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After putting it off for a long time, I just purchased a new High Definition TV and an XBox 360 over the last month. I finally got around to rejoining XBox Live and downloaded the Netflix app so I can now stream Instant Watch Netflix movies straight to my tv from my XBox. I took a moment after I started watching a show to think about the whole process. Earlier today, my wife updated our instant queue from her iPhone. I setup/upgraded my live account using my laptop and had instantaneous results on my XBox. When I think about it, I can’t get over how cool it is. The amount of technology and how much infrastructure is in place to enable something like this to be possible. Not only am I on a wireless network at my house, but we use 3G on our iPhones. I can’t help but think about how many services had to be used to integrate this, services for account logins, credit card processing and probably many others that are behind the scenes.

I’ve been programming and using computers almost my entire life (as soon as I could move on my own?), but it hasn’t been until about the last year or so have I really felt that technology was really changing the way I live and think about the world and this is a direct result of how much integration we have been receiving over the last few years.  I feel genuinely excited to be living in this time period and can’t wait to see how technology changes my life and how I live it over the next few years. I mean now that the International Space Station is internet ready, what’s next?

Thinking about the whole thing really brings my inner geek out (well..more than it is already)

I have never been someone to set New Year’s resolutions or to really write down my goals. For the last few years, the only goals on my mind have been to finish school, get rent paid and try to have some fun. That isn’t to say that I haven’t had any long term plans, but that my priorities were different. One thing that has always remained constant however, is my love for games and the technical challenges that they present.

Now that school is behind me and I’ve been working steadily since graduating, I’ve started to think again about my short term and long term plans. A friend of mine that I graduated with, (and who were also laid off just before graduating), decided to form an LLC just before Christmas with the intent of creating games and hopefully starting a profitable company. So, in order to keep on track, I am setting the following goals for 2010 for myself:

• Spend more time with my family
• Get a game accepted to XBox Live Community Games
• Participate in every Ludum Dare 48 Hour competition
• Start keeping a Design / Idea journal
• Play more games
• Post at least one blog entry a week

Nothing on this list is insurmountable or too difficult too acomplish over the course of the year. The most difficult part will be balancing my work schedule, since I do mostly contract work and work from home quite a bit, I often work too many hours. Over the next couple of months I am going to have to readjust this schedule and make sure that I am leaving enough time to put into the company and not go insane.

Don't go insane.