Happy October! As I write this, it's 21°C outside that was previously described as "autumn". I love climate change.

September was a fun month. The highlight was taking my partner on a “signing adventure” to Mudchute City Farm, on the Isle of Dogs. We're learning BSL together, and we take it in turn to plan days out where we learn a few signs along the way. We saw a lot of very cute birds in the aviary and learned the words "adventure", "river", and "cute". I can highly endorse designing fun days out for you and your loved ones to enjoy.

One of my other days out was a walk along the River Wandle, from Morden to Wandsworth. I walked the first half of the Wandle Trail a few months ago and it was nice to complete the second half. There are lots of cool parks and places along the way, which could be the basis for future adventures.

Closer to home, it looks like my house move might finally be happening. I have signed many pieces of paper and send many emails to solicitors. I don't have a date yet but maybe I will by the time of my next newsletter. I'm continuing to pack up my house and tackle the pile of unread books.

Many of these books are books that I moved into this house, unread, 6 years ago, and I want to either read them or rid them. I'm glad to finally get some of these books, including some real door-stoppers. Birds Without Wings and Pedrito Street Station were particularly good.

What have I been writing?

I wrote about glancecast, a new Python script that uses ID3 chapters to turn videos into glanceable podcasts. I can now play YouTube videos in Overcast, and I'm working my way through a long list of recorded lectures and conference talks that I’ve been meaning to get to.

I also wrote about parametrised tests in Rust with named parameters, which was an opportunity to wrap my head around how Rust's macro system works .

For notes, I wrote about how I’m blocking referrers with Caddy, so I can reduce the number of Hacker News readers visiting my site. I’m also puzzled by WS11 1DB, a postcode you’ve almost certainly seen when using the web – but why is it so prominent?

What’s been making me smile?

🧵 Several years ago, I made a series of cross-stitch patterns called “the Pride Planets” by Mathysphere. I looked up one of her patterns this month, and I found that she has a delightful website: https://mathysphere.gay/ It has all her patterns and a bunch of other fun, quirky stuff that feels like classic Internet. It’s a properly personal website.

🪚 Cory Rusch has a gorgeous video about making a wooden, gothic arch for his wedding. It's a fine example of craftsmanship, and free of the faux drama that appears in a lot of DIY YouTube videos. There’s no over-exaggerated mistake or sense of tension, just somebody making a beautiful work of art.

💌 I recently ordered several sheets of Royal Mail's special stamps, which I was pleasantly surprised to learn are no more expensive than regular stamps. I enjoy sending physical post, and I started sending them out in September. (My partner loves birds, so I'm gradually sending her the ten designs from the Ducks collection.)

💻 Glyph’s article Who is Open Source About? is a thoughtful piece about the responsibilities and obligations of open source maintainers. It goes deeper than the clichéd narrative that “users are owned nothing”, and explores what it actually means to be responsible for a popular piece of software.

Enjoy the autumn, and I'll write again soon.

~ Alex