Yowza! I haven’t written here in three months. Realizations like this feel so cliché. “Ohh, I haven’t written in a while, but I really want to, but I still don’t do it. Boo hoo hooooo.” So shut up and write, you ninny, or stop complaining! No one cares that you say you’re going to do something. They care when you do it.

I’m showing marked improvement in that area this year, and aim to become even better. I’m starting to get things done, hunker down and focus, and see things through. Sure, I still have ideas coming a mile a minute sometimes, but I can’t hope to realize them all. Instead, I’ll focus on the ones that grab me and make them shine.

2012 is the year of me. What are you doing with yours?

Some other random thoughts I’ll elaborate on later:

• Diablo 3 beta was incredibly underwhelming
• My new Creative T40 speakers rock
• I started dual-posting to Instagram (search for Mike Branski) and Flickr, and will continue with regular photos each week to reboot my interest in photography

Today, I got into my first accident.

I’ve been driving for 10 years, and have a spotless record, to boot. The worst I’ve done is get a single parking ticket in Madison when I stopped to pick up a study partner. That all changed today. I got done with work at my client’s office in Waukesha about half an hour after the snowfall really started to stick to the roads. I took things slow, took the freeway home, as I always do, and got off on Moorland Rd. Every stop along the way was just fine: you go a little slower, take your turns carefully, and start braking well before you need to.

When I came up to Cleveland Rd I made my way up the hill and into the right turn lane as I crested the top. Between the snow and coming up the hill, I was probably going 20-25 mph. I started to slow as I made my way to the light, when all of a sudden I wasn’t slowing down anymore and had a truck stopped at the light ahead of me.  I faithfully tried the brakes more when I realized there was no stopping. Although my speed had slowed, I could feel the wheels slipping across the surface of the road. The slush and snow being churned up by the cars had started to freeze, and I found myself right on top of it.

That was the worst feeling in the world, seeing the truck getting ever closer and not being able to do a thing about it. I slid across the slick surface at, I’m guessing, 5 mph, maybe 10, and bumped into the back of the Ford Super Duty pickup truck. The Cube jolted a bit with the impact, but the truck seemed pretty unfazed. He sat there for a moment, then turned onto the street we were both heading on, with me following. He turned right again into the entrance of a bank and business complex, and we got out, made sure we were both okay, and assessed the damage done.

The Cube faired a lot better than I was expecting. After all, I drive a box on wheels and just rear-ended a pickup truck. Fortunately, I think narrowly missed the trailer hitch jutting out from the truck’s end (we’re talking off by maybe three inches). Had it been the Cavalier a whole lot more of the front end would have wedged underneath the truck. The guy’s truck suffered some damage to the trailer brake light hookup next to the hitch, as well as some minor damage to the bumper.

I called the police, and an officer came out and asked each of us if we thought our vehicles sustained more than $1,000 in damage – apparently that’s the threshold for filing a report in Wisconsin. I, frankly, hadn’t a clue, but it certainly didn’t look like that much. The guy said something along the lines of “No, but I think it’s at least that,” to which the officer replied, “Well… you think it’s equal to or more than $1,000, or equal to or less than $1,000?” The guy thought it’d be at least that, then the officer was convinced as well, considering labor, so a report was filed. The officer remarked a few times how it’s alright and these things happen and made a comment about how the weather gets bad and “people forget how the brakes work.” I didn’t forget! He said they even had a squad car end up in the ditch.

We went back to our cars and each filled out a statement (which wasn’t as clear as it could’ve been at the time, perhaps), then the officer came over and said, “Obviously it was your fault,” and laughed (but not in a dickish way). I mean, I did rear-end the guy, ice or not. Then he let me know I’d be receiving a citation in the mail for $88 or $104, he wasn’t sure, but I’d be able to fight it. And fight it I will. I know I hit the truck, but I’m not sure I could have done anything differently given the conditions. I thought I was driving pretty safe, but maybe I could have stopped sooner. Or perhaps not. We’ll never know! I am thankfully it wasn’t worse than the (relatively minor) damage it was. On the way back I passed a van sitting on someone’s lawn with a tow truck nearby, then a few miles down three cars on one side of the road, and two more on the other. So, yeah, it could have been worse.

Once I got home I called up insurance, but the guy had already filed a claim 5 minutes earlier. He also told the insurance company his neck was stiff… Given the speed at impact, and how his truck didn’t seem to budge, I’m not sure about that. I know a lot of people do get stiff necks shortly after a collision, but all things taken into account it would seem unlikely, but maybe! Regardless, I do hope he is fine. An assessor is coming out tomorrow morning to check out the damages to the Cube, and I should be receiving my papers from the police station by next week. All in all I feel like crap: guilt, anger, frustration that it happened, but also thankful it was a minor as it was. Everything will get resolved in time, and I shouldn’t beat myself up over it. Just gotta make sure to take it slow, and realize that, sometimes, accidents do happen.

I also very much need something new. New work, new (and more) fun, less stress, and more focus. I’ve been in what might be my all-time-low; I’ve simply been dragging my feet with most things. I’ve been doing so much of the same thing for enough time now that I really need to break out of my mold and strike out on something new and exciting.

2012 will be the year of me, and I am going to take the chance of a lifetime. It’s time to do something great.

“What? Who’s there? Hello?” *door flies open* “Egads! Writer’s Block! What are you doing here? No, no don’t come any closer! Ah!” #NaNoWriMo

— Mike Branski (@mikebranski) November 24, 2011

Just this past week I finally wrote back to my friend in Stockholm, Sweden, after sitting on the email for over a month. My inbox, which was until then consistently hovering around Inbox Zero, was suddenly flooded with 30+ messages awaiting my attention. My blog suffered, my email took a hit, I questioned my novel and whether I was going to finish it. I was feeling pretty drained. Then Thanksgiving happened.

I don’t know what, specifically, but we left my parents’ a little earlier than we normally might have and went home. When we did, I sat down at the computer and just wrote. And wrote, and wrote. From 6:30 or so until well past midnight I churned out words that raced out of my mind almost faster than I could write them. Before I knew it, hours had passed and not only did I get caught up, I got ahead and broke the 40,000 word barrier, setting myself up for a smoother pace for the remaining days of the competition.

I’m ending the night at *40,691 words*, having written a grand total of 5,413 tonight. #NaNoWriMo

— Mike Branski (@mikebranski) November 25, 2011

One of the biggest themes I noticed throughout my writing was that violence (fight scenes, accidental dismemberment, etc) was a fantastic way to let loose the flood gates and get the words flowing.

I just shot my main character in the chest. Writer’s block: I killed it. #NaNoWriMo

— Mike Branski (@mikebranski) November 25, 2011

Where does that leave me now? My inbox is nearing zero again, I’ve started writing (and, in fact, have a number of things I’d like to write about now), and I can officially say I’ve  written a novel. What else could possibly be left to do? Oh, right, start my edits; I haven’t spellchecked in 30,000 words. Hello, January.

I love Christmas time. Unlike Halloween (which I also love!), Christmas has such a large build-up leading to the actual day, and so much more really partake in the festivities around the world. But what I really love are the decorations. I love walking down the street and seeing all of the cool things people have put up, or taking a drive down Candy Can Lane (which I haven’t done in years) and seeing all of the awesome creations people come up with, truly outdoing themselves year after year.

Given all of that, I was excited to pull out one of my parents’ spare Christmas trees and a bunch of lights that we’re going to put up this week. We had always used the same tree for 25 years, then they got a couple more that they or family got at ridiculously low prices after the holiday seasons over the recent years, so we lucked out being able to get one they aren’t using.

I’m a big fan of the multi-colored lights that blink and dance their way across the tree, but Melanie is more in favor of a “themed” tree, sticking to one or two colors of lights and decking it out to match. So, in the order of fairness (that doesn’t sound right, but I can’t remember the expression right now!), we’re doing a themed tree this year since last year we had multi-colored lights. ‘Tis the season for sharing!

Now I’m off to squeeze in a couple hundred words for NaNoWriMo before my 9:00 call. Be sure to come back for tomorrow’s post, Phone Numbers: The Death of an Era!

So what’d I do all month? Well, mostly I worked. And then I worked some more. Hey! It’s November and I’m still working. In fact, last night I released StageBloc’s brand new, fresh-from-the-oven theming engine! I even build a pharmacy locator tool for a client. But all of that work (no matter how cool it is!) made the month fly by.

Enter November, and I’m still busy with work, but I’ve added something else to my plate, and not for the first time, either: NaNoWriMo. Yes, I am doing National Novel Writing Month again! I attempted it two years ago, but I tackled what may have been a tough subject, and didn’t approach it with the right mindset – a.k.a., anything and everything goes, and what’s with the editing?

Then I tried it again the following January, and I faired much better – I clocked in over 20,000 words – but I still failed to see it through. I “took a break” from it last November, but committed myself to it again this year. Armed with No Plot? No Problem!, and some encouragement from fellow NaNoWriMo’ers, I’ve been making great progress. I started out the first day with a surplus word count, then was a little short the second day. And then I skipped days three, four, and five. I was in the middle of launching previously stated project for my client, and I simply did not squeeze in any writing.

I thought being behind 5,000 words spelled certain doom, but with it being so early in, it wasn’t a problem at all. I just resolved to top 2,000 words every day thereafter, and as of two days ago I was only one day behind! But then I didn’t write yesterday; I simply wasn’t feeling it, and so I focused on other things. Now I’m sitting down to write tonight and wouldn’t have minded at least a 500 word effort last night.

No worries, though! If I keep on-pace with 2,000+ words per day, I’ll sail past the 50,000 goal no sweat. Well, there may be sweat, but hey, some motivational statement about perspiration, right?

To be inspired is a beautiful thing. To never act on that inspiration (and see it through from time-to-time) is a waste of creative bliss.

The Idea

My first idea was to create a Kindle case. This must have come up over a year ago now, around the time I read The 4-Hour Workweek
(which I can’t recommend enough, by the way; I’m going to do a second read-through soon). I talked it over with some friends, refined the idea, and made some sketches on paper. I sat down a few times to create a concept in various programs – Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, Blender, Google SketchUp – but was always thwarted by my lack of a proficient knowledge of those applications. I thought about teaming up with someone who’s proficient with those skills, but I never went anywhere with it.

Okay, so moving beyond a proper schematic (gosh, I love that word) for now, how about looking at some manufacturers to see what that’d entail. Ho-boy! talk about a confusing jungle of things I’m completely clueless about. Some simple Google searches for manufacturers for terms like “cases” or “Kindle/iPad cases” later, and I’m no closer to having a clue what I’m doing. So, naturally, I continue with my current trend and stop working on it.

Now I have a few failed attempts to get this project off the ground. Great! Fast-forward to about six months ago when I had sushi with my friend and colleague Timmothy Merath. He tells me this is the year he’ll accomplish things. He’s going to make 2011 his year, and he encourages me to make my Kindle case a reality. He said he’d give me a month to get my idea together and put it up on Kickstarter. The idea both excited and petrified me. I guess the petrification won over, because I never got my act together.

The Reboot

Products that are conceptually simple but incredibly practical – to the point where you ask yourself, “Why hasn’t this been done before?” – make for an ideal muse. The biggest obstacle to making it happen is most-often, You. There are virtually countless cases out there, ranging in size from smartphones to tablets and more, and with varying degrees of functionality: wallets, extra keyboards, simple protection, stands, lights, and whathaveyou (another fun word).

So where can I go from here? Well, I can’t really do any less than I am now with regards to the project. With Amazon having just announced three new Kindles – one of them a tablet! – perhaps this would be the best time to rally behind my idea and push it forward. For real this time. The idea’s been floating around just shy of my full-attention for a while now.

So what’s stopping me?

The Unkown

The idea of making a physical product is quite intimidating. But does it have to be? With so many awful products being made, it can’t be that hard! Surely the process is doable, else we wouldn’t see products like these. Clearly there are plenty of successful companies making great products people want. Square36 did it with their yoga mat. Vincent Ko did it with his ingenious and very practical iFlip Wallet. Amir Khella made Keynotopia, not excuses.

These are all things I could do, but first I need to get over that mental block. I need to stop focusing on the hows and the what-ifs (although they should definitely be given consideration, just not so much that you never get around to making things happen) and simply do.

When we last left off I was just beginning the project’s build. I had part of the helmet folded, and that was about it. Well, I’ve come a long way in that time. I finished the pep build of the helmet, applied the resin, fiberglassed the inside, and started on some armor pieces.

Note: You can see these photos and more in my Costumes set on Flickr.

Finished helmet (minus the ears)

Too much hardener turns the resin to jelly too fast

Helmet with inside fiberglassed

Interior view of helmet. The rectangles are the scotch tap.

After getting tired of working with fiberglass resin, I decided to order a gallon kit of Smooth-Cast 320, which arrived last Friday. Smooth-Cast 320 is still a resin, but it has so many benefits over the “traditional” fiberglass resin route, such as… It’s way easier to mix; simply combine one part A with one part B, stir, and voilá! It also doesn’t have an odor anywhere near as offensive. I was working for 15 minutes with it when I realized I forgot my respirator. Indoors. That’s how little this stuff stinks. (I still wear my respirator, though; better to be safe!)

The one thing that’s been problematic is the pot life, which is just three minutes, and do they mean three minutes! My first batch I clearly over-estimated what I’d be able to use in that time…

Wasted resin that cured too quickly to be used in time

After that disaster, I cut the amount down by half. Still way too much. At $100 for a gallon kit, I was pretty annoyed with myself. Now I’m mixing 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of parts A to B, and it’s working great. The only thing is you go through brushes like there’s no tomorrow.

One throw-away brush every three minutes...

Realizing there had to be a better way, I remembered a technique called slush casting, which is really just pouring the resin inside the model and slushing it around the interior. This gives it a nice, even coating with a smooth finish and minimal air bubbles. It also doesn’t destroy a brush!

Although the three minute pot life means you have to work fast, this stuff also cures in an incredibly short time. After 10 minutes I can easily handle the piece with no tackiness or odor. Waiting 30 minutes for good measure, I can quickly apply an additional coating without needing to go hours between applications.

Finally, after over a week of putting it off, I trimmed most of the excess fiberglass from the helmet. Unfortunately, I just have the sanding discs that came with the rotary too, and they suck.

Cheap rotary tool sanding discs

Ahh, nice and smooth! Switched to the sanding drum and it went so much easier.

Excess fiberglass sanded away

Just a little more work around the mouth area once I get some new discs to get in the tight spots.

Front view of trimmed helmet

It feels good to be making progress! Tomorrow (actually, today now) I’ll applying my first layer of Bondo for smoothing and shaping the helmet. I’m also going to give fiberglassing with the Smooth-Cast a go. I can see it being frustrating with the three minute pot life, but it’d really reinforce the pieces. While I’m happy I got the Smooth-Cast, I’m definitely going with the 321 next time, which has a longer pot life and a longer curing time, but still shorter than the resin I was using.

Stay tuned for more!

From Wikipedia:

Spotlight is a system-wide desktop search feature of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Spotlight is a selection-based search system, which creates a virtual index of all items and files on the system. It is designed to allow the user to quickly locate a wide variety of items on the computer, including documents, pictures, music, applications, and System Preferences.

Basically, Spotlight is a system-wide search engine that can find virtually anything on your Mac. It can search for applications, pull up documents, search your email, and even give you definitions for words. It’s like a travel agent. For your Mac. On crack.

How to get started

You can click the little magnifying glass in the upper right corner of your main display, or, my preferred way, simply hit Command + Space Bar from within any application. The icon will turn blue and a search box will appear. If you’ve previously searched for something recently, that result will still be displayed; otherwise, you’ll be presented with an empty search box. Simply start typing your query and Spotlight will search as you go. It defaults to highlighting the Top Hit; in other words, what it thinks you’re most likely to want relative to your search.

From there you can simply click what you’d like to view, or select an item with your keyboard using the up and down arrow keys, then hit Return to open it. You can also opt to view all of the results in Finder, where you can further refine your search and sort by different criteria.

Voilà, fast, useful, system-wide search right at your fingertips.

What’s nice is that Facebook encourages you to post an update. Why is this nice? It keeps content fresh and encourages interaction with not only your new fans, but those who have been there from the beginning, too! In fact, I wouldn’t have written this quick post talking about it, which I will in-turn post to Facebook, had I not received the email. It’s little details like this that make a big difference in the overall user experience.

If you liked this post, I suggest heading over to Little Big Details, where an awesome collection of great little usability enhancements that come with big results.