I got a Moleskine

Jeepers. One post in and the mini writer’s block seems to have vanished. Awesome! :) Anyways, the topic at hand…

I got a Moleskine. I’ve heard people raving about these for ages and thought I’d do some research and maybe get one. The fact that they look awesome definitely played a role in this as well. When I saw them on display at the shops earlier today, I knew the time was right.

For those who don’t know, a Moleskine is a type of diary/journal/notebook/creative writing or drawing book that is said to allude to the journals written in by such creatives and history shapers as Hemmingway, Picasso and van Gogh. According to the Moleskine website, the journals were produced by a small bookbinder in Paris for over a century and were supplied to stationary shops, frequented by creatively avant-garde individuals of the time (the full history can be found here and is supplied in the back of your moleskine). Continue reading

5 ways to eliminate writer’s block: The Nerdicle

Lately, I’ve been overcome with a writer’s block, of sorts. It seems to be easing off now, (hence this post is actually coming to fruition :) ). The main cause of this writer’s block was the inability to think of a topic to write about for my latest nerdicle. I thought through all the potential areas of discussion, and nothing jumped out at me. And then, it dawned on me…

Why not write about writer’s block?

And so I did. My latest nerdicle, found here on Nerdmag, discusses 5 ways to eliminate writer’s block, on both a large and a small scale. I’m keen to read your thoughts on it and on the topic in general. :)

How do you define your blog?

So, the SA Blog Awards is going on as I type this. There seem to be varied opinions on the awards and their purpose. This post is not about that.

I got to thinking, through all time leading up to the awards, how does one define your blog in a single category? I mean, on this blog I’ve written about the web, coding, design, music, cooking and more. How do I define what “category” my blog falls under? Or, for that matter, do I define it?

In short, my question to you all is,

“Does one need to define one’s blog into specific categories?”

Bare in mind, I’m referring prodominantly to personal blogs here, not necessarily topic-specific blogs, as that goes without saying really.

A nerd’s definition of ‘beautiful’

Recently, after I got a Macbook, I’ve been thinking a lot about the subtle elements that make working on a Mac different to other operating systems. The icons, the interface and the subtlties in the intuitive nature of the system as a whole. How every application designed specifically for OS X integrates into the system, makes use of native functionality and interacts well with other OS X applications (example: Pixelmator and iPhoto, or Apple Mail and Safari).

A while later, I expanded the above topic of synchronicity to the overall concept of beauty. How beautiful the synchronicity is. I then thought; “this is definitely a nerd’s definition of ‘beautiful’“. Hence, my latest nerdicle on Nerd Mag discusses this further, stating, “beauty is:”.
Read my latest Nerd Mag article.

My first Nerdicle is online

This Monday past, my first “Nerdicle” went online at NerdMag. In this nerdicle, I discuss chi.mp, a new social profile aggregation service, currently in its beta phase.

NerdMag is an awesome online magazine discussing various topics of interest to nerdy types (and possibly to other life forms)… some serious and others not so serious.

Click here to read my first Nerdicle. 

Many thanks to the awesome @Sheebee for NerdMag and for the publication. I look forward to writing further “Nerdicles” (nerd articles) in future. :)

Blogging, blogging, blogging

How do you find the time to blog regularly? When you find the time, what do you write about?

These are two questions I’ve faced regularly since I started this blog. Finding the time to blog can, at times, be the easiest thing in the world. Login, write a post, hit “Publish”. No hassles. Other times, simply finding the time can be a task all on it’s own. Then, once you’ve found the time, what do you write about? I blog part time and, at times, have found that as much as I want to write a cool post, I have very little stamina left to even sit at my computer on an evening, let alone write a blog post.
Continue reading

HOW TO: Set up a rockstar video blog

Video blogging (‘vlogging’, for short) is revolutionising the way internet users access information and interact with one another. Watching a 5 minute video clip or tutorial is, for many, easier than reading an article that could easily span two or three printed pages. The average internet user can now, with a few clicks and an original idea, become an online, world-famous, video rockstar. If this is your one true dream (being a rockstar other than your Guitar Hero skills while the dog watches you with it’s head tilted slightly to the left), here are a few basic steps to rock stardome…and setting up a video blog (no instruments or years of musical training required). Continue reading

Design Dosage – Daily Inspiration

“Inspiration! Get your inspiration here! Step right up! Step right up!”

Designers and developers alike are always searching the web for the latest trends in design and code. There are many websites offering tutorials, tips and commentary on the latest innovations in the web fabric. Design Dosage is a recent addition to that list.

A new-comer on the scene, Design Dosage offers a different category for each day of the week, covering a range of popular design and development search terms. A week at Design Dosage looks like this:

Designers are also able to submit their work to Design Dosage for feature in a particular category. Only the very best work is featured, keeping a high standard of work on the gallery.

This project is, in my opinion, a great display of what South Africans are up to on the web. The base theme used for the gallery is the free ‘Snapshot‘ theme, created by Woothemes, and the project itself was started and is maintained by a South African web designer. Keep up the inspiration guys! :)

For a daily dose of design inspiration, visit http://www.designdosage.com.

What are your thoughts on Design Dosage? Got anything to say to the creator? Share in the comments below.