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Journalλ︎

A journal of thoughts and experiences from commercial work and community projects 🌐 powered by Material for MkDocs

Practical.li provides free online books covering practical guides to Clojure programming and development workflows. Practicalli Engineering Playbook contains specific guides across the full spectrum of software development.

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All sponsorship funds are used to support the continued development of Practicalli series of books and videos, although most work is done at personal expense and time.

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Debug kaocha and Portal

When testing updates to the Practicalli Neovim config with Practicalli Project Templates, I discovered an error when using Koacha test runner via a REPL connected editor when Portal wrap-portal middleware is included in the REPL startup. The issue was resolved in the latest Portal release.

Tested the Debian Linux post install scripts on a spare laptop. Apart from the Zsh install script failing and a couple of TUI tools that need the output files renamed, everything seems pretty good.

A couple of nice rides over the Easter weekend in the UK and one just before the weekend, already has my distance for April at 288 km (and 3,480 meters climbing). There are some sunny days this week, so its looking good for 1,000 km distance this month.

I travelled 753.6 km in March this year and have a current total distance of 1,943.5 km for 2026.

To relax over the long weekend, I started a Netflix subscription after hunting through websites to see if there were enough shows on Netflix that I actually wanted to watch (not that easy a task as all streaming services are very secretive about what shows they actually have).

I was disappointed that season 2 of 3 Body Problem wont be release until then end of 2026 and with fewer episodes (6 rather than 8).

Movies

  • Kung Fu Panda 4 is the latest in the film series, seeing Po become the reluctant mentor. The best part of the film is the authentic Chinese music version of "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne.
  • K-Pop Demon Hunters visually stunning although not that deep a story line, enjoyable to watch anyway.
  • The Electric State is a fun Sci-Fi adventure with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.
  • The Uglies a coming-of-age sci-fi movie with an interesting plot. Seems to be part one of a two part film, but unclear if the sequil will be made as it took 18 years to get around to making the first one.

Rick and Morty Series 9 should be released on May 24th on Adult Swim, so I'll keep an eye out for it on Channel4.com from then on.

Neovim Config updates and testing

Continuing to migrate to Neovim 0.12 and AstroNvim version 6. There was a brief concern about nvim-treesitter repository being archived but it seems that project will become part of Neovim 0.13 release.

Continued my cycle training for the Dragon Ride in June. Designed some more routes to build up distance and hill climbing endurance.

Unfortunately an engineering manager role I applied for did not progress. The sub-text suggests they already had a candidate they wanted whilst I was being interviewed and although they liked my experience they decided to go with the other person. Its all useful experience and they seemed a good company.

Neovim

I was never quite happy with using Markdownlint as the rules were very strict. Overriding the rules added complexity to the Neovim configuration and there wasnt much information on how to make it simpler.

Whist I still have Markdownlint as part of the CI workflow, I've switched to Marksman. The Marksman tool doesnt have strict format rules and it does provide in-page anchor links as well as links to other files.

Resting week

I have a little injury so will be taking it easier this week. I am doing a lot more stretching and some yoga. I will aim for a hilly ride on Saturday morning (but not too early).

My mood is very low this week and finding it hard to get motivated. Focused on small tasks to start improving my mood again.

My mood wasn't helped by muscle strain around my hip and shoulder. After several hours of yoga my muscle pain is starting to ease and my legs feel pretty good. My shoulders are still very stiff after lots of stretching though.

Here comes the sun

Sunny times are hear again.

I have had my new winter kit from Spatzwear long enough to write some meaningful reviews. Apart from the expected tightness of the kit when putting on (and taking off) its really nice to wear. It also encourages me to loose a bit more weight (or not put any more back on at least).

From the review I received a 20% discount, so I treated myself to cargo bib shorts and a cargo jersey. Both have a large mesh at the back so will be useful to carry clothes and food over the warmer months.

Last week I submitted an invoice to MLH for user research. They use 🌐 Ramp to manage payments. I created two accounts, one for a local bank account and one IBAN account. Its not clear which MLH would prefer, so I left them a comment.

Stretching Stretching Stretching

Recovering from Sunday's attempt to cycle up all the largest mountains in the Kent Alps, twice. I only managed to ride up them once, but at this stage of my training, once was more than enough.

A recovery ride on Tuesday was a bit more intense that I needed, but more practice on longer hill climbs

Applied to Clojurists Together for funding Practicalli Clojure, creating a modern professional video series that introduces Clojure, Clojure CLI, Clojure Standard Library and REPL Driven Development.

A Glimer of Sunshine

The weather looks promising, so maybe a couple of rides during the week 🤞

At the end of March I planned to start testing AstroNvim v6 and :fontawesome-brands-neovim: Neovim 0.12 (for its up coming release). Looking at the migration guide though, it was so simple I started already. Now I am using AstroNvim v6 and Neovim nightly as the day to day setup.

I added the Markdown language pack to the Astronvim v6 config, which automatically installs treesitter parsers for markdown and the marksman language server. Marksman provides completion for heading when typing the # character, so correct in-page links are easy to create.

I finalised the Debian Linux Post Install scripts and separated each tool into its own script, learning a bit more Shell Scripting syntax along the way.

Debian Linux scripting

I am reviewing the Practicalli web sites and issues already created to find the most useful things to work on.

Continuing to add Terminal UI (TUI) apps to my development environment. Adding those I find useful to the dev tools install script for Debian Linux.

This week I noticed that Node.js website has a configurable script for installing Node.js (and NPM). I took this script and tweaked it so it supports both XDG_CONFIG_HOME and classic $HOME installs.

I have been trying out different desktop greeters, the tool that presents a graphical login. Gnome edition of Debian Linux comes with Gnome Desktop Manager (gdm). I switched to LightDM which uses far fewer resources and has a nice Arctica theme.

Debug Conjure, Zensical install & Tui Music

After a curious question in the Conjure channel of Clojurians Slack I decided to experiment with debugging Conjure itself. The issue was the first evaluation command not finding the current namespace, although successive evaluations worked correctly.

I continue to evaluate Zensical as the next tool for Practicalli books and blogs. I found a more effective way to install and upgrade zensical that also removes the need for python specific configuration files.

Bikes Assembled, Clojure updated

Clojure Monthy updates for the CLI aliases and Project Templates.

Neovim update of plugins for the Practicalli Astro5 configuration.

Compilation and install of a TUI app to play music from YouTube, which has an excellent selection of music available. I prefer using the TUI to the YouTube Music website.

A quick trip to the Coney Hall cycle shop fixed a troublesome hub in the rear wheel, checked with the mechanic on how to assemble the compression plug, donation of an old rear wheel, and collection of a 100mm and 110mm stem to test out the correct length for a good bike fit.

My rim brake wheels are starting to wear out, after 20 years of riding. I will seek out some Fulcrum wheels so I can keep the original look. Fulcrum Racing 5, 3, 1 or zero wheels are options. The Racing Zero wheels are the lightest at around 1430 grams, as they use aluminium bladed spokes. Probably nicer than some of the cheaper carbon wheels.

A review of my tennis elbow and trigger finger with the local GP. I am being referred to advanced Physiotherapy to see if I need an injection in my finger to relieve the locking. From the x-ray of my hand there was no sign of Osteoarthritis (yet) although my blood test did indicate markers for rheumatoid arthritis.