I dig math. I also like being creative. This contest of will between the left and right side of my brain led me to becoming a design engineer. My job basically entails coming up with practical solutions to problems. It’s not glamorous but there’s nary a dull moment. I do a fair amount of modeling and analysis and proving stuff out. The chance for being creative is there too, of course, but it gets constrained by things like budget and delivery dates not to mention the laws of physics. So, when I’m away from the office, I let my artistic side run around a bit more freely. I dabble in pencil drawing and computer art. Primarily, though, I write speculative fiction.

Until recently, I was a World of Warcraft gaming addict. For 3 years, I brushed aside the creative urge in favor of my fix. I suddenly realized that there was little if any fulfillment to be found in online gaming. It’s merely a form of entertainment but one that easily pulls you in and gets a sleeper’s hold on you. Worse, the colossal time-sucking nature of it caused me to neglect my relationship with my wife. That’s when it had to stop.

Looking ahead, I’m excited about expressing my creative side again. I feel like I have a lot of lost time to make up for. To help the transition, I’ve rediscovered the joy of reading (particularly in the epic fantasy genre) which offers a source of inspiration for my own handicraft. Actually, a good deal of credit for renewing my interest in reading goes to Amazon’s marvelous Kindle e-reader and audiobooks. I couldn’t be more pleased at how much more steadily I can devour books now just by playing narrated versions of them during my commute.

So, what am I up to lately? To get things rolling down the creative path, I've begun to freshen up and reorganize my web presence. I noticed that none of the other fine chaps out there named Tim Herbst had registered the name, so why not? Right now, my site's a bit light on content but that won't last long. I intend to use it to capture my artistic resurgence. I've got a basic framework up now and I'm happy with it. One specific thing I mean to do is put up some of my works of short fiction, free to download for anyone’s reading pleasure. I hope this will elicit feedback, critiques, or even a thrown shoe (or two). At a minimum, I figure it’s a good way for me to measure progress, keep writing, and improve. As for my original website, Flights of Splendor, I decided to make that my blog. I’ll probably post on other topics, as suits my whim, but book reviews will be its focus.

Aloha!