And it’s done. I’ve completely renovated my garden.

As expected, I hit the 90% Wall. Most projects seem to have a point near the end where I just don’t want to put any more time into them. I don’t know why, but it’s frequent, and it seems to affect most creative projects. It’s a major reason why books don’t get finished, comics don’t get published, and in general creative people don’t finish their projects.

But this one’s done. There’s certainly more stuff I want to do in my garden, but I’ve done what I initially set out to do.

What it really takes, for me, is eliminating other distractions and focusing on one project only, until it’s done. I may work on other projects, but this one gets priority, and I work on it every day until it’s done.

And then, it’s done.

Spent the better part of the day digging out the back garden and shifting soil around. I’m renovating the garden with painted planters and new plots of vegetables. It’s spring, and it’s time.

It’s also a major undertaking. I had to move a truck load of dirt today, using large rubber buckets. One bucket at a time. I wasn’t sure if I could do it all in one day.

But I did. And just doing it gave me sweet satisfcation that can’t be otherwise tasted.

I’m enjoying Leo Strauss’s History of Political Philosophy, even his flowery, complicated sentences. But even good things can be taken too far.

Saw the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. It was perfect, in the mathematical sense of containing everything needed. There were things I didn’t know I’d want to see in there until I saw it. They tossed in a reference to the opening credit sequence of the original cartoon, for Pete’s sake. It proves that one can make a great homage that’s also highly entertaining, a sadly unusual combination.

Just returned from a weekend with Saalon, and am reminded yet again of the power of physical human interaction. Not only do I feel closer to him, we were able to talk and discuss things so much more efficiently. He had some programming questions, and I could explain concepts with such ease when we stood six feet from each other.

Side note: There’s now an Atom feed for this blog.

I’ve posted The VR Story to this site and Lulu.com, so you can read it for free online or buy a paperback for $10.

I’m proud of the VR story. It was a writing experiment that went 25,000 words out of hand. I wrote some lovely bits, just by chugging away every day.

Does McDonald’s really need a memorable catchphrase at this point?

What else are they doing blindly, out of habit?

What am I doing blindly, out of habit?

Here’s how I knew I’d be okay. When I went to work on Monday, the business manager told me that I didn’t have to come in for the rest of my two weeks, that I could go on home. So I went to the old office to gather the rest of my possessions that hadn’t been moved, drove home, and as I turned onto the street leading into my neigbhorhood, saw flashing lights behind me. A cop pulled me over. He jogged up and, in an upbeat tone, asked if my tags were really out of date. I said, “Yep, I’m afraid so.” He asked for my license and registration and took them back to his truck. And I sat back in my truck and enjoyed the breeze blowing across my face.

Seriously. I enjoyed sitting there, next to a park, watching the trees shimmy in the breeze. I’d just left my job, all my work stuff was piled next to me in the truck, I’d been pulled over for a (probably expensive) ticket, and I was almost ready to whistle.

That’s when I knew I’d be okay.

The Dragon Slayer has had an epiphany about online ‘social networking’ which I agree with wholeheartedly.

In the blink of an eye, things change. Blink again, they change back.

Though my job at Applied Tactics was interesting and brimmed with potential, after a long week of painful work I came to a series of conclusions. I realized that the work was too much for me. I don’t want to be working more, unless it’s for something I believe in strongly.

And so, after talking with my boss, I’ll be leaving Applied Tactics a week from Friday. I’ve contacted my old boss at Rockwell about returning there, and I have a few other leads.

And so, onwards.