I just subscribed to a new, paper, magazine (Circuit Cellar, if you wanna know). This is odd, because I don’t much like paper*, especially with ephemeral content like magazines.

But I think I know why I did. Paper magazines, after I’m ‘done reading’ them, become totems. Of what I was, or want to be, or want to do. But like any such totems, they can sorta disappear into the background of my perception after they’ve laid around the floor for a few days. Magazines, though, come again fresh every month, on someone else’s schedule. So I think I got the subscription mainly to help establish habits that I want to establish.

Or, whatever. I probably don’t actually know why I do things.

(* The fact that I have a couple thousand pounds of books does not contradict the assertion that I don’t much like paper. Deal with that as you must.)

If you recently bought an AVR Raven, and you were horrified to discover that the AVR Wireless Studio includes USB drivers that only work in Windows XP SP2 and previous, it may help you to know that you can get better drivers installed by installing AVR Studio, after which you can return to AVR Wireless Studio to do something with your expensive little dev kit.

Here’s a nice example of how a product spurred an inquiry by a customer which results in interesting answers that excite the product designers and improve the product and design understanding of the whole community:
iCufflinks improved battery life code hacking….

Not that you were necessarily looking for that. I happened to be thinking about just this sort of thing a minute before I saw this post, so to me, it’s an answer to a question…

For a while I’ve thought that I needed to reduce the amount of work I do in order to be more satisfied. And I’ve got a pretty good setup in that regard, as I’m working well less than full-time and on my own schedule.

I think I need to point out that I don’t spend my time outside work just soaking in radiation on the couch. I wouldn’t have thought to mention it, except I heard that someone asked that when they heard about my workstyle. I guess I just assume that anyone who has found a way to free up their time would spend a lot of it reading, designing, walking, philosophizing …

So I guess my recent discovery that what I want is _more_ work, just less stress, is not a big revelation. It’s probably more a terminological shift than anything. Other ways to state my intention would be that I want less job and more work; stress without the distress; to get paid a little for the playing around that I do that some people would call work; to find ways to apply my lust for learning to applications that others can benefit from… something like that.

Which is why I have to start a company. Not yet gonna give up the current consulting gigs that give me a semi-steady income, because the last thing I want is to design a system for pushing my stress levels into the stratosphere, all the while knowing that I did it to myself, just because I have to generate significant income quickly. I’m going to develop my company in parallel with my consulting. I’m sure things will dovetail nicely as I progress.

I’m spending a little time seeking out people who seem to have similar ideas in mind for creating their best work. I’ll try to write up some of the conversations I have; just spoke to the owner of a small book store here in Ames and learned a few things…