# Long Time No ...

Hello! Feels like years since I used a blog to update on the various goings-on in Liam-land. Mostly because it has been years. I can't pretend I can guarantee anything like consistency on the updates front, but there's this post, at least, so there you go.

# What's Liam Up To?

There are a few things I've been up to since COVID hit and things like Roller Derby and leaving the house stopped happening.

# New Keyboard

'Oh boy, Liam bought a new keyboard! Stop the presses!'

Normally this wouldn't be a big deal - hardly worth mentioning, but I'm buliding this keyboard from scratch. Maybe, once I've got it working, I'll actually write a post with more detail, but I got to the end and found it doesn't work, so I really don't want to get into it just now.

# Cross Stitch

Early on in the social distancing, I started work on the third of four dragons in a pattern. I made terrific and quick progress. Then I stopped. No idea why. It just didn't feel important or urgent anymore.

I also started a programming project for designing cross stitch patterns. It's something I could publish on this site, but it's currently an ugly mess and I haven't paid attention to it in more than a month. Again, it just stopped feeling important.

# Writing

My latest project (that doesn't involve a soldering iron) has been organizing my writing into a single bitbucket repository. That probably means something to a lot fewer of you than not. Suffice it to say, I have cast my writing far and wide over the years, between dropbox, two google drives, various computers, notebooks, and even a floppy disk here and there. I'm spelunking through places I haven't been in years and recovering writing that... well, let's just say there's a lot. And a lot more beginnings than endings.

I know Cliff used to give me a hard time about not ending anything, but this is straight-up ridiculous. 22 novels I've started, and only managed to finish four and fully abandon one.

My track record with short stories is a lot better. I have more than 60 completed, with only two or three that I haven't finished.

I've been working without a portable laptop since Lily started schooling from home. I'd bought a used 2012 Macbook Pro (I've blogged about it on here) but with her needing a reliable computer for her daily online classes, I essentially gave her that computer.

In order to keep writing, take advantage of the new writing repository, and to mitigate the lack of a laptop, I've bought some things to make my iPad more usable:

• Dongle - this lets me connect an external USB keyboard to my iPad, which is better than either the on-screen keyboard or the Apple Magic Keyboard.
• Working Copy - this software lets you edit files from a git repository on an iPad. I had to pay 28 bucks for a license that lets me push changes to the server, but it's worth it. The software is beyond solid, and meets a need.

# Fighting Father Time

In order to push off the need to buy another laptop, I've put SSDs into my Mac Mini from 2010 and my Dell Inspiron from 2008. Neither of them is exactly what I want in a computer, but both of them have elements that I want in a computer. After all, writing isn't the only thing I do at the computer.

One thing I haven't worked on is getting a comment system on this site. So I'll have to hope you're keeping busy instead of asking what you've been up to.

Stay safe,

Liam