The Blog of Josh Stodola

It's finally that time of year again. The time to shut down the computers. The time to relax and put the mind at ease. The time to pigeonhole the daily tasks that are seemingly important, and realize that they are actually humdrum. The time to part myself from this electronics-infatuated lifestyle, in an effort to maintain natural sanity.

It's the third week of August, and that means one thing to me: fishing time. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will be on my way to Minnesota again to spend a computer-free week with nature, with the mere objective of chillaxing. This is an annual vacation for me, and I could almost classify such a trip as essential for anybody who uses computers for several hours a day (given that you are not disturbed enough to say you'd have sex with computers). Escaping the shackles that are the keyboard and mouse, even for a day or two, has a profound effect on my general outlook towards life. Spending 70 hours of the week behind a computer is somewhat humbling, even if you have a sincere passion for it. I certainly do not want to become one who thouroughly enjoys doing something so much, but does it so often that he/she ends up growing tired of it.

To combat that nightmare of a possibility, I just get out on a beautiful lake on a beautiful day and forget about everything (except my way home of course). And it does the trick for me. The best coding day of the year is always the first day after I return from vacation. It's like a weird sort of revelation. So if you are one who works behind a computer for a living, and then retires to the household to spend more time on the computer, please do yourself a favor and make an effort to escape on a yearly basis (at least). And do not bring your laptop with you!

As a result of my absence, replies to email and comments will be delayed until August 24th.