2023-01-01 from the editor of ~insom
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Ooh, feels weird to type in 2023. I liked 2022 -- it had a
nice symmetry to it.
--
Listening to Jeremy Blake and thinking of how best to use my
last day before I go back to work. I kind of want to wrap up
or capstone some of the stuff I did or started: capture how
this break felt and try and make room in my life to do more
of the things which were good.
Another part of me wants to _not_ spend it semi-productive
like that and pretend like I'm not going back on Tuesday.
It's funny how the feeling of a break is qualitatively
different at the start than at the end, even when there's no
reason for it to be like that except for anticipation of the
future or regret about the past.
I'm not dreading going back, which is positive. I would not
say I'm looking forward to it, totally, but I never do.
--
I should probably add a `--` to <hr> / bar of unicode to my
parser. Hmm.
--
I think that when I am learning or practising a skill I need
a mix between pure skill building and little projects.
Successes recently:
- Doing AoC in Clojure (skill building) but also trying to
write an ActivityPub web app (little project).
- Cutting circles and squares and testing GCode for the
laser, before moving on to trying to make an item with it.
(Also it took quite a bit of dialling in, so I'm glad I
wasn't trying to do that while I also wanted a finished
thing).
- Making a small aluminium cube and experimenting with dial
indicators for repeatability on the new mill before
converting a spindle into a spindexer.
- Learning how to do all of the different stitches on the
(ancient) sewing machine I'm using (and how to wind and
replace the bobbin), before trying to make an actual
alteration to a garment.
If I want to make something before I know how to perform
basic operations I get very frustrated -- I suppose it's
separating the learning from the practice.
I think I rarely do this in my work life; I'm often learning
something while also solving a problem with it. This is
probably not a sustainable way to work but it's definitely
not a good way for me to be with my hobbies.
--
I am thinking of setting myself little monthly topics to
stay creative. Like when I tried to only take 1x1 black and
white pictures for some of 2021. Something for photography,
something for music, something for drawing. I don't think I
need them for programming or fabricating things -- those
come up on their own.
Like, would it lead to a good outcome if I set myself "learn
how to make drum and bass" for January instead of just
putting aside time to noodle on music?
