I launched the ticketstubs site tonight, about two and a half years after I first came up with the idea for the site. For the longest time I said it was just a weekend of work, and I just never found the weekend. Last week I finally decided to sit down and crank it out, and it was maybe 3-4 days of work total.
One of my idols is Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons. Back in the 80s, I used to look forward to the weekly Life In Hell comics that showed up in the local alt-weekly. I owned several of the Life In Hell books, and when he got the gig drawing characters for the Tracy Ulman show, I watched just for the 90 seconds of weekly Groening magic. The Simpsons grew way beyond all that. A year or two ago I read an interview with Groening, and when asked about any regrets he had, he mentioned not delivering on ideas, not completing things he started, and generally leaving good ideas aside until he completely forgot them.
His answers resonated with me, and I figured one of my resolutions for 2003 was to deliver on ideas instead of resting on my laurels. With that motivation I started hacking away last weekend and earlier tonight got to a good stopping point. Ticketstubs is the first site I'm launching this year, but I promise there will be more to come.
