February 2022
![A view down a rainy Edinburgh Street](https://jamiemchale-assets.imgix.net/collections/2022-02-february/20220207-A7C09931.jpg?w=275)
February was busy. I packed a lot of work into the short month. My client work is now in the “active development” phase. I’m putting together several web applications based on NextJs for a local startup, and consulting for a second client on de-risking their process and preparing their codebase for launch. Both are going well, and I’m really excited to be launching these.
I didn’t have much time for running club or socialising. I did make it through to Glasgow to celebrate Gordon’s birthday - and it was nice seeing people that I had not seen since the start of the pandemic.
I managed two half marathons in the month in preparation for the 12 week training plan for the Edinburgh Marathon starting in March.
EdinburghJS
I co-organised EdinburghJS - a meetup for JavaScript enthusiasts in Scotland. In January the in-person event was cancelled due to Covid, but we were able to get a small audience alongside the livestream in February. I gave a talk on prototyping with NextJs and Airtable.
I’m keen to provide resources for developers that they might not be able to get online: a focus on networking, mentoring and sharing of opportunities. You can get technical tutorials anywhere online, but there are limited opportunities to meet local developers. That’s what I want to focus on.
![Me setting up for my talk at EdinburghJS](https://jamiemchale-assets.imgix.net/collections/2022-02-february/PXL_20220217_180821678.jpg?w=275)
We have some more talks coming up on March 17th, so keep an eye on the Twitter feed for details of the talks.
Reading
Thanks to taking a course with the Open University, I was granted access to Edinburgh University Library, so I grabbed a few books that I’d been meaning to purchase for a while. I picked up The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander which was a great meditation on the patterns that make up our homes, neighbourhoods and cities. I also dug in to Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom, which I used for the module I’m currenty studying.
I picked up Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth in a Kindle sale. I think the concept is neat, but I would have preferred more detail.
![Cover of Doughnut Economics](https://jamiemchale-assets.imgix.net/collections/2022-02-february/PXL_20220206_093143279.PORTRAIT.jpg?w=275)
![Cover of Timeless way of Building](https://jamiemchale-assets.imgix.net/collections/2022-02-february/PXL_20220215_211248891.PORTRAIT.jpg?w=275)
![Cover of Governing the Commons](https://jamiemchale-assets.imgix.net/collections/2022-02-february/PXL_20220225_191102049.PORTRAIT.jpg?w=275)
In advance of the Interintellect Orwell vs Huxley salon I read Orwell: A Man of Our Time by Richard Bradford which was a good overview of Orwell’s life, but the references to current politics feel a little dated even just a few years on.
Have a lovely spring!