I frequently find that my inspiration far outweighs my stamina when it comes to improvement and optimization. At heart, I love the thrill of a challenge: but for me, anything suboptimal represents just one more opportunity to excel, to go faster, to reach farther..unfortunately, this is most frequently a source of frustration. For every idea that I have, the seed represents the easy part of any sort of actualization. Next would come a great deal of work to demonstrate [what we call a proof of concept in software] that the idea has merit. If, at that point, anybody were to be interested, then it might move beyond the stages of errant design in my head into something that a team might work on for a substantial period of time, and only at the end would my optimization be realized, having required enormous effort from many. And that represents the intrinsic problem of modern software: it's so dang hard to realize an idea to the public!
I have only ever moved into proof of concept stage once, with a product named Nebula. Currently, I've fallen flat on my face, as it were, in the search for the next step. Unfortunately, the work was divided, and my partner is pursuing other work at the moment. Ordinarily, I would shrug it off, and take up his burdain, and program all the way home myself. However, his work represents the server, implemented in C++ [another language that I am only barely familiar with]...and therefore there is little I can do. So perhaps I shall continue to work elsewhere, and perhaps I shall come back, demo, and actually make it take me somewhere. Difficult to say what the future holds.
In keeping with my motto of brief, but meaningful, posts I shall leave today at that. I will, however, mention that the experience of waiting for the new HTC Incredible phone to ship from the Verizon warehouse [I bought one a week ago, and it was promised to ship by 7/28...!?] is not enviable. I wish it would arrive! However, my consolation prizes come in the form of the accessory cache I am building up...today I received a little device that fills my heart with warmth, or at least power. AA batteries into cell phone/iTouch/camera juice! Yummy.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
On Relaxing, and why it might be capitalized
A book I once read [specifically one of the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher] contained within its glossy pages some acerbic wit. However, I maintain that the storyline was the main draw: really. Regardless, in the course of some banter, a soldier exclaims that it is a soldier's sacred right to complain. This has stuck with me, and been transformed to the student's sacred right: after all, we may work just as hard as the so-called 'working' individual, but we are often viewed by adults as lazy, or if not lazy, at some inferior level.
Unfortunately, in that role as student, it is easy to become embroiled in the realm of competition, especially at the high school [college competition] or undergraduate [grad school competition] level. We are prone to seeing people as potential competitors, and to choosing our actions by virtue of what others around us might be doing, or not, as the case may be. Indeed, as we all define ourselves by looking to the sides, I believe we end up in one big line of people not looking where they're going, but that's content for another post.
Moving away from competition...in my own role as student, I rarely take vacations. Even during the so-called designated vacation times during the year, I am prone to working to catch up, as I suffer from a chronic lack of balance. Unfortunately, I am not a robot [much as I find the idea intriguing], and do need some rest. I take it in small doses over the year, but suffer a mini-cycle of burnouts: by the end of the academic year, I'm exhausted. The problem is therefore how to relax over the summer, so as to be recharged for the next one.
I've found this summer to be a great deal harder than last summer, by way of relaxation, for the simple reason that I have applied to college now, and must do so again. I remember that the contents of this summer will be laid out and dissected by the admissions officials, and my activities weighted against those of my friends. It is difficult then, to justify jogging and swimming and playing video games, when it will be used against me. Even my limited pursuits [read: teaching myself SQL and JDBC to round out my knowledge of the Java programming language], and holding a part time [read: 20-30 hours/week] programming job in Ruby seem to me lacking...I feel like I should be pursuing other things, and doing great stuff, like my classmates who are traveling the world, or my classmates who are enrolled at the Harvard Secondary School. And yet, my success over the school year depends on my ability to perform, and that ability depends on my restedness at the get-go. Especially given that next year will be at UMass Lowell -- an actual college, with hypothetically challenging classes.
Oh well - I strive for an optimistic attitude! I shall overcome. In the short term, that'll mean fixing my laptop [which has come down with a bad case of Oracle's SQL server >.> ] with more RAM, and an adjusted keyboard, and in the longer term, pursuing the sale of my product, Nebula.
Unfortunately, in that role as student, it is easy to become embroiled in the realm of competition, especially at the high school [college competition] or undergraduate [grad school competition] level. We are prone to seeing people as potential competitors, and to choosing our actions by virtue of what others around us might be doing, or not, as the case may be. Indeed, as we all define ourselves by looking to the sides, I believe we end up in one big line of people not looking where they're going, but that's content for another post.
Moving away from competition...in my own role as student, I rarely take vacations. Even during the so-called designated vacation times during the year, I am prone to working to catch up, as I suffer from a chronic lack of balance. Unfortunately, I am not a robot [much as I find the idea intriguing], and do need some rest. I take it in small doses over the year, but suffer a mini-cycle of burnouts: by the end of the academic year, I'm exhausted. The problem is therefore how to relax over the summer, so as to be recharged for the next one.
I've found this summer to be a great deal harder than last summer, by way of relaxation, for the simple reason that I have applied to college now, and must do so again. I remember that the contents of this summer will be laid out and dissected by the admissions officials, and my activities weighted against those of my friends. It is difficult then, to justify jogging and swimming and playing video games, when it will be used against me. Even my limited pursuits [read: teaching myself SQL and JDBC to round out my knowledge of the Java programming language], and holding a part time [read: 20-30 hours/week] programming job in Ruby seem to me lacking...I feel like I should be pursuing other things, and doing great stuff, like my classmates who are traveling the world, or my classmates who are enrolled at the Harvard Secondary School. And yet, my success over the school year depends on my ability to perform, and that ability depends on my restedness at the get-go. Especially given that next year will be at UMass Lowell -- an actual college, with hypothetically challenging classes.
Oh well - I strive for an optimistic attitude! I shall overcome. In the short term, that'll mean fixing my laptop [which has come down with a bad case of Oracle's SQL server >.> ] with more RAM, and an adjusted keyboard, and in the longer term, pursuing the sale of my product, Nebula.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Beginnings
Beginnings are hard. Sometimes very hard. I have, in the past, started and failed to update several blogs, and several social networking accounts at various sites around the web. I suppose you might say that I've been in search of a cohesive identity to display to the world, if you were interested in typing my behavior with some sort of label.
However, I hope that this blog will be slightly more long lived: I see it more as a journal than some sort of glorified designated egocentric prattling center. This then raises the question of how exactly I should write, and, after some small thought [that's a lie -- I'm using a writing style called 'stream of consciousness' which doesn't allow for much thought] I've decided that a relatively informal and at times engaging style will do me best.
Having decided upon the writing style, there is that pressing question of content. My life is, after all, quite important to me, but not necessarily so important to you. What is interesting? What is best for you? Well...furthermore, what is best for me! In the interests of keeping the blog semi-regular, I've decided that I'm going to try and update about once a week -- my initial plan is to collect stories to write about over the week, and then write one article during the weekend, when life isn't so hectic. I realize too that longer is not necessarily better, either for you the reader, or for me the writer. Therefore, I will try to be concise -- although I must admit that I may fail sometimes.
In the past, I've made my first blog entry an 'about me' type deal. That's not really going to happen for this one. I figure that I may have few readers indeed, and those of you that do read will quickly get a feel for who I am. If not, I'll provide some basic information that should equip you to understand where I'm coming from. And without further ado...welcome to my blog.
Remember: if you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
However, I hope that this blog will be slightly more long lived: I see it more as a journal than some sort of glorified designated egocentric prattling center. This then raises the question of how exactly I should write, and, after some small thought [that's a lie -- I'm using a writing style called 'stream of consciousness' which doesn't allow for much thought] I've decided that a relatively informal and at times engaging style will do me best.
Having decided upon the writing style, there is that pressing question of content. My life is, after all, quite important to me, but not necessarily so important to you. What is interesting? What is best for you? Well...furthermore, what is best for me! In the interests of keeping the blog semi-regular, I've decided that I'm going to try and update about once a week -- my initial plan is to collect stories to write about over the week, and then write one article during the weekend, when life isn't so hectic. I realize too that longer is not necessarily better, either for you the reader, or for me the writer. Therefore, I will try to be concise -- although I must admit that I may fail sometimes.
In the past, I've made my first blog entry an 'about me' type deal. That's not really going to happen for this one. I figure that I may have few readers indeed, and those of you that do read will quickly get a feel for who I am. If not, I'll provide some basic information that should equip you to understand where I'm coming from. And without further ado...welcome to my blog.
Remember: if you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)