Reflecting on 2009

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a post detailing my New Years Resolutions for 2009. Some I've managed to stick to, others I've either failed slightly or considerably. So, keeping the same numerical order:

  1. Get Married - we've officially been married for 7 months and 15 days. Our Wedding website is live with pictures from the big day and our honeymoon that followed.
  2. Lose the Christmas excess - I've not attempted to lose any weight this year, but the good news is I don't weight any more since I did at the end of 2008. Hopefully next year I'll make a better go at this.
  3. Learn ASP.NET - the fact that I code in VBScript/C# using the .NET framework each day suggests I've got the basics covered. Each new project or application I develop using .NET allows me to further improve my skillset. I'm planning a few .NET personal projects for 2010, so stay tuned.
  4. Stick to no magazines - I don't recall purchasing a single magazine this year and have only read a couple from friends/family. The only downside is that I've not read as many books as I had hoped to during 2009.
  5. Get to grips with IIS7 - complete. The main web server at slickhouse is using Server 2008 and we're also migrating to it at work. IIS7 is a great improvement over 6 and the additional modules allow for even more functionality.
  6. Finish my own CMS - not quite there. I'm currently completing version 2 which should be ready for public release mid-January 2010. There's a few major features still to implement, such as Tags and Categories - to make it a worthwhile WordPress alternative. See SlickCMS in action.
  7. Build up plenty of savings - not complete, but other things have taken priority financially and I've felt the affects of the recession. Hopefully 2010 will be a better year.
  8. Complete an XBOX 360 game - again, not complete. However, on 2009-01-07 I had only 730 gamer points; today I have 1900. Not a substantial amount, but it's more than doubled.
  9. Release a new web project - I have a few planned projects, but these are all on hold until SlickCMS has been released to the public.
  10. Eat breakfast - complete! Each day we've got up with Lily at about 7am and sat down to eat breakfast with her. This will continue into 2010 as Baby #2 arrives and is a permanent lifestyle change.

That's 2009's resolutions summarised. As you can see, there's a few to be carried over to 2010 - I'll be posting the next set in the New Year. Whatever you're up to this evening, have a Happy New Year!

comments Posted: Thursday 31st December 2009, 17:59pm
Categories: General, SlickCMS
Tags: new-years-resolutions

5th November of Slickhouse

Take a look to the right and you'll see 5 lots of Novembers in the Archive:

Which makes this blog 4 years old! A lot has happened in the past 4 years, including 2 jobs (with a slight career change); visiting Africa twice; becoming a Dad; getting married; becoming a Dad again.

Hopefully I'll be looking back in another 4 years stating that slickhouse.com is 8 years old. Over the coming months into 2010, I plan to make a few strategic changes to the site and increase its popularity. I've learnt a wealth of knowledge working as a Web Developer since May 2007, so I'd like to publish a few articles along those lines too. And my side-project SlickCMS has been rolled out to several sites, so I figure it's now time I bite the bullet and switch from WordPress. There's a bit more functionality still to add, such as RSS feeds and Archives - but once they're done Slickhouse will be powered by SlickCMS.

Don't get me wrong: WordPress is a fantastic piece of Web Publishing Software, it's just that after 4 years I feel it's time to put what I've learnt from using it to good use and develop my own. Besides, I'm an ASP.NET/SQL Developer and my PHP knowledge is dwindling in comparison.

comments Posted: Saturday 14th November 2009, 17:59pm
Categories: SlickCMS, Slickhouse, Web
Tags: slickcms, slickhouse