2012: The year to look beyond the monitor

Lately I've been reflecting on the countless hours spent in front of a computer, from the TRS-80 to the Commodore 64 to present-day. Over the years I've come up with different justifications for living in this pixelated world, some of them legit and some not. When it comes to Checksum Labs and the time I poured into these projects, I have no regrets. They served two main purposes: 1) realizing a life-long goal of creating games and sharing them with the world, and 2) ramping up on career-bolstering technologies in a fun and engaging way.

Sometimes my reasons for putting these projects front-and-center were a little selfish. I was hoping my creativity would reap a little recognition. I wanted to time-warp my fellow old-school gamers to the Maniac Mansion days and give them a few laughs.

The best-case scenario was that I'd eventually be recognized as a major player in web development, that I'd one day reach the upper echelon of the tech community. But I've come to realize that these goals, even if I were able to attain them, would require a continuation of something I've already been doing for years: putting my life on hold while chasing the proverbial carrot.

During this exhausting pursuit there have been so many experiences I've delayed, so many places I haven't traveled to, so much real-world immersion that I've missed. That's why 2012 is going to be a daunting yet exhilarating chapter. It is the year technology starts augmenting my life instead of consuming it.

There will be no new Checksum Labs projects in 2012 — Metro, HTML5, Silverlight, or otherwise. I still enjoy technology and will post the occasional article, and maybe some minor updates to existing projects, but that's about the extent of it. This decision to effectively "let go" is the right one; I know this because I already feel like a huge weight's been lifted from my shoulders.

If my career takes a turn for the mundane, if the progress I've made unravels upon establishing a personal life, well, that's unfortunate but I'll accept it. This isn't about me giving up in some way, in fact, quite the opposite. I'm finally turning my eyes away from the monitor to absorb the wondrous world around me. I can't wait to get started.