Getting Started in 2024

It's 2024 and I'm trying to organize my thoughts... I figured I'd start this blog to journal daily. You have no idea what it took to get to this point; this article is over a decade in the making. You'd figure I'd have some kind of plan for it.

Nope. The only plan is 30 minutes daily. We'll see.

So then, this will be a means of catharsis. At least for now, for today, it's just for me. Moving forward, some of the topics might be useful to other audiences. Which would be great. Actually, that's the reason I want to start writing. To provide value for others. But it isn't why I need to start writing. I'll need to provide some value for me first.

Getting Here

The chapter of life I'm now in started with the birth of my daughter in 2020. What can I say? I can't count the number of nights I've stayed up just watching her sleep, in awe of the whole thing. Then there was COVID, purchasing a house, renovations, work-life strife (we'll call it), deaths/major illnesses in the family. I gained and lost a lot of weight (I went from 6% body fat in high school to being called "obese" by my doctor).

Really I could go on and on complaining. And usually I do. But after all's said and done, what I've learned over the last 3-4 years eclipses even what I learned running a business for just shy of a decade. Some takeaways:

  • You have nothing without family.
  • Never take your mental health for granted.
  • Patience is a skill that can be honed.
  • Time management is really, really important.
  • You will work harder than you ever thought you could.

Getting There

I have eight minutes left.

Setting goals, tracking progress against them, and following through to the finish line has always been hard for me. There are so many shiny things, I want to do it all. There have been many, many personal projects, nearly all of them half-finished. The excuses are many, but they end today. In 2024 (as of now):

  • This website and blog.
  • Machine learning in medical imaging.
  • Using ML via LLMs to automate MLOps with Kubernetes.
  • Giving back to the community.
  • Improving my diet (a little bit).
  • Getting better at time management.

No time left. See you tomorrow.