🤓 buttondown, bitrot & dev leading
Hello friends,
You've probably forgotten you subscribed to my mailing list given it's been so long since I've emailed. This has been partly because I hate using mailchimp's pointy-clicky web interface. Hopefully that friction will no longer be a problem thanks to the recommendation to give buttonmail a go.
Mailing list shennanigans
I've moved my 25 subscribers from mailchimp to buttonmail via the magic of CSV export & import. If you don't want to be on the list on buttonmail then hit unsubscribe below, no hard feelings.
I hope to make emailing you all a more regular thing now. I'll try and share interesting and useful things, as well as some updates on whatever I'm up to. Feel free to subscribe & unsubscribe at will and I won't read anything into it. If you have any feedback or suggestions on topic or content then please do drop me a quick email.
Bitrot
https://timwise.co.uk/2022/03/02/detecting-bit-rot-with-md5deep/
Losing photos and documents due to software / hardware / human failures isn't fun. The main way to stop that happening is to notice before you no longer have any backups left or they've all been overwritten.
I've been working on a system that works for me and have shared all the details on my blog. If it's not something you've ever considered it's probably worth looking into this. My blog should give you a head-start in setting up something that works for you. Let me know how you get on!
Contracting, coding & being a lead developer
https://timwise.co.uk/2021/12/10/being-a-development-team-lead/
It's been strange times for a contract C# coder like me since Covid & IR35 changed everything. Having spent some time with a business coach late last year I've done some thinking about what direction to take everything.
From here on I'm primarily offering "Lead Developer" services through Charm Consulting, with individual-contributor projects filling in the gaps as needed.
Lead developer seems a better fit these days for my particular interests and skills.
I'm just starting a new project with someone from a previous contract so should be busy for a while now, but do let me know if you come across anywhere I could help in this capacity.
The new side hustle - "timslist"
Behold, a new domain. That can mean only one thing.... a developer with another idea on the way.
This is my chosen side-project for the week/month/year/decade.
I hate facebook (marketplace) & ebay, but I want to make efficient use of resources by buying and selling second hand stuff, and giving away things that are useful but not valuable enough to charge for. Every time I do a "tip run" I die a little inside.
This might seem a little ambitious, but with contracting, some spare time and efficient use of resources (e.g. using Rust for everything) I can have infinite runway on this. Well at least until I get too old to do anything at all!
I plan to work largely in the open on this one, so follow along.
Battling Android (software freedom!)
https://timwise.co.uk/2021/12/17/phone-setup-notes/
A large amount of my time has been taken up by trying to set up a new phone in a way that I retain control (root) but also have the convenience of a decent set of apps. This has proven to be exceedingly hard and makes me realise what a toxic thing the android + iOS duopoly has become over the years. In this post I've explained why I even care, and documented every minute detail and failed attempt to get things working. This is an ongoing battle.
Giving more value on Twitter
As well as taking this newsletter more seriously now, I'm also posting much more to twitter with micro-updates, learnings and interesting things as I find them. Say hi over here: @tim_abell
I'd love to hear from you too, please do hit reply and tell me about something that's going on in your life.
Peace, love & empathy.
Tim