Weeknotes 77

Every evening there is a moment when the daylight has waned just enough to trigger the light sensor in C’s “Hey Duggee” wooden puzzle. I look forward to Norrie’s nightly cheer of “Duggee!” as we settle down to watch MasterChef or Interior Design Masters.

I used an Artex Easifix wall repair kit to fix a hole in the wall made by my late grandfather. The damage was minor enough that I largely ignored it but I came to realise it was a constant reminder for my parents. A wall patch, two layers of filler and a coat of paint later and the damage is no longer visible.

With the recent changes to restrictions, we hosted some friends and their 3 year old for an outdoor pizza party. It has been over a year since I last saw them in person.

C hasn’t played with or really seen many children his age since he last went to nursery before Christmas. When he saw my friends’ little boy walk into the garden, he instantly lit up and walked slowly toward him, arms outstretched, head bowed as he went in to nuzzle against the boy’s chest.

Exactly ten hours of recording later, I finished playing Chris Patuzzo’s “Worship the Sun”. Squeezing recording sessions into lunchtimes and the occasional evening meant I overdid it on my screen time quota for the week and my left wrist is certainly letting me know.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and was reminded of past favourites such as Super Mario World, Portal 2 and, of course, The Witness.

While I’m sad there is no more to explore, Chris did hint there is one more thing to discover but it has so far evaded both Tom and me.

I enjoyed Jacob Kaplan-Moss’ “Embrace the Grind” and it made me consider when “doing the work” made a difference in my own experience.

I often have people newer to the tech industry ask me for secrets to success. There aren’t many, really, but this secret — being willing to do something so terrifically tedious that it appears to be magic — works in tech too.

I have listened (and gleefully sung along) to Brian David Gilbert’s “Just One Day - 2winz²” more times than I can count.