or disaster will occur. Plus, this regular work comes from people I went to school with or encountered during my office-job career -- friends, basically -- and I would hate to let them down or get them in trouble because their source turned out to be unreliable. So these regular gigs get done like clockwork, no problem. The problem comes from generating work people aren't expecting -- pitches, articles on spec, things like that. I'm the only one expecting these things to appear, and I am a master of allowing the shiny to distract me from my self-appointed tasks. Part of why I love the idea of nouns verbing is it provides me an outside layer of both encouragement and accountability. This is a place where we can share ideas, and hopefully by doing so, make them bloom. And by putting those ideas somewhere other people can see them, the theory is, I'll be forced to follow up on them. A question for the masses: How many other home-based or freelance workers have the same sort of problems with motivation? How do you overcome those problems? I'm guessing this is something that confronts many of us, and I hope this site can help us deal with our own impulse towards distraction.

why i love living here

Just finished a post to my personal blog. That event is rare enough, I felt the need to announce it somewhere. It's about my walk this morning and pretty much sums up a big reason I love living here. Also - pictures! subversified.com

what I accomplished today (so far)

I got my next post done in my series about skills to use when dealing with difficult people. You can read it here: http://blog.quantumcontent.com/ what to never put in writing (this includes email) This includes a real life story about how this skill kept me off the witness stand in a nasty IP law suit. Truly entertaining and enlightening! Too bad no one's paying me for this yet. I am simul-publishing it to a mailing list for women in the game development industry. Building that fan base. In addition, I pulled this website into shape and invited a few people to join in.

is this thing on? hello? hello?

Okay, the virtual office is officially open. Come on in and pull up a desk. We're all working on our own thing, but some of us wanted some company while we were taking care of business. Right now we're getting together in AIM, but I'm considering adding a chat room to this page. It may all come down to how fast and painless it is.