Denis Defreyne

Weeknotes 2026 W37: Passed!

September 7​–​13, 2026

Quick bits

  • This isn’t new, but I find that so many screens flicker. Other people generally don’t seem to notice, and can’t even see it when I point it out. Is my critical flicker frequency higher than average?

  • I have truly lost count of the amount of times I’ve hit my head on the ceiling hand grips in the Elizabeth line trains. Tall people problems.

  • My number of subscriptions is on a distinct downward trend. I’ve replaced YNAB with Actual, and 1Password with Kee­Pass­XC. I still have some subscriptions left, but all the remaining ones I really need.

    I’m wondering whether to provide a guide for migrating off 1Password to Kee­Pass­XC with Tailscale. My setup might be a little too nerdy for most, but if you’re interested, let me know.

  • I bought a Helios 44-2 lens. I couldn’t resist. No photos that are worth sharing just yet; perhaps that’ll change once I’m over my fear of being perceived as inadequate.

  • No progress on finding a new place to live. On the bright side, I’m warming up to the place I live in right now. Life could be worse!

  • I started rewriting ddenv in Zig. This will allow me to make ddenv more modular, primarily with Lua plugins. The idea is to move all goals into plugins; there would be no more built-in goals like ruby or homebrew.

  • The far-right AfD, an extremist organisation, won 44% of the vote in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. I am appalled and shocked; never did I imagine I’d see a modern-day Nazi party get such support in Germany. I’m worried for what is to come.

  • On a much more positive note: I received a letter from A—— in response to the one I sent a few weeks ago. Oh, what pure delight it is to receive a letter like that!

Audition passed

Success! I have passed my drama school audition.

But oof, that audition was rough. I am sure that I could have done so much better. I could have done a much better job at preparing. I suppose that I got a bit tired this week, and eventually decided that whatever happens, happens.

Auditions are such odd beasts. This was my first one, and only now do I understand what people say when auditioning is a skill on its own. To do: read up on how to audition — probably something that would’ve been good to do before going in. Monologues, in particular, are tricky; it’s rough to convincingly put together a performance in an empty, echo-y room with no scene partner and only people staring at you judgingly.

Still, despite the disappointment I have in myself for delivering something below what I am capable of: I succeeded. That is worth remembering! I am often unreasonably harsh on myself. Failure is a learning opportunity, and near-failure is too. I’ll have to let the learnings percolate a little before I write about them.

In any case, I will be starting a semester-long drama course in just a few weeks. I am as excited about it as I am nervous — it will be intense, physically and mentally, but that is also just what I want.

Depressing links:

Weird and/or uplifting links:

Tech links:

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