What did you learn so far this year?

I started doing serious FPGA work (VHDL development) the last months and finally get a little knowledgeable on how to properly architect a design of medium complexity so that it properly works at non trivial clock speeds. (after mainly doing trivialities before)

So far the learning experience was great, and generally the best about learning new things for me isn't so much when I get something finished (the last steps often become a tedious chore). Rather I most enjoy working on a (for me, at this point) hard problem and finally get the flash of understanding when a initially misunderstood error or bug can be explained... Luckily the world of programmable logic seems to have no shortage of hard to comprehend things 😁.

But I think that should be everyone's motivation to learn new things, right?

That if you understand yourself, who you are and why you do what you do you will be happier, sleep better and make decisions faster and truer to yourself.

I also learned that making decisions quickly and not ponder over them too long really makes a dfference!

I started working on some side projects. I noticed something really interesting. I can get more done in 15 minutes of side project work than on a full day of regular work.

That's because, on my side projects, I'm not cleaning up after other people's poorly written code. My side project work is done in a clean style and also in my preferred style.

Hopefully, I can eventually get to the point where I can bootstrap something. I'm starting out with stuff for personal use.

- an RSS reader, mostly done, I'm using it

- a delicious clone (ironic, since Firefox is pushing Pocket)

- a video poker practice program (75% done)

I also noticed, surprisingly, that switching projects helps when I feel less motivated.

I did a MSc in computer science, got burned out. Learned where my limits were. I learned a bunch of academic things, sure, but also was filled with doubts about what I should do next...

I'm starting to realize that what I like about web development is creating visual experiences. Sadly, that job, at least around here, seems to be limited to web agencies with all the crazy deadlines and crazy hours that implies (I know because my last job was in an agency).

So, here I am, making admin panels and customizable charts. I have learned a lot though (ElasticSearch, Angular, etc), even if it's not fun stuff.

I picked up some Python to learn some web development initially, and then bought an ebook on computer vision with OpenCV. I never thought I would be able to do some of the things I've done with OpenCV!

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