Last Update: 6Jan00

There is a place where an environment exists to concentrate and create. My girlfriend says that this is my bubble. She characterizes this similarly to that of the popular media when people who love technology are described.

Most of us are familiar with the cliched portrayal of the nerd who withdraws from human contact to succumb to and immerse himself into the world of machines. The story describes the removal of oneself from the "unpredictable" world of human beings to the stable, predictable world of "dots and ohs". I have other friends who bemoan this dichotomy of existence and pity the lost souls who have been cowed.

Certainly I know intimately the intoxication associated with software development. My own lust for mastery of a particular formal domain drew me into and keeps me fascinated by this endeavor. In recent years, I have broadened my scope to issues in architecture (of software components) and cognitive psychology (of man-machine interfaces), but I am still invigorated by the level of accomplishment during a late-night coding session.

So recently (in the last 2 years) I have begun to "try to" write essays. And my best effort so far was 7 pages written in one setting until 3AM one morning. I produced an outline, some draft paragraphs and a single "second draft". The subject was my brother and the response from readers was sufficient to keep me trying.

But it seems that to do this, I must enter a creative bubble. It could have music playing or it could be deadly silent, based on individual preference. Every book that I have read about writing describes it as the most lonely endeavor.

I ride my bike every clear day down the exact same road in an attempt to reach a trance state somewhere near the midpoint of my 12-mile ride. A couple of times per week, on average I am able to resolve a dilemma, frequently technical but very often social or some inner conflict.

So, if I am to create, I must go to my bubble and pursue something that I feel strongly about. If I am honest in my effort to create, I will be pleased with the result. And in some cases, so will my reader.

8Feb99