The First Step

Hello, whoever happens to be reading this.

I'm starting this blog as a convenient way to record my activities and prevent my days from falling into the black hole of lost memories. My attempts at keeping a personal journal were not successful; I'm doing a blog so that I can more easily view my entries as a conversion. The idea that people could read this is motivating, even if literally no one actually reads it.

I am currently in the process of restructuring my general approach to life. I feel like my current way of life would lead to a good, but mediocre existence. I want something more and I'm willing to work hard for it.

I'm experimenting with time management systems. Currently, I'm trying the system described in the book Mind Hacker, which is a modified version David Allen's inbox system. I finally found the time to start a blog, so it seems to be working. Also from Mind Hacker, I'm playing "The New Game". I plan to do something new every day; my new thing today was starting this blog.

Here is a snapshot of the projects I am doing:

I'm currently designing a game called "Mage Fist". The game will be a 2D adventure platformer in which the player controls a mage who uses spells to fight and navigate the environment. I'm confidant in my ability to design and code the game, but I find pixel art challenging. Hopefully, I will be able to get someone to make the art for me; I have a person in mind.

I have a game called "The Kingdom Project" that I have been making for the last month. I've put it on hold because I want to finish a complete game and that project would take many months to even get the first alpha version running. I will return to it once I finish Mage Fist. I will describe the Kingdom project in another post; the gist is that it is a Dwarf Fortress inspired city simulation game. This is what I've done so far. The tile art is by Sam Dutter.

I'm trying to switch to using Linux for everything except gaming. I've primary used Windows most of my life and I feel like it's time to make the switch. I'm using Ubuntu because I'm told that it eases the transition more than other distros.

I am constantly working expanding my programming knowledge. I'm going though "Seven Languages in Seven Weeks" and plan to study Ruby in more detail after finishing it. I know several languages well, particularly in the C family, but I feel like my understanding of certain topics is too shallow. I'm studying design patterns, language design, compilers and many other topic. I'm not currently taking classes that cover any of these, but I learn much more on my own time than I do in school.

Finally, I'm trying to lose weight. I'm 6'1" and weight 198 lbs; I would like to weight under 190 lbs. I'm mostly trying to accomplish this by running every night.

This post has been an overview of my situation and goals. I wonder how I'll feel looking back at this in a year. I'm excited to find out.