Instant Gratification
I’ve always been a “creator.” As a kid I wanted to be an artist (I’m a horrible artist). And now I program. The things I really enjoy all involve some sort of building or creating.
One aspect of programming I really enjoy is the “instant gratification.” Make no mistake, programming is time consuming (hence all the late software products). However, every step of the way, every line you add — does something, nearly immediately. That nearly part varies depending on how complicated your build process is, but the feedback loop is relatively short. Instant gratification.
A creator that has a relatively long feedback loop would be like and architect or a car designer.
I’ve always wanted to make physical things as well. Unfortunately that takes more skill and tools. But wait… emachineshop to the rescue. No tools required. You use their free CAD program, design your part (or import it), validate it, get a price quote, order it, and it’s at your doorstep in a couple of weeks. How cool is that?
I feel like I need to waste my money and design something random just so I can experience that gratification of creation, creation of something physical. Of course I have no experience (and barely a Windows machine at this time) so it’ll be and interesting learning experience. And, of course, whatever I make needs to have some sort of practical purpose. It shouldn’t be a complete waste of money.
Hrmmm. What to make?