Programming for the enterprise; kinda like failing down the rabbit hole

So I started this blog a while ago, posted two times and stopped.

I stopped for a couple of reasons, but distraction is probably the best one to talk about on the internet.

That said recent events have motivated me to start again.

Like the Dirt Gently character in the recent UK TV adaption of the detective I too think better when I show off.

So like the would be actor who performs in front of the mirror; I will show off on a blog that I feel it is unlikely anyone will read.

So why the need to show off you may ask? It helps me think.

The deeper question what do I need to think about that a consulting firm isn't charging me out for? Thats a longer story...
I've always been very good with computers. When I completed uni I had already been working in the industry for a while as a contractor. Somehow; I'm not sure how I feel into specializing in big high volume commercial distributed applications. Or J2EE ( that is JEE now).

I can not tell you how it occurred; I mean I was a C unix programmer whose best idea of fun was to rebuild the tcpip stack from scratch or write printer drivers to convert mainframe machine code to PostScript. I shouldn't have even been touching java let alone let near the web.

I guess I fell into a bad crowd, before I knew it I was writing middle-ware for IBM and explaining how web-services were not the same as SOA and debating the benefits of REST over SOAP.
From that point I was further dragged away from my purest ideals into full blown distributed development.
Oh the shame.

But the thing is I dont feel like just a J2EE developer (ok, Designer (ok, chief Designer (ok, Architect (ok, senior/Lead Architect (I was informed I was one of these on Thursday) but I like to believe I'm still a developer at heart)))).
I still feel like the same wild developer who wrote his own memory management portions of his computers, hacked his windows 95 install to report itself as 'Luke Rocks' and general coding legend.

So I'm planning on doing stuff that Im not paid for and does not revolve around the web at all (well may be a little).
But back to the showing off. Doing this on my own would be lonely and feel empty without an outlet (even a fake one like this).

Sure I could show off to my family, but my wife doesn't appreciated hearing about my exploits in code... She tolerates it..
And my boys, well Jacob will want to know why I'm doing my pet project when I could be building him mods in minecraft.
So its going to have to be you...


And my great pet project?
The greatest idea that never was, an idea that died a death before it had a chance.

Creating a virtualized crowdsourced social network cloud.
Seriously...
.
.
.
.
.
.
OK its been a couple minutes you can stop the screaming now..

 I know what you are going to say; argg you cant just throw together the latest buzz trends thinking it'll magically work.

Ofcourse I'll do what I always do; I'll grin my biggest, shark faced, smug grin and say


"But I already have and this is how it is going to work...."