Tag Archives: freelancing

eZineArticles.com

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Could be hazardous to your good name.

A few months ago, I read a blog post by some A-list pro blogger that briefly discussed eZineArticles.com as a place to publish articles and generate hits for your site. The idea was that the articles contained a byline with links and people who read them would come back to your site to read more. The result: more hits.

I dug deeply into my well of content and found a handful of articles I didn’t mind republishing. I formatted them as required and submitted them to eZineArticles.com, after setting up an account as an author. A bunch of the articles were bounced back because they read like blog posts. But I successfully argued that they did provide useful information in my somewhat conversational and bloggish writing style. All five articles were published on the eZine Articles site.

First Surprise: Anyone Can Republish!

What I didn’t realize at first was that anyone who sets up a publisher relationship with eZineArticles.com could republish my work, as long as it was republished exactly as written and included my byline, bio, and links. I discovered this when an article I wrote about flying at sunrise was picked up by a Web site with content about cruising.

After a few e-mails went back and forth between me and the site owner and eZineArticles support staff, I realized what I’d missed by not reading the fine print — I was basically granting a very broad set of rights to eZineArticles.com. But the site that had used the piece was a high quality site and I didn’t mind my recycled work appearing there. And the eZineArticles folks assured me that publishers had to meet certain requirements to use the work.

Second Surprise: Hot Sex?

But I wasn’t very happy when I traced a link to one of my Antelope Canyon photos article to a Blogger blog with the words “hot-sex” in its domain name. Although the site didn’t appear to contain any porn, I didn’t want my content — or name! — associated with it. So I wrote to eZineArticles support to complain.

Today, I found the same article used on a site with “nurse-fetish” in the domain name. Now I was pissed. I wrote again to the eZineArticles staff.

eZineArticles.com Responds

My new message crossed their response to the first one in the ether. In their response, they told me that if I didn’t want my work on a specific site, it was my responsibility to contact the owner of that site and ask him to remove it.

Ever try to contact the owner of a Blogger blog? It’s not possible if they don’t want to make it possible.

I replied that their response was completely unsatisfactory and that I would be deleting all of my articles from their site.

And then I did.

Lessons Learned

I am certainly not desperate enough to be published or to get hits by releasing my work on a site that allows distribution without prior approval by the author. Frankly, I don’t think any author should be that desperate.

eZineArticles.com obviously doesn’t give a damn about its authors if it won’t work to prevent this kind of activity with an author’s work. Any author who publishes with them deserves whatever shit he gets — including his name spread around on sites of questionable quality and purpose.

From now on, I will publish my work electronically in only three places:

  • Here, on this site, where my work is covered by a copyright notice that helps protect my work from misuse.
  • On the sites of publishers who pay me for my efforts and protect our copyrights.
  • On the sites of other bloggers who have asked me to guest author for them and will protect our copyrights.

I’m angry about this, but I know it’s my own fault. I was conned, first by the pro blogger who pushed eZineArticles.com and then by eZineArticles.com itself. I don’t understand why anyone would allow their work to be reproduced in a way that they cannot control. Could they all be as stupid as I was when I signed up?

As for the “hot-sex” and “nurse-fetish” sites, I wonder how the other female eZineArticles authors feel about their work — and their names — appearing there.

The High Cost of Writing Tech Books

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Only the big names get it all for free — and they’re the ones who could afford to buy!

I’ve been writing computer how-to books since 1992. Right now I’m working on a revision of my Mac OS book for Leopard. It’ll be my 70th title.

A lot of people think that I get all the hardware and software I need to write for free. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have to buy most of the hardware I write about. Although I do get much of the software I write about for free, I don’t get the software I need to do my work. So while I might get Office 2007 right from Microsoft and Quicken 2008 right from Intuit (thanks, guys!), I don’t get Photoshop and InDesign from Adobe — and those two very expensive software packages are what I need to lay out and prepare images for my books.

My Past (and Current) Computers

I’m a Mac user and have had numerous Macs since the first one I bought in 1989. Let’s see if I can come up with a complete list.

First, the production machines, which I use to do all my work. These are machines I’ve customized so they look and work just the way I wanted them to. Each of them lasted 2-4 years.

  • Mac IIcx – this system cost me $8K including a color monitor and laser printer. It had 1MB RAM.
  • PowerMac 7100/66
  • PowerMac 8500/167?
  • PowerMac G3 (beige; can’t remember speed)
  • Power Mac G4/866
  • Power Mac G5Power Mac Dual G5/1.8 – my current production machine

The 8500 and G4 became servers when they were retired from production duty; indeed, the 8500 ran 8 Web sites, a mail server, and an FTP server until 2005. I also had 2 SE/30s (not listed) way back in the beginning that I used as BBS servers. And, believe it or not, I still have them.

Then there are the laptops. I’ll admit that the first laptop I “owned” was provided by one of my clients to help me do my training job for them. I had it for about 3 years. By then I was hooked and needed my own laptop. A laptop normally lasts me about 4 years.

  • PowerBook 180
  • PowerBook 520c
  • iBook SE (clamshell) – gave it to my neighbor’s kids
  • PowerBook G4 (12″) – current laptop; I love this machine

Next, the test mules. These are the machines I bought to run the software I was writing about on. This is where you’ll find a mixture of Macs and PCs, since I do write about PC software (Word, Excel, Quicken, etc.).They’re kept in factory-installed condition — in fact, I commonly reformat and reinstall operating system software on the Macs. (Doing that is a HUGE hassle on the PCs.)

In the old days, I used to use my old production computer as my Mac test mule. But as technology evolved, those older machines didn’t have the hardware features I needed to write about. So I wound up buying new computers for the task and keeping them at least 4 years. Lately I’ve realized that laptops make excellent test mules because of their portability (duh), so I’ve switched to those.

First, the Macs:

  • Strawberry iMac (G3) – in my garage; I need to unload this thing
  • eMac (G4) – is now a server for Internet streaming at the local radio station. (Yes, the same radio station where they’re doing their accounting with an 18-year-old Mac.)
  • 15-in MacBook ProMacBook Pro (15″) – current test mule; had thoughts of using it to replace the 12″ PowerBook but I like the PowerBook’s size better for taking it on the road.

Then the PCs:

  • Gateway – can’t remember model; it ran Windows 95, which was brand new at the time
  • Dell Dimension 944r? – I gave this to the local library; it runs XP so why not?
  • Dell Latitude (laptop) – my current test mule. But I think that if Parallels or Boot Camp work out well, I might get rid of it while it still has decent resale value.

Other Hardware

The other hardware list is long and frankly not very interesting.

The list includes the usual collection of monitors (including 2 of the ill-fated 17-in Apple displays). I didn’t replace a monitor when I got a new computer — the Dell Dimension, for example, used the Gateway’s monitor and I’m still using the 20″ Sony monitor, which I think I first connected to my G3 all those years ago, every day. (And yes, I am ready for something bigger now that my close eyesight is starting to fail.)

It also includes printers — five laser printers (four of which are still at work in my house — don’t ask) and a collection of junky dot matrix and later inkjet and “photo printing” printers. I’m sold on laser printers and won’t get conned into buying anything else unless a better technology comes along. Oddly enough, I do very little printing these days, since all of my manuscripts are now submitted electronically. I don’t see my work in print until the edits come back for review.

I’ve had at least 3 scanners, including a SCSI scanner that cost a whopping $1,000. I now use a junky little Canon scanner which is far better and far cheaper than that first one.

imageI’ve had to buy numerous AirPort products, including four base stations (two of which I still own) and one AirPort Express. (I got a second one as a gift from Apple for making several appearances at Apple Stores.) I also have two iSight cameras, one of which powers my WebCam.

Speaking of cameras, I’ve also had to buy digital cameras, starting with the QuickTake. I’ve had five of them over the years, each better than the one before it. (My current Canon PowerShot has just died after less than 2 years of life so I’ll probably have to get another one soon.) And digital video cameras — I’ve had three. Why do I need cameras? Have you ever read any of my Mac OS X books? I need to cover how to use Mac OS X with these devices.

Black iPodAnd that’s also why I have three iPods, starting with the original 5GB model and ending (so far) with a sleek little black video iPod.

In the weird department is the Newton Message Pad (call me a sucker; I deserve it) and Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh (which sits in my living room, providing stereo sound and a digital picture frame when hooked up to one of my iPods).

My husband just told me to mention the huge plastic storage bin of cables. That’s where I was able to pull out a vintage 1989 ADB mouse for my friend Jo. I had a bunch of SCSI cables in there, too, but after trying unsuccessfully to give them to an Apple store, I just tossed them into a trash can in the mall. (Those cables cost $25-$50 each when new!) The cable bin is also where you’ll find various microphones and speakers, Zip drives, Jaz drives, and the cartridges that go with them. It’s an antique computer peripheral bin and if anyone needs any of that kind of stuff, Comment below and let me know. Most of it can go for the cost of postage.

Do the Math

That’s about it for the hardware. Do some math. I’m willing to bet that I’ve spent well over $75,000 on computer equipment over the years. In fact, I bet it’s close to $100K. But this is the cost of doing what I do. It’s part of my business expenses.

And yes, I can write it off on my taxes, but I still have to pay for it. A write off is nothing more than a rebate for me. It reduces my total tax liability, but not by the amount I paid — just by my tax rate applied to the amount I paid. For example, if I paid $100 for a piece of hardware and am in a 30% tax bracket, I’m only getting $30 off on my taxes. So the item still cost me $70. It’s nice to be able to write this stuff off, but it doesn’t mean I get it for free.

I’m Not Complaining

Not really. It’s great to be able to work with state of the art hardware. Who could complain about that?

But it would be nice if I got to work with it for free. I don’t mind paying for the stuff that I want to keep and use daily — like my production machines, which I really work hard over the years. But the equipment that I need just to write a few pages of a book — like an iSight camera or the latest AirPort base station — is tough to cough up the dough for. And let’s face it: how many iPods does a person really need? (If your answer is zero, you’ve probably never had an iPod.)

AirPort Extreme Base StationRecently, Apple very graciously agreed to loan me the new AirPort base station so I could write about the new AirPort Disk feature in my Leopard book. I’m looking forward to getting it and giving it a try. But I’m also looking forward to sending it back when I’m finished and not having to see it on my American Express bill. The AirPort Disk feature looks good, but I simply don’t need it.

(When I get my next production machine in October — probably a 24″ iMac — the dual G5 will be wiped clean and set up as a file server, perhaps with an inexpensive 17″ flatscreen monitor attached. I envision it sitting in my living room near the Twentieth Anniversary Mac, displaying a constant slideshow of photos when guests are around. A true digital picture frame with 120 GB of storage space and an AirPort card ready to accept all the files I want to back up via Time Machine.)

Meanwhile, the big names — and you know who I’m talking about — get everything they want any time they want it for free. In fact, Apple and other hardware/software developers call them and offer it up! It’s the reason why many of these guys have come across as real Apple fanboys. How can you be objective when you know that the first negative thing you say in the pages of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal may stop the next phone call from Apple? And the whole time, these guys are pulling in the big bucks and can actually afford to buy any hardware they want.

Am I jealous? Bitter? What do you think?

But because I pay for it all, I can stay objective. While I really do like what Apple develops and sells, I’m not afraid to mention the shortcomings in a product. (For example, I still can’t figure out why people are buying Apple TVs. At least the Newton I bought was kind of cool.) I can’t ruin my chances of getting the latest gadget — iPhone, Apple TV, etc. — for free because I wouldn’t get it for free anyway.

The Point?

The point of all this is that writing computer how-to books can be a costly endeavor. But I think it’s worth it.

Pro Writing Fundamentals: Editors

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Who are these people and what do they do?

Posts in the Pro Writing Fundamentals Series:
• Editors
• Contract Negotiation

Since writing my multi-part series about copy editors, I’ve been thinking about taking a step backwards, for the benefit of new writers, to discuss the various types of editors a writer may work with on a book project. Copy editors are just one type, but there can be quite a few others.

So here’s that discussion, along with a summary of how they all work together in the book production process.

Acquisitions Editor

The first kind of editor you’re likely to work with is an acquisitions editor. This is an editor whose job is to acquire new books.

When you write a book proposal and send it to a publisher, this should be the person you contact. After all, this is the person who knows what the publisher is looking for. It’s also the person who is able to make you an offer and get the contract process going.

Keep in mind that not all publishers have acquisitions editors. These days, as many publisher trim the fat, they’re combining multiple jobs to make them one person’s responsibility. Also remember that although “acquisitions editor” is a standard title, not all publishers use standard titles. When I talk about an acquisitions editor, I mean the person acting in that capacity, no matter what her title is.

(I use feminine pronouns to refer to editors throughout this article. That’s not because I’m a feminist. It’s because the vast majority of my editors over the past 15 years have been women.)

Here’s how it works. You approach an acquisitions editor with a book proposal. If she likes it, she starts talking dates and money. If things continue to move smoothly, she’ll make an offer. You’ll make a counter offer. You’ll meet somewhere in the middle, likely closer to her number than yours.

Then she’ll get the legal department involved. They’ll draw up a standard contract with your money terms and dates. You’ll go over the contract and either ask for certain points to be changed or sign it. Throughout this whole time, you’ll be working with an acquisitions editor.

Of course, if you have an agent, your agent will do this stuff. Heck, he should. After all, he’ll be taking 10% to 15% off the top on your advance and royalty checks. This is how he earns his keep.

(And no, I don’t have, and never have had, an agent.)

Project Editor

Next, you’ll work with a project editor. Her job is to keep you on track, review your work as it comes in, and guide you in terms of content and style. She’s also responsible for making sure you meet your deadlines. Later in the process, she’ll coordinate all phases of the book’s pre-production work, including your interaction with other editors.

Your project editor may also act as the impartial judge if disagreements between you and your other editors arise. So it’s very important to treat your project editor with all the respect she deserves and to not be a pain in the ass. Remember, you’re not the only one she’s dealing with. She may have half a dozen or more other books and authors and production teams to deal with at the same time.

These days, I work primarily with two publishers. At both publishers, my project editor is also the acquisition editor. So I work with her for the entire project. I like it that way. I feel that the publisher has someone with a vested interest in the project from start to finish.

Technical Editor

If you write technical books, like I do, you might have a technical editor. Your technical editor’s job is to make sure your text is technically correct.

A good technical editor will repeat every instruction you wrote in the manuscript to make sure it works as you said it should. She’ll check all your screenshots to make sure they reflect what she’s also seen on her screen.

Some technical editors go a step further by suggesting topics they think are important that you may have omitted. For example, if you’re discussing the use of a software program’s dialog box and there’s a check box in there that you haven’t mentioned but she thinks is important, she’ll query you in the manuscript, asking if you want to mention it.

As the author, you get to review all of the technical editor’s comments. You should make changes as needed to correct errors. You can also make changes per the editors suggestions — or blow them off. But if you blow off a suggestion, you should have a relatively good reason for doing so.

If your technical editor makes a lot of suggestions that you don’t think are worth dealing with, you might want to mention it gently to her or to your project editor. Make sure you have a good excuse. Page count always works: “If I covered every option in ever dialog box, the book would need an extra 50 pages.” (Some publishers are very sensitive to page count and want to avoid adding extra pages at all costs.)

Copy Editor

The copy editor is the person who goes through the manuscript, checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. She’ll also look for sentences that don’t make sense or aren’t as clear as they could be. I discuss copy editing in a lot of detail in my Copy editing article, so I don’t want to repeat it here. Read that. You might want to read the other parts of that series, which include my thoughts on copy editors in general.

When the copy editor is finished reviewing your manuscript and making changes, you’ll get a chance to review it. Keep your temper. Your job is to make sure she didn’t change the meaning of anything. (Believe me, it does happen.) If there’s a change you can’t live with, make a note in the manuscript to indicate why it’s objectionable. Your project editor will make the final call.

Production Editor

The production editor is the person responsible for turning the files you submitted into files that can be sent to a printer. Sometimes, the production editor does the layout herself. Sometimes she’s in charge of a production pool, of sorts, where your book is laid out by a team of layout people using a template.

Hope for the first kind of production editor. This person will ensure consistency in the appearance of pages. (I’ve had instances where I could tell which chapters of a book were laid out by each of its three production people, just by the way small images were placed on pages. Not good.)

The production editor should not — I repeat, not — make any editorial changes. By the time the manuscript gets to the production editor, the content is engraved in stone (so to speak). A production editor that changes content — for whatever reason — is not doing her job. (I once had one who changed the content to make it easier for him to lay out. You’d better believe I wigged out when I saw the proofs.)

When the production editor finishes her work, she’ll print out proofs for review. These are sometimes referred to as “galleys” or “galley proofs.” For my books, they’re usually printed by chapter and I get a bunch of chapters at a time. For other kinds of books that aren’t so time sensitive, they’re probably printed out as entire books so they can be reviewed as a whole.

The proofs will go out to a bunch of people, including you, the project editor, a proofreader, and an indexer.

Proofreader

A proofreader isn’t exactly an editor, but she does have an editing responsibility. She goes through the proofs and reads every single word and looks at every single image and caption. Her job is to identify typos and other errors that slipped by the editing process.

A good proofreader will find problems. There are always problems in the proofs. I usually find them when I revise the book for the next edition. (Do you think I actually read my books once they’re printed and bound as books?)

My role as a proofreader is usually to make sure that the figures and illustrations are in the right place and are called out properly in the text. (I hate seeing “as shown next:” at the end of a paragraph when a small screenshot is placed beside the paragraph instead of after it.) I’ve also occasionally caught incorrect screenshot placement.

The problems found are marked up and sent back to the production editor, who fixes them. She then turns the book into files and either uploads them to the printer’s FTP site or sends them to the printer on a CD-R disc.

Indexer

The indexer is also not really an editor. But she is, in a way, because she also reads the proofs and occasionally finds problems. In fact, I fired a proofreader I’d hired for a book when the indexer found more problems than the proofreader did!

The indexer usually uses indexing software to create the book’s index. She submits it to the project editor, who has it edited by the copy editor. It then goes to the production editor to be laid out with the rest of the book.

You probably won’t see the index until the book is printed and bound. That’s ironic, since many book contracts require the author to pay the cost of indexing the book.

How Long?

How long this takes varies from publisher to publisher. It also varies depending on the kind of book. Computer how-to books are extremely time-sensitive, so the process seldom takes more than a month from the time you submit the last chapter’s original manuscript to the time the production editor sends it to the printer. For other topics and books and publishers, the process can take months or even years — which is something I simply can’t imagine.

That’s It in a Nutshell

That’s the editorial process for publishing a book — at least as I’ve experienced it. Has it been different for you? If so, share your experiences in the Comments for this post.

And if all this is new to you, don’t be afraid to use the Comments to ask questions.

Working on a Schedule

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Making a plan and sticking to it.

I just made the 3-hour drive from Wickenburg to Howard Mesa. Once again, I was driving Mike’s big Chevy diesel truck and pulling the horse trailer with both horses inside. Alex the bird was riding up front with me (in his lucite box, of course) and Jack the dog had the whole back seat area to himself, with the seat pushed up out of his way.

My last trip up here was interrupted by some personal business down in the Phoenix area. Mike and I had to load all the critters up and bring them home. There was nothing pressing this past week at the office — I’m between computer books and don’t need to start my next one (a revision of an Excel for Windows book) for about a month. But in all honesty, I dreaded making that long trip again. Finally, today I could put it off no longer. Mike went to work and I loaded everything up again. (And believe me, it isn’t easy hooking up a horse trailer by yourself, with no one to help you get the ball right under the hitch. The trailer weighs about 3500 empty, so nudging it with your foot is not an option.) We left Wickenburg at 7:45 AM.

I made two stops along the way.

The first was at the Cornerstone Bakery in Yarnell. This is a great little family-owned bakery that’s generally open on weekdays until the fresh-baked goodies run out.There’s seating inside and out and it’s a really pleasant place, with good food. Today, I picked up four things: a slice of pumpkin roll to eat in the car, a huge cinnamon bun, an “energy bar,” and a piece of peach bread pudding for dessert tonight.

The second stop was at the Safeway Supermarket gas station in Chino Valley. There I paid only (read that word with sarcasm) $3.01 per gallon for diesel. That’s still at least 8 cents per gallon cheaper than Wickenburg.) The pump shuts off at $75 automatically and that’s a good thing. Next week, if I take the truck into Flagstaff, I’ll fill up at the Maverick station on the west side of town, near Home Depot. Last week I bought diesel there for less than $3.00 per gallon.

On the way, I listened to podcasts. I went through all the NPR Business Story of the Day stories on my iPod — about a week’s worth. One of the stories was about Best Buy, which is trying a new working schedule system. Rather than forcing their office workers to sit at a desk from nine to five every day, they established the amount of work each employee must finish in a week and let their employees work any time they want — even at home.

It’s about time someone figured it out.

I played the corporate game for eight years — first with the New York City Comptroller’s Office Bureau of Financial Audit (5 years) and then with Automatic Data Processing (3 years) as an Auditor and Financial Analyst. People would show up for work on time then sit in their cubes or offices most of the day, with breaks for coffee, lunch, and bull and gossip sessions. It was difficult to get much done if you were a popular person around the office. People would be constantly coming to your door to chat about the weekend or what whosherface in the whatsit department was saying behind her boss’s back or the latest company-wide rumor or “How about those Mets!” Then there were always the people who were at their desks at 5:30 or 6:00 PM so that the boss would see them “working hard” long after “quitting time.” I wasn’t one of those people. I worked 8 to 4 when I worked for the City of New York and when I wasn’t on an audit in the field, I worked 8 to 4 at ADP. The only reason I knew about those people is when I occasionally had to stay late for a meeting. (I had one boss at ADP who liked to call meetings that started at 4:30 PM. Sometimes on Fridays.)

When I left Corporate America for a freelance career, I didn’t have to work on a schedule. I could work whenever I wanted to. The trick, of course, was to get the work done. When you’re a freelancer, if you don’t work, you don’t make money.

I’m fortunate in that I can get most things done very quickly. I routinely start article assignments on the day they’re due and turn them in before 2 PM. If I could write and sell one article a day, I’d make a very nice living — that’s because I’d write a week’s worth in 3 days and spend the other 4 days doing something else.

(I used to write articles for Informit when I worked for Papillon at the Grand Canyon. Every day I was a spare pilot, I’d sit in the “training room” with my laptop and knock off a couple of articles between control holds and lunchtime flights. I made more money on the days I was a spare pilot than on the days I actually flew all day. Go figure.)

People who can’t get things done at a reasonable pace or can’t get started because they have some kind of discipline problem should not be freelancers. In fact, they’d starve if they didn’t have a regular job.

Of course a freelance career has other challenges — like getting the work to do. Some people can’t do that either. It’s not always as easy at it might seem to be your own boss.

This Best Buy thing is good — if managers can set reasonable goals and employees can get the work done on time. Imagine the benefit to a single parent with a child in half-day kindergarten. Mom (or Dad) can work her (or his) butt off while the kid’s in school, then spend the rest of the day doing things with the kid. And what about those folks who do their best work late in the day or at night? Or people who live 60 miles from the office (as I did for a short while) and are driving a gas-guzzling SUV? (Don’t look at me; my car got 30 MPG, even back in 1992.)

Imagine the savings to businesses that adopt programs like this. If employees can work at home, they can reduce the amount of office space needed. The cost savings are incredible. Employees would save on commuting costs if they came to the office less often. (My sister spends over $250/month to commute from Hackensack, NJ, to her office on lower Broadway in Manhattan.) They’d also save money by buying less work clothes. Employers could even hire new people at a slightly lower wage because the employee’s cost of living would decrease — and his or her lifestyle would improve.

In the Best Buy piece, the reporter said that people had actually turned down promotions because the new job wasn’t on the new work program. That’s saying something.

It’s a tough pill for some managers to swallow. Managers are accustomed to seeing their employees at work — or at least being in touch with them directly throughout the workday. Some managers assume that employees aren’t capable of getting the job done without being watched over. For some employees, they might be right. Employees who need a babysitter to watch them work at the office shouldn’t be on a program like this. Only good workers who can discipline themselves to work when they have to and get the job done should be rewarded with this ultimate grant of flexibility.

I’m all for flexible work programs and telecommuting. Anything to give families more time together, give people more time for healthful recreational activities, and reduce our use of fossil fuels and highway traffic. (You would not believe how bad traffic in the Phoenix area can get; and I thought New York was bad!)

I hope Best Buy succeeds in their efforts and makes itself a model for other businesses.

In the meantime, the story gave me some food for thought. While it’s true that I don’t have access to the Internet at Howard Mesa, I do have my laptop. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t produce something while I’m up here getting away from the heat. So I set a goal for myself to write a how-to piece or other blog entry for this site at least once a day. And at least two articles for publication per week. When I meet my quota, I can goof off.

I pulled though the gates to my place a little after noon today. I unloaded the horses and let them loose to graze on the 40 acres of high desert grass. I set up the hose to fill their water trough. I unloaded the car, put Alex in his cage, and gave Jack some water. Then I made lunch. As I sit at the table writing this, a thunderstorm is moving in. It’s only 75° outside, I’m the only one around for miles, and I’m at peace with the world.

Tomorrow I’ll get to work.

As for this and other blog entries…don’t’ expect to see them appear on the site the day they’re written. I have a 20-mile drive to the nearest wi-fi hotspot. I’ll come down off the mesa every few days to send in my daily dispatches.

So I guess I’ll be commuting once in a while after all.

[composed at the top of a mesa in the middle of nowhere with ecto]