It’s more blessing than curse, but lately the chances I have to do interesting work are through the roof. The day job is very engaging, and particularly the research I’m doing on the weaknesses of our current persistence approach and their remedies for the problems is very interesting. I’ll soon be gaining an equity stake in a company I’ve invested a lot of time in, building a framework for quickly deploying new web sites with reusable functionality, beyond simple search/message boards/shopping carts. One project for them is wrapping up (I’ll announce that site launch when it comes), and we’re preparing a quote for another group which will all but certainly be accepted.

There’s another opportunity on the table as well that came from my gym. I try to work out 3-5 times a week, and try to get my workout in as efficiently as possible. It’s not a social outlet, and I try and avoid wasting time in conversation there as much as possible. It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s that I don’t enjoy socializing in a gym. In spite of this, I was approached by a guy there because I was wearing a shirt from a former employer that made me seem technical. It seems that he has investment money and a product mostly built, but he’s a sales guy, and his programmer decided he wanted to backpack Europe or something. Good idea and a good guy, so I’m looking at an equity stake and possibly cash finishing some software for the medical field and expanding that product. I think the product is well-positioned, and could really catch fire.

Then there’s the side projects I’d love to get my hands on. There’s a product for music distribution that I think is unique with a huge potential market. There’s an interest in helping groups, particularly Christian groups, raise funds online. I had an idea like Zopa – an online debt exchange. If anything, their existence encourages me more than frightens me. The existence of other players in a market doesn’t mean that creating a competitor is bad.

It’s exciting, but I sure wish I had more time to spend making each of these things succeed. As things stand, though, it’s not bad – I have time to work on several of these things without any of it distracting from my day job. Not too shabby. More details to come as each opportunity takes shape.