Weeknotes 2025W47
Played No Man's Sky, switched task managers, and went to a lighthouse. Weeknotes for the 47th week of the year 2025.
Westley Winks
Thoughts, projects, notes, and ramblings from the mind of Westley Winks.
Latest posts
I made an app that tracks the Oregon legislature
I used Phoenix to build a web app that tracks actions being taken in the Oregon Legislature as they happen. I brainstormed the design, how to get the data I wanted, and how to display it. Diving deep into OData, streams, pagination, and concurrency, the end result is a timeline of legislative actions for a more informed state.
A Checklist for Reviewing (Fiction) Books
Writing about reading is a great way for me to think deeper about fiction, form opinions about it, and savor each book. Using a series of prompts, I decide if I enjoyed the book and why.
A Wizard of Earthsea
A proud, careless boy with a talent for magic unleashes an evil onto himself and the world. During his quest to banish it, he discovers the limits of limitless power and who he really is in the world.
How I journal
When you haven't used your system for a while, the next best thing is to write _about_ your system. I finally found a journaling system that works for me. All it takes is writing down five items each day to capture the important highs and lows of my life.
Childhood's End
Apparently benevolent aliens come to Earth and usher in a new era of abundance, peace, and prosperity. Is it true benevolence or are they manipulating the human race right underneath our noses?
How I solved an online treasure hunt
Starting with a shortcut, I pretty quickly found all the pieces of the puzzle. The hard part was unscrambling them. Sometimes the search felt like work but, as they apparently say in Latin, *laborare est orare.*
If You Can Read This, You Can Learn Anything
I have the vocabulary of a child and yet, they still let me teach complex subjects. English is the dominant language on the internet and you're unlikely to find as much information in other languages, creating an understanding gap caused by language. You can bridge that gap by either learning a new language or finding information in a language you already understand. Creating resources in more…
Introducing the heyjohn Forum
After spending time in a really friendly one, I decided forums are the best platform for communities. So, I replaced my community's Mastodon instance with a forum. While the vision and values of the community haven't changed, the platform has.
Lure, Résumé, Detail: The 3-Tier Job Search Cake
Everyone is too busy to read all the details. In the context of a job search, I have quick lures to draw people into reading my résumé and other material. Here, there are links to all the details of my professional life should anyone want it. Presenting this in layers communicates my professional identity in appropriate, relevant doses. Similarly, employers should have their own three-tier…
How I Rebuilt My Website with Bridgetown
Yet another website revision, this time with Bridgetown, Ruby, and SCSS. Here's how I added a new style, tag features, new link design, and more to my site. I love my website again.
Wellbeing Tools or, A Long Overdue Apology
Part public apology, part gentle nudge for whoever may be reading this to do *something* to make themselves feel better, and part documenting some of the tools that form the foundation of my wellbeing.
heyjohn: A Vision For A Better Social Media
I'm now running my own private social media website for my friends.
Creating Something
What I learned (re)building my website in Astro.
Not Even Water?
An overview and some stories from the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Culture Matters
*Culture Matters* is a useful tool in cross-cultural understanding. It pulls back the curtain on nearly every aspect of life and you start to understand why people, of other cultures and your own, behave the way they do. Why do Americans stand in lines? Why do Moroccans use different words for maternal and paternal aunts? Culture affects what we value, how we think, and ultimately how we behave.
None Of This Is True
A semi-famous podcaster tells the story of an unassuming but highly manipulative woman. Little does she know, they're actually writing the true crime documentary she is the subject of.
A Love Letter to my Laptop
My laptop and I have been through a lot together.
My Weekly Review Process
A guide for my personal weekly review process for reorganizing, clearing my plate, checking-in with myself, and re-aligning my goals.
The Afternoon Slump
Blog post describing the few hours during and after lunch where everything is dead.
Why and How to Keep Track of Your Accomplishments as a PCV
An overview of how I use a brag document to list my accomplishments as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Upgrade
A man with the genome of the next evolution of human beings must stop the upgrade from spreading.
We're All Family, Strangers and All
Blog post sharing how the familial culture of Morocco comes out in the language.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Two programmers and best friends go through hardships and successes to tell their stories through what they love the most: video games.
Self-Compassion
Neff lays out the benefits and a roadmap for becoming more self-compassionate. Full of exercises, this book is equal parts theory and practice.
The Earthquake
Blog post documenting my experience of the September 8th earthquake in Morocco.
Essaouira Travel Guide
A working list of places to go to when you are in Essaouira, Morocco.
Finances and Bookkeeping
An overview of how I use plain text accounting and beancount to manage my finances
The Moussem
Blog post documenting my time at the moussem and tbourida, a traditional Moroccan cultural event.
Recursion
Barry and Helena must use her powerful invention to maintain the reality of the past.
The Lies of Locke Lamora
Locke Lamora gets entangled in a revenge-fueled coup that puts his livelihood and new found family at risk of turmoil.
Atlas of the Heart
*Atlas of the Heart* is exactly that. It's a glossary, a guide, for navigating the range of human emotions that we all experience.
The Weddings
Two PCVs share their unique experiences with recent weddings.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
*A Thousand Splendid Suns* follows the difficulties and loss of two women in a war-torn Afghanistan.
How I Use Obsidian as a Peace Corps Volunteer
A simple guide for how I use the note-taking tool Obsidian in my daily life and work as a Peace Corps Volunteer
Permission to Feel
Brackett provides five key emotion skills that are the basis of the book and a framework for becoming more emotionally intelligent and empathetic.
So Good They Can't Ignore You
A nice short roadmap to finding a truly meaningful career. Ignore what you heard about trying to match your job to your passion. Instead, gain rare and valuable skills that you can trade in later for desirable career traits such as control and a mission.
Nonviolent Communication
Rosenburg provides a communication method that puts compassion and empathy first. He provides the steps to communicating more effectively with a mix of concrete tools and abstract ideas.
Task Management and Notebook Workflow
How I setup and use a physical notebook for task management and to make sure nothing gets forgotten.
Khalti in the Taxi
I had some extra help from a comforting stranger on the way to my final site.
Settling In and Housekeeping
After the crucible that was training, I am finally ready to start up the blog. In this post, I write a brief summary of my journey thus far and the purpose of this blog.
The Assignment
In my first post, I am writing from home to introduce the blog and very simply describe my role as a Peace Corps volunteer
Brainstorming
Useful guidelines for productive brainstorming sessions.
Styling
Exploring Tailwind instead of using CSS.
Have a Website
The importance and value small businesses get from having their own website.
Sorting Algorithms
We spent the day sorting baseball cards with the help of computer science.
Tech Stocks
A first pass macroeconomic explanation of why tech stocks are going down.
APIs
A shallow dive into what exactly APIs are.
What Is The Internet
A description of the internet in simple language.
Proton
My favorite email service got an update.