Looking for a new project

Where is it said that idle hands are the Devil’s tools?  Having finished the Kylix book, I find my hands somewhat idle.  I’ve been dabbling with some minor projects off and on during the book, and will likely finish one or two of them and nuke the rest.  (On a side note, if you decide to cancel a project, back it up onto a CD or something and then delete it from your hard drive.  Otherwise, you’ll be tempted to fiddle with it at inappropriate times.  Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.)  At any rate, I ran across the Tiny COBOL project and actually started thinking about joining that effort.  I’m a member of that apparently rare breed of programmer who actually knows COBOL and C.  Interesting idea, but I’m not sure I’m ready to immerse myself into COBOL again.

Perhaps I’ll take a break from programming for a while.  At least at home (I do have a programming job).  I’ve been wondering what it takes to write publishable fiction.  Maybe I’ll take a stab at that.  And there’s always stuff to do in the yard and around the house–mulching under the trees, repainting a room, creating a new garden bed, etc.  I could even get more involved in amateur radio.  I’ve had my license for 10 years, but haven’t actually used a radio for 5.  There are plenty of things to do.  I just need to figure out what I want to do next.

My friend Jeff Duntemann once told me that being bored with life is like starving to death in a supermarket.  It’s possible, but you have to work at it.