I can’t believe it’s the end of the year already. The memory of taking down the Christmas lights in January 2008 is still fresh in my mind. In a few days, it’s that time again to clean up the lights and start doing New Year’s house cleaning. With this blog, I was going to step on my soapbox and complain about the crazy roller coaster ride in year 2008. But I decided to spare everyone my ranting. Instead, I’ll just give my retrospective look of 2008, from my blog archives.
What have I learned this year?
- Being a technology early adopter is risky. I tried it with HD-DVD but Warner Brothers Studio decided to kill the format by not supporting it. The good thing that came out of it is the cheap HD-DVD discs. I can pick up some now from Fry’s or Amazon for less than $10.
- Started my first series posts, on web site performance tuning from the database to the web server.
- I like to participate in internet memes. Well, not all of them. I like the ones that force me to be introspective, like the 7 Weird Facts About Me, or Good People Day.
- A new communication tool called Twitter. After that first tweet in January 2008, I was hooked. I talked about its usefulness, its tools, and withdrawals when it was down. It’s truly an addiction for a geek like me.
- TTC strike and wrecking my car reminded me of the importance of public transportation.
- Hosting my own server using unreliable AT&T DSL was not a good idea. I picked a decent hosting company. Not bad for the first try!
- Blogging about the brush fires is becoming annual thing.
I like to thank my fellow readers who stumbled my posts in 2008, especially Lin, Jason, Sarah, Tyler, and John who took the trouble to submit my posts. Yes, I do pay attention to Google Analytics stats. Every time I see those traffic spikes, I couldn’t help but smile big. 🙂
I’m also thankful for my consistent commentators throughout the year: Reggy, Periapex, Steve, Brett, David, Farzan, and Lin. Your comments are highly appreciated. For me, they are truly the reason why blogging is so memorable, and so much fun!
Happy New Year everyone, and here’s looking forward to a wonderful 2009!
Tags: experience, retrospective, year
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Hey Rudy,
Thanks for the plug, and Happy New Year!
I hate to disagree with you, but I just hope the brush fires don’t become an annual event, at least not up here in Santa Barbara. We had two this year (which is two too many) and one came within a mile. I also have my fingers crossed for 2009 and hope it won’t be as (economically) memorable!
~ Steve, aka “trade show displays”, the guru’s alter ego
Hey Steve,
Yeah, I sure hope the brush fire doesn’t happen again (in 2008 it was also a mile away from here), but I’m being cautiously optimistic. Either way, I’ll be ready for it.
Have a good rest-of-the-year!
Hey Rudy, glad to be along for the ride, wishing you a great 2009!
You too, David. Have a great 2009 to you, also!
Your point about being an adopter of early technology is one worth absorbing. It is only worth it to adopt a new technology if you have a very high interest in trying it out, and have been waiting for it. Most other circumstances would be ones that would warrant letting others try out the product/service first, since the hassle of inconsistencies would leave you frustrated.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog post..Your Main Source of Competition is Yourself
Armen, I don’t mind being an early adopter, but sometimes the cost is pretty high – either the technology fails or the product is too pricey. With limited resources, a good judgment call is required. Otherwise, it’s just a waste.
It also makes sense to let others try it out first. But there’s no bragging rights there.