My 2022 review. Trying to ignore the macro factors, since there’s not much I can add to that 😔. A purely personal look back. You don’t even have to read this.
NativeScript is not for everyone
Early this year, at work, we had to shut down the NativeScript project. It was kind of a big hit to my sense of self worth 📉. After some reflection, I wrote a whole post about it. I’m not gonna repeat myself here, but long story short, this is a lesson from this year. Proper assessment of tools before jumping in.
Blogging takes time
This is also the year when I started this Blog. While it’s fun, and it’s a good way of documenting your journey, it takes time. Quite a bit actually. Of course I went overboard and set up the most complicated blog that I could think of, instead of picking an off the shelf solution, but that’s not why it takes a lot of time ⌛️.
The act of writing takes time. A blog post takes me between 2 and 5 hours. Quite often I think I have everything figured out in my head, but when trying to put it on (digital) paper, turns to be more difficult than I thought. I’m still learning to ton though. Work in progress.
Next.js is awesome
This year I also jumped into Next.js in a bunch of personal projects. I have to say, it’s a fun tool. A very fun tool 🤩. Coming from more than 5 years of Angular Universal, Next makes Server Side Rendering feel like a children’s game. So easy, efficient and fun to work with. Can’t wait to start a new project with it. Speaking of Next, this Blog is also built using Next.js.
CleanShot X is the app that keeps on giving
I’m using CleanShot X for screenshots and screen recordings, and this year, yet again, they released some cool new updates. Among others, you have a pretty screenshot history, beautiful screenshots are now easy to make with artificial backgrounds and customizable padding, margin and shadows and overall a even better user experience.
This is definitely the app of the year for me 🥇.
VsCode vs WebStorm
I am the kind of person that after gets fully settled with an app, tries to get completely out of their comfort zone by challenging it. Same thing happened with my IDE. In 2021 I got very comfortable with WebStorm. Now, this year I picked up VsCode and after quite some time spent customizing each and every setting, I came to love it. Still loving it ❤️. Next year, we’ll see.
Btw, I also tried Nova and JetBrains Fleet, but those were lacking quite some features that I see as mandatory. It’s a bit too early.
Arc Browser challenges the status quo
This year I started using Arc, a browser that tries to change the way we use browsers 🌐. It took me a bit to fully make it mine…and a steep learning curve, but I can’t go back to a traditional browser now. It feels so much more natural to use. If you didn’t try it yet, I recommend it. Push yourself out of your comfort zone.
Let me know if you need an invite.
CSS is magical
This year I finished the CSS for JS devs course by Josh Comeau and now I feel so empowered. I thought I knew CSS going into the course, but oh boy was I wrong. It is by far the best purchase I did in recent years. 🧙♂️
Angular is making some interesting moves
This, like most tech things, is controversial. I do love the new direction Angular is taking. Being an Angular Developer in my day-to-day, seeing where things are going keeps me excited for the future. I love the new Image directive and I think Stand-alone Components are the right way to go. Also, we finally have typed forms! This, on top of the many other fixes and quality of life improvements they released. Good job Angular Team! 💪
The Three-Body Problem sets a new standard for Sci-fi books
In 2021 I read the “The Three Body Problem” trilogy by Liu Cixin and it completely blew my mind 🤯. It is my new favorite series for Sci-Fi literature. If you love reading science fiction, do yourself a favor and pick this up.
Thank you kind people
Last but not least, I want to thank all the humans , dogs 🐶 and cats 🐈 out there. Thank you for the push to become better, thank you showing up, thank you for trying and thank you for being yourself.
As Charles Dickens said:
No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.
Want more?
If you want to know more about this, or something doesn't make any sense, please let me know.
Also, if you have questions, you know where to find me… On the internet!
Be kind to each other! 🧡
Over and out
My year in review - 2022 edition https://catalincodes.com/posts/my-year-in-review-2022-edition #Angular #Nextjs #CleanshotX