If you're a nerd and read techie stuff, you've probably read about "hackathons." The meaning varies a bit. Sometimes, they're competitions where a bunch of teams of people occupy a room for 48 hours, avoid showering, and knock out a software product. The winner gets funding or something. Or, apparently Facebook is famous for doing this internally, sometimes for a specific product, or to prototype some new feature.
I was talking with Diana about my walls closing in problem, and she suggested that it might help if I just get away by myself for a weekend. She did a day or so away in Pittsburgh for a fiber arts festival, and found it recharging. Next time she'd like to do the 48 hour version.
So I thought, what if I did this myself, but spent the time trying to turn one of my ideas into a product, hackathon style. Mind you, I would shower and sleep, and if I know someone in the city is around, I'd probably try to meet up with them for dinner, but the idea would be to leave with something in hand that actually worked.
I'm not actually sure what to expect from myself if I try this. When I've tried to really dig in and do this kind of thing, I'm typically home, with the distractions that come with that. There's also the risk that when you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it. I don't know if that's "normal" for people in my line of work, but I get the coding equivalent of writer's block, and just don't want to do it. On the other hand, when I'm really into something, and determined to see it through, stuff happens.
It's something that I think I want to try. I kind of hate being away from Diana and/or Simon, but I think it might be good for me.
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