Twenty 08

As 2007 came to a close just about two weeks ago, I was planning on posting a look back at the year for me personally. There were several new things happening for me that I thought would be of interest to others. I also wanted to look ahead to 2008 and discuss some goals I have personally, including many for this site. Of course as the ideas continued to snowball, the post got pushed back. I have decided to combine many of these thoughts into the post you are reading now, a post being published on my 20th birthday.

My readership is largely comprised of fellow college students who I think will identify with many things on this list. Here are some of the notable things I “got” or “got into” in 2007.

Getting Into Radiohead

After years of hating on the band without ever listening to them, I pulled a 180 this year. Just like any self-respecting 20-something, I am now completely in love with Radiohead. It started as an affair with the (formerly) free album In Rainbows. I was told by a friend to at least give it a shot, because it would not cost me anything. I downloaded it from the band’s website, and the rest is history.

Since that time I have listened to every Radiohead album through at least five times, with the exception of the somewhat atrocious first release Pablo Honey. This may not seem like a big deal, but discovering one of my now favorite bands took a significant portion of my time over the last few months. For those interested, I am planning a post in which I will rank all the studio albums so you can find out my favorites.

The amazing thing about the discography is its variety. Each album is almost completely different from another, but at the same time there is an evolution that occurs when listening through chronologically. I now understand why Radiohead is so universally loved, and in gaining this understanding I have become one of their millions of fans.

Getting an Apartment

Going from living at home to living in the dorms was an exciting experience…for about a month. Once the novelty wears off, you realize you are living in glorified barracks. If you are at RIT, you realize the barracks house armies of internet elf warlords who do not believe in bathing. My dorm experience was actually very good, but it simply cannot compare to finally, after all those years of complaining in high school, having your own place.

You can see from the picture I like the extra space to store my things. I also love the kitchen for cooking, and the living room for hanging out in a room where more than 3 people can sit comfortably. I enjoy not sharing a bathroom with 60 other men. It also does not hurt that I have three roommates who make each day an exciting and often hilarious experience (that was the Kodak moment). Moving into an apartment has enhanced my college experience by an incredible amount. By balancing fun, television (we have been known to tear through series on DVD), and of course the occasional homework assignment, the next several years seem much more accomplishable.

Getting an iMac

I have been an Apple user for about three years now, and I will never be going back. However, my iBook G4 was leaving me a little dated in the computer world. At the beginning of this year I upgraded my main computer to a brand new aluminum iMac. The enormous screen (relative to my 12″ laptop) has made reading code a lot easier. It also is a huge benefit to use it as a television with my eyeTV Hybrid.

I kept my iBook around because it is still a great machine, and its size is perfect to take to class. It is a great complement to the widescreen monster I keep on my desk. The iMac has changed a lot about my daily work/play on the computer, including designing and running this site. Maybe after 2008 I will be able to talk about my experience with one of the rumored ultra-slim notebooks.

Getting Steeler Tickets

For those who are not aware, Steeler tickets are very hard to obtain unless you are willing to pay an absurd premium. The season ticket waiting list is so long, people who signed up in 1996 are getting their tickets this upcoming season. Still, it might be hard for some to believe that a Steeler fan of my magnitude had not attended a game at Heinz field until this year. My first game was the Mudbowl game on Monday Night Football against the Miami Dolphins. It was a glorious night of old school, dirty, grind-it-out football. I could not wait to go to another game to support my team.

Even though it technically did not occur within the confines of 2007, I did attend the Jacksonville game last week. In both games I had club seating, which will make it a very different experience when I inevitably get nosebleed seats. I loved attending both games, and I feel that I achieved another level of Steeler fanhood in doing so.

Honorable Mention: Getting My Window Fixed

Have you ever not been able to roll your window down for an extended period of time? If not, you do not understand what a problem it is. Driving through tollbooths, the Wendy’s drive-thru, or even talking to an outside friend while in the driver’s seat: all are nearly impossible without this functionality. I had this underrated privilege taken away from me just before I returned to RIT, and three months later I got it fixed on Thanksgiving break. I cannot express what a joy it was to press that button on my door and let the wind rush in once again.

Now that I have discussed some things in my personal life, it is time to discuss the past and future of this site.

Looking Back at jbomb.net

Though my site has been around for a while, I have not always been diligent about updating it. Starting in the summer of 2007 I began writing with regularity, and attempting to draw in a larger amount of readers. That second part was not too hard, because going higher than 1 (myself) was not a challenge. However, finding time to write quality posts often has not been easy. My typical goal is at least one post every three days. Sometimes I post quicker than that and a few times I have fallen short. There has been significant improvement in both quality and quantity since I decided to take this approach so I consider that goal achieved.

I also wanted to take this time to thank all the people who have left comments of any sort. It is not easy to read my rambling incoherencies, but those who listen to my opinions and then let me hear their own are very encouraging. If you have never left a comment before, I appreciate your reading but would love to hear from you as well. To the regular commenters, thank you for your participation and keep it up. You hold me accountable to what I write, and that keeps me on my toes resulting in higher quality posts.

The Future of jbomb

I have a few goals I am hoping to achieve in 2008 which will build on what was accomplished in 2007. Firstly I hope to continue to expand readership. There are a few things that will help do this, but one is a larger variety of topics. It is pretty clear that I love movies, but at the suggestions of various readers I am going to attempt to balance my film posts with other topics of interest. If you ever have an idea for a post, leave a comment or send me an email. There will be a post soon about my favorite sports games of the year, because of a comment on this post.

One thing I want to change in the near future is the design of the site. With a little help from Nathaniel Buck I created the current design. It turned out pretty well for my first time building a Wordpress theme from scratch, but I think that with a lot of experience under my belt (and probably more help from Nathaniel) I can create a much better one. As soon as school cools down for a bit I will begin work on that.

Speaking of school I intend to talk more about school and college. I received pretty good feedback from some of my writings about college life and RIT, and it gives the site a more personal flavor. Plus as I mentioned (way above), most of my readers are college students.

Closing Comments

That about wraps everything up. I hope you enjoyed a small peek into my life over the last year, and also the life of jbomb.net. If you have any thoughts about either, please leave a comment and let me know what you are thinking. In any case, I have done a lot of writing so now it is time to relax and enjoy the achievement of two decades of life. Peace out.