meridion

Thread for 2025: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42509408

Thread for 2024: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38782613

Thread for 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33873800

Here are mine:

Technical skills:

- Among my last year's goals was to take on VR dev, which sadly I did not get to. Punting it to 2026. I'm thinking to get the Samsung Galaxy XR and experiment with some VR apps and learn the fundamentals of spatial computing. As an Android mobile developer, that feels like a natural extension.

- Complete the "UCSanDiegoX: Computer Graphics II: Rendering" computer graphics course. I did the first course in the series and found it enlightening (no pun intended)

- Create an e2e project that earns money as a side gig. It's time to put my product and technical knowledge to practice and actually build something people want.

- Leverage AI across all my endeavors. AI tools are here to stay and the more I know how to use them effectively, the better. The speed boost in learning a new framework/concept is phenomenal.

Non-technical skills:

- Expand my social circle - the unstable tech climate made me realize the importance of maintaining a healthy social network. My goal is to connect with more people both inside my company and outside, by both proactively reaching out and going to meetups in my area. In fact, I invite fellow NYC-based HN-ers to contact me at cybercreampuff at yahoo dot com, in case you want to meet up!

Looking at my own goals for this year I wrote in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38782613,

> I am thinking to go through as many of Andrew Ng's deep learning courses as I can. With AI developing at such a fast rate, it would be beneficial to know how it works underneath.

I ended up doing the entire Deep Learning Specialization and thoroughly enjoyed it. The courses gave me a good idea about AI fundamentals. The disadvantage is that since they're a few years old (pre-ChatGPT), the courses are already behind. I saw they have separate courses going into LLMs and such which might be worth looking into.

> I'm thinking to go through a raytracing course and some basic VFX courses on Blender. Possibly something about storytelling as well.

Sadly I didn't end up doing raytracing or VFX courses :( Instead I took up Unreal Engine and iOS dev, though I might be able to do at least one of those this year. For storytelling I only managed to read a few books on good writing. Haven't written anything on my own yet. I could possibly create a blog to test out my writing skills there.

Thread for 2024: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38782613

Thread for 2023: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33873800

I'd like to take on VR dev alongside my existing journeys in computer graphics, iOS dev and Unreal Engine. A stretch goal would be setting up a blog to document my experiences in those journeys.

In terms of non-technical skills, I'm thinking of focusing on sales and marketing. Those are fundamental skills, without which any side project I do would be doomed to failure.

In terms of more creative skills, I have a few already in the "pipeline": a woobles kit to learn crocheting, a warhammer starter pack to learn miniature painting and a gunpla model kit to learn to properly assemble it.

Inspired by a similar thread asked a year ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33873800

I'm thinking to split my online learning in two parts: marketable skills (1) and just-for-fun skills (2).

For (1), I am thinking to go through as many of Andrew Ng's deep learning courses as I can. With AI developing at such a fast rate, it would be beneficial to know how it works underneath.

For (2), I'm thinking to go through a raytracing course and some basic VFX courses on Blender. Possibly something about storytelling as well.

I have a full-time job as a software engineer. I'm in my 20s, and my eventual goal is to create something of my own (a software project) on the side which can earn me money, so that I can focus on it full-time and quit my full-time job. When selecting a project I focus on the following criteria: 1. There is an actual need for it - Since it's something that I want to bring me decent income one day, it should be marketable. I can't just create something and hope people will like it. Also, not in an over-saturated market. The world doesn't really need another dating app, or another todo-list app. 2. It is fun to implement - It should be exciting to work on. For example, finance-related software can be a money-maker, but I find it utterly boring. I don't want to dread working on my own side project. 3. I can work on it on my own - I want it to be something I can create the foundations of on my own - not something I need partners from the start. I would only involve more people when the project reaches maturity.

All of the ideas I've had so far cover only 2 of the 3 criteria.

When I start working on a project that covers only 1 or 2 of the 3 criteria, I immediately give up on it and start searching for another one.

My current job involves work on Android, but it's not something I'm particularly passioinate, so that fails criteria 2.

In terms of my interests, there's entertainment (movies and video games), healthy living (workouts, gym, diets), travelling, educational videos, MOOCs, 3D printing, 3D graphics. I believe all of those are over-saturated in terms of software solutions, but I'm happy to hear your thoughts on this.

I've also read several past posts on HN on the same topic, including PG's essays. But I just can't notice any obvious problem that is not already solved.

Is there any advice you could give me? Or a framework I should follow? Or perhaps ideas that come to mind?

I have a full-time job as a software engineer. I'm in my 20s, and my eventual goal is to create something of my own (a software project) on the side which can earn me money, so that I can focus on it full-time and quit my full-time job.

When selecting a project I focus on the following criteria: 1. There is an actual need for it - Since it's something that I want to bring me decent income one day, it should be marketable. I can't just create something and hope people will like it. Also, not in an over-saturated market. The world doesn't really need another dating app, or another todo-list app. 2. It is fun to implement - It should be exciting to work on. For example, finance-related software can be a money-maker, but I find it utterly boring. I don't want to dread working on my own side project. 3. I can work on it on my own - I want it to be something I can create the foundations of on my own - not something I need partners from the start. I would only involve more people when the project reaches maturity.

All of the ideas I've had so far cover only 2 of the 3 criteria.

When I start working on a project that covers only 1 or 2 of the 3 criteria, I immediately give up on it and start searching for another one.

My current job involves work on Android, but it's not something I'm particularly passioinate, so that fails criteria 2.

In terms of my interests, there's entertainment (movies and video games), healthy living (workouts, gym, diets), travelling, educational videos, MOOCs, 3D printing, 3D graphics. I believe all of those are over-saturated in terms of software solutions, but I'm happy to hear your thoughts on this.

I've also read several past posts on HN on the same topic, including PG's essays. But I just can't notice any obvious problem that is not already solved.

Is there any advice you could give me? Or a framework I should follow? Or perhaps ideas that come to mind?

Inspired by another post 5 years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9799007

I've been looking at eating regimes, for example aiming to lose fat, gaining muscle, etc., but there are many different resources on the web which often conflict with each other. What should I treat as the source of truth? What is the one place that has the science-backed explanations behind these diets?