Weeknotes 106

A short weeknote for 106. Stickers. Back pain. Outfit spotting in classic 80s moves.

The big highlight this week was agreeing to continue working with ecosyste.ms for a while longer, there’s still a lot more work to do and I’m overjoyed I get to work on it for a bit more time.

Now we’ve launched the main product we’ve started looking at all the apps that are built on top of their massive data set of open source software maintenance and funding information. This is creating lots of questions around how the design system we’ve created needs to grow, and challenges in how we’ll manage CSS and shared components across apps. Nice to get my head back into front-end engineering problems.

In my downtime I’ve been working on some new stickers. I love making stickers, they’re good fun and it’s always exciting to make something real. Hopefully more on those next week.

In bad news I’ve aggravated my back, after 20 years+ of desk work this isn’t my first rodeo but it’s annoying and really affects my ability to concentrate. I’ve got ways of managing back pain and I’ve always been proactive about looking after it, which is why this time is extra annoying. I’ve been super consistent with the gym for nearly eighteen months and I’m very active with dog walking and biking so it’s not been a problem for a long time. I’m seeing the physio Thursday and fingers crossed it gets resolved pretty quick. Until then it’s painkillers and exercise.

Watching

We watched Big with the kids. Great movie and lots of deep 80s vibes I really enjoyed. Most of all the fashion, they used costume to show Tom Hank’s transition from a kid in an adults’ body to an adult and there was a sweet spot where his outfits looked great. Who knew I’d find my style icon in a 30 year old who dresses as a teenager circa 1988?

Playing

I fancied a video game so installed Returnal. I really like the lore and visuals of the game, and I’m happy to jump in for half an hour here or there. Sadly I do not have the skill it requires but I’m enjoying it enough for now.

Listening

Kendrick Lamar. Not sure why I landed on a Kendrick playlist but it’s where I’ve stayed this week.