Document: WM-035                                                 P. Webb
Category: Life                                                2018.12.19

                           My Wants for 2019

Abstract

   It’s about time I got some things rolling

Body

   It could be argued that you do not (should not) need to wait for a
   new year to begin just to follow new goals and dreams. However, a new
   year symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings. A chance to begin
   anew…and so on. With that said, here is a list of things I want to
   accomplish in the new year.

   1. Learning

      iOS development has always been something on my "yeah, at some
      point" mental list but in the past week I realized that I need to
      learn it to create a client for my social network. I purchased
      some courses from Ray Wenderlich’s site[1] eons ago and am *just
      now going through it. That reminds me, I have plenty* of courses
      purchased from Udemy that I have not revisited (8 of them involve
      Blender and/or using Blender with Unity)…I will get back to them,
      at some point.

   2. Product Launches

      I had an epiphany a couple weeks ago regarding online products and
      services. When you distill them to the basics, *what people are
      for/getting is access to an API wrapped in a UI*.

      This gave me the sudden realization that a majority of my planned
      products (projects really) have suffered from me getting stuck on
      the UI. A friend called it "analysis paralysis" and that sums it
      up perfectly. I came into the tech space via web design and
      development, so I am trained to think of the UI first and
      foremost. However, as the back-end developer as well I have to
      adjust my thinking to prioritize the functionality over how pretty
      something looks/feels. This may sound like a no-brainer to you,
      dear reader, but when you are inside your own head it is not so
      obvious. The functionality informs the UI/UX and vice-versa, it’s
      a balance.

      Here is a non-exhaustive list of just SOME of my languished
      projects I would love to turn into products:

      - web browser
      - domain portfolio management tool
      - web app deployer
      - analytics service
      - operating system
      - process management for servers
      - content-management system
      - IMAP server proxy and client
      - social network
      - eCommerce platform
      - lifestyle brand

      Some of these are already in active progress and I think it is
      totally possible to achieve 90% of this list by next year’s end.

   3. Music

      I used to produce music and rap over my own beats and it gave me
      another outlet to express myself. Retro/futuristic/jazzy beats and
      (I thought) dope rhymes, haha! A number of factors contributed to
      the demise of that particular activity, least of which was
      starting a family. In my pre-family days I could have complete
      silence and uninterrupted workflow for hours. That simply does not
      exist for me now.

      I think I could get back to creating music in many small spurts
      of time. What a luxury, time is.

   4. Video

      I upgrade my iPhone every year and the camera gets better year
      over year. Additionally, I have a couple ideas for short films so
      I should be taking full advantage of this fantastically capable
      device. I have a Vimeo account for a reason. Yeesh.

   And…

      As usual, I just want to become a better version of myself and
      hopefully not deal with much strife on the way. Parenting is hard,
      relationships are hard, LIFE is hard. My quest to make things a
      bit easier, continues. 🕸