A New Venture
Saturday, March 07, 2009
The changing economy around us changes more quickly than I choose to like. The impact it has had on clients large and small has made for some tough cutbacks on the amount of monthly work I do. It has also made me think alot about the fact that I've for a long time been a writer for others and not a publisher for myself.
Those times look to be changing soon. Patricia and I are embarking on a couple of new online projects, of which I'll post more details as they flesh out. These online projects will be our own financial futures in our hands, as the work we do directly determines the income we generate. Patricia will continue to have her clients as well, while I'll be cutting back to a bare minimum to generate lots of new content.
It is not an easy decision by which this path was reached. The road of true self-employment, where you write for yourself and do your own Web site is a tricky venture. I think though I've built up enough knowledge of what I'll be writing on to create a product people will enjoy visiting over and over again. That is my hope, at least.
Labels: freelance writing
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6:07 PM
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Pushing Full Blogging Steam Ahead
Monday, February 09, 2009
With the economy as it is I find great solace in the fact I've built a solid network of individual technology blogs and related Web sites I write for. The daily activities of scanning news headlines, turning in ideas, writing them up and seeming them posted brings me great satisfaction. I'm also happy to see cash roll my way at the end of each month.
I have an interesting client list I've built of mostly well known technology sites. I'll update my links when that list is final, but I'm content (almost) with who I'm writing for. I think one of the things about doing this for so many years is that you build up yourself enough to make your offering to contribute appealing to the blog or Web site owner.
And, yes, its 3:45AM as I write this...
Labels: freelance writing
posted by
Nino
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3:39 AM
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The Blank Blog Stare
Thursday, January 15, 2009
You know the funny thing about a blog sometimes? You sit in front of it, cursor blinking in the blog entry screen, waiting for inspiration to strike so you can write something. What do you end up doing instead? Staring blankly, much like I am now. Oh well...
Labels: life
posted by
Nino
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7:09 AM
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More Damm Snow!!
Friday, January 02, 2009
I woke up this morning to more snow in front of our home. It looks to be melting already, but the mere presence of it reminds me too much of how we ended up being snowed in for Christmas 2008. The snow during Arctic Blast '08 was fun for a few days, but got old quick as it kept falling and falling. I'm not one who likes to live in the snow, so the sooner this melts the better.
posted by
Nino
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8:44 AM
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2009
Thursday, January 01, 2009
It is the beginning of a new year for me. I awoke to 2009, Portland style with rain coming down, and did my normal morning routines. This blog post is next, before getting ready to head off to church for Mass.
2009 will be a promising year I believe. Patricia and I will be living are first full year in Portland after moving up from the suburbs in mid-2008. The neighborhood we settled in has been wonderful - especially the mix of shopping and restaurants a short walk from our home. I've even ventured out on mass transit a few times - something which requires a lot of patience for someone very used to car travel and getting to destinations on more of his own schedule.
There looks to be a lot to look forward to this year. We'll have our usual great times with friends and family. We've got plans to landscape our home, perhaps including a garden with fresh vegetables and fruits. Patricia will be heading to Paris for a month to fufill a long dream of hers of living abroad. I'll hopefully lose 40 pounds or so by years end. The list goes on.
I also hope to get back to personal blogging more. It all depends upon how much other online writing I'm doing, but I hope to be more present in my own personal forum in 2009. That would be a good thing indeed.
Labels: life
posted by
Nino
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9:06 AM
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Pink Pig PGE Park Pandemonium
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Tonight was a great night to head to PGE Park for a Portland Timbers soccer game. After rushing to get an assignment done for a writing client, I hit mass transit and made my way over to the park. Turns out there was a little promotion going on by some CPA association related to savings bonds.
This association, in conjunction with the PGE Park folk, gave away lots of little pigs (pictured at right) to fans. The pigs had numbers on the bottom - those with the winning numbers got a savings bond. This was all done by half-time. Things in the second half than turned pig ugly.
A bad reaction by the Puerto Rico Islanders goalie upset the Portland Timbers Army, which is the extremely loyal fan base of our local soccer team. As a result, little pink pigs began flying out of the stands and onto the field, pelting the goal and goalie. He didn't react so well, which only resulted in more flying pigs. Calm was restored and the pigs cleared off, but throughout the remainder of the half a pig or two would come occasionally from somewhere in the stands (not always from the Timbers Army section, mind you) and land on the field.
The end result - don't mix cheap beer night and upset fans with pink, cute, throwable pigs. I'll assume PGE Park won't do that promotion again.
Labels: portland
posted by
Nino
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10:32 PM
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