Russell Beattie

So in an effort to keep me from registering domain names every time I had some new brainstorm, only to be stuck with the domain long after I had discarded the thought as crazy or unworkable, I decided to register a couple generic names that I could apply to just about anything: Newfoo and Foozik. It's worked out quite well - when I get an idea, I just use these domains as the placeholder in my mind and on my server instead of buying random domain names, wait for the moment to pass, and then reuse them again the next time. I highly recommend the strategy in case you're a habitual domain buyer like myself.

I'm actually pretty fond of the Foozik name. I think it's got a good vibe, and rather unique (though Jock via IM mentioned it sounds sort of Web 1.0ish, I like it). So I recently grabbed all the various permutations of domain (.org,.net,.mobi, etc.) and as of now it's the name of my next Big Idea.

I'm starting work on it right now... or actually as of a few days ago when I trekked down to Barnes and Noble and picked Python in a Nutshell and Python Essential Reference. I've decided to use Google's AppEngine to host it, which means I'll be working in Python. Yes, I just finally get comfortable with PHP, and now I'm scrapping it for Python... I know, it's nutty. But that's okay. I've decided I like Python and it feels good to get back to a general programming language again after literally years of hemming and hawing over it. I'm glad that Google's come out and supported it so openly - it helped make the decision easier as well. Look for me to be posting more about Python soon.

As to the idea itself, I'll post about it once I get some headway on a prototype. It's something I've been mulling for literally years now, and I need to play around with a bit, but hopefully I can get it working like I want it to in a reasonable amount of time - then I'll write it up and see what people think.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I decided not to do any consulting this summer related to Mowser. It's hard to explain how upset I've been at the death of my previous idea and company - and I really needed to walk away from it before I lost my mind. It's taken me up until just now to get my bearings and start to think about the future again, as I really hadn't before now. What's for sure though, is that I'm going to avoid working for anyone else as long as I can and keep pursuing my own crazy-ass ideas. I don't really have enough cash to go for more than just a couple more months - but as I'm still in "startup mode", I might as well continue on this path and see what happens. "Doubling down", so to speak, has a strange, insane allure to it that I can't resist.

:-)

-Russ