Wednesday
19Aug2009
Did You Know?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:33AM in Watch The world is changing. Really fast.
More of my thoughts on this at Antipresto.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:33AM in Watch Monday
17Aug2009
Andy Ng, Breakout Star
Monday, August 17, 2009 at 4:05PM in Watch I don’t usually post stuff like this at my blogs — I use Antipresto most of the time. However, I thought I’d make an exception. All you have to do to help Andy get his break is watch his video… and it’ll end up being a favor to me, too.
Let me know what you think of it, too!
Monday
10Aug2009
Extended Lovely
Monday, August 10, 2009 at 10:07AM in Personal First off, some news… after all, isn’t that what blogs are for?!
I finally have a true personal blog — http://superfloo.us (super-flu-us; superfluous)
[FYI: superfloo.com will also resolve properly… but it’s not my preferred, for a multitude of seemingly semi-obvious reasons.]
I’ve stated some of my thoughts and reasoning behind this little maneuver, and fortunately, I’m happy with what I have… so far. Sometimes things “get old,” not that that’s the case-current, but sometimes, a change is in-order — the proper thing.
A lot has changed over the past few years — perhaps exponentially so — I’ve learned a lot as well… about myself, family, friends. If you’ve experienced a realization about the differences between your “friends” and true friends, I hope you can relate to some of what I’ve gone through (again).
Great change: I’m closer to my family.
I’m now closer to my family than I have been in years… it’s a great thing. My parents are great, caring, honest people, and my sister — she’s awesome. She’s turning into a spectacular person, shining-bright, performing well in Volleyball and Chorus. She’s a great swimmer, too.
There’s a lot more about this more fit for my “actual” personal blog, so I’ll move on.
Blogging, the “guts” of…
When I first started really blogging, I was doing-so at Livejournal. The journal still exists — but I don’t write for it anymore. Things might be different had I received/purchased a Permanent Account at LJ, but that’s the past, and I’m moving on.
I’ve used MovableType — and liked it. I tried TypePad, and didn’t like it. I use WordPress, and like it… however… I’m not sure that I like it enough to keep using it. WordPress has its advantages, and I’m far-beyond impressed by the company hosting Bradtastic Premier currently, Media Temple (using this link will give AIS a small credit — if you’re going to sign-up, it’s an easy way to say “thanks!”).
However, I really like Squarespace. Foremost — it’s easy. As my father might say, “CCC — Chin’s Caveman Concepts — reducing the highly technical [and sophisticated] down to ‘ugg ugg.’” Getting a site together is snappy… see for yourself. Just sign up — no credit card; just a name and password and you’re in. Building.
Beyond the ease and simplicity of their CMS lies power. Squarespace is fully-capable of handling just about anything above-board and family-friendly… from small personal sites to businesses like Ecko.
The major factor; huge benefit.
Squarespace’s customer support is amazing. I’ve said that a lot — and I continue to stand by it — fast, capable and complete. Bottom line: you get what you pay for.
I may keep Bradtastic Premier where it is, I might move it. That’s TBD. I have a lot of other things to get done, and a ton of planning to do to turn “Premier” into my business site. For now, stay tuned. Most likely, you’ll find updates about my progress at Twitter first.
Thanks, and remember — check out Superfluous!
Friday
07Aug2009
Windows Live Writer… really.
Friday, August 7, 2009 at 11:54PM in Review This is a little bit of a test… because I have a little bit of an issue.
The dilemma:
I have a netbook, and much of the time, it’s easier for me to write from it. My shoulder pain prevents me from sitting at my desk whenever I’d like, so the netbook becomes a nice extension — I can work (write) from anywhere. This is a great thing — with one major, glaring issue.
The netbook screen resolution is too low.
Squarespace is great, in many ways. However, it’s interface requires a relatively high-resolution. This generally isn’t an issue; high-res screens have become extremely inexpensive, and 1080i and 1080p are relatively standard — available at major retailers like Walmart and Target… for reasonable prices.
Modern technology brings one more thing, however: major portability. Pocket-sized computers with desktop-like power (or at least, “notebook-like power”)… again, it’s a great thing, except tiny high-res screens aren’t cheap and relatively standard.
I have an Eee PC 1000H series, with a 10” screen. The resolution is natively 1024x600, widescreen, and too-low for functional use of Squarespace’s UI. The obvious solution — use an app to write blog entries.
I tried Scribefire initially. Scribefire is a Firefox extension; handy, because on my Windows machines, Firefox is my browser of choice… for now (I like Safari 4, too). Scribefire might normally be good, but not for me. I use “smart quotes” — slanted instead of straight — normally automatically inserted by smartypants, unless I use a blogging app. Scribefire uses straight quotes and sans-serif override.
So, I’m using Windows Live Writer 2009. So far, so good! Give it a try.
Until next time…
Friday
31Jul2009
Ink
Friday, July 31, 2009 at 4:07PM in Art 
Image created by Brad Chin using “Spawn Illuminati,” an iPhone app.
I hope I can start inkblogging again…
I have a lot of new ideas for the medium; software and hardware — hopefully, I can find a developer for each project.
I hope Squarespace’s touch app releases soon; I’ve been using iBlogger and the WordPress app, and while both “work,” neither does exactly what I want. My condition keeps me from sitting up to utilize my desktop computer as much as I’d like; sometimes, I’m stuck on a handheld device.
Luckily and thankfully, Apple’s App Store makes my “handheld” more like a mini-computer notebook. Evernote definitely helps with that.
Lost; I’ve been thinking about getting a Livescribe Pulse digital smartpen for enhanced notebook and computer work. If you have experience with
ait, please let me know what you think of it. Thanks!
Update on Friday, July 31, 2009 at 3:14PM by
Bradtastic Brad Chin
Bradtastic Brad Chin
Earlier I posted an entry using illumineX’s iBlogger, only to have it completely fail at Squarespace.
Overall, I think it’s probably the cleanest and one of the best blogging apps for the iPhone/iPod touch, but that’s not really saying much… considering it’s software from the makers of ecto.
Whether or not it’s truly better than WordPress for iPhone…
That might be a matter of preference. Obviously, if you’re not using WordPress and have multiple blogs, iBlogger has its advantages. I’m justreallyglad that I got iBlogger at a$0.99 sale price, because had I payed $9.99, I’m not sure I could be so kind.
With Squarespace, iBlogger
- ignores Categories
- uses Technorati tags (instead)
- crops images and doesn’t allow for formatting
Why go on and on… what it truly comes down to is… I want the Squarespace iPhone app!
tagged art, design, inkblogging, pens, personal, squarespace, tabletpc
art, design, inkblogging, pens, personal, squarespace, tabletpc Monday
27Jul2009
Squarespace Support Review
Monday, July 27, 2009 at 12:12PM in Review Thumbs up, five stars…
And so on. Mostly, it’s Bradtastic Approved. Squarespace customer support is super-fast — maybe that’s what I should be able to expect; but in our world of ever-increasing amounts of automation, it doesn’t seem like the norm.
Fortunately, speed doesn’t come at a cost… or a loss
To think, when you pay for Squarespace, you’re not just getting the wonderful CMS. You get people — or their help and support, anyway. Not only is the customer service lightning-fast, it’s efficient… actually helpful.
The tickets I’ve opened — including the ones prior to paying for my account (during the trial) have all been answered promptly and completely. Squarespace has gone above and beyond — always polite, even when confronted by my occasional technical-ignorance.
My thoughts?
We get what we pay for. Think about it. Free services have their benefits — especially for DIY’ers — but for the rest of us… when you consider the cost of domain registration and hosting, this service is a deal. A steal.
Seriously.
Questions? Feel free to ask. I’ll produce a more comprehensive review of the rest of the service when time permits. During my initial free trial, I tested Squarespace against TypePad. The difference between the two? Night and day.
And won’t you be so kind as to use this link to sign up? I doubt you’ll have any regrets… (the trial is completely free!)
Monday
27Jul2009
Life's Worth
Monday, July 27, 2009 at 11:52AM in Tangent Thinking about values, valuables, and people
Productivity is about what exactly? That’s what I found myself thinking about. With only so many hours awake each day, and only so many days to live… what’s really important?
Right now, I’m trying to organize my computers and files, contacts, and email. In Bit Literacy by Mark Hurst, the process for email, initially, is called induction. It’s about becoming bit literate — information intelligent — handling data properly and letting it go.
Organizing all of the files amassed over the years isn’t easy. It’s a messy, time-consuming process. Just getting my website together is a lot of work — I still haven’t been able to dedicate time for graphics, layouts, and color-theming here.
Something else is fitting, too. More on that later.
Sunday
26Jul2009
Modifications and More
Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 4:14PM in Status Extended Made some changes to BRADLOVES
I hope you like what you’ve seen so far. I still have a long way to go; and there’s some other changes and additions planned. I’ve been wanting to share my artwork, graphic design and typography stuff — but I didn’t like resorting to heavyweight and overpowered gallery/photo-management software. Squarespace conveniently offers a smart, simple solution — perfect for me!
A change of name
I recently registered a new domain name, and having just sifted my sizeable collection at Godaddy, I’m tickled by the idea of changing BRADLOVES to something with more whimsy.
This possible change is also dependent upon
- how frequently I’m blogging
- length of blog entries
- how much Magic: The Gathering I play
So for now, join me at Twitter (links to social networking sites on the side) and keep the conversation flowing!
tagged bradloves, bradtastic, ink, mtg, superfloo
bradloves, bradtastic, ink, mtg, superfloo Saturday
25Jul2009
Not So Simply Magical
Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 1:30AM in Games A FEW WEEKS AGO I DOWNLOADED “Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers” from XBOX LIVE ARCADE. 800 Microsoft Points… aka $10 USD. Such a mighty-fine experience that I want to share with others, that I suppose — at some point — I’ll have to write a review for it.
The game is far from perfect. The shuffler sucks, the deckbuilder is limited, playing is overall nerfed. But for ten dollars, the game allows access to hundreds of cards, dozens of rares, and ready-made, semi-customizable, playable decks. Amazingly, the decks are relatively balanced.
However, after playing for a while, I started getting that urge again… that feeling that’d kept me up countless hours, nights of no sleep years ago… to play the game with physical cards, on a real table, across from someone… “live.” Sure, “XBOX LIVE” Arcade is a worthy substitute, offering up more than its own fair-share of benefits (not to mention dozens of other, really great games)… but what about Stephanie?
I guess we could play Two-Headed Giant against the computer or other players across Live… but she’d need to learn the game first. Moreover, I’d need to relearn the game.
It’s amazing how much has changed.
So much in fact, that I think it deserves its own little section. I’m debating whether or not to use an entirely separate domain… remember “firekeg?” It’d be perfect.
The backstory is complex, and my reasoning — sophisticated, for sure. Basically, a lot of my old, once-valuable-turned-worthless cards are now valuable again — reprinted in the M2010 set. The technical reasons why I lost interest in the game — spending money on cards soon-to-be-banned, infinite combo decks, everyone playing one of four deck-types — are all factors no longer around to bug me. The newest sets are all about aggro; big, beefy creatures with slick abilities, attacking… beatdown!
The game is fun again.
Rediscovering the game (with the aid of a few theme decks and starter packs) has been a thrill… and while I’m waiting for Lorwyn, Morningtide, Shadowmoor and Eventide to cycle-out of standard, I’ll be playing with “Duel Decks” — Elves vs Goblins and Divine vs Demonic — with Stephanie.
And of course, XBOX360’s Duels of the Planeswalkers. Oh… and if you happen to have the game as well, send me a message (my Gamertag is Rainfault).
I even found a really cool gaming location in Concord, CA… called “Shadowbrooke Games.”
For information about Shadowbrooke, you can check out their Myspace page.
