My goals of 2006 (Year of Dog)

Today, I'm thinking of my goals of 2006. I should setup some personal goals, so that I can evaluate my performance at the end of the year. :-) Sounds like a good retrospective point.

1) Family Life:
* Move to the new apartment.
It is expected to be finished in the mid of this year. So, get my mortgage done and furniture my first home. In terms of volume and cost, it is the biggest goal. However, it shouldn't have much trouble in accomplishing it. Anyway, it is somehow out of my control.

2) Work:
* Career advancement.
Either functional or compensation. So, keep working hard.
Broadcom has made a big progress in last year. This year should see another surge in VOIP market.

3) Study:
* Python.
I already did one GUI project and a small CGI script with Python. Should be using it more frequently, as it is quite hot (Google uses it internally). The key point is that it is a modern scripting language with excellent OO support and it is really good. I start to love it.

* C++/STL.
I haven't used C++ for a while. But STL really gives C++ a boost, with a whole bunch of handy data structure and algorithms. It is the trend and future of programming language to use "template", like Java has added a similar concept "generic" into its latest version. Boost library is also fantastic. C++ is not a full-fledged programming weapon without those powerful additions.

* Video codecs (MPEG4/H264) and related topic
Video is obviously the killer app. of broadband communications after Music. Thanks to iPod/iTunes to nurture a mature market of Music. We can expect a wave of Video apps. to be the next Internet driver, as Hollywood has been allured in this cake. Worth of mentioning is that the video iPod uses the 1st generation of video chips from Broadcom.

4) Lifestyle:
* My fitness targets include:
- bench push: at least my weight (195 lbs.) At the end of this year, I should be able to do 225 lbs (50 lbs more than my current maximum).
- abdomen: to burn out the fat in my abdomen is the most important fitness goal of this year.
- shoulder: shoulder is my working focus too. It looks much better when the muscles on shoulder have been developed.

* Badminton:
- buy a better racket and develop my badminton skills.