February 2023

midjourney ai - glowing sigils landscape peaceful ark nights sci-fi

I’ve been programming for so long that I can remember when SSR (server-side rendering) was the only way to do web development. Then there was a big push in the industry to move much of the presentational rendering to frontend using JavaScript.

As web hosting gets cheaper and programming languages, like Go, can handle large amounts of traffic, I’m starting to see a move back to SSR to simplify the whole stack. And it’s easy to see why:

The current trend is for an application flow like:
Database → Go → JSON → JavaScript → HTML.

Compare that to SSR rendered site:
Database → Go → HTML.

The panel discusses this topic in the Go Time podcast Is htmx the way to Go?.

Htmx is a library that allows you to access modern browser features directly from HTML rather than javascript, and it’s an exciting project when used in conjunction with an SSR backend. I will give it a go in my next web development project.


The family went to Edinburgh for a short weekend break at the beginning of half term.

Health

During the pandemic, I worked long hours and started drinking more to combat the stress. As a result, my weight ballooned. Invariable, I never shifted the weight once the pandemic was over. Finally, during Christmas 2022, I decided I needed to stop drinking.

I started by doing dry January. However, after six or seven weeks of not drinking, I’m beginning to see my gut reduce in size. I still have a long way to go, but I’m starting to feel more comfortable in my clothes and can walk further. I’m surprised at how little I miss alcohol, especially wine. So, I’ve decided to stay off the booze.

New Job

I have a new job. The start date isn’t till the 22nd of May as I need to work twelve weeks notice at my current position. At fifty three, it’s a little daunting changing jobs, but I’m also excited at the new challenge.

I applied for the position before Christmas. I got shortlisted and had to perform a short technical test to make sure I could actually write a program before securing an interview. I interviewed in January and got offered the position but its taken a while to complete all the employment pre-checks.

Over the next twelve weeks I’m going to write a post mortem reflection of the last seven years and document the project I’ve devoted myself to during that time.

Sketching

White Lion on Black Paper

I started this Lion on black paper during an art class. I’m quite happy how it turned out considering I finished it off during a second session.

If you have an RSS reader on your mobile you can subscribe to my art RSS feed to get updates of new pictures I draw.

Banding

Still practicing the area test piece and started having focused sectionals.

I do like a good Overture, and we’ve started practicing Tancredi (Arr. for Brass Band)

Links

Reading

Finished reading Libre, and started Méridien book 3 in S.H. Jucha’s Silver Ships series.

Listening

Sill listening to Craig Alanson’s Expeditionary Force, book 9, Valkyrie

Watching

By writing down what I watch I can review how much TV I consume. It’s shocking, but here is the list for February: