Things are still pretty busy at work so I am still very much in a go with the flow mode. So lets discuss some random things.

I have mentioned before I am paid for any overtime that I work. I take this money and invest it. If these investments work out then I should be able to claim back the hour of my life worked and then some, assuming above inflation rate return on investment.

I am not someone who wants to retire early, my age prohibits that. I like my job but I like the idea that I have n hours work I have to do and it is counting down. Once n reaches zero I can retire or carry on working, this is about giving myself options.

The second reason I invest the money is it takes the money out of the system so we don't get used to having the money and spending it. I treat overtime money like bonus money, nice to have but don't rely on it.

While speaking about finance, everyone should calculate or know how much they need per month. That way you know how much you need to invest. Alas my figure means I am quite a way off having the mentioned options :(

Enough of that boring topic onto tech and stuff.

Still slowly reading the Haskell book, I suspect it is going to take me a good few months. I am still a few hundred pages away from the interesting parts but want to make sure I have a good grounding so I don't get lost when I get onto the difficult parts.

I am also enjoying coding in C. It is like the opposite of Haskell. Kind of refreshingly simple. I know anything I code in C would be better done in Rust. But C has a certain feel to it that make me enjoy it. Particularly at times when life is really busy.

I wrote a fairly long piece on another aspect of programming languages. It just doesn't feel right. I don't know what it is but I struggle to get the quality there for opinion pieces on programming languages. May be I am setting the quality bar to high or maybe what I am writing is no great. I deliberately set the bar very low on the update posts.

I sorted out my mic and set back up OBS, yep I am thinking about streaming again. I need to break the resistance again I enjoyed doing it in the past but once you get out of the habit it is really hard to restart.

Streaming is really out of my comfort zone. I mean crossing the river and over the mountains kind of far away. I know I am rubbish at it but that is what makes it good for me.

Gemini is a new (to me) internet protocol that apparently sits between gopher and the web.

It is fair to say most don't remember Gopher well I have a faint memory of using it but apparently is is still around and as a niche thing.

The Gemini protocol peeped my interest in part because it takes privacy very seriously. I also heard it had clients for pretty much every platform include Amiga!

I was hoping it would channel the vibe of when the internet was young but ultimately it disappoints as it rewinds the internet a little bit too far. Although kudos to them for making something that is apparently very easy to implement a client for.

So I was hoping it would return provide a simplified version of HTML. That is a markdown-esque more modern approach that puts a focus on content and lets the clients focus on making it accessible or look really good.

Good writing involves images, diagrams and often math equations. Well when it is nonfiction, alas Gemini doesn't support these. I know math symbol layout can be difficult but the other two could be support by things going as far back as slightly expanded Amiga system. Well I suspect the math layout could as well.

Perhaps the privacy side stops images. It looks like the plan to fix the Gemini protocol and not update so these features won't be added.

Obviously this is always going to be a niche on the internet but without these it is niche I don't think I will be playing in. I was thinking as this site is generated with a custom scripts I could stand up a Gemini version. Alas I use images.

Now I know the web doesn't need a new protocol to stick to focus on writing, Really writing in markdown provides that exact experience, but the idea of avoiding thinking about the layout of this site appeals. I shouldn't complain too much and I am really hoping Gemini finds it niche.

I somehow managed to not go outside for a couple of days. I know this doesn't bother some people but for me it can really turn my mood/view on life downward. One run outside catching some sun light and my mood improved. A few days later a long walk catching up with a friend was exactly what I was needed.

Note to self make sure I get outside every day!