Welcome!
Bothell – May 15, 2024
“What does it all mean, Kevin?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
Today is my last day “at work.” I’ll bid adieu to GitGuardian and launch myself like a dinghy into the choppy seas of retirement. A month ago, I decided I was going to go in search of the answer of what I’d do if I didn’t have to make money at it.
Now, please note that I am not against making money. Instead, I decided to embody the philosophy “do what you love and the money will follow.” Now it’s a matter of figuring out what I love. I love being creative and have dreams of all sorts of creative endeavors… animation, comics, novels, music. I realized I could take a couple of years and try to learn how to do them or get better at them. I also realized that AI tools made it possible for me to potentially be a one-man content studio.
I chose to explore the intersection of human creativity and AI tools to understand how AI could empower me rather than intimidate or eliminate me. That means learning to use AI better, but also learning the fundamentals of drawing, 3D modeling, music composition, and more. I have to be able to do it without AI to understand how AI can be my force multiplier.
And I plan to share: share the things I make, even when they suck, so there’s a record of my progress. Share the things I learn along the way to help others improve. Share my unvarnished opinions, even when they suck.
The goal is that I entertain, inspire, and educate enough people that I feel I made a positive difference in the world… and have fun doing it. Fans and money aren’t the goal, but they’re welcome proof that I’m succeeding at connecting with an appreciative audience.
Some would say the ~150 free STEM education events for kids that I organized during my 6.5 years leading Seattle CoderDojo means I already met my goal. But I have been given the gift (through a combination of good luck and hard work) to have a third act. And whenever I’ve wondered “what the heck do I do now,” the answer has always been “when in doubt, start making stuff and see what happens.”
I have a virtual sticky note on my screen with a list of content ideas. At the bottom, there’s this:
KEYWORD: BONKERS
For each idea, ask myself, how can I make this more “bonkers” (weird, crazy, over the top, but in a good way).
I hope you’ll join me on this journey of going bonkers, but in a good way.
ComWOW!!!ment