A Project About Projects

A recent post on Mastodon by Matt Gemmell suggested the people might want to have a projects section on their blogs and he also said:

I think the best kind of projects page is the kind that also lists the stuff that has nothing to share yet, or is paused for a while. It’s like that bit at the end of the CV where everyone enjoys swimming even though they haven’t been in three years.

I really like the idea of this and decided to put something together and you can find a link to it at the top of every page on this blog.

The first version of that page contained too much detail and wasn’t really a list that can be skimmed over which feels more useful. It also contained information about things which were more of a passion than projects so I have now re-worked it but I didn’t want to loose all of the background to my projects either which gives me an instant new post… this one.

My Projects

Like a lot of people I have a number of non-work projects. This page outlines some of the current ones and will provide some idea about the sorts of things I might write about on my blog.

Learning How To Use Text

I have a preference to use text files whenever I can. The contents of this blog is made up of Markdown files which I write on my computers and store in a GitHub repository. My notes are no longer in Evernote or Apple Notes, they are instead just Markdown files, images and PDFs which are managed on my computers but synchronised using GitHub. I write work policies and contracts in LaTeX. I track my personal budget using a list written in a plain text file and parsed using AWK. As well as spending some of my time learning LaTeX and AWK I am also learning how to use Vim.

Learning With Technology

I recently bought myself a Trimui Brick so that I could play some retro games on something small and portable. And that lead to me learning about the Pico-8, a fantasy console designed for making, playing and sharing tiny games and other programs. Whilst I grew up in the 8-bit home computing era I tended to play games rather than trying to write them. I’m hoping that the Pico-8 will allow me to scratch a 40-year old itch.

I’m also thinking about buying a TRMNL which is an e-ink display. As soon as I have convinced myself that an idea I have yet to have needs to be displayed on it I’ll be buying one and having a play with creating plugins for it. I really like these sorts of simple, very focused uses of technology.

Health & Wellbeing

I changed my lifestyle at the start of 2025 and started eating better and exercising more. My initial goals were to loose weight and to get fitter. Blog posts about this are already in the Health category.

Eco Homes

I have an itch to buy some land and have an eco home built to my specification. This may be one of those things that always remains an aspiration but I would like, by 2028, when I turn 55, to have at least properly explored the possibilities of if, ranging from finding the land to the costs involved and maybe even sketching out some ideas for the house itself.

The ideal of designing and commissioning and then living in “my house” for the rest of my life is hugely appealing to someone like me who prefers stability over change.