Our Friends

One of the main reasons we chose to move to Indianapolis is because my friend and business partner, Gabe, and his wife Brett lived out here. We’ve enjoyed being able to see them far more often than we could before, and it’ll be a bummer to lose that. We’ve also made a couple other good friends since moving out here, Charlotte’s former boss Amy and her husband Jeevan, and we’ll definitely miss seeing those guys as well! It seems to be my destiny to have good friends that I never get to see as often as I’d like, scattered across the entire United States (and, more and more, across the globe). Someday I’m just going to have to make enough money to afford my own private jet.

Hubbard & Craven’s Coffee

I go for a morning coffee and pastry at Hubbard & Craven’s in Broad Ripple basically every single day that I’m in town, and have been doing so for close to two years. I also have spent a lot of time there hanging out and writing. I’ve gotten to know several of the baristas by name, and even brought them some beer I brewed with their Bali Blue Moon coffee! I don’t know them quiiite well enough to call them friends, but I’ve enjoyed chatting with them all. When you work from home all the time, it can get pretty lonely, and having a place to go and be social for a bit is really nice. Also, I like supporting local coffee shops, and enjoyed the overall atmosphere of the Broad Ripple location. I’ll miss it!

Scholar’s Inn Bakery Pastries

On the subject of my morning pastry, nine times out of ten that pastry comes from Scholar’s Inn, a bakery based in Bloomington, IN that makes the most ridiculously delicious scones I have ever had. Hubbard & Cravens purchases many of their fine goods from Scholar’s Inn and bakes them on the premises, and sometimes if you get there early enough, the scones are still warm in the middle. My all-time favorite is their cranberry scone, which seems to always be moist and fluffy (not typically what you associate with scones!), but the Chocolate Chip and Almond-Apricot varieties are delicious as well. It will be with a heavy heart that I begin searching for a replacement pastry shop in Providence.

The Ball & Biscuit Cocktail Bar

Anyone who reads this blog even occasionally knows that I’m a big fan of artisan cocktails. There are several places in Indy serving high-quality hand-crafted cocktails, but none of them is more dedicated to the concept than The Ball & Biscuit. Charlotte and I have been down there many times to enjoy a Sazerac, or an Aviation, or one of their own creations (or two, or three!). The bar has a great look, with lots of exposed brick and filament light bulbs, and the small plates and cheese selection they have there rock. It’s one of Indy’s best places to go for sophisticated libations, and I’ll miss it when I’m gone!

Great Fermentations Brew Shop

I haven’t been to Great Fermentations in a few months, as I’ve been focusing on drinking all of the beer I brewed, rather than brewing more (that way I don’t have to move it!), but it’s an awesome shop filled with courteous and knowledgeable people who really love them some beer. I’ve learned a ton about the process in the past year, and have gotten almost all of my equipment and ingredients from Great Fermentations. I’m hoping I can find a place in Providence that will have the same selection and quality!

The Availability of New Belgium and Three Floyds Beer

Oh, sweet sweet Robert the Bruce … not the guy from Braveheart, though I suppose he was nice enough; I’m talking about the Scottish Wee Heavy from 3 Floyds Brewery, a Chicago-based brewery that doesn’t yet distribute to the east coast. Robert the Bruce is one of my top five beers, and I’m going to sorely miss it. New Belgium, based in Colorado, also makes several brews that I enjoy often, including their 1554 Black Ale, Fat Tire amber, and Ranger IPA. They don’t distribute to the east coast yet either. Oh, the weeping!

Inexpensive Housing with a Basement

One of Indy’s primary appeals was that it was cheap, and it proved to be so, considering we got more space than our Brooklyn apartment for less than half the cost! The thing I hadn’t factored on being such a huge deal, though, was the basement. We don’t even use it that much (it’s about 3/4 empty) and it’s still awesome just because of the storage possibilities and the fact that it gets the cat boxes out of our day-to-day activities. I’m not looking forward to going back to having cat litter on our bathroom floor.

Summer Fireflies

Firefly, On -- by James Jordan

During summer evenings, Indy has the largest fireflies I’ve ever seen, and there’s no lack of them! It’s pretty awesome to come walking back home from an evening out at one of Broad Ripple’s restaurants or bars, and have our way lit by zillions of tiny blinking lights floating through the air. I don’t expect Providence’s more urban streets (at least, where we’ll be living) to provide the same, and that’s a shame, because it’s a little, semi-magical experience that I really enjoy.

Photo By Jef Nickerson

Well folks, my wife and I have once again decided to pack our belongings up and haul our asses around these United States. For the official record, I have lived in the following places since I entered the world of working for a living at the ripe old age of nineteen:

• Syracuse (1 house)
• Southern California (4 apartments)
• Syracuse (1 house)
• Philadelphia (1 apartment)
• Manhattan (2 apartments)
• Brooklyn (1 apartment)
• Indianapolis (1 house)

That’s eleven moves since I left college, and twelve if you include this new one coming up. That’s .86 moves per year for the last fourteen years.  Yeesh!

We knew Indy was going to be temporary, because we knew Charlotte was going back to school, and there was only a very slim chance that she would choose Indiana University in Bloomington (technically commutable from southern Indianapolis). She received a very generous offer from Brown University, however, and has decided to take it. That means that in late June, we’ll be moving to the lovely city of Providence, Rhode Island where, in addition to pursuing higher education and designing web pages, Charlotte and I will begin the slow but steady process of gorging on fresh New England seafood.

I’m excited because I grew up in Massachusetts and this will be the first time in my life where I can walk into a bar where a Red Sox or Celtics or Patriots game is playing, and know that the majority of the people in there are rooting for the same team. Also maybe I can work on redeveloping the rockin’ accent I had as a youth.

It’s been an interesting couple of years here in Indy, and there’s stuff I will definitely miss when we move (I’ll be doing a whole blog post about that closer to the event). I’ve been able to dedicate a huge amount of time to my writing and my business ventures, which is awesome. I’ve been able to spend lots of time hanging out with some good friends, which is also awesome. And I’ve had the space necessary to learn to brew beer — something that I don’t think would’ve happened if we’d stayed in Brooklyn, with no basement and a relatively tiny kitchen.

I don’t know if Providence will keep us busier, or if I’ll actually have even MORE spare time for projects because Charlotte’s working so much. I guess only time will tell! Either way, we’re going to find out, so I guess it’s time to haul the boxes up out of the basement and start packing again.

We took some pictures. Here they are.

As is typical, I ended up with the pink drink ...

Charlotte wore a lovely deep-blue dress and lots of stuff that sparkled

Note that we managed to melt part of my hat over a candle.

I'm ... not sure what's going on here.

I love filament light bulbs so much.

Why NOT play all of our party favors at once?

There were a lot of dudes in jeans and sport-coats.

Double your champagne pleasure!

More noise making. Also, I seem to be wearing a tiara.

Nearing the end of the evening. Super cute!

Some drunk girl wanted to take our picture as we were leaving. She seems to be falling over.

When and where I found thee, I remember not,
But held have you any number of my guitars
Over the years.
Your soft fabric looped over my shoulder;
Your classic tweed styling looking, always, elegant;
Your leather supple;
Your stitching sturdy.
Nowhere since have I been able
To find your equal,
Though I have searched, lo, more than ten years
In many states
And also on the Internet.
No one sells you, nor any like you.
All I see are oceans of cheap nylon
Or uncomfortable leather.
I just want another one of you,
Fort Bryan Guitar Strap,
But no one can help.
God damn them.
God damn them all.

Here, then, is my political compass, as assessed by the good folks at, well, The Political Compass. I recommend taking their test before you go on to look at my answers, since they might bias you in one way or the other. Here’s the chart:

Woo ... just call me "Captain Socialism"

As you can see, I lean pretty heavily toward the economic left (lots of regulation) and in favor of social liberties — meaning that I feel all people are deserving of relatively equal treatment and that it’s the state’s duty to ensure they get it. How did I arrive there? Well, read on, because in this, the longest entry in the history of this blog, I’m going to dissect each question, giving my answer and a brief explanation for why I chose it. I do this to encourage discussion, so feel free to leave your comments (you don’t even need to register anymore!) … as long as they’re kept courteous, I won’t delete them, even if you disagree with me completely and think I’m an idiot.

You have been warned! Here we go …

My Political Views

If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations.

Strongly agree. The overall good of humanity is far more important than corporate accomplishment.

I’d always support my country, whether it was right or wrong.

Strongly Disagree. The most patriotic thing a person can do is question their government. If the country is doing something wrong, it is the citizenry’s duty to question it.

No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it’s foolish to be proud of it.

Agree. Not strongly, because some level of nationalism/culturalism seems to be a biological part of us, but I think overall it’s pretty ridiculous to be “proud” of where you were born. It’s like being proud that your hair is brown, or that you have freckles.

Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.

Strongly Disagree. All scientific evidence points to the fact that people of all races, when placed in similar cultural and educational situations, will pretty much perform the same. There is substantially more variation within a given “race” than between racial averages.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Disagree. Sometimes the enemy of your enemy is just another enemy. We fought with the Soviets in WWII, and then against them for the next forty years. Pretty sure that means they were our enemy, even though they had also been the enemy of our enemy. Also, before they were the enemy of our enemy, they were the friend of our enemy. It’s all very complex.

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified.

Disagree. International Law exists for the specific purpose of determining what type of military action is appropriate amongst “civilized” peoples. Break those laws, and you’re lowering yourself to the same level as all others who do so.

There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment.

Agree. When our supposedly unbiased and journalistic news sources are constantly running scare campaigns and competing to see who can get the highest ratings, it does us all a disservice.

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality.

Agree. Put ten billionaires together in a room and ask if they really give a shit about each others’ nationality. Spoiler Alert: they don’t.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment.

Disagree. Unemployment produces incredible civil unrest. Inflation, while problematic at accelerated rates, is actually not a terribly bad thing at moderate levels, especially during times of economic crisis when people are often overwhelmed by crushing debt, as inflation tends to raise their income while reducing the proportional size of said debt.

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation.

Strongly Agree. It’s been proven time and again that when corporations — especially public corporations who must answer to their shareholders and provide a profit above all else — are left to their own devices, they do terrible things without concern for the environment.

“from each according to his ability, to each according to his need” is a fundamentally good idea.

Agree. Within limits. There should be a certain baseline reasonable standard of living. Those able to live above that standard should be expected to contribute more to maintaining the standard for those who, for one reason or another, cannot. Not will not … but cannot.

It’s a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product.

Agree. It’s pretty ridiculous. Not everything needs to be or should be a consumer commodity. That said, I’m a total hypocrite and will often buy bottled water rather than finding available tap water, out of convenience.

Land shouldn’t be a commodity to be bought and sold.

Disagree. I have no major problem with the concept of land ownership. I think it’s a cornerstone of most solid economies.

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society.

Agree. I think this is both a symptom and a cause of major economic issues. Simply put, it’s illogical and problematic that one can often generate much more wealth by manipulating data — it’s not even “real” money — than by producing a tangible product.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade.

Agree. To a degree. I think it’s easy for an economy to become over-dependent on exploiting other countries for cheap labor and/or products. Some amount of regulation on international trade helps keep things balanced.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders.

Strongly Disagree. This is arguably the single biggest flaw with American capitalism and with the whole concept of public companies. “Shareholders uber alles” is simply not a reasonable or plausible business approach in the modern world. Businesses must be made more accountable for social and environmental transgressions.

The rich are too highly taxed.

Strongly Disagree. Even if you ignore that rich people have MUCH better access to loopholes and other methods for dodging taxes, and put them on equal ground with poorer people, I still strongly disagree. As I make more money, I expect to and WANT to be taxed at a higher percentage rate. Simply put, a person earning $200k and taxed at 40% will still have a much more comfortable lifestyle than someone earning $40k and taxed at 30%. The country is being good to them and allowing them to prosper. It’s their responsibility to be good back to the country.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care.

Disagree. In an optimal system, everyone has the right to completely equal and excellent health care. I admit however that in a realistic system, everyone should have the right to a baseline good level of health care, and wealthy people are going to do a bit better. That’s a necessary evil of allowing some level of freedom in the market.

Governments should penalize businesses that mislead the public.

Strongly Agree. Lying to the public for the benefit of yourself and your shareholders is not an acceptable business practice.

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies.

Agree. Monopolies inevitably encourage the exact type of business practices that tend to hurt a majority of people in order to help a tiny minority.

The freer the market, the freer the people.

Disagree. At extreme levels of market freedom, it becomes extremely likely that a tiny percentage of the population will control a vastly disproportionate amount of the wealth, and consequently be able to control or withhold the freedoms of those less well off.

Abortion, when the woman’s life is not threatened, should always be illegal.

Strongly Disagree. It’s her body and her choice. I’m not pro-death and would prefer that abortion only be used as a means of last resort in the case of rape, incest, danger to the mother, or other similar situations … but I don’t feel that it’s my right to regulate its usage. Anyway, there is no statistical evidence that legalized abortion results in higher rates of abortions. Making it illegal just results in higher rates of both the baby and the mother dying or being permanently injured from complications produced by shoddy, back-alley abortionists.

All authority should be questioned.

Strongly Agree. Power corrupts, and it’s never wise to blindly assume that the state is looking out for you or acting in your best interest. Human nature is to look out for one’s own best interests, and it’s only by establishing strong systems of checks and balances, and via constant scrutiny, that we can avoid a slide into fascism and despotism.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Disagree. People can and should be encouraged to take the high road. There are also often mitigating circumstances in people’s actions.

Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theaters or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis.

Strongly Disagree. Commercial survival is hardly the sole indicator of value to humanity. Arts and Culture improve the overall quality of living and should be encouraged and supported by the government.

Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory.

Strongly Disagree. Education breeds tolerance, understanding, and respect, not to mention its role in improving personal economic success. Everyone should be able to go to school, and everyone should be required to do so. Children especially are not equipped to make decisions about what is best for them.

All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.

Strongly Disagree. Let’s not be ridiculous. Inter-cultural and inter-racial mingling has been conclusively proven to increase tolerance, respect, and appreciation for other people.

Good parents sometimes have to spank their children.

Agree. Note: there’s a big difference between “spanking” and “beating” and I don’t condone the latter. Some level of discipline is, however, necessary when raising children, and there are occasions when a visit to the “timeout chair” isn’t an option or isn’t going to get the job done.

It’s natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents.

Agree. A parent doesn’t need to know, or have the automatic right to know, everything about their children’s lives. Those children are their own people, and have the right to some level of privacy.

Possessing marijuana for personal use should not be a criminal offense.

Strongly Agree. I don’t smoke marijuana, but it’s clearly a less dangerous drug than cigarettes (which I used to smoke) or alcohol (which I love), and both of those are legal … the latter is celebrated! There’s absolutely no logical reason why cannabis should be illegal. It’s a recreational substance with an extremely low potential for dependency issues. When used in moderation, it’s no worse than having a couple of beers while watching a football game, or enjoying a cocktail at a dinner party.

The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs.

Disagree. The prime function of schooling should be to educate people – providing them with as much access to factual information as possible, in addition to developing social skills and a sense of cultural understanding that will be helpful both in and out of the workplace.

People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.

Strongly Disagree. No matter how many times I’ve exclaimed “Jesus, people should have to get a license to breed,” I don’t actually think that the choice to reproduce is something that can or should be regulated.

The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline.

Disagree. It’s important, but not the most important. I’d argue that learning to read and speak is more important, and probably so is learning at least basic mathematics and sciences.

There are no savage and civilized peoples; there are only different cultures.

Disagree. I know this in some ways seems to go against the pseudo-hippie beliefs I’ve expressed elsewhere, but here’s the deal: I believe it is both wrong and unfair to not try to raise people to a baseline standard of living. I don’t think it’s fair that a child born to an aboriginal tribe in the rain forests of Papua, New Guinea is likely to live less than half as long as I am, simply due to the luck of her birthplace and culture. There is a fine line between giving people access to culture and forcing it upon them, but I don’t think “well that’s just who they are and we should leave them alone” is always a reasonable approach.

Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society’s support.

Agree. I do believe in personal responsibility to a degree, and this is an area where it comes in. If you can contribute to society, you should do so, or you shouldn’t expect to reap the benefits of that society.

When you are troubled, it’s better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.

Disagree. Thinking about your troubles allows for planning and directing one’s efforts to improve one’s situation. Ignoring them won’t make them go away.

First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country.

Disagree. It depends on your definition of “fully integrated” but I’ve known many first-gen immigrants who function just fine as a part of American society.

What’s good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us.

Strongly Disagree. Oh, no. In fact what’s good for most successful corporations is almost always, ultimately, bad for all of us. Again, you’re talking about the benefit of the few at the expense of the many.

No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding.

Strongly Disagree. Much like museums and theaters, independent broadcasting institutions contribute to the overall cultural good and are worthy of public support and funding.

Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism.

Strongly Agree. The degree of surveillance and loss of individual liberty currently being heaped upon our society in the name of “safety” (most of which is largely an illusion) is appalling.

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system.

Disagree. Obviously this does happen, but I don’t consider it an advantage. Some delay is acceptable in exchange for the freedom to express one’s beliefs and come to democratic compromise.

Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried.

Strongly Disagree. This has been repeatedly proven false throughout history. Inevitably strong surveillance leads to the fabrication of crimes even when crimes aren’t there, as any number of deceased residents of the Soviet Union would happily testify. Beyond that, individual privacy is one of the great liberties afforded to the people of the United States and other like-minded countries. Allowing it to be stripped away just so that society on the whole can feel a bit more comfortable is a travesty.

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes.

Strongly Disagree. Way, way, way too much evidence exists of wrongful executions, even in cases that appeared ironclad at the time. There is always the possibility that a person has been wrongfully convicted. Even ignoring that, there’s simply no excuse for a civilized society to impose death as a punishment.

In a civilized society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded.

Disagree. The job of modern “commanders” such as the President, Senators, and the like is not in fact to command, but rather to obey the will of those who elected them. There is no need for individuals to impose their will on others when the ability to collect opinions and reach consensus is so readily available. Some hierarchy is still necessary in things like business, but even that is rapidly falling away. The era of the “old man in the big office” that everyone kowtows to is coming to an end.

Abstract art that doesn’t represent anything shouldn’t be considered art at all.

Strongly Disagree. You’re not required to appreciate it (hell, I don’t appreciate much of it), but dismissing it as “not art” is ignorant and foolish.

In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation.

Strongly Disagree. Punishment is the least valuable aspect of criminal justice. It doesn’t accomplish anything. Rehabilitation should be the primary goal. This is why our current prison system is almost completely worthless.

It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals.

Strongly Disagree. It may well be impossible to rehabilitate certain criminals, particularly sex offenders and serial killers (both of whom are likely dealing with brain-chemistry issues in addition to sociological issues). That doesn’t mean it isn’t society’s duty to try.

The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist.

Strongly Disagree. I’m a writer and an artist. The businessperson and manufacturer may make more money than writers and artists while they’re alive, but the latter have a better shot at making a lasting contribution to society.

Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.

Disagree. If you change it from “Mothers” to “Women” then it goes up to strongly disagree, but I guess if you choose to be a mother you should probably be dedicated to it? But still, your husband/partner should share in the duties, if you have one. And if you don’t have one, then you definitely need a career. Hmm. Maybe I should’ve “strongly disagreed” this one anyway.

Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries.

Agree. I don’t know what “plant genetic resources” are, but multinational companies are pretty much exploiting everything possible from developing countries, so this one wasn’t hard.

Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity.

Disagree. But just barely. Maturity is figuring out that abject raging against the machine without discipline is a waste of time. That doesn’t mean by any sense that one should simply decide that the establishment is right and it’s not worth fighting against it.

Astrology accurately explains many things.

Strongly Disagree. Let’s not be ridiculous. Astrology is specifically built to be as vague and multi-applicable as possible. It can apply to anything you want it to, but it doesn’t explain a single thing.

You cannot be moral without being religious.

Strongly Disagree. I’m not religious, but I still have extremely strong moral beliefs in many areas. I don’t believe a 3 week old fetus has a “soul” and needs saving, but I also don’t believe that even the most unrepentant of murderers should be put to death. Religion, especially organized religion, has almost nothing to do with morality. It’s almost entirely a combination of two things: a ponzi scheme, and our species’ instinctive need to calm their fear of the dark (aka: death). The morality crap is just an excuse for people to feel superior over other people.

Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged.

Disagree. Charity is a wonderful thing. My wife and I give quite a bit to charities every year. Child’s Play, Planned Parenthood, PEN, Smile Train, etc … but charity cannot possibly replace the reach and strength of a tax-supported government program available to all citizens. France has shown that a country that relies far more on government programs and far less on charity can actually provide a better baseline standard of living than the US — a country scared to death of taxes and supposedly high on charity — can provide.

Some people are naturally unlucky.

Strongly Disagree. Some people are at less of a position to take advantage of good luck when it comes along, and to be devastated by the inevitable downward swings.

It is important that my child’s school instills religious values.

Strongly Disagree. I don’t have a child. I will never have a child. Doesn’t matter; religion has no place in our schools. The purpose of educational institutions is to teach a) facts and b) the best theories available for things which can’t be proven by fact. Religion fulfills exactly zero of either of these two purposes.

Sex outside marriage is usually immoral.

Strongly Disagree. Sex between two consenting adults is a biological function that has nothing to do with morality.

A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption.

Strongly Agree. The “sanctity” of heterosexual marriage is a joke, with divorce rampant and unhappy marriages prevalent in many cases where divorce hasn’t been pursued. Denying a child, particularly one without an existing family, the chance to grow up in a loving, stable home is patently absurd.

Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population.

Agree … but just barely. Pornography is incredibly exploitative and preys upon a lot of psychological issues among women in particular. On the other hand, I believe in freedom of choice and the freedom to run one’s own life. If a person wants to expose him or herself for money, it’s not my right to tell them not to do it.

What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state.

Strongly Agree. In all honesty, I don’t really even care. I don’t view sex and sexuality as immoral (again, assuming everything’s consenting), so this is a non-issue for me.

No one can feel naturally homosexual.

Strongly Disagree. Homosexuality is pretty clearly a biological thing. Anyone disagreeing with that at this point is starting to look rather foolish. To paraphrase David Cross: why would anyone who is already feeling awkward and uncomfortable amongst their peers (aka: most high school students) voluntarily choose to make their life more difficult. Answer: they wouldn’t. It’s just who they are, and we should be encouraging them to embrace that, not trying to convince them that if they just love Jesus harder, the feelings will go away.

These days openness about sex has gone too far.

Disagree. Sex is biology. It’s just biology. You can’t be too open about biology, because it’s just biology. All that said, I believe that any culture or populace has the right to regulate what they consider “too much” for public display. But the hand-wringing, “too much info!” and “think of the children!” crap is not my thing.

We don’t know for sure that it was the site launch and associated press release that caused them to open up the investigation into our claim again, but the timing makes it seem so. Either way, I certainly don’t regret spending the time on it!

More updates to this site are coming. Right now I’m spending most of my free time working on Blood Hunt. I’ve also been working on brewing my first batch of beer — pictures and stuff of that are coming soon!

Thanks for checking it out.

Dart Publishing

Dart Publishing, Ltd. is the official name of the business I’ve been trying to get started with my friend for a while now. We’ve made huge leaps recently, thanks in part to having some extra time due to the Crispy Gamer implosion. I’m very nearly done with the first draft of the business plan, and will be sending it out to a few folks I know with way more business experience than I have, in order to get their feedback on it. From there, it’ll be revisions, and then probably applying for some local grants. Investor money is good, but free money is even better. Might as well look for that first, right?

Writing

Last month I finished not one, but two novels — my NaNoWriMo projects from 2007 and 2009, “The Broken God Machine” and “Morgan Skylark and the Monster Hunters,” respectively. If anyone out there wants to read the first draft of The Broken God Machine, it’s ready for criticism. Just get in touch. I still need to make some tweaks to Monster Hunters before I open it up for critique from the outside world, but that should be happening soon. I’m also making some progress on the second draft of the sequel to The Blood That Bonds, currently titled “Blood Hunt.” I expect work on that to speed up significantly once I’m no longer spending my coffee shop time filling out competitive analysis forms and burn-rate spreadsheets for Dart. Speaking of TBTB …

The Blood That Bonds

I haven’t had too many responses in my agent search, and so far the responses I’ve had haven’t been positive. I’m not particularly discouraged — people are still reading the eBook and sending very positive feedback — but I’m beginning to wonder if I should revise the first chapter a little to make it a bit more attention-grabbing right from the start. There’s a little too much opening exposition and I think it’s turning agents off. We’ll see.

Photography

Unfortunately, the broken 18-55mm lens that I fixed with superglue for a while has broken again, so we’re stuck only using a distance lens on our camera, which is a pain in the ass, so we’re not taking many pics at the moment. I need to get off my ass and either re-fix the lens using a better piece of plastic (and more superglue), or just cough up the ~$140 it costs to buy a new one. Why does everything have to be so damn expensive these days? Blargh! Rotten kids … GET OFF MY LAWN!

Cocktails

I went on a bit of a beer kick the past few months, trying lots of craft beers and really strengthening my understanding and appreciation of the different types available (turns out I am way more of an ale guy than a lager guy, with a particular fondness for brown ales, porters, and stouts). I’m coming out of that now though and getting back to crafting new cocktails. I’m still experimenting right now, but when I come up with something good, I’ll post it here.

Video Games

I went out and picked up BioShock 2 the other night at my wife’s urging (one of many reasons why I married her!) and have been playing through it. I’ll post a full review here when I’m finished, but I’m pretty far in and while I’m enjoying it, I’m kind of disappointed in how much more they’ve chosen to focus on combat. You’re constantly being swarmed with enemies, and while I’m not dying a lot, it’s just not a whole lot of fun to be in non-stop firefights. After BioShock 2, I’ll be picking up Mass Effect 2, and Assassin’s Creed 2 … apparently it’s all about the sequels right now.

Reading

Sadly, given how many activities I have going on, I haven’t done much reading since Christmas, when I burned through Bill Simmons’s Book of Basketball in a week or so. I’ve got three novels and a short story collection all waiting for my attention, not to mention a non-fiction book on real estate investing that I really should finish

French

Mon francais n’est pas superb … but it’s getting better. I do a half an hour of studying per day almost every weekday, and Charlotte and I are beginning to try to speak to each other more in French. We’ve also found some French cultural events to go to around town, and I’m about to start in on French grammar in addition to speaking/listening. It’s still a halting, frustrating process — I don’t like being bad at things — but all these little steps should hopefully add up to me being able to hold something of a coherent conversation with her friends and family back in the homeland, sometime within the next couple of years. Hopefully!

Travel

Speaking of the homeland, Charlotte and I will be making another France trip in May. Her sister is getting married in the south of France, which gives us the opportunity to fly into Barcelona in Spain, and spent the next week driving to Toulouse (actually, the nearby town of Albi), where we’ll attend the wedding, hang out for another day or two, and then I’ll fly back while she goes to Paris to take her finals for the French Lit program she’s working on. We’ve also got a trip to Florida happening in March, to visit my parents and sister, and a trip to Syracuse happening … sometime. Then as summer rolls into fall, we’ve got a wedding in New York City and a wedding in New Hampshire (I think) to attend. Yeesh!

… So that’s what’s up with me, in case anyone was wondering!

In, I think, 1993 I graduated to a black and white Stratocaster clone by the seemingly defunct company Regal Guitars, which cost me $210. That thing had sticky tuners, couldn’t hold a low E to save its life, and sounded like pig anus unless you ran it through multiple effects pedals. Nonetheless, I rocked out for many years on it, using my DOD 3RTR pedal (which I still have!) to get big-hair 80s metal tones when what I really wanted was some Billy Corgan-esque, fat layers of bass-heavy Les Paul distortion. D’oh.

In, 1997 or 1998 I bought a Fender DG20CE acoustic-electric for about three hundred bucks, which has since moved with me from Syracuse, to SoCal, back to Syracuse, to Philadelphia, to New York, and finally to Indianapolis. It’s got nice tone (though the pickup kind of sucks), and after I brought it to a “guitar doctor” the action’s not bad, but it’s not exactly a fine instrument. Amusing side note: my dad brought my old, $139 guitar to a “doctor” a few years later, and it now plays better than the Fender. Dude lowered the action by like six inches.

Finally, in 2004 I managed to get my hands on an Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus in heritage cherry sunburst, for about $750 from eBay. While not a true Gibson Les Paul, the Elitist line (discontinued in 2009) was way above the standards of the rest of the Epiphone offerings. The guitar is beautiful. It sounds beautiful, plays beautiful, and looks beautiful. I love it and have no regrets whatsoever about not springing the extra couple hundred bucks to get an inferior Les Paul with “Gibson” on the headstock, or the extra grand it would’ve cost to get a Gibson that was actually superior. I also came in second in an online poker tournament and converted the prize money into a POD XT multi-effects unit that complements the Les Paul wonderfully.

I run all of my (electric) guitars through a vintage, late-70s Fender Bassman 10 tube amp that my uncle gave to me back when I was in high-school. It’s got great tone, helps me get the deep bass I like in my guitars, and looks pretty swank to boot!

All that said, I find that moving on up in the guitar world has, rather than satisfying my cravings, only increased my interest in acquiring all kinds of different guitars. So, for the hell of it, here are the ones I’ve got my eye on as “near-future” (hopefully next five years) purchases:

Taylor 414ce Acoustic-Electric

When it comes to high-level acoustic guitars, you’re either a Martin man, or a Taylor man. Martin makes some beautiful, highly playable instruments, and have been doing so since approximately the dawn of time. They make their guitars using traditional methods, and the results are outstanding. Taylor has taken a different approach, using the latest industrial methodologies — laser guidance systems, computer-controlled sonic imaging, etc. I respect both brands and would be happy as hell to have one of either, but I love the thin body, grand-auditorium shape and clean sound of the Taylor *14ce series. The 414ce is a bit more within my expected budget (about $1900), otherwise I’d be all over the 914ce, which is a goddamn work of art.

Fender American Standard Stratocaster

I went through a period where I was all “The Les Paul is the be-all and end-all of electric guitars and there’s no point in owning anything else.” I’ve since softened that stance significantly, though I do still feel that if you sent me to a desert island and told me I could only take one electric guitar on earth, it’d be a Gibson Les Paul Standard from their custom shop (probably the ’59 or ’60 VOS). However, there’s something to be said for the versatility and tone of the Fender Strat, and the American Standard is, at $1150, the model I’ve got my eye on. I like the Sienna Sunburst with Maple Fretboard option, myself.

G&L Tribute L-2000 Bass

Sooner or later, you gotta buy a bass. While I don’t expect to ever be a virtuoso at it, I still want to be able to lay down my own bass tracks when recording music, so this is my choice. Why? Well, it’s expensive enough to not be cheapshit (about $600), and it’s cheap enough that I won’t feel like I’m throwing away money on things I can’t appreciate. Also, it passed the all important “Charlotte flipping at random through the pages of Musician’s Friend and going ‘I want that one!’” test. She digs the blue one, and I am pretty fond of it as well. Second choice would probably be Walnut Satin.

In late 2009 Crispy Gamer acquired GamerDNA.com, 360Voice.com, TweetMyGaming.com, and an associated ad network running ads on multiple privately-owned gaming websites. The board of directors, excited by the massive increase in page views and ad sales opportunities, decided that it was time to cut costs on the Crispy Gamer front, consolidate down to one company, and focus mainly on revenue. They laid off Crispy Gamer’s entire editorial staff, including the managing editor, the copy-editor, the senior writer, and several contract writers. They alerted the other freelancers that there would be no further work coming in. They also told the development team, consisting of myself, my friend Gabe, and our Junior Engineer Stanley, that our services would only be needed for a few more weeks as they transitioned Crispy Gamer to a more basic website.

To that end, Gabe and I were still technically employed by Crispy for a few more weeks, working on some back-end changes to the site. It felt a little creepy, like dressing up a friend for his own funeral, but this is a part of the internet startup world: sometimes things don’t go as expected and the board, who let’s not forget invested $8mm in this company, jumps in and assumes control in order to try and recoup their initial investment.

For my own part, I find the timing unfortunate. Beginning with the redesign in May 2009 and moving forward into the summer and fall of 2009, I thought the site had really turned the corner. It was much easier to use, much easier to navigate, and much easier to read than the previous design had been. We’d developed some really cool technology using current AJAX and DHTML techniques, and were looking forward to building even more. Our user community was taking off, with nearly every article getting several comments, and some of them getting dozens. Our numbers were holding steady despite dramatically decreasing the amount of paid traffic … in short: people were using the site, liking it, and coming back without having to be enticed by marketing or ads.

That’s exactly what you want, when you build a website. Unfortunately, that tipping point came too late. Instead of happening at about six months in, it took about eighteen, because there was a lot of stumbling in the first year. This, also, is not exactly uncommon in the world of startups, and I don’t blame the Crispy founders or employees for it — sometimes it takes time to find your voice and establish who you are. It’s just sad, because I’ve been on the other side of things. I started working for GameSpy in 1999, just as it was making its move from “three guys in an office running a couple volunteer sites” to “investment-backed real company with multiple product types”. It was touch-and-go during that time and a single different — not even necessarily bad — decision could’ve submarined the entire company. Instead, we struggled through, figured things out, and became profitable. It’s a great feeling and an amazing thing to have gone through, and I’m sorry that many of my fellow Crispy staffers don’t get to find out what it’s like.

I worked with a lot of good, smart, talented people at Crispy and I’m happy to have spent the last two-plus years there. We may not have made it over the hump, but we came damn close, and I’m proud of what we accomplished with the site. Now it’s time to move on to the next adventure. Gabe and I have both accepted some work with a San Francisco-based startup, for one thing. For another, I’m 35 pages and counting into a business plan for our own internet startup, which we’re hoping will allow us to raise some grant money and be able to employ ourselves full-time. It’s a very busy, very interesting time, but I’m excited about the possibilities out there and looking forward to continuing to learn and improve as a web designer and development director.

Oh, and now that I’m done with CG, you can expect more frequent updates to this blog, too. Woohoo!