With the release of PostPost, I succeeded in completing my first goal of 2007. That goal was to write a WordPress Plugin and I succeeded.
WordPress is a fantastic program for writing plugins. If you haven’t ever done it, WordPress developers have developed ‘hooks’ into the application that you can basically latch onto. You can find information on developing to the WordPress Plugin API on their site.
As for my other goals:
- One of my goals this year is to write my own Theme as well. I’m still not tired of the edits I’ve made on this site to the Kubrick theme, but I’m sure I’ll get antsy in a few months and will start to device a theme. I may really take on a challenge and totally redevelop the administrative theme. That’s where I’d really like to see advancements and nobody seems to be working on it.
- Complete my blogging book – I’ve taken a (much needed) break from writing my book but will get back on it soon. I may even add some additional chapters on Plugin and Theme development. There’s a lot of work to do before it’s ready for release or publication so I think it will be a late 2007.
- Assisting my employer has been a real challenge. We’ve really got some team mates that are stuck and are having difficulty moving forward. Buying components versus developing them, Cascading Style Sheet integration, Cross-browser functionality, and modular development seem to be status quo in the rest of the industry but it’s a real battle for us to progress internally on these items. 2007 will be a challenging year. I asked one of the key folks there what happens if we can’t move them in the right direction. He said, “We leave”. I don’t like that option and hope it works out.
- Get my son prepared for college. We’re ramping up our scholarship and grant admissions as of this last weekend. With a divorce in my recent history, this is going to be the most difficult goal of the year. I’ll be damned if I can’t get him through, though. Bill’s a remarkably talented young man and deserves the opportunities that I didn’t get.
- Get in shape. This week, at my son’s ‘poking’ we went all out at the grocery store and stocked up on fruits, vegetables, lean meats, etc. I’ve purchased some ‘light’ lunches for work so I’m not tempted to go out (and it saves me money). I need to get back to drinking water regularly throughout the day and get back on my bike. One day at a time, though.
I’m actually reading a fascinating book on food disorders… and am learning about retraining my brain when it comes to food. Imagine grooves in a road making a car drive in a single direction. My bad habits with food have done the same thing… created habits (physical and mental) that I have to power out of. I’m sure this is going to be a tough one as well – but I’m tired of being tired so I’m going to get on the road to good health.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress!