I realize we’re already four months into 2009, but I thought I’d go ahead and write a post to list out some goals. It’ll not only help me to remember them, but maybe I’ll get some tips on completing them in the comments.

Personal Goals

1. Become a better graphic designer, and become better with design tools.

I’m a mediocre designer. I can hack my way through Photoshop. For the last decade I’ve thought it would be pretty cool to have a Wacom tablet at my disposal. In retrospect, I’m glad I haven’t gotten one yet. But I think this will be the year.

Also, I use Ubuntu Linux at home and I want to become as comfortable with Gimp (or possibly Pixel) as I am with Photoshop. I’m not a fan of Gimp’s interface, but I know there are roundabout ways to make it do what I want to do. When it comes down to it, I’d rather learn Gimp than remain beholden to Photoshop on Windows/Mac.

I’d also like to dig into Inkscape and see what I can do with it.

2. Complete my PHP certification.

I’ve been using PHP to various degrees for about the last ten years. There’s still a lot that PHP has to offer that I haven’t had a need to learn. I started studying for the exam seven or eight months ago but got distracted by moving from California to Colorado. I’m setting a goal to have this done in about six months.

3. Learn C# and start contributing to some of my favorite Linux apps that run on Mono.

What could be more fun and rewarding?

4. Learn Flex.

I’m just really interested in Flex technology.

Goals for this Website

1. Change the theme.

Nothing’s wrong with the current one. I’d just like to create one that’s more “me”.

2. Finish the “Subscribe to Comments” plugin for Habari.

This is mostly done. However I discovered my hosting provider doesn’t allow “Bcc” in PHP’s mail function. I’ll have to use SMTP instead and I’m trying to figure out the best way to do this and make the plugin portable for other people.

3. Create a project page for the OpenID PHP class that I’ve been using.

This involves rewriting some of the code that I’m not happy with, and probably releasing it under a different name. I’ll also implement some of the suggestions from commenters, like setting up the source in a collaborative environment where others can contribute and creating a simple example script.

4. Start posting more often.

No excuse here.