Finishing PHP Monitor

November 12, 2023

My longest running personal project, PHP Monitor, will be finished soon. If you’re curious what that means, keep on reading. In this post I want to talk about the future of PHP Monitor and share a few interesting observations.

Yes, finished. Thankfully not in a bad “oh no, it’s over” kind of way. As 2023 draws to a close and I’m currently working on adding extension management to PHP Monitor, I’ve been thinking about the future of the app.

After giving it a bunch of thought, I am happy to announce that the project will be complete when that update releases.

Don’t worry: the app is not dead. I have simply made the decision to stop adding major new features to the app. There’s a few good reasons for that, some of which I will discuss below.

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Sabbatical

October 27, 2023

“I feel thin… sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday. A very long holiday.” Bilbo Baggins talks to Gandalf (The Fellowship of the Ring)

I have been working hard to improve my life over the last two years, after the end of a decade long relationship. For the most part, all I’ve done has worked reasonably well so far: I have found myself no longer withering away, and I like to think the worst part is now behind me.

My primary focus during this time has been getting back into decent shape (physically and mentally) and I’ve already blogged about how I approached that. I’m pretty pleased with my progress.

My days are quite full with a fixed schedule: a brief morning routine, work, cooking at noon, more work, going out for a run, do some work on my side project, read a bit, a light workout, and finally some relaxation, usually in the form of watching a movie, show or playing a game.

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The web has never been more advanced than today, but the web has also never been more centralized either. Big platforms have gotten an incredible amount of control over what kind of content the majority of internet users end up consuming every day.

Over the last year, various companies have been closing off their data silos, making the web harder to use for those who prefer alternative clients to access their favorite social networks.

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Good writing, when dealing with a product or service, is often invisible. The opposite cannot be said: poor quality writing can often distract or surprise users. This applies everywhere the written word can be found.

Good writing can benefit your product, your marketing materials, and will leave a better impression on customers and clients everywhere.

If you are, like me, a person who plays video games on PC, there’s a good chance that you have heard about Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield, two very popular releases at the moment.

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