Oh how do I get that creativity back?

As a child, I was an extremely free spirited, imaginative, and confident boy with nothing that restricted my thought. Unfortunately during this period of time I had the patience of a gnat and could not sit still to save my life. Fast forward a good 20 years later and the reverse is true. I have managed to establish a decent amount of patience - in some cases almost monk-like (a recent 2 hour traffic jam didn't even raise my blood pressure one iota). However, I have lost that free spirited and imaginative nature I once had.

The lack of creativity in my adulthood was no more pronounced than last night when I sat out to start working on a development project again for the first time in a good year (my current day job doesn't require any actual application development). What I discovered was that I did indeed have the patience to sit firmly in my chair and focus and work for several hours at a time... what I did not have were the bursts of imagination and fearless mental exercising that resulted in massive amounts of fun as a kid. Some of it is fear of making mistakes; some of it is also being restrictive in my thinking where I essentially sandbox myself in to doing things a certain way.

After performing this bit of a self reflection this morning, I am now convinced that the key to really being productive in life for me is going to be centered around maintaining the patience that I've established as an adult and allowing my brain to not be bound by what I think I cannot do. That is of course easier said than done. I would be interested to hear what others do to let their minds think freely.

Perhaps it is time I start checking out some neuro-linguistic programming.

Nintendo's Evolution to Simplicity

Here is a neat article detailing briefly how Nintendo has introduced simplicity into their video games and consoles and what they might be doing in the future.

I can definitely say that I have taken a similar turn in my thirst for games. As a teenager and college student I was an avid player of Final Fantasy games and first person shooters (notably the Quake series)... each very complex games in their own distinct ways. Nowadays, I just want to pick up a game and play it for an hour or so just to relax or have a game to play with my girlfriend. Nintendo's games fit this bill. Heck, my girlfriend can even play the new Madden on the Wii with its All-Play controls.

Potential Super Bowl Scenarios

This years NFL playoffs provides potential for some very intriguing Super Bowl match ups. I write this now as San Diego is driving in the 4th quarter, down by three to Indianapolis, so that game is very much still a contest. However, with Arizona beating Atlanta, we lose the potential for a rookie QB/head coach matchup between the Ravens and Falcons with Ryan vs Flacco and Smith vs. Harbaugh. But... here are some other matchps:

1. Colts vs. Giants - The Manning bowl (and also the last two teams to win a Super Bowl)
2. Chargers vs. Giants - Rivers vs. Manning (if you recall, these two were traded for one another in the 2004 draft because Manning would not play for the then putrid Chargers).
3. Ravens vs. Giants - Rematch of the 2000 Super Bowl
4. Titans vs. Giants/Panthers - Kerry Collins a/g either of his former teams
5. Titans vs. Cardinals - Kurt Warner to play a/g the team he (barely) beat for his lone Super Bowl win
6. Falcons vs. Chargers - Michael Turner's former and current team (Falcons are already eliminated, so this will not happen)
7. Steelers vs. Cardinals - Ken Wisenhunt would be coaching against his old team

Can anyone else think of any intriguing matchups?