2008-2009

[gfish]

Not quite a month late this year, woo.

From September 4, 2008 to September 4, 2009 I...
...started writing my thesis.
...attended Obama's inauguration.
...managed to make two decent roadtrips.
...built two crazy devices for Burning Man.
...played in and ran a serious RPG campaign for the first time since high school.
...started doing a lot of urban hiking, combined with informal surveying for an open mapping project.
...made it from 16 to 32 with a perfect driving record!

2⁵, my penultimate power of two. It's petty, but I'm just not very satisfied with my life right now. Which can only be resolved by finishing the thesis and getting back to Seattle, but it's hard to get work done when depressed. I'm trying to find a good balance between enough crazy side projects to keep me sane and still devoting the time needed to writing/finishing experiments. The truth is right now I'm feeling completely burned out on computers and programming. I just want to make physical items for a living, have a tangible result at the end of the day, and that seems highly unlikely.

Comments

[spinnerin-ftw.livejournal.com]

I've felt that kind of burnout several times (well, you know. You've seen it.) And I don't think that making tangible things for a living is all that unlikely a route to be able to take, at least for a while. What would need to happen for you to try it, once you finish your thesis?

[maribou]

It is *possible* you could make it to 128 ... unless you have plans I don't know about.

[niac.livejournal.com]

My goal is 2^16.

[bigbumble.livejournal.com]

I will suggest that you take a look at learning "G" code, the language for controlling CNC mills, lathes and such. At least it can leave you with a tangible result at the end of the day.

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Oh, I've written g-code before. One of the projects I have in mind is largely based on the automated output of it from a flash app design tool. First, though, I need some tools which can use it. Not cheap!

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I sympathize. I really like having a tangible result at the end of the day too.

[niac.livejournal.com]

"The truth is right now I'm feeling completely burned out on computers and programming. I just want to make physical items for a living, have a tangible result at the end of the day, and that seems highly unlikely."

ME TOO!

[jadine.livejournal.com]

I just want to make physical items for a living, have a tangible result at the end of the day, and that seems highly unlikely.

Well, that depends. Do you need to make $80,000 a year? Stay in programming. Would you be happy on $30,000 a year? A wide range of possibilities open up. (Obviously you don't know how much income you can make until you try it, but realistic expectations are good.)

I just said "fuck computers" and left to do my own thing, which generally comes in two flavors: Making Things and "work I can do while traveling". I'll get that started seriously in a couple months, and we'll see how it goes.

[brithistorian.livejournal.com]

"The truth is right now I'm feeling completely burned out on computers and programming. I just want to make physical items for a living, have a tangible result at the end of the day, and that seems highly unlikely."

I felt the same way (if you substitute "history" for "computers and programming") towards the end of getting my master's. Nine years later I'm heading back to school to study history again. In the meantime, I looked at a number of different options, but none were ultimately satisfying. Computers will still be there if you try something else and then decide to go back to them. Best of luck with whatever you decide.