<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></title><description><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link><image><url>http://direct.ecency.com/logo512.png</url><title>RSS Feed</title><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link></image><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:59:21 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="http://direct.ecency.com/@irenepsmith/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Writing in the Age of Distractions]]></title><description><![CDATA[(Monday, 2/13/2017) Here I sit on a train, headed to New York City. I'm wearing headphones to drown out the sounds of the train and the people around me. I'm writing on my phone so I shouldn't be distracted,]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/writing-in-the-age-of-distractions</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/writing-in-the-age-of-distractions</guid><category><![CDATA[life]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 19 Feb 2017 18:28:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/BRWJ2XuBRXQxQtwjkpK59RMNMgNesDwnixBEjnsGSY87pawp?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Why I've had Enough of Recruiters]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have been on and off the job market for the past ten or eleven years. After spending five-plus years as a full-time employee of Medidata Solutions, I have been doing one consulting job after the other.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/why-i-ve-had-enough-of-recruiters</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/why-i-ve-had-enough-of-recruiters</guid><category><![CDATA[life]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2017 15:28:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/BRWJ2XuBRXQxQtwjkpK59RMNMgNesCUQ3iG78CU9qNJHq1EN?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Using Markdown with WordPress]]></title><description><![CDATA[My appreciation of Markdown began when I created my account here at Steemit. I have been using it to write articles in Scrivener for publication here at Steemit, but this isn’t my only blog. I have several]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/blogging/@irenepsmith/using-markdown-with-wordpress</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/blogging/@irenepsmith/using-markdown-with-wordpress</guid><category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:52:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/BRWJ2XuBRXQxQtwjkpK59RMNMgNesBfb8mCUt1X7tc5yg7Yr?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Writers Should be Agile Too]]></title><description><![CDATA[What is Agile? If you are not involved in software development, you might not be aware of the concept of agile development. The idea is that you track your project by tasks. Then each day, the team gathers]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/writing/@irenepsmith/writers-should-be-agile-too</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/writing/@irenepsmith/writers-should-be-agile-too</guid><category><![CDATA[writing]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2017 17:16:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/o1AJ9qDyyJNSg3j52kokyfvD831NZY8bi1qGZkYKd3MPYMcfG?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Are our devices over-stepping their bounds?]]></title><description><![CDATA[I know the title sounds like something out of Conspiracy Central, but this is a conversation we need to have sooner rather than later. Not because I think that technology is actively “out to get us” but]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/technology/@irenepsmith/are-our-devices-over-stepping-their-bounds</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/technology/@irenepsmith/are-our-devices-over-stepping-their-bounds</guid><category><![CDATA[technology]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2017 05:40:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/CQdwDV8xyadmY65BjkDcKc2MrfWUbCBVCF7pxqgxMkvBk5ovAhUsfRZqLVXb342?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[What have I been Doing?]]></title><description><![CDATA[At the end of December, I signed up for a long list of courses from Udemy.com because they were offering their usually $200 courses for $10. I signed up for web design courses, writing courses, and then]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/personal/@irenepsmith/what-have-i-been-doing</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/personal/@irenepsmith/what-have-i-been-doing</guid><category><![CDATA[personal]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2017 05:31:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/4W3i2hguUU5qcvjMrDhjpWkr9gQg9N8otLQkxtBFceD914ynNgv?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Feeling a Little Less Lost]]></title><description><![CDATA[I haven't been around in a while. In case you actually noticed and/or are wondering where I've been, I started a new job at the end of November and fell into a deep, dark hole. I've been commuting to the]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/personal/@irenepsmith/feeling-a-little-less-lost</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/personal/@irenepsmith/feeling-a-little-less-lost</guid><category><![CDATA[personal]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 28 Jan 2017 15:19:24 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/4W3i2hguUU5qcvjMrDhjpWkr9gQg9N8otLQkxtBFceD914ynNgv?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hedwig Taught me to Fly]]></title><description><![CDATA[When I was a child, we lived in the same small city where my mother was born and raised. Mom’s father was from Kingston, but her mother was born just outside of Port Jervis, in the town of Greenville.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/hedwig-taught-me-to-fly</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/hedwig-taught-me-to-fly</guid><category><![CDATA[life]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2016 14:53:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/axopCyoueqqF5vvQRnPcDhfUjXCgnAXXsDEPREqg7onzJ5cUkXMoGrAVcZBC?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[C'mon, Get Happy! (Chapter 1)]]></title><description><![CDATA[Friday, November 10, 1972 Where did it begin? All these years later, I can close my eyes and see the scene just as it was. Lily and I were doing our homework in the basement. Finished basements were all]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/nanowrimo/@irenepsmith/c-mon-get-happy-chapter-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/nanowrimo/@irenepsmith/c-mon-get-happy-chapter-1</guid><category><![CDATA[nanowrimo]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 06 Nov 2016 16:49:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HuuaCvCTvq5rC4x3y6kSpMhiyjTw9dmJVw8hmipM5dovHWgenatnxWkQuvVyBR8o2zz?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Funny Thing Happened on the way to NaNoWriMo]]></title><description><![CDATA[Life is strange, isn’t it? Monday I was feeling so down that I basically spent the day sitting on the couch, binge watching Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory. I spent almost as much time dozing as]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-nanowrimo</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/a-funny-thing-happened-on-the-way-to-nanowrimo</guid><category><![CDATA[life]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 03 Nov 2016 17:03:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/8hHVpaGADCWxkiDZ3Sh1jJNQW7qsFK22ZDjuf7m79LfWkHuNLqm1H5EcaXp?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[C’mon, Get Happy!]]></title><description><![CDATA[So, where have I been lately? Trying to get ready for NaNoWriMo (for details of what that means, take a look at this post that I did a week or so ago, Do you NaNo?. After all the plotting, outlining, and]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/nanowrimo/@irenepsmith/c-mon-get-happy</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/nanowrimo/@irenepsmith/c-mon-get-happy</guid><category><![CDATA[nanowrimo]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2016 18:56:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/X37EMMe7x1D5a1wyz3RpxeSd3TiriNKdTymfh7YEA3y3aRnUfdw1R8DLbwXuo623EzpQK8cjcUQLdkioSu8ggSuWCv7HjvoWae5ka?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Would Anybody Care?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Twenty-two years ago I wrote a bunch of games for Windows 3.1; games that you might have found at Electronics Boutique or KMart. The games did pretty well but times change. Compared to today’s games, they]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/programming/@irenepsmith/would-anybody-care</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/programming/@irenepsmith/would-anybody-care</guid><category><![CDATA[programming]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 15 Oct 2016 15:59:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/CQdwDV8xyadmY65BjkDcKc2MrfWUbCBVCF7pxqgxMkvBk5nxKuxcUiAdSn4Jb7C?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Simon Says]]></title><description><![CDATA[Margaret and her brother, Simon, sat on the front porch of the farmhouse where Margaret lived with her husband and children. Croplands stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. Tall corn]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/fiction/@irenepsmith/simon-says</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/fiction/@irenepsmith/simon-says</guid><category><![CDATA[fiction]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2016 17:50:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/2ufhwNX7NinaybGB4EGitV2iZA3twKDwYpERv297mixcJ6eFLPJTFGxxa8NRFawmcTupjE26S?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Do you NaNo?]]></title><description><![CDATA[It is getting closer to November, and you know what that means… You don’t? My friend @merej99 knows! She has already talked about it in her post, Calling on the Community. Help determine my NaNoWriMo novel!]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/writing/@irenepsmith/do-you-nano</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/writing/@irenepsmith/do-you-nano</guid><category><![CDATA[writing]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 14 Oct 2016 15:02:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/X37EMMe7x1D5a1wyz3RpxeSd3TiriNKdTymfh7YEA3y3aRnUfdw1R8DLbwXuo623EzpQK8cjcUQLdkioSu8ggSuWCv7HjvoWae5ka?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Unboxing the iPhone 7 Plus]]></title><description><![CDATA[Counting my new iPhone 7 Plus, I have had four iPhones over the years. I had an iPhone 4, 5, 6, and now the 7 Plus. I know that iPhones are expensive, and that they are not as cool to the average computer]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/iphone/@irenepsmith/unboxing-the-iphone-7-plus</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/iphone/@irenepsmith/unboxing-the-iphone-7-plus</guid><category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2016 15:39:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/CQdwDV8xyadmY65BjkDcKc2MrfWUbCBVCF7pxqgxMkvBk5ovAhUsfRZqLVXb342?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[When it all goes Wrong! (Fixing Microsoft Word's Default Templates)]]></title><description><![CDATA[I love Microsoft Word (most of the time) but the program has a bad habit of changing the styles in my default template without telling me. Then I discovered an easy way to ensure that Normal.dot is kept]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/ms-word/@irenepsmith/when-it-all-goes-wrong-fixing-microsoft-word-s-default-templates</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/ms-word/@irenepsmith/when-it-all-goes-wrong-fixing-microsoft-word-s-default-templates</guid><category><![CDATA[ms-word]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2016 12:00:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/6gUbcJtcgqt693FBH1m92ys4z3QQp7UfasVfLoUcYwupZu2APhzdQm4nmS71ueStBkNu8A?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Using Scrivener to Write Posts for Steemit.com]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have a love/hate relationship with Scrivener. There are some things about it that I love, and some that drive me absolutely insane. After reading about how wonderful it is for writing novels, I finally]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/steemit/@irenepsmith/using-scrivener-to-write-posts-for-steemit-com</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/steemit/@irenepsmith/using-scrivener-to-write-posts-for-steemit-com</guid><category><![CDATA[steemit]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 08 Oct 2016 11:07:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/S5EokqxpWrkVgUuaMgMpTjyzamcL6wb7JVsWEQ8sv1N8xCckX6Arutp91GF5q28XzimYc9t?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Like Riding a Bicycle]]></title><description><![CDATA[Soft, silvery moonlight pooled across the hospital bed in the darkened room, highlighting the sleeping face of Michelle’s father. The crisis was over. The reassuring blip... blip... on the illuminated]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/story/@irenepsmith/like-riding-a-bicycle</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/story/@irenepsmith/like-riding-a-bicycle</guid><category><![CDATA[story]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2016 07:51:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/3q52DkcPcpj4cJvEccdScXei56vLYZQmR5zgiBHEVq7QNYyyd3HKF2t2apAEkakyrBq4NUXtvr74A?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Allow me to (re)Introduce Myself]]></title><description><![CDATA[First of all, why am I doing this now when I've been around Steemit for a couple of months? Here's the scoop: 1 When I first joined, I posted under the tag introduceyourself instead of introducemyself]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/introducemyself/@irenepsmith/allow-me-to-re-introduce-myself</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/introducemyself/@irenepsmith/allow-me-to-re-introduce-myself</guid><category><![CDATA[introducemyself]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2016 15:32:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/6gUbcJtcgqt693FBH1m92ys4z3QQp7UfasVfLoUcYwupZu2D9NYfzgfuHUFrvagye7mgJr?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Twenty Years in the Making]]></title><description><![CDATA[This week my "baby" will turn twenty. He is in his second year of college, and he wants to direct movies. Here he is at the local car show. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. But when]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/twenty-years-in-the-making</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/life/@irenepsmith/twenty-years-in-the-making</guid><category><![CDATA[life]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[irenepsmith]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 03 Oct 2016 16:48:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/4W3i2hguUU5qcvjMrDhjpWkr9gQg9N8otLQsMtwB8XEZ2c6ps3c?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item></channel></rss>