A time for celebration?

I read some advice the other day, which suggested that you should always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge so that, should there be the sudden need to celebrate something, you are prepared. The cause for celebration could be something insignificant – like discovering a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. A silly joke, but I like the idea that life should be punctuated by celebrations.

Although I doubt whether I will be cracking open any Champagne myself today, I feel that I do have cause to be in celebratory mood …

In early 2009, it was decided that Mentor Graphics would support blogging for staff members who had something to say. I was asked whether I would like to set up a blog about embedded software. I agreed and expected that I would write something each week or so and need to get it signed off and suitably approved for online publication. However, I was surprised to be told that the posting frequency was up to me and I was given a WordPress login and I was all set. The bigger surprise was that posting was a press-button process, so it could be as immediate and ad hoc as I wanted.

So, on 6 May 2009 I made my first posting here, where I was discussing my impressions of the Embedded Systems Conference which I had recently attended. [I am just making preparations for EE Live, which is the 2014 incarnation of the same event. More on that in a few weeks.] I gradually settled down to a publication pattern and frequency that suited me. I normally make two post s each week: one about embedded software and the other “off topic” – i.e. about whatever is on my mind at the time. This approach was accepted by those around me, as it seemed logical that the audience that I was trying to reach might be interested in the same odd things that caught my attention.

If you do the calculation: 2 posts each week; that is 100 per year. So, over the 5 years, I have made 500 posts! [I did not calculate – WordPress told me that this one is #500.] That is around a quarter of a million words – about the size of 3 normal size novels! And I think that this milestone is worthy of celebration!

I am not sure that, if you asked me back in 2009, whether I would have been surprised that I continued this long and produced so many posts. I am also not sure how likely I think it will be that, in 2019, I will be celebrating 1000 posts. That depends on many factors, but ultimately only time will tell.

I am always grateful for suggestions of topics to write about [particularly on embedded software]. If you have any ideas, please let me know via email, comment or my social media platforms. Thanks you.

Thanks for reading and Happy Thursday to you!