this week was truly something to behold. a week where I finally made some significant progress at work, a weekend with people I think are pretty damn cool, capped off by a win Euros for the Lionesses. 10/10, would do again.

miscellanea

• I've asked, and the universe (and Felix and Jo) provided. I've now got some new albums to obsess over, from blackwinterwells, Los Campesinos!, Lovejoy, Ada Rook, TWINK OBLITERATOR and crisis sigil. Flume's also dropping a new album, DUMB, on August 22nd.
  • Easy Goodbye off Flume's new album sounds so damn good, I love it.
  • I've listened to a bunch on the train while writing up these weeknotes, and I know some are going to make it into my regular rotation.
• Archipelago seems like such a fun way to play games, and I've had it recommended a few times. I've considered getting a Steam Deck, but I have enough toys and trinkets for now. Another solution is to find some way to do low-latency screen mirroring from my home server to my Mac.
• considering setting up Beeper, given the number of apps I need to juggle is getting absolutely ridiculous
• came across Numb at the Lodge, where Sam Kriss does social commentary on current events through some... interesting storytelling.
• apparently, the US has classified addendums to certain laws. for the avoidance of doubt, I hold no particular position on this approach to lawmaking
• found an interesting video on surviving biblically accurate angels. this knowledge will come in handy at some indeterminate point in future
• I came across Denis Defeyne's blog a few weeks ago on LinkedIn, but I lost the link. he does weeknotes, like me, which I find cool!

musings

• reviewing, approving deploys, squashing and merging from the GitHub mobile app is the best. I'm happy with the flexibility it provides
• chilli oil is infinitely better than hot sauce. there's no sickly-tasting vinegar, just oil, spices and chilli. it makes the flavour more delicate and the condiment a lot more versatile
• Downtime on iOS is great, as it stops me from using my phone as much at night. however, I didn't realise the preferences I set on my phone would automatically carry over to my watch, and there's no way to override it if your phone dies. got caught out by that this week.
• my hiking boots are all worn through, and desperately need replacing
• I feel like everyone in London is just passing through, and nobody actually stays here. it makes me feel a little sad, because I've met some awesome people here

misadventures

• worked on building out some CI pipelines this week and deploying some APIs on ECS, which was fun. I'm very happy with the progress I've made over the last week. next week, I'll tackle data orchestration. I'm dreading it, but it'll be fine
• went to codebar on Tuesday at Butternut Box, and it was fun! the pizza they gave to us has reheating instructions on the inside of the lid. I think they definitely know who they're catering to, and I like that
• WHY2025 is rapidly approaching, and I'm incredibly excited. I ordered my coach ticket from London to Amsterdam, given both the Eurostar and flights over were prohibitively expensive
  • hit me up if you're going. I only know one person who's heading with me, but it would be nice to know who else I know there
• went to the London Hackspace on Wednesday for an open evening and space induction. it was a pretty cool space, and nothing like I imagined. managed to drag Iris along with me, too!
  • they recommend you donate £25/month to keep the place running, but the inductions cost extra. once I have a project or two I'm consistently working on, I'll absolutely join. considering using their soldering irons to finally complete rbgee!
• Oliver came over on Thursday night. we made vanilla and whipped caramel and ice cream, and had some for dinner like a real adult.
  • I managed to make my own vanilla syrup by reducing vanilla essence made by soaking vanilla beans in vodka with some sugar in a 1:1 ratio. I also bought caramel syrup a few weeks ago on my monthly shop.
  • next time, I'd use less sugar overall because the custard is rather sweet, add some more salt to balance the flavour out more
• had brunch at the Astro Cafe in Shoreditch with Heather on Friday. we also got a free Bailey’s coffee from a pop up nearby. I had one, but I know I’m eating way too much sugar as of late
• I knew I said I'd post something this week, but I'm working on polishing it just a little more. the anticipated release date is now Tuesday, so mark your calendars
• headed to Portsmouth in the afternoon, to spend the weekend with Krystal. somewhat shockingly got there on time!
  • had a little adventure on Friday
    • watched with dinner KPop Demon Hunters on Friday evening. I went in with an open mind, and it turned out to be much better than I expected
    • went to Eastney Beach after, and enjoyed a bonfire. my hoodie still smells of smoke, and I definitely need to wash it when I get back.
    • reckoned we'd go on a night out, but didn't know where. on the recommendation of a lovely security guard who saw we were a little lost, went to The Deco, an alt, metal pub. bumped into some people I met a few weeks ago, when I was last down in Portsmouth. I was pleasantly surprised!
    • tagged along with them to a robotic pizza vending machine... which was incredibly expensive. the pizza wasn't as cursed as we thought it'd be, but I think it's hard to screw up a simple margherita pizza
    • went walkies on the beachfront, played some good music. it felt good to be outside, and it's one of those moment that was perfect enough to freeze in time.
    • on the way home, a very cute cat demanded tummy scratches. I thought that was absolutely adorable
• spent Saturday meeting Krystal's friends
  • went to a picnic in a park, managed to drag a friend from London. got a frisbee stuck in a tree, and tried to dislodge it with a water bottle and one of my shoes. those, too, promptly got stuck. we eventually got it out with a tree, and some vigorous branch shaking... and then I got a different frisbee stuck very high up in another tree. Krystal's friends were incredibly gracious about it, and for that I'm thankful
  • popped to the pub, and had a few drinks. after, went to the beach and tried to do a barbecue but couldn't get it started in time. unfortunately missed some really good burgers
  • someone who came had a DLSR camera and took some really good photos of the park and the beach. I really want a camera now
• after all that social activity, decided to spend Sunday indoors
  • Krystal and I talked file systems, and why FAT12 is so terrible to work with (in short, 12-bit addresses don't map very neatly onto the 16 bits computers are used to working with)
  • Secret Level is great. we watched the Pacman, Outer Worlds and Exodus episodes. I need to finish them when I get home, as they're apparently by the same team which made Love, Death + Robots (which now has four series! it's hard keeping up with television)
  • finished the evening with her watching the Women's Euros. football is staying home (for once). winning on penalties had me on the edge of my seat, but I'm glad there's some good news for once!