Last night the first thunderstorm of 2010 whipped through the Chicago area. I loved it! One of my favorite parts of spring and summer is thunderstorms. They are especially cool during the summer, when it’s warm outside and you can see the dark clouds rolling in. Thunderstorms are one of those simple joys that make life a little more bearable.

Weather aside, this has been another busy week. It seems like I’m either really busy or bored to death. There is no comfortable median between the two. But I can’t complain because I really love all the writing projects that keep my so busy. I’m very lucky to be able to do something I love.

I’m going to leave things short and simple today. As always, have a happy and safe weekend.

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So this what the sun and sky look like! I’m sitting at my desk looking out the window and it’s a clear day with a deep blue sky and a bright sun. Spring must be just around the corner. Don’t get me wrong, I love the winter and a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, but after several months of it, I’m ready for a change.

As you can see below, I’m back to publishing Friday Link Love in the new, easier to read format. I hope this makes your weekend reading a little more pleasant. And speaking of weekends, make it a happy and safe one.

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I had another busy week, and it looks like things may remain busy for the foreseeable future. Don’t worry, however, because I just need to find a system to get everything done in a timely manner (writing projects, blog posts, etc.). Once that happens, my blogging will be back to normal. If anyone out there has any suggestions to better time management, I’m all ears.

That’s really all I have right now. 2010 is clipping along at a fast pace – February is almost over and March is almost here. I hope March brings sunnier skies, warmer weather and less snow (for those of us in Chicago).

As always, have a happy and safe weekend.

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I’ve decided to re-design Friday Link Love for easier reading. Instead of just randomly placing links in a long list down the page, the links will be divided by category. Hopefully this will make it easier for you to find something interesting to read. Let me know what you think of this new design. I’m always looking for ways to improve how things are done on Brad’s Reader.

With that said, there’s not much else to report. As always, have a happy and safe weekend.

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This week has been busy. I’ve really stepped up my marketing efforts for my freelance writing business. In order to keep a steady stream of clients coming in, it takes constant marketing. This might seem obvious. But a lot of freelancers fall into the trap of only marketing when they have no clients. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Freelancing aside, I’ve also been busy with various other writing projects. Some are long-term others will come to fruition a lot sooner.

That’s it for today. I’m keeping the intro to this week’s Friday Link Love short and sweet. Enjoy these links and, as always, have a happy and safe weekend.

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The big news this week is Apple’s unveiling of their new iPad tablet. The Apple tablet has long been rumored and speculation about its features, looks and technical specs have been flying around the web for at least a year or two. Now that the iPad has arrived, people are taking a step back to see if it will live up to all that early hype.

I’m not going to be ordering an iPad anytime soon. Between my 1st gen iPhone and Sony Pocket Edition, I’m good to go in the gadget department. Also, I don’t quite have the funds right now. Maybe in a few years when the price has come down.

The other news rocking the literary world this week is the death of a great American writer, J.D. Salinger, known best for his novel Catcher in the Rye. It’s still January and we’ve already seen the death of Salinger and mystery writer Robert B. Parker. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come in 2010.

The good news today is that it’s Friday! As always, have a safe and happy weekend.

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This has been a sad week for 2 reasons: The humanitarian crisis in Haiti continues to get worse as the death toll keeps rising, and the death of famed mystery writer Robert B. Parker.

In other news, I’m finally starting to get my voice back after coming down with a horrible cold. The worst part about this cold, however, has been the insomnia that has accompanied it. Not very fun at all. I guess it’s that time of year. But I can still be thankful that my overall health is still very good (knock on wood).

Without further delay, here is this week’s installment of Friday Link Love. Hopefully this will provide you with some good reading this weekend, especially if you’re having cold and miserable weather in your neck of the woods. As always, have a happy and safe weekend.

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With the massive earthquake in Haiti it has been a sad week. The devastation and loss of life are on an unimaginable scale. Events like this really put my life in perspective. It’s hard to complain about anything right now in my own life knowing that millions of Haitians have lost everything, including loved ones. And to add insult to injury, their basic needs like water, food and shelter are not even being met.

That said, I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. Remember, whatever your problems are right now, they probably can’t compare to the problems the people in Haiti are going through right now. I’m not trying to minimize anyone’s problems, as I’m sure some people are going through really difficult times. Keep your head up and keep plugging away.

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I’m already sick of winter. The Chicago area got pounded with another snowstorm today and I had the pleasure of driving in it a 6am. Not fun. I only like snowstorms if I can stay inside where it’s warm and dry and watch it through the window while reading a good book.

On the ebook front, I was actually kind of frustrated this week. I downloaded 1001 Arabian Nights to load onto my Sony Reader Pocket Edition, but Calibre wouldn’t take it. I kept getting a meta-data error. I even tried downloading the book from different sources. No luck. And I even have the latest edition of Calibre installed.

The important thing, though, is that the weekend is here and most of us can take a much-deserved break. As always, have a safe and happy weekend.

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Welcome to the first 2010 installment of Friday Link Love. I can’t believe it is another new year and another new decade. The last 10 years have really flown by. I’m looking forward to bringing Brad’s Reader into the new decade at full steam. I have a lot of plans for this blog in the coming 12 months, so you’ll have to keep coming back to see what’s new.

This week’s link love is shorter than usual due to such a hectic week. Everything will settle down and you can get your fill of links in the weeks ahead. My posts have been sparse because of the holidays and that will also change. Nevertheless, these are all great links I know you’ll love.

Have a happy and very safe weekend.

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