Please pardon the interruption...

It is a bit busy all of a sudden!

Well, hello there!

You probably didn’t notice this at all. But this week was the first week since I’ve started that a post didn’t land in your inbox on Monday at 10:30AM CST.

And even though I made a very intentional decision to NOT cram editing one of my in-process posts into last week, it still made me twitch just a bit.

More on that later!

Photo by Tommy Bond on Unsplash

So I absolutely do have some really interesting posts coming your way. As I’ve been fleshing out each of the stories, I’ve discovered some additional emotional layers that I haven’t really processed yet. So, rather than rush these out the door, I’ve decided to sit with these new feelings a bit, dig into where they’re coming from a bit more, and then add what I learn to the story.

Unfortunately, I have a narrow window of time to get a few other things done, and I’m dedicating all of my available cycles…

A quick note on cycles! For me, cycles are some intuitive combination of time, mental energy, headspace, and fucks to give. I have discovered that I have a limited number of these available to me on any given day, and if I try to overdraw my cycle account, not only will I not gain significant additional productivity, I will likely make a mess. So when I’m done for the day, I’m done. Unfortunately, my day job profession consumes the majority of my cycles, so there’s a limit to how much writing or other passion projects I can move forward. Some seasons have fewer writing cycles than others. This is one of those seasons.

…to those things. Hence no “regular” post (for my completely vague, inconsistent, and undisclosed definition of regular) this week. However, I thought I might share with you where some of my cycles are going.

Pursuing a Formal Neurodivergent Diagnosis

Over the past year, I’ve researched, self-diagnosed, and begun to identify as a neurodivergent person.

Specifically, I believe I am a combination of Autistic and ADHD. I believe this for a few reasons:

• I’ve taken multiple self-scored assessments that have significant research backing and are used in professional diagnostic work. Not only do my scores suggest Autism and ADHD, they are well beyond the margin of error.

• I’ve read countless articles and a few books. Nearly everything I read about Autism and ADHD resonates very deeply with me.

• I’ve started proactively self-treating with non-medicinal patterns and strategies for managing these conditions. I’ve found most of what I’ve applied to be effective and enriching to my quality of life (as an example, I highly recommend the app Inflow).

While for many individuals this would me enough, I’ve decided it’s not enough for me.

I want the certainty of having an experienced, independent, objective, and professional third-party evaluate me through testing as well as written and verbal interviews. And after evaluating the data, telling me that to the best of their knowledge and experience that I am Autistic and/or ADHD.

Or not.

So, to that end, I’ve started the Autism Screening Process provided by Embrace Autism. They come recommended to me by multiple folks whose opinions I respect, and they’ve already helped me a great deal with their free services.

This process is currently taking up quite a few of my cycles to complete all of the tests and answer all of the written interview questions.

Adding a Podcast

I have decided that I want to return to the world of podcasting.

A few years ago I started a podcast called Software Architecture Radio. It had a short, seven-episode run. They’re good episodes, so I’ve kept them around (for now). But, ultimately, the challenges of running a podcast in the software engineering industry and making sure that you (or your guests) don’t say the wrong thing that might run you afoul of corporate compliance (not to mention getting…you know…guests) were too much.

I had grand plans to have sponsors and create a real platform.

WELP.

But this is going to be something different.

I’ve decided that some of the things I want to say through Contemplating Resonance aren’t crystalized enough yet to get into written form. I want to explore them a bit in a less formal way - out loud. And I’d like to do that with you alongside me.

In addition, I want to have conversations with folks who’ve been down similar roads to the one I’ve been traveling. I have a few great folks already lined up.

So, I’m spending a few cycles getting my shit together so I can get this sucker launched!

Teaching Software Engineers and Architects

After a little over a year hiatus, I’ve returned to teaching folks around the world about Domain-Driven Design via O’Reilly’s Learning Platform. I still enjoy teaching, and now that I’ve had some time off, I’m revising the DDD class I started in 2018, and I’m also developing a new class on the automation of architecture modeling.

Both of these projects are pretty labor intensive, so they’re taking quite a few cycles. As the work is closely adjacent to the work I do “at my day job,” there is a limit to the number of cycles I can dedicate to course development.

Unfortunately, these projects also have deadlines!

That’s All Folks

Those are the three bigger ticket items on the radar right now.

Fortunately, one of them directly benefits you! Please do let me know what you’d be interested in hearing about on the Contemplating Resonance Podcast.

Until next time, peace and love.