January 2024
We seem to have crammed a fair amount in to January. The big news is that Jack started walking. At the start of the month he was walking whilst holding our hands, pulling up, and reaching out. We spent a few days encouraging steps, and it finally happened. A few toddling steps between our open arms, with a few breaks to look at the washing machine and yell “raa raa raa” (round and round). Now at the end of the month he is default walking. The crawling era is over. He charges about in our living room, and has taken a few walks at the playpark, around the swings, in the sand, and following birds. More of the world is opening up to him. and we are really pleased with his progress!
Running was a bit mixed in January. The first couple of weeks were good, with 10 runs in 14 days. I ran with Jack around Arthurs Seat, and a good run with Gordon when he and Amy visited. The second half of January I did less, due to work and (toddler, cold-related) fatigue. I’ll be back on it in February though! If anyone fancies a run/swim/bike ride in Edinburgh then give me a shout.
Harriet and I went and ate out at Educated Flea on Broughton Street, followed by a couple of drinks and bluegrass music at the Barony Bar. It was nice to get out and spend some quality one-on-one time with H! It’s easy for time to slip by when dealing with day-to-day family life, so babysitting help is appreicated! We even had the next morning off to get pastries from La Barantine, and enjoy the winter sun at Castello Coffee.
I ran two JavaScript events in January: Full Stack+Building and Selling at GlasgowJS and Notation Showcase + Cypress, Sheets & Sites at EdinburghJS. I appreciated Nate stepping in at the minute to cover a talk postponed due to illness. We ran trailers for the events on the Scottish Technology Club YouTube channel. I hope that the trailers make the events seem more welcoming for beginners. We live-streamed both events, and have published high quality versions of both James’s and Ryan’s talks. If we can keep up the livestream momentum then we’ll have a nice archive of talks by the end of the year. The intention is to use the YouTube channel to showcase the community, sign-posting to subject experts, and to provide a valuable learning resource. We have some great talks coming up in February, so keep an eye out for trailers & info!
This month I didn’t read too much, as I focussed on work for the OU History & Politics course I am doing. I finished David Cannadine’s “Victorious Century: UK, 1800-1906” and picked up a few £1 books to browse from the Ammesty shop in Marchmont on the history of ideas, culture and political philosophy.
That’s all for this month folks - speak to you in February!
