I need a second blog. My life isn’t just politics and blogging. Well, it’s not much more than that, but I do try. I seem to be going through a bit of an arty phase.

Two or three weeks ago the boss at my company decides we need to be able to make iPhone applications. Sure, I tell him – I can do that. “I’m going to need a Mac though.” It’s a hard life.

So a Macbook duly arrived and… well over the last few weeks I’ve almost completely moved from Windows to Apple. I just find I can work faster and having everything just work nicely is… a pleasant surprise. I find that I like Macs, after all. That was unexpected. Still, working from a Laptop is impossibly claustrophobic for me, so I very quickly got a keyboard and a mouse so that I could plug it into a normal monitor and pretend I had a real computer. Then… then it got worse. I got a monitor at home, too (my PC is plugged into a television) and a graphics tablet (a medium Wacom Bamboo which is all manner of incredible). This is like proper computing again. I’m currently sat at a desk instead of my usual big comfy chair. I’ve sacrified a bit of comfort for… well the ability to actually do things on a computer. I realise now I’ve been far too restricted by not really being able to see details or control the computer properly.

I’d been finding doing certain things a lot easier, then. The graphics tablet, especially, is a thing of extreme joy for me. I’m not a trained graphic designer or anything like that. I don’t even consider myself to be a designer, or an artist. I just like mucking around. Over the last two days, I’ve really been mucking around with some hardcore experimentation… (clicky for bigger)

These are concept designs for a couple of other blogs. The steampunk thing will never see the light of day beyond this website here, but there’s hope for “Technically Awesome” I think. Somewhere for this sort of post to go, basically, so I’m not inadvertently polluting the consciousness of people who come here looking for libertarianism or something to do with the Lib Dems. Although, hey, let’s try making it relevant:  I do sometimes wish I could settle down and concentrate on one particular thing – say design, or programming, or music, or writing or politics or whatever. I mean, there’s so much to do and so little time, and I want it all. Maybe that’s why I’m a libertarian – I just don’t want to be boxed in to one particular role, one particular life path? I want to be free to experiment, to change my mind, to discover my own limits.

I think you’re supposed to get over this at some point, but no sign of it happening just yet. Anyway, my time is for sale, if you’re curious.