My best of 2012

Here are the best things I’ve discovered, learned, read, wrote, made, and accomplished in 2012. There’s no particular order and not everything on the list was conceived this year, even if they were a part of my life this year. Inspired by Fogus.

My favorite blog posts

Most viewed blog posts by me

Total number of blog posts written

One hundred, even

Number of books read

Sixteen – I usually like this number to be higher, but many of the books I chose this year were long and/or technical

Favorite non-technical books

  • Wizard and Glass by Stephen King – I’ve only read up to Wizard and Glass in the Dark Tower series, but this one was, by far, my favorite yet
  • The Launch Pad by Randall Stross – Fast and easy read with a great behind the scenes look at all the companies I’ve been reading about on HN
  • The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – Very inspirational tale and the style reminds me of one of my favorite books, The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun

Favorite technical books

  • How to Count by Steven Frank – By learning how computers count, I was able to think about numbers and counting in an entirely different light
  • Programming in Objective-C by Steven Kochan – A programming book I was finally able to finish. This is the book that led me over the hump of not understanding to understanding what I don’t yet know

Books still in progress

Gadgets of choice

  • 2011 13-inch Macbook Air – It’s everything I could ever want in a notebook, and more
  • iPhone 4S – Skipping the 5, I’ll wait for the ‘5S’
  • $69 Kindle with Special OffersWhy on earth would your book need a touch screen? Proper tech for proper usage, people
  • iPad mini – Even with the lower screen resolution, the iPad mini trumps every generation of the larger-sized iPads
  • Fitbit ZipAttach to keys in pocket and forget

Number of books published

Zero

Number of books written

Number of apps published

Two

Classes designed and taught

One

Musicians played most

Sleigh Bells[], Cold War Kids, The Faint, Bright Eyes, LCD Soundsystem, Thom Yorke, Florence and the Machine

Favorite TV shows

30 Rock, Single Long, Shark Tank, Seinfeld

2011 plans for 2012

  • Learn to code – in progress
  • Start freelancing – mild success
  • Write a book – in progress
  • Get out of retail – success
  • Learn to cook and cook more – failure, more or less

Plans for 2013

  • Finish writing my book
  • Develop and teach two new Skillshare classes
  • Build and launch a functioning dynamic website with Ruby on Rails
  • Code and release updates for my two iOS apps
  • Say ‘no’ more
  • Start consulting in the mobile app space
  • Meditate regularly
  • Start doing yoga

Bring it on, 2013.

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