#197 - September and "Less Projects"

Motto: “September” is an anagram of “Mr. Best Pee”

I’m looking forward to September for tons of reasons. September 1st - Labor Day… free vacation. September 2nd - the XKCD: What If? book is coming out. September 2nd - the draft for my first ever season of Fantasy Football happens. September 4th - the Moto 360 and successor to the Moto X is getting announced.

September 9th - IKEA opens less than 2 miles from our place September 9th - the iPhone 6 (and maybe other stuff) is is getting announced. September 9th - Captain America: The Winter Soldier is coming out on Blu-Ray. September 9th - Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 is coming out on Blu-Ray. September 19-21st - 43rd Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield. September 23rd - Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 premiere. September 24th - Modern Family Season 6 premiere. Sometime in September - Android L, Android TV, and the next Nexus tablet & phone?

Sometime in September - The Renaissance Festival All of September - Temperatures will be more tolerable. All of September - the challenge of the MONTH WILL BE DIFFERENT AND I WILL BE ABLE TO WASTE TIME ON MY PHONE MORE EFFECTIVELY AGAIN. I’m looking forward to September.

Now for the other thing.

One of my goals for August was to have fewer projects. At the time I didn’t know how to put that into a coherent English sentence, but I knew there was something I wanted. Something regarding projects and the word “less”. I have come to realize that ” less projects” is not what I wanted; what I wanted was “not EVERYTHING is a project.” Don’t get me wrong, I love projects. They give a sense of completeness, but the need for completeness and perfection can sometimes harm you when “just good” would have sufficed. The best case example I can think of for this came at work last week. I learned a new fact about a system I’m helping to build and my first inclination was “cool, what else is there to learn about this system? What other related facts are there to learn? Who would know these facts? Which platform would be the best choice for my documentation of this system? Where can I fit this documentation into my workflow such that it is accessible when I need to refer to it, but not cluttering up my occupational RAM?” Then I thought, “maybe I should just take this fact for what it is, remember it, then move on.” I like projects because they are clean. Everything has a purpose. Nothing ad hoc will remain out in the voids with no proper place. But, man, sometimes you just need to know that the server you are working with is green and move on. (That wasn’t the actual fact.)

So. That’s what I meant.

Top 5: Meals From My Recent Pictures

5. Steak, Asparagus, Onion, Mushroom, Shells and Cheese, and a Nectarine