I really need to release a) something other than week notes, and b) at least do those on time…
This week started with a birthday for me. As I’m at an age where the only thing worse than a birthday is not having any anymore, let’s not disclose any numerical details. I did get a very comfy bathrobe, though, which I’d rate more important than monitors and keyboards for a good home office.
I’m trying to postpone any thoughts about how to proceed in general until the end of the year, easier when combined and when you have some holidays to walk about (I prefer to do my semi-existential thinking while doing hikes)
A few more project opportunities where you have to show the non-techy middleman cavalcade that, yes, you know what git is, as a programmer with 20+ years of experience (“Pshaw, I just run Visual Source Safe under WINE!”).
Health #
Nose and stomach are a bit bothersome, but not too bad.
Now that I’m off the project where I stuck to working from home, I’m at my work place 2 days a week. I started skipping the last leg of the return journey and instead of going by tram, I’m walking for a few kilometers. Every small bit adds up. (On the other hand, whenever I’m home, I walk around the flat a lot, which I don’t usually do at the office)
Media #
Still working through America’s Holy Warriors, which is painful right now, given that lot of what the religious right planned in the US came into fruition, even more so than the publication date of the book just a few years ago.
I finished the Cross TV series on prime, which was quite meh. Family man cop coming to terms with BLM stuff on the one hand, but caricature-level serial killer on the other. Also didn’t see much of the psychology background of the main character (or why he is* that* buff, but who knows, maybe the actor is preparing for some Marvel shenanigans).
Secret Level, the collection of short stories based on games wasn’t that great, either. I wouldn’t even say that it came down to me not even knowing a lot of the games whose settings were used, as the Dungeons & Dragons or Warhammer 40k episodes didn’t quite revv up the imaginary chainsaw either.
I also thought Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988, director: Yoda) had a lot more dark humour than Steve Martin’s usual physical comedy. But maybe that’s the genius of pairing them, when you’re young you’re a Steve Martin guy, as you grow older you’re more on Michael Caine’s side.
Gaming #
No computer gaming, but a surprising amount of tabletop RPG happening for such a late date in the year. My The Dark Eye group got a flying carpet for a month and I set myself the challenge of using as many elements of a very cheesy, very early (‘84) adventure in a more serious manner. It actually worked, I think, despite me speaking in a very silly falsetto.
Then my online group got together when I was already out for a nap, assuming that one of the players being on a Caribbean cruise didn’t really help, but he made it through, and we got one step closer to finishing that darn Curse of the Crimson Throne “adventure path”.
The week finished with the only campaign where I’m currently just a player. Another The Dark Eye adventure, and also in the more 1001 nights part of the setting. There was a murder at a marriage celebration. My PC didn’t complain, as he was supposed to manage his own betrothal during the celebration* –* and he really doesn’t want to.
Also quite a lot of podcast episodes about Syria.
Consumerism #
I got birthday gifts and bought Christmas presents, not sure if those “count” here.
For myself, I bought a copy of a Palladium Fantasy source book. I’m really starting to enjoy the setting.
Side Projects #
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My* pastoral high fantasy* project is gathering some detail, thanks to that Mastodon advent thing where we present a new facet each day. Actually getting quite into it.
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The RPG side project where I thought “just get something out!” is buried in procrastination as I’m trying to do some maps and even art for it.
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Got a decent “zero to hero” Rust book, so I’m working through that in preparation for my own minimal web stack thing.
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My even more minimal go+htmx project is also getting some basic components in, although I’m still not sure which of the three candidates for template libraries I’ll continue to use. Client-side templating and libraries have got a very neat component-based workflow, and the backend hasn’t caught up to that yet. One of the solutions often used is just using the client-side code for the backend (“Server Side Rendering” for React and Angular used in e.g. Next and Astro). Another is just not doing it. Am I just used to that workflow or is it really a decent improvement? This is the project I’m going to find out more about this.
Links #
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What Your TTRPG Product's Title Font Says About You – I felt seen a bit here. Actually not even a bad guideline for people who don’t mind being part of a cliche. (original BlueSky post)
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Java in the Small – I don’t think the (somewhat) new features Java has for using it as a scripting language will make me ditch other languages for it, but it is a good replacement for complex task runners when all you want is run a small script, but don’t want any other scripting languages because that wouldn’t be “enterprise” enough. Stick a single .java file into a cron job, and you’re 80% there.
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jked – Cute little developer’s editor by the inventor of the gemini client LaGrange. Also interesting thoughts about the philosophy – currently every editor for programmers is heavily into Language Servers and other helpers/watchers that continuously run in the background and don’t just contribute to the system’s load, but also to the one for the programmer when they pop up information, try to autocomplete your thoughts or underline every typo and syntax error while you’re still jotting down your thoughts.