So Let's Talk About This Spring

Despite being a technology-focused conference, the two most influential talks I attended at CodeMash 2012  had very little to do with technology. Scott Hanselman's "Dealing With Information Overload" and Leon Gersing's "Love" touched upon two areas of my life that could definitely use some restructuring. Scott taught me the importance of being organized and balanced between my personal and professional life, and how self-improvement is one of the most noble goals I could have for myself. Leon touched upon love, life, and the importance of making myself happy, relishing in current  relationships , and the joys of seeking out new relationships.

Okay, so, that was bit of a wordy introduction, but I wrote it to make one point clear: I am starting a bunch of new projects this winter and spring that focus on self-improvement, professional growth, and extending my current and potential new relationships.

Without further ado, here is a partial list of some major projects coming up:

Recipe Library 2
About two years ago I wrote a simple recipe manager for my family and I to use as a means of storing recipes. KISS was the founding principle of the project. This year I will be upgrading the application with new features, including a few social elements and a responsive design for iPad and mobile phone support. Perhaps more importantly, I will be expanding the audience for the application, hoping to get a small user base on the platform.

Photography Support and Services
I am already well-versed in the basics and intermediaries of photography, and I will be snapping pictures of just about everything over the coming months, and come spring and summer, I plan to offer a very basic photography service. While weddings (and similar events) are generally the bread and butter of local photographers, I am never once going to claim that my photography skills are worth thousands of dollars. Instead I plan to offer a cheap $50 to $100 "one-day" service: If you need high-quality photos, I will take those photos with my equipment for a reasonable price. Plain and simple.

Plan a Trip
I will be taking a series of short vacations this summer. One trip will see me going to Washington D.C. (during a primary year? Eek!), another south to visit family and a really huge cave, and a third to go hiking in either southern Ohio or northern Michigan. All three of these trips will require significant planning, all of which I plan to accomplish sometime this spring.

The Blackout
This is less a project and more of an ongoing experiment. Beginning next week, I will have one "technology blackout day," where 100% of my free time outside of work is spent without technology. No computers, no tablets, no mobile phones. I will be reachable via POTS-style voice calls, but that will be about it. I am not entirely sure how I will spend all this free time, but as warmer weather rolls in I am sure I will find plenty to do.

B3 out.