Best things and stuff from 2013
Contents
I skipped 2012 for some reason. I think I was just super busy, but then again I am more busy now. No standout moments in 2012 so nothing lost.
Events
Professionally: Spec Ops Technology opened our third office in Dubai. This makes three continents and countries. I have learned so much and couldn’t be happier to have taken the leap a few years go.
_Location: _Technically we own a house in Brookland DC. I have not seen it much this year (less than 30 days to be exact), but honestly most of time was spent this year in Abu Dhabi.
_Personally: _I married the most amazing woman. She is kind of a big deal. Together we hit 16 countries this year while working. Was a heck of a first year of marriage :)
News
_World: _I think the Snowden leaks will have the biggest impacts long-term. It is definitely the thing most of my foreign friends wanted to talk about this year
_Local: _For us living in Brookland the news has been all about growth and new neighbors. 
Music
Most years I write at great length about my favourite music from each genre. This year you are free to checkout the 2013 Playlist I create over the past rotation. Google Play List
Moving Images
Movies this year left me with no stand-outs. I just didn’t have enough time to watch anything this year that made me want to get out and tell folks to see it. TV-wise the shows I constantly look forward to are Sherlock, Homeland, and Black Mirror.
Tech News
OS Release: This was the year of Linux! I can say that with a straight face, but not in the way uber-UNIX geeks normally would. This was the year of SteamOS being released in Beta, Linux making huge strides at the kernel level, and Android continuing to flourish. On top of that we have Jolla, FirefoxOS, ChromeOS, LG’s WebOS, and many others. When I started Linux way back in 1997 I never would have guessed we’d be here.
_Application Release: _For me it is WINE (WINE Is Not an Emulator) which has grown from a nifty project I used to run MSpaint to being stable enough to host my business applications necessary to run the business. 
_Going to change the market in the coming year: _Wearable tech is going to explode this year. It is still out there and the market hasn’t firmed yet, but people are going to start accepting the small advances. I see the amount of screens doubling and information being more domain aware and available.
_Phone: _Google needs to keep pumping out Nexus phones and spreading the word. For someone who travels a ton the ability to have an unlocked phone at such a price has changed everything for my upgrades and usage. No longer are we paying expensive upfront prices for the device AND the SIM. The prevalence of cheap pre-paid SIM’s and Nexus devices keeps me in touch no matter which of the 16 countries we were in this year.
_Computer: _This year left me with a “meh” feeling. I bought last years model because of the direction things are going. Honestly the market is in a rut.
_Tablet: _If asked what to buy I direct people to the iPad Air. Beautiful hardware and software, but way overpriced. When Alicia and I bought it was Nexus 7 all the way.
_Website I use more than anything: _Oh Reddit how many hours I have wasted on you. Way back in 2011 you were the best of for me and that continues to hold true. Seriously once you subscribe to subreddits and tweak with RES it is the best source for most anything. Alicia and I search here before travel, purchases, workouts, and everything else.
Dumbest Things of the Year
_Website: _Snapchat. Sorry its dumb
_Merger: _Tumblr to Yahoo
Car: Tesla Model S. WANT.
Extra Sauce:
I never realized how much time I am glued to my screens working on something. Being married I know have photographic proof. Every country/place we were in she took a snapshot of me working. Neat times we live in when you can run your business from anywhere in the world on a phone/tablet/laptop!
What were your standouts for the year?