I'm still waiting for the day that some Microsoft architect promised me back at TechEd 2005 when they showed off the Whitehorse UML to code engine which allowed developers to draw pretty pictures and have the source code generated for you.  As it is, development in general is frequently frustrating and when SharePoint itself seems to conspire against you, development can be down right infuriating.  However, the tools keep getting better and better.  Take a look at the new Visual Studio 2005 extensions for SharePoint.  Look at some of the slick new controls being released by Telerik and Infragistics.  I'm looking forward to the Microsoft SharePoint Conference in March when I'll get to take a look ahead at some of the newest tools and techniques being applied out in the marketplace.

Here's hoping for the brave new day when Microsoft finally implements ESP.Net and lets the computer do what I *want* it to do!