Today is my last working day of 2025, and a suitable time to reflect on what I have been up to this year.
The ever expanding field of CSS is increasingly harder to keep up with. There is so much innovation in this field, along with the continued evolution of the JavaScript landscape. Quite handily, the Chrome Developer website have recently unveiled their CSS Wrapped 2025 page to highlight this.
I continue my journey in learning the ins and outs of Next.js, and do recommend Codecademy for their courses on this, and other subjects of web development. One key moment occurred in May, when I began exploring AI coding, using the AugmentCode Visual Studio Code plugin. This has opened up many possibilities in my coding journey, coupled with the phrase remembered from GCSE Computer Studies years ago - 'Garbage In, Garbage Out' - AI is only as good as what you give it, coupled with the experience of knowing when the end result is actually usable.
Work has been incredibly busy this year, which is a double edged sword. While it is great to be spoiled with a seemingly endless bounty of work, I did try and prioritise personal and family time.
Among the latter, my son not only took up kayaking, he really embraced it. He also performed guitar at a Christmas concert. Having never heard Taylor Swift's Christmas Tree Farm before the concert, I now hear it everywhere. My daughter meanwhile, is in her final year of secondary school, and with it, mock exams and preparation for the real thing in 2026.
One of my pastimes is nature photography. My social feeds occasionally drop one or several compositions, either from Hayling Island on the south coast of England, or in and around the Godalming area of Surrey. The North Downs overlooking Shere brought me great opportunities in the year's fine weather to take some great vistas across the Thames Vallery, or southwards across Shere towards the South Downs. This latter spot is a short drive from my workplace, and is a handy place to get a breather from the computer desk.
After a fairly hectic period of work this last couple of months, I can now look forward to only using computers for retro-gaming over the festive period, along with much needed family time. I hope you are able to do the same, or at the very least, take a well earned break.
I wish you all a happy holiday, and a great 2026!
The ever expanding field of CSS is increasingly harder to keep up with. There is so much innovation in this field, along with the continued evolution of the JavaScript landscape. Quite handily, the Chrome Developer website have recently unveiled their CSS Wrapped 2025 page to highlight this.
I continue my journey in learning the ins and outs of Next.js, and do recommend Codecademy for their courses on this, and other subjects of web development. One key moment occurred in May, when I began exploring AI coding, using the AugmentCode Visual Studio Code plugin. This has opened up many possibilities in my coding journey, coupled with the phrase remembered from GCSE Computer Studies years ago - 'Garbage In, Garbage Out' - AI is only as good as what you give it, coupled with the experience of knowing when the end result is actually usable.
Work has been incredibly busy this year, which is a double edged sword. While it is great to be spoiled with a seemingly endless bounty of work, I did try and prioritise personal and family time.
Among the latter, my son not only took up kayaking, he really embraced it. He also performed guitar at a Christmas concert. Having never heard Taylor Swift's Christmas Tree Farm before the concert, I now hear it everywhere. My daughter meanwhile, is in her final year of secondary school, and with it, mock exams and preparation for the real thing in 2026.
One of my pastimes is nature photography. My social feeds occasionally drop one or several compositions, either from Hayling Island on the south coast of England, or in and around the Godalming area of Surrey. The North Downs overlooking Shere brought me great opportunities in the year's fine weather to take some great vistas across the Thames Vallery, or southwards across Shere towards the South Downs. This latter spot is a short drive from my workplace, and is a handy place to get a breather from the computer desk.
After a fairly hectic period of work this last couple of months, I can now look forward to only using computers for retro-gaming over the festive period, along with much needed family time. I hope you are able to do the same, or at the very least, take a well earned break.
I wish you all a happy holiday, and a great 2026!
Comments