2021
Ok. Posts done for the day on @TIL. Time to go for a walk.
I’ve put the link to the Unofficial Micro.blog Discord back up into my blog’s menu.
If you’re making something for Micro Camp and would like a channel for talking to other folks involved, just let me know!
(@-reply on Micro.blog or email: simon@today-i-learned.net)
Reminder that your average popular tech podcaster is likely to dismiss ideas such as Micro.blog because they are mostly interested in using the social web as a tool to make money.
Some of them will be honest about this.
During my recent break I watched Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Ghibli is a dream factory.
Couple updates:
- My dramatically announced hiatus is over. Instead, I’ll be a little quiet especially during the actual moving part of the move.
- In answer to my own question, yes I am going to continue with @TIL.
… turns out things aren’t as overwhelming as I had thought. 🤦♂️
This hiatus is turning into a break that is less about doing less and more about deciding on exactly what to do.
It might be a part-hiatus. 🤔
Should I Continue?
Regarding Today I Learned:
The project is currently on hiatus (covered in the latest update). Whilst part of the reason for this is good (the aforementioned move), there is also a negative motivation; my work is currently unsustainable.
What I mean is that I lack the hardware and software to both maintain and grow Today I learned, and have no way to gain those resources. These include but are not limited to:
- A computer. The iPad isn’t good enough as the only machine.
- Hosted services. Email, hosted accounts, sharing, storage, publishing.
- Editing software. Graphics, code, video.
The greater access to these tools, the sooner I can push my ideas into full production across the project.
Whilst this issue might be resolved in the near future (as a result of the move), it is also possible that the change to my family’s life will be so significant that there will be no room at all. Even if I were to be in a much better position to work on Today I Learned, it offers no immediate and obvious route for either earning money directly or in the near future; any potential path for advancing my career ambitions seems to point to a long-term result. There is a great deal of uncertainty here.
I could gain the necessary resources but still choose to put an end to Today I Learned. In this instance I would instead do everything needed to attain paid work of a similar kind (independent, remote, maybe on the web) and use a combination of the existing published work of Today I Learned and the plans that are currently WIP as proof of my abilities in pursuit of said work. On top of that I would also continue to work on other, less ambitious ideas to beef up my body of work.
Given the limited space for me to do this kind of work, to do any sort of work, the time has come for me to make a decision. I am ready to take the next step with regard to ambitions beyond my work as a carer and home-maker. Now the question remains:
Continue with Today I Learned or commit to work in which resources are guaranteed?
Ta-ra!
A quick update to say that I’m putting Today I Learned on hiatus as of this post. The aforementioned unfinished work will either be published when I return with the project, or will end up in the “what-if” pile.
I’m both excited about what’s to come but also nervous for @TIL. Unfortunately at some point voluntarily-run projects just get out-run by the real world. Oh well, I guess…
Hopefully I’ll be back before I expect but if not, thanks again everybody. It’s been wonderful to see that there are parts of the internet where some people are willing to support some of those lofty ideals from The Before Times.
Perhaps we’ll meet again. :)
Summer hiatus
I didn’t think I would be writing this kind of message again but life is funny that way.
tl;dr — Good news! My wife and I are moving for good reasons. I’m taking a break from the web for a few months, and putting Today I Learned back on hiatus until October at the earliest. This includes deciding whether Today I Learned will return at all.
Last week Claire and I took a trip to another part of the country, the purpose of which was for her to attend a job interview. The wonderful news is that she was offered the job! We took the contract home with us a day after we had arrived and then over the weekend continued to talk about this possibility; the prospect of moving again, only this time it would be different.
This time it would be into a place, in all sense of the word, that has much greater potential for us to do the things we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. An opportunity not to be taken lightly.
Yesterday I took a brisk walk to the nearby post box and sent the signed contract on its way. So now, as seems to be the trendy thing to do on Micro.blog, we are moving. We’ve done this a few times before but never with such a household’s worth of possessions nor to such a great opportunity. It’s fair to say that the next couple of months are going to be full of all the nervous energy you can think of, with all kinds of priorities shifted around.
What that means is a couple of things:
- It’s highly likely that I won’t be around on the web in general.
- Today I Learned is yet again undergoing a period of inactivity; a hiatus, for at least 3 months.
The first point is not so bad, since it’s good to take a break from the internet on a regular basis.
The second, however, is complicated…
I have been so happy to gradually bring Today I Learned back to life, and up until the past couple of weeks things were going particularly well. Now I have been given an opportunity to think about the project in the long-run, to consider my opportunities and what may come.
Right now there is no more room for Today I Learned. I am limited by my resources, or lack thereof, and have reached a point where I am ready to work on more than just a hobby project whilst lacking the opportunity to make Today I Learned more than it is.
Over the next week or so I’ll publish the few posts and edits that are already in the works. After that I’ll post an update when the hiatus begins, and that’ll be all for the next few months.
So I’ll be back in October either way. See you then!
👋
The older I get, the more I prefer tennis over football. Although the video technology in both sports really has been for the worse.
What’s a good alternative to Discord and Slack?
Let’s talk about the alternatives and bring something good into focus, rather than dwell on useless negativity.
Greg’s latest post about logging off has further inspired some recent throughts of my own. I have recently strayed from my efforts to take a better hold of my time from earlier this year. Time to get back on it.
I’ve just found Practical Typography by Matthew Butterick and, uh, wow.
The past week has been… a lot (in a good way!). Unfortunately that meant @TIL took a hit to regular posting but I’m back on it now.
People who are 15 years younger than me are starting, from my POV, to look 25 years younger than me. What the fuck.