Picture My World

(With all due apologies to Darren Rowse, but his post inspired me.)

Yesterday was hot. Really hot. Ice cream hot. Being the guy that I am, I decided to do a little research into the buying of ice cream and quickly spun around looking for possible vendors. However, there was nothing in view from the little residential park my daughter and I were in.

After a few minutes, though, I heard some obnoxiously loud music coming down the street. There it was — a truck painted in bright, gaudy colors slowly rolling this way. I watched, fascinated, as the truck stopped and was mobbed by children and their parents. The parents started digging around for loose change from pockets, wallets, and purses. The ice cream truck driver could hardly keep up. (more…)

The first request was for a piece having something to do with a pencil. Here it is, only lightly edited. Next up is grunion (!).

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I had heard about the new warden from one of the other prisoners. I prepared myself for the mind games in the two minute walk to the warden’s office. Maybe he’d threaten me with solitary. The guard opened the door and shoved me inside and I nearly tripped over the leg shackle.
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Arwen‘s recent post has got me thinking about blogging and writing. Why am I doing this? I’ve never been one to think about abstract things or even take a major role in a debate. Usually, I can see both sides of an argument and, unless it directly affects me, I don’t care to talk about it ad nauseam as some people seem willing and happy to do. This shouldn’t surprise you, since you won’t find much of that on this blog. You definitely aren’t surprised if you know me personally.

So, why *am* I doing this? Partly to document bits of my life before I totally forget them. Partly as a place to write about usability in some vain (in both senses of the word) attempt to sound like an expert. Partly to share these things with people I know and don’t. Partly to force myself to think more about issues.

I feel I’m getting lazy and not thinking about issues as much as reporting on my life. That’s getting a little boring and it’s time to spice things up.

I took a creative writing course over a year ago. It was awesome. I learned I was capable of writing some truly bizarre, fun, and inspiring pieces. I just had to set aside the time, brainstorm a bit, and something really neat would pop out.

So, what readers I have: Do this for me. Comment on this post with a **single** word. I will take that word, write something based upon it and post the result for all to see. I have created a new category “Writing” to mark this event.