To contribute or not to contribute. That is the question.

For all 5 of you that actually read my blog, this is kind of a more personal question. Don't take this as a, "I'm going to convert you all, and not help anyone anymore, and I'm abandoning my family."

I help a few people out with computers, mostly family and friends, and they're all on Windows. I don't suggest Linux, because I'm no expert, and I'm not a total convert myself. I spend lots of time in Windows playing games, because that is the platform for games... other than consoles, like the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii, of course.

I use Linux because I have more than one computer, and I tinker with them, and product activation and the cost of Windows just sucks for that. I assemble a box out of spare parts, to test something out, or see how it works, but before I can use it, I need a licensed copy of Windows. I don't have an extra $100 to slap around every time I want to use a box for something. Linux provides a good alternative.

When I use Linux, I use Fedora for two reasons. One is philosophical, the other is historical.

Historical -- A long time ago, in college when I was a Computer Science and Engineering student, I wanted a box, like the SPARC stations we had in the lab for programming. A floor-mate in the Residence Hall said he was going to try out Linux, so I got a book, and some Slackware CDs, and got it running. It took a few days of my winter break, and I wasn't very keen on it. I got a boxed copy of RedHat Linux, and the rest has kind of been "history". I circulated on and off Linux, tried Mandrake a couple of times. Windows stayed in the picture, because games stayed in the picture.

Phlosophical - Fast-forward to the present. I write instruction manuals for a living... or at least that's what I tell people. My family thinks I "work with computers". I have a real interest in Human Computer Interaction, but I got married and have kids instead of going to graduate school, and I'm pretty much stuck doing what I do, professionally for a while. I use Fedora, and Windows still sucks, but I tolerate it for games. Fedora's "freedom at whatever the cost" as opposed to Ubuntu's mission of displacing Windows, at any cost.

So, I use Fedora, occasionally, though not as much as I'd like. I hate my day job, I'd like to do more actual writing to help people use computers, as opposed to the regulatory documentation I work on now. I think contribution would at least give me mental good feeling, even if it doesn't change how my family depends on me to do crap I hate. But, I'm too busy with work and the extras and interruptions that come with having a one-year-old and two-year-old to really contribute at a level that "matters". The Fedora Project has done an excellent job of making it easier to contribute, and I identified some low-hanging fruit. However, I can't find the break in my schedule. I mean, I'm typing this up at work... and when I get home, my kids will be all over me, and if I stay up after them to work on stuff, I'll miss sleep, and I need that. The weekends usually involve my kids or other family members, and don't often provide the continuous spare time I need. In fact, I usually use the weekends to do the stuff I can't get to during the week.

The solution - ideally, is to get a job doing writing for stuff I care about, but um... nobody pays for that around here, and I'm carrying benefits for my family, so switching jobs on a whim hasn't really been a good option lately. Volunteering for something I care about seems cool, but I'm going to have to sacrifice something, and it seems the most likely candidate at this point is sleep. I might be able to exercise and eat better to get by on less sleep. I'll have to think on that.

Okay... back to work. I've already suspended a few tasks working on this. I really just need to find a way to make money, sitting at home, doing nothing. Anyone got some spam/scam mails I can read about that?