Trying something new

When I hit a patch of low productivity, I find it helpful to take some time out to try learning something new. It gets me in the right frame of mind to actually get something done, and also I think it helps if I have no previous experience to compare it to. I get self critical when I'm not really getting anywhere, so it's good to have no idea how effective I'm being.

This time I decided to try running through some of these managed DirectX tutorials that I found via the Orb software blog. Sadly, the managed DirectX installation doesn't seem to have worked. At this point I have a choice, I could spend the rest of my learning time tearing my hair out and cursing the day I ever picked up a keyboard until I get it working, only to have no time left to actually try any of the tutorials, and consign them to the someday/maybe folder of doom. Or, I can find something else to play with. I feel like I'm being a bigger man by finding something else... I've had too many of these supposedly helpful restorative exercises turn to frustration and futility. I've had a couple of Flash books sitting in my Safari account for a while now, so I'm going to give them a look.

If you're also looking for something to learn, you might like OpenCourseWare.