A small benefit of being between gigs: I’m sitting here, coding and networking and working and planning, while watching From the Earth to the Moon Episode 5: Spider. If you’re any sort of an engineer, you need to watch this every year (or more) for inspiration. It’s the best, truest picture of engineering I’ve ever seen on screen. And for me, it’s a reminder: my job is not hard. That was hard, and they did it. I can do this.
I also recommend Thomas J. Kelly’s Moon Lander for the story behind Spider. It’s kinda dry, but it’s an amazing look at a period in engineering history when they were inventing and discovering the project management techniques we take for granted today. Oh, and they sent men to the Moon.