On choosing goals and accomplishing them

Here are a couple of quotes that I've picked up recently in reading. I like them both:

The world is run by those who show up…not those who wait to be asked.—Steve Blank

One should not pursue goals that are easily achieved. One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one's greatest efforts. —Albert Einstein

I've been thinking a fair amount about what direction I should take. One option that I keep coming to is a commercial hosting service for Sage. Sage is amazing, but not many people use it, even in the science community. Actually, I could take that further. Not many people use it even in the portion of the science community that needs to do numerical and analytical calculations on a regular basis.

And yet, Sage is the best candidate in existence for a Universal medium of mathematical expression. Sage needs huge amounts of improvement. But it's already powerful and useful. It just needs to be made more and more accessible. Making Sage accessible would be the role of a good commercial host.

One thing fun about this direction is that Sage itself is fun. I would have a natural excuse to become a Sage Guru.

Goodnight.

I realized something recently: I'm not taking enough time to play. Play recharges the soul just like sleep does. I took time today for play.

actions:
Tonight I got a basic widget to successfully compile and run. Now I just need to make it do what I want it to do.

Just to keep moving

Last night I couldn't sleep. I rolled around thinking. Often when this happens I'm chewing productively on some problem. This time, though, it was just unproductive worrying. For some reason, the knowledge that another child is on the way coupled with an uncertain career direction to leave me lying in fear. My grandmother had a saying though: "replace worry with work, and fear with faith."

actions
Yesterday:

• Decided to begin extending my Android capabilities.
• Decided to learn to put information on the home screen.
• Researched options and learned that what I want to learn to do is not make a live wall paper but rather make an appropriate widget.
• Found a simple widget tutorial.

Today:

• Got up a first widget in Eclipse.
  

reformating

actions:

1. Followed up on opportunity to design optical sensor
2. Reformatted hard-drive of my laptop with Windows XP.
3. Began download of Ubuntu 11.04
   

O I get by with a little help from my wife!

Today when I came home, my wife had two tabs waiting for me. Both could help with this climb.

Right now the major question is whether to tackle the problem of independence through effort that I put in as part of my job or through effort performed on the side. At work I have the advantage of access to the mighty resources of a major institution. I also spend most of my productive (in the work sense) hours there. However, my freedom at work is limited. At home I have many fewer resources and I have less time. However, my freedom is complete.

The two tabs that my wife found can help me progress in both areas. One tab was a job ad for a position developing some nano-optical technologies that could later be commercialized. The other tab was an ad for a Nook. The Nook is currently the best option on the planet for an inexpensive Android tablet. I've been developing for the Android, and have now achieved enough income to replace between 3 and 7 minutes of work per week. But I've been handicapped by the fact that I don't own an Android device.

Actions:

• I applied for the position
• I ordered the Android device (with money already made selling Android apps).

No time left tonight.

I haven't chosen a direction or done a thing. I have a full time job and my wife is expecting our 7th child. There's no way we're giving up health insurance any time soon.

But this blog is meant to begin the story of a bootstrapped effort that leads gradually first to financial independence (meaning independence from any particular job) for myself and my family and then to the formation of a company that anyone could be proud of.

Although writing takes time, it may also motivate. I'll try to write each night.

Actions:
I started this blog.