It’s that time again. How did this year stack up compared to other years? If you float back to the 2020 post I was about to jump off the nearest bridge. 2021 was a bit more hopeful as I was finally implementing a business plan that was doable. So what happened in 2022?
Well. It was a good year. I was pretty busy with anywhere from four go six clients at any given moment. QGIS was fun and PostGIS was where the money was. I’m going to throw myself into SQL and Spatial SQL in 2023. Of course I will continue the fantasy of python and a QGIS plugin.
I did tend to get overworked. That wasn’t fun. Everyone tended to pop up at once and my normal drive is to do everything at once. I need to work on time management this upcoming year.
People seemed more receptive to Open Source Solutions which is good because I plan on spending all my spare time in FOSS4G. I was tempted to buy the home edition of ArcPro because my ESRI skillset is hurting – but I don’t care. I’m happy doing what I’m doing and spending my time with the FOSS4G Community.
Thanks to work I was able to become a small business supporter of QGIS. Thanks to a conference I was able to donate money to geoserver. Next year I want to donate more time and money to great software if possible.
Training
I didn’t do as much training this year as I was busy on other fronts. I ended up doing some custom training for GoGeomatics.ca and went onsite at Morehouse college for a one day training class. I’ve been re-thinking training over the last few months – people seem pretty burned out on “virtual” but I’m not convinced they are ready for in-class training again. Chattanooga isn’t the easiest place to get to unless you live in about 5 cities in the Southeast. Change cities? Change the way this is taught? Custom Training? No clue.
COVID
Why am I just talking about this? Well – I finally got it back in February. I’m vaccinated and it hung on for like three days and that was it. Parent’s got it in August and that led to all sorts of excitement and quarantine. I’m super lucky that I’ve had no close friends pass from it. I’m almost convinced I had it in 2021 and was Asymptomatic. I didn’t know I had it. I didn’t test. I really think “covid February” was easier because I had already had it (plus vaccinations).
Social Media and Conferences
Well – Twitter turned into a dumpster fire. I migrated over to Mastodon and WHILE I LIKE MASTODON – it’s no twitter. Mastodon is a healthy happier conversation platform. Twitter is screaming into the void and seeing what happens. Linkedin turned into a better platform for me to get the word out and I probably had way less connection requests from people in 2022. Facebook continues to be a waste of electrons for the business.
The website received a refresh thanks to Wicked Moon Web Solutions. Why didn’t you do it yourself? I didn’t have time. It turned into an easier problem than I thought and I’m literally sitting here watching the last bits of that website “refresh/rebuild” fall into place. Why worry about the website? It’s mine. It was mine before twitter and will be my place to scream whenever.
I made three conferences this year: TNGIC, MAGIC, and FOSS4G Nashville. The most exciting one – Nashville. Why? Two amazing Women wanted to tackle an open source conference and they knocked it out of the park. I’m not sure what to do next year. The conference will happen. This conference needed a woman’s touch. Now it needs massive diversity from all fronts. That too will happen.
Personal
Did some canoeing. Didn’t do as much hiking. Did some traveling. As this year winds down I think next year becomes a more “focused on me” year. I did that a few years ago and had a blast. I set goals for being outside, going new places, and just being happy – and it was an awesome year. I’m doing that again. Granted it’s a balancing act with work – but the balance makes me more content.
Jeep repair seems to pop up randomly at the worst times this year. It’s a 22 year old vehicle. Crap Breaks.
I’m looking for a new canoe? What’s wrong with the current one? Nothing. You need more than one.
That’s about it
Time marches on. The business needs to grow so I’ve got some plans. I have things I want and need to do for my own satisfaction. I’m overall happy with the direction of things and that’s a weird thing to say for me. With all of that – so ends the 2022 year in review. Expect more blogging and more work this year. Maybe Dancing.
