Two projects I would really like to work on, but don't have the time (</pitiful excuse>):

• A de-grain filter for my birthday present (nope, it's not a wallet), because the gauss blur is too blurry and the smoothers don't get all the noise. It would read a mask of the CMOS grain I would prepare for the device and apply color correction to counter (or at least minimize) the effects. I have a rough idea on how one goes about writing a program like that (VirtualDub filter API + common sense + peeking at open source smoother filters). That would actually make the gift somewhat useable.
• An XML-RPC component for Winamp3 that would reply with current track's details and upon authorization even allow one to control the program (basic controls + playlist). Lyrics3 support is obvious, the rest is ID3. A Trillian plug-in does it, so it's possible. A second part, the client, would build a web component based on that info.
  Again, I know how to use the WA3 component API, I know a bit about http servers (lots of open source stuff there), XML-RPC libraries are available. I have no idea how to implement SSL for authorization, but I'm sure that can be arranged. The client part can be built off FFDB code-base (play-list, author-list, what's the difference?).

The second project has more future as it would interest other people and I would receive certain amount of help from seasoned coders. It could even get hosted on sourceforge and become a full blown open community thing (only when the Linux port for WA3 is done, and the Lyrics3 support is integrated into the file-info component (or a standard Lyrics3 component with a good API is ready)), especially if someone like Justin put it on his home page. We all know those will never be done. You know what's sad? I know I can do this. No foolin', I can. I'm not Avery Lee or Peter-Paul Koch, I don't hang around /. and I don't hack up Perl code for fun (yet ;) ), and my skills are amateurish at best, but I am certain I can do it. There is the capability, and from time to time the inspiration, but the determination to actually do something? I'm willing to bet I'm the laziest @ss on earth.
Forced Focus is a dream (nay, it's a poor, weak, excuse for further procrastination! *pulls a Dobby*), but what it boils down to is the old saying: "God helps those who help themselves". (*that's the spirit! See how smart you are? No need to do any more productive stuff today, you've fulfilled the quota. Go munch through half of GT and then rant about how bad it is*) I hope that when I read these lines a year (or ten) from now, I will not want to strangle myself the way I wanted when reading something from last year's archives.