I like to pass the time by dreaming.
Now before you go and assume I'm asleep at the wheel, that's not what I mean. I'm a software programmer, and I dream in code.
I've been programming now for about 10 years, professionally so for 5 years since graduating from the University of Michigan back in December 2008 with a Bachelor's in Computer Science. In fact, tomorrow is my 5 year anniversary at the healthcare software company where I work as a full-time software developer. But I'm not here to talk about my job. I'm here to talk about something much more special than programming for a living. I'm here to talk about programming for fun.
Now you may think I'm crazy, and in some ways you'd be right. To enjoy losing yourself for hours into several pages of source code just to make something blink on a screen is certainly an odd thing to call fun, but I guess that's just how I'm wired. I'm always coming up with ideas for things I'd like to create, whether for myself or others, or sometimes because it should just exist. I also tend to be critical of software others have written, particularly in terms of the user interface they present. Sometimes I can't help but feel I could have created a better user interface myself, or at least I would have done a few things differently. I guess in some ways, I'm just never satisfied.
Before you get the wrong idea again, I have a good and fulfilling life. I have a secure job doing what I love for a living. I have a wonderful and supportive wife with whom I'll be celebrating our first wedding anniversary in April. I have a dog named Bowser (after a certain Italian plumber's nemesis) that, despite making this post take twice as long to write by constantly craving my attention, I still love a lot. I have great friends that help me socialize and take a break from the computer. And I have a comfortable and spacious condo I've owned for 3 years. So in that sense I'm quite satisfied.
However, in terms of the limitless potential that software provides this world, I know that we've only just scratched the surface, and even what we've made sometimes has a tendency to scratch us right back if you know what I mean. Companies that make software often focus on what makes them money, and sometimes the experience of end users isn't it. That's part of why I'm so passionate about user interface design. But I can only do so much to improve the user interface of my large company's software, and even then it's just one company in a sea of others that don't always spend the resources necessary to make good user interfaces.
That's what I love about Open Source programming. It's a community of people dedicating time and energy to create applications for the end user, not for money, but just because they can. And I am proud to consider myself one of them. I just wish I could do more.
The thing is, I have a lot of ideas. Not all of them are good, and my wife will be quick to tell me some of them are pretty bad actually, but I can't help but have them. Even the good ones are often left in my head or as a scribble in a text file on my computer aptly named TODO.txt.
I'm hoping starting this blog will be one of my good ideas. I'm sure my wife will be happy I have a place to share my ideas besides talking her ear off. It will also be a place to share stories of my experiences as a programmer and the joys (and sometimes headaches) it can bring. And maybe some of these ideas and stories can inspire others to take up the noble helm of Open Source programmer, whether to build upon my ideas or their own. Maybe someone who reads this will find themselves designing the next great software innovation the next time they go for a drive.
It's a nice thought, right?
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