A new direction for this Geek Blog

In my previous post about home database programming projects I have been working on, I alluded to the fact that I am on a "temporary work hiatus" right now. Translation: I was laid off in the course of my previous employer's reduction in force and am busily searching for a job.

Obviously there are some stresses from not having much of a positive cash flow. However, I am endeavoring to use every moment of my time as constructively as possible:

• Searching for at least a few jobs to apply for a day (more now that a friend referred me internally in Microsoft and I have the assistance of one of their recruiters for a few weeks)
• Spending a few hours/day playing catch-up on some of the newer technologies
• Exercising (running, walking the dogs, using the stationary bike in the evening)
• Rebooting my eating habits: it's far too easy to go into grazing mode under time pressure
• Reading books I haven't had time to read, in the evening

This still leaves me with enough free time that I have decided to use in rebooting another activity I've always wanted to do: write on a regular basis. Therefore, I will be taking this previously unfocused geek blog and begin adding consistent entries about the state of the tech industry from the point of view of someone who has been a developer for a for quite a while. If this results in enough material (especially if it develops some readership) I may spin it off into a completely separate blog.

Looking back over previous entries dating back to 2010, this current geek blog has been a bit of a catchall:

• Musings about how the hot computer which launched my development career is now an exhibit at the University of Washington and how much more powerful my Android phone was.
• Comments about home computer projects, from encryption applications to database tools that I used daily at work
• Shakespeare and other literary geekery, including tattoos, cool old books and word frequency counts in Shakespeare plays
• Miscellaneous topics such as work Fitbit challenges and pictures from a trip to England and Wales

But since the topic of what the computer industry is like right now is especially compelling to me personally now, that will be a new consistent focus. I hope that others will find my commentary interesting.