A couple random thoughts

First, where is the love, people? Hardly anyone has called me. If you have been waiting for my life to settle down, stop waiting. It is about as calm as it is going to get. Remember you just need to call and ask me to call you back; I will take the cost of conversation.

Second, I am shallow. Or at least I place enough emphasis on pleasing aesthetics to have it affect my choices in life.

Third, someone needs to develop an AppleScript script for TextEdit on OS X that will post to Blogger much like the Word plug-in that got released. It won't be me since I hate AppleScript. =)

Fourth, I still need to learn Objective-C and Cocoa so I can do my Vim learning tool.

Fifth, I think I am going to try putting in rough working hours Monday through Thursday for school. That should let me make sure I get my schoolwork and TA work done during the day, leaving evenings open to do whatever. This also leaves Fridays open for random programming stuff (Python, learning new languages, pet projects, etc.). And it makes weekends more open.

Sixth, my PhD program has become the testing ground as to whether I want to teach or go back to Google. I still want the degree, but it is nice to know that I don't need to stress out or sell my soul to make sure I can get a good teaching position since I can just skip academia and go work at an amazing company when I graduate. Plus having the possibility of getting a good job if I just dropped out of school is a nice safety blanket.

Seventh, I am too modest. When people ask where I did my undergrad, I say the Bay Area or SF. I don't just flat out say Berkeley. Tends to impress when I do, though. =) And I don't flaunt my internship, although the Google t-shirts tend to lead to questions.

Eighth, I need to come up with a topic to present at PyCon in 2006. It seems the CS dept. might help pay for the trip if I present there.

Ninth, I should email Dr. Turner about resurrecting my paper comparing Python to Java for large-scale applications. With Java 1.5 finally out the door and Python 2.5 a ways off I could possibly start thinking about fleshing it out.

Tenth, I am setting a personal goal of getting out of with my PhD in four years. I found out the average is 5.5 years here thanks to people doing side research for paper publication (2 to 3 publications a year) and just partying. I don't think getting out in four years will severely cut out my partying (although some seem to have suggested it would). But I would like to join the real world within a reasonable time frame. Then again I might change my tune if I continue to go out at my current rate. =)