Where's Wally (or Sam)

Being a father takes more time than expected. Every day I am revising my estimates for time commitments at home and it feels somewhere around the 350% mark of actual available time. If you think that's ridiculous, you should see how much my wife has on her plate!  Baby's are time sink-holes, but they are so worth it!

This commitment to family means that I'm frequently absent from my former social spaces, both on-line and off.  If you've asked yourself, "I wonder what Sam is up to these days," then you can rest assured that I'm still alive and kicking, though busy, busy, busy!  Even so, I still find time to work on a number of creative projects as a form of mental release and reflection.  It actually occurred to me that I do a great deal of creation, so I thought I'd list some of that here to help me feel good about myself, and for those who haven't seen me in a while to see what I'm up to and where I'm at personally or professionally.

All of the following have been produced or contributed to in the last 12 months...

Sam Books and Thoughts - this blog containing all sorts of everything
The Physics Lounge - free high school video physics videos
See the Spirit - devotional type reflections on being a spiritual Christian (what other type is there?)
igage - education focused blogging
Apologetics Shorts - Brief responses to objections people have about Christianity
Learn to be a Real Man - Reflections on manliness
Thinkpad in High School - Reflections leading up to my demo of a Lenovo Thinkpad tablet and a review of my findings

I also have my Bible Study blog which is crying out for some attention.  I have plenty of reflections and work on this but most of it is in note form which is where the material for my other Christian writings often comes from.

I also have a concept for a full novel which I'm developing.  You can read an early draft of one section here

I'm always looking for ways to pay for the future (more children, their education, a house, etc) so if you know of any paid opportunities to write that you think could suit me, I love to hear from you!

Thanks for viewing!

Sam's Journey (+ free e-book)

It's happened!  My first published work is now available for purchase on Amazon.com (or you can get it for free at the link below.  You can buy it to help support my writing if you like!)

A short collection of poetry, prose, and reflection from the early days of my writing.  Some of these I'm almost ashamed to have written but others I'm rather happy with how they represent certain feelings or concepts.  Baring my soul for all to see including the not so cool bits.

The cover is meant to be very simple and straightforward with the imagery an obvious link to the title (which is deliberately absent from the cover because it's not just my journey).

If you are reading this, you are most likely a regular reader so by way of thanks I am offering my book to you for free, for a limited time.  You can download the entire book here (follow the link and save from the Google Docs "File" menu).

This publication is dedicated to my lovely wife.  We've come so far together already, and the journey is just beginning...

Sam

Sam's Journey (Free E-book)

Last year, I sent off a manuscript of some writing that I had done in the past.  I was hoping that Victoria University Press would like my idea for a poetry book and would publish it, or a version of it.  They rejected my submission but were very nice about it.  I consider the writing to be rather immature for the most part, but thought I may as well offer it here for free (link to view/download is at the end of this post).
I also decided that I may as well post my cover letter to show how the proposal was completed.  Maybe it will inspire another writer who has thought it would be to far-out or too difficult to have their work published.

To whom it may concern,
I am writing to you with my proposal for publication of my manuscript of poetry and prose.  I hope to convince you that this is worth publishing, or receive advice from you about where to have this work published if it is not a project in keeping with those of Victoria University Press.  I believe that there is a market for these writings but, more important, there is also a need for people to be able to receive comfort during hard times through the experience of others who have made it through their own struggles.  
My experiences of loneliness and depression, at a time when I was struggling to find companionship, make up the majority of the poems.  There are several sections of the manuscript, beginning with works that show a little about me and how I looked at myself and the world at the time of my life when I wrote this.  Following that is the largest section dealing with my loneliness, feelings of love for a friend, and struggles to find a source of comfort in the lack of love in return.  The remaining sections are more meditative about the world around us, with the final section being a word to readers about coming through the struggles and ending up in a positive place, with love satisfied.
There is a flow to the entire manuscript, with the theme of a journey being the key to interpreting the works.  The beginning is very inward focused, showing the beginnings of maturity that a teenage and older person would be able to relate to.  As the journey progresses, the writings become more outward focused with snapshots of the details of the world around us, and then finally a scene of other people.  The process of looking for love and then arriving at this wonderful place is another journey seen in the manuscript.
Each work within the manuscript can be taken as a one-off for meditation and study, meaning that this would be a very accessible publication for a wider range of people, or for educational purposes, perhaps in high schools.
If published, this would be a work for New Zealanders, by a New Zealander, and of a type that I have not seen in any book stores, despite having a clear subject matter of interest to many.

I would envision this to be a short work, in a pocket sized book.  There would be room for people to write their own ideas or doodle pictures while reading, personalising and intensifying their experience while creating a legacy which could be passed down to children.  It could easily be carried for quiet meditation over a coffee at your local, or suitable as a thoughtful gift for friends.
The entire manuscript is enclosed, along with a brief CV.  I have no recognised writing references, though I have written various types of proposals, speeches, presentations, sermons, bible studies, technical documents suitable for other teachers, formal and informal reports, and more recently a number of blogs (some are listed on my CV).  I enjoy writing, and I enjoy completing projects, being more than able at receiving criticism and feedback to improve and produce a final design that meets the needs of interested parties.  Hopefully you will see that this qualifies me enough to work with you in having this work published.
Many thanks for your time and consideration.  I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely, and once again hopefully,
Samuel Hight

Link for free e-book: Sam's Journey (on the page you can select to save/download)

Absolutely, Radically, Incredible, Life Changing Links (so says Sam)!

During the course of my Internet, life I have come across a number of websites that have made a huge difference to my life and my thinking.  I thought that I would be nice enough to share these with the world.  Following is a brief description and a link to the websites that have made a radical difference in my life.  If I’ve forgotten any, I will likely update this post to keep them all in the one place.

Creativity and Self Improvement Links (Including productivity resources)
http://www.ted.com/ Fantastic videos on all manner of creativity and innovation, often with a technology focus.  Check our Sir Ken Robinson’s talk on how schools can kill creativity.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/ The blog of Tim Ferriss.  Here you will find all manner of interesting ideas to improve (hack) your life.  Tim has spent most of his adult life experimenting with ways to improve efficiency in life in order to maximise personal gain from minimal input of effort.  Some topics include: weight-loss, muscle gain, learning languages in mere hours, and much more

http://www.wikipedia.org/ Source of much useful and interesting information

http://www.google.co.nz/ Self explanatory.  The entire suite of google software is incredibly useful and integrates nicely with other google components.  Productivity and efficiency is easily found via google “stuff”.  Fantastic google “stuff” includes:  Google Translate, Google Mail (gmail), Google Docs, Google Maps, YouTube, and more lately I’ve been using Google Reader to make one super blog.  Also, Blogger, of course (this site) for making my various blogs.

http://www.facebook.com/ Social networking in a very powerful and integrated way.  Also fantastic for building communities of people for marketing or just to share interests.

Physical Development and Health Links (Including parkour and martial arts)
http://stadion.com/ Stadion publishers.  Here’s their blurb: No-Nonsense Authority on Stretching and Flexibility, Mental Toughness, Strength, Speed, Power, Jumping Ability, Endurance, Coordination, Agility, and Technique for All Sports and Martial Arts, Sports Injuries, and Sports Nutrition

http://www.nzparkour.co.nz/ New Zealand’s online parkour community that I’ve been heavily involved in for the last four years.  

Christian Links
http://www.str.org/site/PageServer Stand to Reason, Equipping Christian Ambassadors with Knowledge, Wisdom, and Character.

http://carm.org/ Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.  Matt Slick started up this website, full of answers for Christians who encounter challenges to the Christian faith.  Rational and reasonable answers to non-christian cult groups, atheists, and more.  This was particularly useful to me in my early walk.  

http://www.desiringgod.org/ The ministry of John Piper.  Many, many online resources and links to other reliable Christian sites.
http://www.e-sword.net/ Free bible study software. Fantastic and very powerful. This, or something like it, should be in every Christian's arsenal of bible study tools.

And...
Some sites that I’m experimenting with and can see the potential of:  Stumbleupon, Delicious.

I’m reconsidering using Twitter again as a bit of an experiment also.  I’m quite interested in developing myself as a writer.  The biggest obstacle in doing this is developing an audience in a moral way (non-spamming and non-annoying: subscribe, rate, embed!!!).  The best way to do this is to give something of value to that audience while in return getting their support and readership.  It can’t be done without building a positive community that passes around the “good stuff” by word of mouth (or the electronic equivalents, e.g. stumbleupon).  That is what has prompted the use of many of these websites, i.e. a way of getting the word out to people who might have an interest in what I have to offer.  Like-minded people who enjoy my take on life.

This will be an evolving page, so check back from time to time, recommend it to others who might find this useful, and please suggest any web sites or web tools that you think I might like to check out and/or add.

Thank you, and have a great week!

Sam