I can't really pinpoint exactly what's behind my sudden productive surge. I really can't explain it, since this is usually the part of the year that I curl in on myself and produce nothing whatever. But this year..I find myself alive and energized. I am creating at a pace I haven't in a long, long time. I am trying to appreciate it as much as I can, knowing full well that it could all dry up in an instant and I find myself back in that dark place. I can't for the life of me point to anything that's really that different than past years.One of the odd aspects of this creative surge is the workflow that's being adopted. As opposed to the work starting analog and going digital, most of the new tracks started in the digital domain, usually in Reason, and are more than half software based.I know...to some of you that sentence reads like 'welcome to 2007'. To me, this is a revolution.You see, I've had software for a long time. I've had Reason since version 1.0 - that's way back when some of my readers will still zipping around the neighborhood on their bikes, trying to see how many mailboxes they could blow up before curfew (I wasn't the only one!). In that time, though, I've seen it go from what felt like a toy to what is decidedly a powerful, powerful tool. In version 10, that's all just sort of come together, and I feel *excited* to write music with it.But it's not just the tool...I think it's the time. My son has hit that sweet spot between 7 and 14 where he is just somewhat self sufficient not to need constant care but also not yet a teen asshole. We have fun together. In all honesty, that's struck me with a certain urgency to spend more quality time with him. He won't *be* this age for long (and neither will I, for that matter).Work, also, feels good for a change. Part of that is my flurry of productivity. Its not just music Ive been writing. Everything Im doing just feels *better*.I don't know why the clouds have lifted at exactly the time the Earth grows cold and dark. I'm not going to question it to far.