Personal

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A Singular Day

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A Singular Day

Starshine launched just over a week ago. Over the course of that first week, sales were somewhat better than I expected as a new and, let’s face it, unknown author who had just given her book away for free to everyone who did know of her. Sales varied from as many as 10 copies to as few as zero in a day. It popped up on the Amazon “Sci-Fi—Space Exploration” Bestseller list periodically, only to fall off again when sales lulled. Still, by the end of the first week I had sold 68 copies across all formats and platforms. “Not bad at all,” I said to myself.

Then yesterday happened.

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Asking Less (and More) of Others

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Asking Less (and More) of Others

We all know people—likely professional colleagues, as they rarely last as friends—who view a person's worth solely in terms of what the person can do for them. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. Can you drive me to the car repair shop over lunch?” “Oh, you finally have a weekend free to yourself after eight weeks of work and house guests? Great! Can you help me move into my new apartment?”

Of course, true friends are glad to help one another out, and over time it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. You want to help your friend, because you genuinely want to make their life easier and better. Too many people, however, don’t wait for that goodwill to develop before presuming they’re entitled to impose upon your life.

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Why I'm Here

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Why I'm Here

When I was young, I wanted to be an astrophysicist. My eyes were fixed on the stars overhead and the future that was almost within reach.

Instead I became a corporate lawyer. Succeeded at that rather well, but found it a tad too much on the soul-sucking side of the equation. So I became a software developer. Succeeded at that reasonably well, but the best part about it was I discovered I could create things—things that didn't exist before I first imagined them, then made them.