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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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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.

Hoping for a stable polar vortex

Its mostly raining so I am taking the opportunity to go through all my files and notes from the last decade. Reviwing which info is still useful, what needs refreshing and what can go to the digital heaven 🙂

I got out for two cycle rides this week, Tuesday for a ride to Melia's Cafe and Saturday Club ride.

Saturday afternoon I helped with my neighbours plumbing. The boiler was banging, so I topped up the hot water tank from the mains. The heating failed to come that morning, so I also reset the boiler and used the manual switch to send hot water to the boiler. That evening the hot water was going to the radiators according to the set schedule.

Just warm enough to cycle

I am doing a big cycling challenge in Summer so January is the month to check I can still ride my bike and everything on the bike is running smoothly.

The number of days with nice weather for cycling may be few and far between this month. Ideally the weather should be above 5 Celcius and dry conditions, especially for cycling around the Kent countryside.

I have been doing some post holidays shopping on line, mostly winter kit and improvements to the bicycle.

Happy new year

The United Kingdom is feeling the force of the arctic thats to high pressure subsuming the gulf stream. This week will be very cold with ice around on roads and paths.

Walking will continue to be the main exercise until the weather is more conducive to cycling.

Started planning for the Dragon Ride event in summer. I've ordered new jockey wheels to make the chain run very smooth, a smaller saddle bag, a lighter light and some cycling kit to keep me warm on colder rides.