Weeknotes 2023 W21: Anniversary
I forgot two things in last week’s weeknotes (Weeknotes 2023 W20: Ghent & Bruges): it was my birthday, and also my ten-year anniversary in Berlin. It definitely didn’t just pass me by — J. and I celebrated, and I just forgot to write it into my weeknotes.
We did our journaling and weeknote-writing activities at the sweet street-side café I mentioned last week. Drafting or free-form writing works really well for me with other people around, though editing in such a situation I find difficult. I typically write my weeknotes throughout the week, edit them on Saturday, and proofread on Sunday. My usual rhythm got shaken up quite a bit by the traveling, so that’s my excuse for forgetting, uhh, my birthday.
Here’s one more odd though: my weeknotes don’t have a specific audience. I write them up because it helps me structure my thoughts. The fact that they’re public is somewhat incidental. Writing with J. next to me felt odd though, because suddenly I did seem to have an audience, and that changed the way I wrote. The way brains work is weird.
It occurred to me that the word “seminal” has two very distinct meanings. I’ve primarily seen it used to describe a highly influential piece of work — a seminal piece of work. But “seminal” could also mean “related to semen,” which I suppose means you can call something “a truly seminal piece of work” when it’s absolute wankery.
Isn’t language fascinating?!
In “technology has ruined us,” earlier this week I touched a book while reading it so that the screen saver wouldn’t engage.
It’s a book. It doesn’t have a screensaver.
I think I’ve lost it.
The gear shifter cable of my Brompton bike came loose, and thus I got stuck in middle gear while cycling. It ended up being an easy fix (no tools required even), but I’m confused as to how it managed to get loose in the first place. Is this a normal thing that happens?
I missed Nanoc’s sixteen-year anniversary. The first release was on May 3rd, 2007. They grow up so fast!
A tip I got earlier: In System Settings, you can change the pointer size and color, which very much helps to find the cursor more quickly on larger screens:
This mostly makes obsolete the trick to shake the pointer to make it reveal itself. I’m a fan of my big red pointer.
Despite only working for two days this week, my job created a considerable amount of stress. I’ve been on a project where the product requirements have been entirely missing for more than half a year. I’ve been able to make progress by preparing the codebases for the eventual arrival of these requirements, but there’s no sign they’ll arrive any time soon.
This project is tied to OKRs, which we spectacularly failed to meet last quarter, and it looks like this quarter’s OKRs will be no better. This project is clearly very important, which makes it even more confusing why I can’t find anyone to even remotely tell me what the goal is.
I’m so tired.
In related news, I’ve updated my CV. It now looks rather pretty:
I’m not looking to switch jobs at the moment, but it’s good to keep one’s CV up to date, and I also genuinely wanted to have a design that looks as professional as can be. This two-column layout is particularly effective.
The design is rather inspired by the CV template that comes with Affinity Publisher. I am not using Publisher for this, though: my CV is pure HTML + CSS. Modern tech!
Take a look at the web version of my CV or the CV PDF if you’re interested.
I’ve been second-guessing myself rather often lately. A worry I have is that life doesn’t have enough time for me to pick up a new activity and become good at it.
I don’t know what that means for acting. I’d like to have achieved something meaningful in the next year or two, though I don’t know how realistic that is. Any goal I have attempted to set for myself are goals I am not in full control of — not good goals.
The slow speed at which I’m making progress is a little annoying. I’m ready to put in considerable effort, because I know that there is no progress without effort. I also know that effort will not always lead to progress, and that progress can often not be easily quantified.
Entertainment:
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I’m slowly continuing in House of Leaves.
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I borrowed my mom’s copy of Roald Dahl’s collection of short stories, and it is excellent. Considerably more macabre than I anticipated (I thought I was prepared). His short story The Landlady is the kind of story I would love to be able to write.
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I played Cyan’s new game Firmament — and finished it as well. It’s a good game, very pretty and atmospheric, and I’m glad I Kickstarter-ed it. The puzzles are fairly easy, though some are rather tedious. The game in general is quite buggy still, but I do see new patches coming out.
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I watched the first few episodes of the TV series Silo on Apple TV. So far, it feels very generically mystery post-apocalyptic sci-fi. The writing’s a little bit stiff, but mostly it’s boring. The series will need stuff in the next few episodes to keep it engaging.
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The album Any Percent by C.A.R. is excellent. J. and I were sitting in the Studio Skoop Café in Ghent, Belgium, having a beer, with olives and cheese and mustard, having a good conversation, and Any Percent started playing in the background — we have to stop the conversation and figure out what fantastic music it was! (Also, the fireplace in that café looked like it was made out of Stilton cheese.)
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The EP Set The Roof by Hudson Mohawke & Nikki Nair’s EP is also v nice.
Links:
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Practical Numbers (Numberphile featuring James Grime): I love the names mathematicians give to things.
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The Music of Tristram Village is a Classic for a Reason (8-bit Music Theory): This explains why that bit of the soundtrack is so enchanting.
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Why Hollywood loves this creepy bird call (Vox): I’ve never seen a loon but I have heard it all over the place.
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TV is about to Change. Forever. (Skip Intro): Good context on the 2023 writers’ strike.