It's offline-first but syncs reliably, uses the exact interpretation and display of markdown I like, searches and sorts the way I like, integrates with AI only in the ways I want it to (specific search capabilities, summarizing), uses on-device dictation via whisper so speech-to-text works when I'm away from a data connection, tracks location... I could go on and on since I add a new feature every month or so from a note (inside the app!) where I keep track of little things I wish it had.

But most importantly nothing ever gets added to it that I don't want... ever. No one else ever updates the terms of service, the UI layout, the retention period, the formatting, the shortcuts... there isn't some subscription I have to keep track of, or "pro" modes, or popups telling me about new features I should check out.

And since I have access to the backing db I can do all kinds of fun stuff with the data-- I've been playing way more with local LLMs lately with it.

I think it's healthy to remember that not everything has to be a startup or a public github repo.

Often the IDE tooling for certain languages doesn't work for me. It's too bloated or slow. I write my own tools instead. They're fast and tailored to my workflow. Custom debuggers, analyzers, etc.

I often need to perform certain tasks... sometimes they don't warrant any kind of automation. However I'll often write snippets of code in a literate `org-mode` file as I work and write down what I was doing/why, etc. Occasionally these will get tangled into a proper script that becomes the automation.

I grew up in an era when computers only came with a manual and a bare bones operating system. Writing your own tools was part of the experience from that time which stuck with me.

:v

For any decent programmer, writing reusable small applications has always been a thing. Nothing new.

Right now you can just ask for what you need and bring it into existence with a prompt. What a time to be alive.

Let’s hope software complexity doesn’t catch up to this trend.

I'm a prolific FOSS contributor, but a few years ago I switched to a very time-intensive day job and we had our first kid, and my FOSS contributions have waned a fair bit as a result. I still need to do tech stuff outside work to have an extra creative hobby outlet, so I've been doing HW/SW DIY projects like [1] and [2] that don't put me into the critical path of anyone. They're fun, and I open source them, but I'm permanently stressed and a bit guilt-ridden that compared to my previous spare-time output they're not really of much use for anyone else. My "personal software" dies alone at home, whereas previously it was used by millions.

I'm working on a DIY toy robot now[3], and I'm trying to find a middle ground there by launching a new project with a library, tools and tester GUI to control serial servo motors by various vendors that the robot is the dogfood-test for. I'm hoping this is the solution: Build "personal software", but clearly pull out the parts that are usable for everyone into a module that you put in a little extra effort to make it more available for general consumption.

E.g. with the e-ink newspaper, I should look into making the display driver code I wrote into a lib as well I guess ...

1 = https://github.com/eikehein/hyelicht

2 = https://imgur.com/a/diy-automatic-e-ink-newspaper-using-rust...

3 = https://mero.ng/i/MHgQziFC.jpg