Document: WM-043 P. Webb
Category: Life 2019.12.29
Year in Review
Abstract
New experiences
Body
In my last "Year in Review" post I stated that Socii would have photo
functionality. It does…it just isn’t reliable, haha. I haven’t
cracked that bit quite yet and I’ve also been spending time on
getting other projects up to speed. Anyhoo, let’s dig into what has
happened this year!
1. Visited Disney World
My wife and I never had the opportunity to visit when we were kids
so we decided to treat our own kids to a family trip there. My son
threw my phone into a shallow pool and I heard it hit the
bottom…that’s when I knew enough water had gotten in. Sure enough,
my phone was out of commission for almost the entire trip. Luckily
there are Apple Stores everywhere so I got a replacement during
some downtime.
The lockscreen background[1] on my phone is still an amazing
shot I got of the EPCOT ball at night.
In addition, the entire family got sunburnt. I had it the worst
since I wasn’t wearing a shirt at the beach. It was an interesting
experience, one that I’d rather not repeat. Melanin-enriched or
not, sunscreen is good for you.
2. Went bald 😱
I grow facial hair quite easily but on top of my head? Umm,
let’s just say it doesn’t fill out like it used to. I blame the
stresses of my 20s. And possibly wearing hats a lot. Anyhoo, I was
always scared to do so because I wasn’t sure how my head would
look. Turned out great!
Also, my son had his first (barbershop) haircut! He took it a lot
better than we expected.
3. Attended Comic-Con
I’ve been to PAX East a couple times so I was excited to finally
check out Comic-Con and…it’s not my thing. I like comic books but
not as much as I like video games. Still, it was a good
experience. Also, since my trip to Japan in 2017 I have been
craving a wonderful drink called Mitsuya Cider[2]. One of my
best buddies and I trekked to at least three different Japanese
shops in New York City before stopping for ramen. While in the
restaurant I asked the owner if he knew where we could find some
and he gave us directions to a strange market with an elevator.
Sure enough, the drink was there!
I don’t do checked baggage when I’m on short trips so I had to
guzzle all three bottles I purchased in the remaining amount of
time I had in the city.
4. Warmed up to an abandoned kitten
My daughter came home from her bus stop one day cradling a kitten
we later learned was roughly a week or two old. It was also wet
and cold outside so she and a classmate each took a kitten home.
My wife did most of the work of nursing "Chi Chi" back to health
and then put her up for adoption after a few weeks. Sadly, we just
don’t have the space for a pet at the moment and our daughter
wasn’t pulling her weight in taking care of the kitten she brought
home. Fortunately, Chi Chi grew into a gorgeous lil’ cat and was
promptly adopted. Turns out, she was quite popular amongst
families visiting the animal shelter so I’m glad she’ll have the
space and care she needs to explore and grow.
When we move into a bigger place I definitely want to get a
similar-looking cat. After I get my Dalmatian.
5. Made it "big" on Hacker News
I love checking out Hacker News (HN)[3] as I find all sorts of
neat projects and learn of interesting articles through it. I’ve
been checking out Lobsters[4] lately too (and got an invite as I
drafted what you’re reading).
I shared my recent post[5] about a "personal API" there and to my
pleasant surprise it was well-received[6] (with 156 points)! The
post inspired some people to check out my other online webpages
and projects and even encouraged some signups for Socii, to my
horror (it’s not ready for prime-time). I’ve also received
requests for collaboration so that should be interesting.
The other feedback I got from HN was intense negativity about
the horizontal scrolling so I quickly created a toggle to disable
it. Apparently, Windows users have a horrible experience with it.
Coming from a macOS background and with huge trackpads, horizontal
scrolling is actually quite pleasant for me so I never did further
testing when I initially implemented it. 😬
As I proofread the post you’re reading, reception[7] on Lobsters
is quite good too. I spend more time coding than I do writing but
when I do write I get more ideas and knowledge due to feedback.
Note to future Paul: keep doing this writing thing!
6. Started learning TypeScript
TypeScript[8] is a layer on top of JavaScript that basically helps
prevent you from making mistakes in your code, which helps create
more robust applications. Initially I decided to learn Flow so I
could incrementally add static types to a small API project but
after an interview I decided to jump right into TypeScript. Man, I
wish I did so earlier instead of mucking around in Flow. I’m still
no expert but I’m having fun with it and I found egregious code
patterns in existing projects thanks to TypeScript.
7. Released a couple projects
- chronver.org[9] A date-based versioning specification that
makes more sense to me these days than SemVer.
- lefty.world[10] A fun site for left-handed people. I intend
to do more with this in 2020.
- webb.page[11] My new homepage and probably the best domain
I own.
FIN
As is customary, here are some of my favorite pics I snapped
this year. 🕸
