February 2025

Playing, JS Meetups, Client work

The month kicked off with H doing another run of nights. I had a good time with Jack, running and walking down at the Hermitage, seeing horses and a pony. We’ve looked out my old Duplo - it’s fun to see it get some use 40 years after I played with it.

Jack walking next to the stream at the Hermitage

Hazza and I have also managed a couple of nice dates during the month, a quick meal out at DunDun Delicious and lunch on the roof at Chaophraya.

My client work has been going well this month. I am well into two major projects and enjoying the challenges. It’s full stack JavaScript for both of them, with a little bit of infrastructure management on the side. I don’t expect to have much availability for a few months, but I’m always open to conversations about new software consultancy contracts.

JavaScript and the community

I ran two JavaScript events: Feature sliced design at GlasgowJS and Building with AT Protocol at EdinburghJS. This month was our first time at the TravelPerk office in Edinburgh, and they have kindly sponsored the catering too. It’s great to see local companies step up. I do wonder how many more companies could spare a little cash from their training budgets? Developers learn from their peers and high quality meetups should be an integral part of the technology ecosystem. I often wonder why so many millions have been ploughed into “startup” facilities, but popular technical meetups still struggle for resources.

This month we also had two guest hosts (thanks Jamie & James!). I’m keen to get more people involved to increase the sustainability and resilience of the community, plus it seems inherently good to share the opportunity. James and Ljupche are organising a hackathon in April, and I’m glad the group can support their efforts. I have more speakers lined up for later in the year and have put together a volunteer and speaker form to help new folks get in touch.

Kristina Volk and Jamie Furlong at GlasgowJS — Jamie and Kristina at GlasgowJS

Ljupche Vasiliev at EdinburghJS — Ljupche at EdinburghJS

I am also keen on establishing a community of practice around AI in software and development (in Scottish Technology Club). I’ve been using Claude Sonnet 3.7 to help with coding, establishing workflows, and building small tools (like Raycast AI extensions). Give me a shout if you want to join a few calls or meetups to share knowledge.

Running and Reading

I ended the month ~30km ahead of my annual target, with approx 100km in both January and February. I run Jack to nursery and back and have done a few extended morning runs over Blackford Hill. Sunrise is timed just right for fresh views from the top of the hill.

View from Blackford Hill — The Observatory on Blackford Hill

Reading has been great this month. I picked up a DC1 from Daylight (think supercharged Kindle), so I can have a nice surface for reading RSS as well as books. I read:

…and I have picked through/started/dabbled in:

Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life, Agnes Callard
Meditations for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman. I think Burkeman is one of the more thoughtful writers on productivity and mental health. I have enjoyed his previous books. Probably in the reminders and affirmations category rather than introducing anything new.
Consider Phlebas, Iain M. Banks. I want to give this a good go, but need to find a clear few hours to tackle it properly.

March is going to be a busy month with friends visiting, a trip to Hexham, and two JavaScript meetups. Lots to fit in! 👋