I don’t just hate Java. I loathe it.

In the past, I’ve done everything I can do avoid using it.

If I want to develop for Android, though, I guess I need to bite the proverbial bullet and find a copy of “Java For Dummies”.

There are a few somewhat niche things I’d like to do with my phone that there simply aren’t applications for yet.

The only mildly-practical thing I might make is a bluetooth-based remote control app for my Playstation 3. And, really, that’s just more about teaching myself than something I’d actually use much of.

Other than that, I have two main “pet projects” I’d like to get working.

The first application I want to make really just comes down to my desire to have things as automated as possible when it makes sense. In this case, I have a podcast app (Google Listen) which I only listen to when I’m in the car. Since my car’s stereo uses Bluetooth, I’d like to launch Google Listen when it detects the car stereo (which is only going to be while the car is powered on) and close it when the signal is lost (if it was automatically launched earlier). Granted, I could probably use the “Locale” app for that, but — hey — that costs money and is not nearly as much fun as making something myself, right? ;)

The second project I have in mind, ties in with my various GPS-based social networking apps (FourSquare, Loopt, BrightKite, etc.). Essentially, what I’m looking to do is to “check in” at my favorite places if I’ve been there for at least x-amount of minutes and I haven’t already checked in recently (whether manually or via this program). All of these have APIs that can be tied into, so it shouldn’t be TOO hard. I’d just need to make sure not to abuse the GPS too much or it’ll drain my battery… There are some way to ensure the GPS only comes on when the phone gets close, though, by looking at nearby cell towers or wifi networks, for instance. It’s not fool-proof, but probably would be better than having the GPS running all of the time.