diff options
author | Daniel Silverstone <dsilvers@digital-scurf.org> | 2019-07-14 16:53:12 +0100 |
---|---|---|
committer | Daniel Silverstone <dsilvers@digital-scurf.org> | 2019-07-14 16:53:12 +0100 |
commit | 96465baa0bdee0d32e10e27a789cd0e0b9b7dd49 (patch) | |
tree | 3cbb094bea1e8f71995f0827cc5047a7dce7875f | |
parent | faa79c0d5b8924c3f0baa2db90e1eb81a9e6d4c9 (diff) | |
download | blog-96465baa0bdee0d32e10e27a789cd0e0b9b7dd49.tar.bz2 |
Review post for this quarter
-rw-r--r-- | posts/2019-07-review.mdwn | 175 |
1 files changed, 175 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/posts/2019-07-review.mdwn b/posts/2019-07-review.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 0000000..77af349 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/2019-07-review.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,175 @@ +[[!meta title="A quarter in review - Halfway to 2020"]] +[[!meta author="Daniel Silverstone"]] +[[!meta date="2019-07-14 17:00:00"]] +[[!tag draft]] + +The 2019 plan - Second-quarter review +===================================== + +[At the start of the year][2019-plan] I blogged about my plans for 2019. For +those who don't want to go back to read that post, in summary they are: + +[2019-plan]: ../2019-01-plans/ + +1. Continue to lose weight and get fit. I'd like to reach 80kg during the year if I can +2. Begin a couch to 5k and give it my very best +3. Focus my software work on finishing projects I have already started +4. Where I join in other projects be a net benefit +5. Give back to the @rustlang community because I've gained so much from them already +6. Be better at tidying up +7. Save up lots of money for renovations +8. Go on a proper holiday + +At the point that I posted that, I promised myself to do quarterly reviews and +so here is the second of those. The first can be found [here][2019-q1-review]. + +[2019-q1-review]: ../2019-04-review/ + +1. Weight loss +-------------- + +So when I wrote in April, I was around 88.6kg and worried about how my body +seemed to really like roughly 90kg. This is going to be a similar report. +Despite managing to lose 10kg in the first quarter, the second quarter has been +harder, and with me focussed on running rather than my full gym routine, +loss has been less. I've recently started to push a bit lower though and I'm +now around 83kg. + +I could really shift my focus back to all-round gym exercise, but honestly I've +been enjoying a lot of the spare time returned to me by switching back to my +cycling and walking, plus now running a bit. I imagine as the weather returns +to its more usual wet mess the gym will return to prominence for me, and with +that maybe I'll shed a bit of more of this weight. + +I continue give myself a solid "B" for this, though if I were generous, given +everything else I might consider a "B+" + +2. Couch to 5k +-------------- + +Last time I wrote, I'd just managed a 5k run for the first time. Since then +I completed the couch-to-5k programme and have now done eight parkruns. I +missed one week due to awful awful weather, but otherwise I've managed to be +consistent and attended one parkrun per week. They've all been at the same +course apart from one which was in Southampton. This gives me a clean ability +to compare runs. + +My first parkrun was 30m32s, though I remain aware that the course at Platt +Fields is a smidge under 5k really, and I was really pleased with that. +However as a colleague explained to me, _It never gets easier…_ Each parkrun is +just as hard, if not harder, than the previous one. However to continue his +quote, _…you just get faster._ and I have. Since that first run, I have +improved my personal record to 27m34s which is, to my mind at least, bloody +brilliant. Even when this week I tried to force myself to go slower, aiming +to pace out a 30m run, I ended up at 27m49s. + +I am currently trying to convince myself that I *can* run a bit more slowly and +thus increase my distance, but for now I think 5k is a stuck record for me. +I'll continue to try and improve that time a little more. + +I said last review that I'd be adjusting my goals in the light of how well I'd +done with couch-2-5k at that point. Since I've now completed it, I'll be +renaming this section the 'Fitness' section and hopefully next review I'll be +able to report something other than running in it. + +So far, so good, I'm continuing with giving myself an "A+" + +3. Finishing projects +--------------------- + +I did a bunch more on [NetSurf][] this quarter. We had an amazing long-weekend +where we worked on a whole bunch of NS stuff, and I've even managed to give up +some of my other spare time to resolve bugs. I'm very pleased with how I've +done with that. + +Rob and I failed to do much with the pub software, but [Lars][] and I continue +to work on the [Fable][] project. + +So over-all, this one doesn't get better than the "C" from last time - still +satisfactory but could do a lot better. + +[NetSurf]: https://www.netsurf-browser.org/ +[Lars]: https://liw.fi/ +[Fable]: https://fable.liw.fi/ + +4. Be a net benefit +------------------- + +My efforts for Debian continue to be restricted, though I *hope* it continues +to just about be a net benefit to the project. My efforts with the [Lua][] +community have not extended again, so pretty much the same. + +I remain invested in Rust stuff, and have managed (just about) to avoid +starting in on any other projects, so things are fairly much the same as +before. + +I remain doing "okay" here, and I want to be a little more positive than last +review, so I'm upgrading to a "B". + +[Lua]: https://www.lua.org/ + +5. Give back to the Rust community +---------------------------------- + +My work with [Rustup][] continues, though in the past month or so I've been +pretty lax because I've had to travel a lot for work. I continue to be as +heavily involved in Rust as I can be -- I've stepped up to the plate to lead +the Rustup team, and that puts me into the Rust developer tools team proper. I +attended a conference, in part to represent the Rust developer community, and I +have some followup work on that which I still need to complete. + +I still hang around on the `#wg-rustup` [Discord][] channel and other channels +on that server, helping where I can, and I've been trying to teach my +colleagues about Rust so that they might also contribute to the community. + +[Rustup]: https://rustup.rs/ +[Discord]: https://discord.gg/cKdYFVz + +Previously I gave myself an 'A' but thought I could manage an 'A+' if I tried +harder. Since I've been a little lax recently I'm dropping myself to an 'A-'. + +6. Be better at tidying up +-------------------------- + +Once again, I came out of the previous review fired up to tidy more. Once +again, that energy ebbed after about a week. Every time I feel like I might +have the mental space to begin building a cleaning habit, something comes along +to knock the wind out of my sails. Sometimes that's a big work related thing, +but sometimes it's something as small as "Our internet connection is broken, so +suddenly instead of having time to clean, I have no time because it's broken +and so I can't do _anything_, even things which don't need an internet +connection." + +This remains an "F" for fail, sadly. + +7. Save up money for renovations +-------------------------------- + +The savings process continues. I've not managed to put *quite as much* away +in this quarter as I did the quarter before, but I have been doing as much as +I can. I've finally consolidated most of my savings into one place which also +makes them look a little healthier. + +The renovations bills continue to loom, but we're doing well, so I think I get +to keep the "A" here. + +8. Go on a proper holiday +------------------------- + +Well, I had that week "off" but ended up doing so much stuff that it doesn't +count as much of a holiday. Rob is now in Japan, but I've not managed to take +the time as a holiday because my main project at work needs me there since +our project manager and his usual stand-in are both also away in Japan. + +We have made a basic plan to take some time around the August Bank Holiday to +perhaps visit family etc, so I'm going to upgrade us to "C+" since we're making +inroads, even if we've not achieved a holiday yet. + +Summary +======= + +Last quarter, my scores were B, A+, C, B-, A, F, A, C, which, if we ignore the +F is an average of A, though the F did ruin things a little. + +This quarter I have a B+, A+, C, B, A-, F, A, C+, which ignoring the F is a +little better, though still not great. I guess here's to another quarter. |