One activity to explain my recent hiatus has been to reorganize my life. There were a lot of different areas that added up…
Investing
It started when I took stock of my investment returns over the last couple years. When I first set out on making my own stock picks, I told myself that if I couldn’t beat the indices (the “average’), then I’d be better off leaving my investment to other means that required less of my time. I tell others to do so all the time.
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t do well enough. I didn’t do poorly, but I hardly matched the rocket that was the energy-heavy TSE; since I play mostly in Canada, that was the figure to beat. I don’t regret the time I spent over the last couple years trying, though – the business and finance knowledge learned is useful. I did a little more research, decided how to reposition my portfolio, and executed. Hopefully, I’ll be able to just make do with a relaxed eye on it from now on.
Magazines
I subscribe to the Economist, Fortune, and eWeek. I’d like to subscribe to IEEE (Software), and perhaps ACM. I also have a very long wish list on Amazon, and several dust collectors on the shelf.
eWeek I decided was a product advertisement magazine in the guise of reviews, when they let me renew my subscription for another free year if I went to a certain URL. Fortune I find to be too lightweight: like Cosmos to fashion, Fortune to business. I knew that before subscribing, but a three year subscription cost me what I might pay to dine out (not lavishly). Finally, the Economist – I still think very highly of this periodical, and perhaps I’ll waver yet… but these guys are almost too good, cranking out an issue every week. Even developing the habit of only skimming Central and South America, Britain, and several other sections, I find it far too easy to fall behind. I’ll miss the critical thinking and wit.
I’m not going to stop reading. What this achieves is to free up some time to read the stuff that gets me avidly reading – usually software, software techniques, related human behaviour, etc. Maximizing my reading pleasure, so to speak.
Other reasons forthcoming
There are other reasons for my hiatus, technical and non-technical. I’ll get back into the habit of blogging by discussing them.
