https://rhiaro.co.uk/2020/08
type: Collection
type: Container
contains: estonian-digital
contains: photos-food
contains: hmmmmm-find-most
contains: week-review-27
contains: lockdown-balcony
contains: there-one-hot-day
contains: vegan-albania
contains: photos-food-2
contains: photos-garden
contains: photos-crochet
contains: week-review-3-9
contains: photos-bday-food
contains: 20s-review
contains: photos-notts
contains: two-kidneys
contains: photos-edi
contains: photos-edi-2
contains: week-review-10--
contains: feeling-when
contains: photos-crochet-2
contains: love-wearing
contains: photos-crochet-3
contains: photos-coast
contains: photos-holyrood
contains: week-review-17--
contains: found-really-nice
contains: photos-gullane
contains: photos-edi-misc
contains: photos-crochet-4
contains: week-review-24--
name: Posts between 2020/08 and 2020/09
total items: 30

20s-review
type: Article
content: I left home aged 18 to study for a BSc in Web Technology at the University of Lincoln (UK) because that was what I liked to do for fun. I didn't have much of a plan or a goal, and haven't ever since. I spent my twenties with one thing leading to another, not trying to steer myself in any particular direction. I don't think I ever had an image of what life would be like when I reached 30. I am privileged and fortunate to be where I am. When I turned 20 (2010), I was at work in London, doing a 3 month Google internship. I chaired a team meeting for the first time ever. It was a small group, some of whom were on video in Zurich and Vienna. (They didn't know it was my birthday.) When I turned 21 (2011), I woke up before dawn and took a hot air balloon flight over the Nile in Egypt with my sister. We were on a 3 week overland trucking trip through the Middle East. When I turned 22 (2012), I was sick and stayed in bed at home in Edinburgh with Kit, a bit sad at not being on a coach to Birmingham with the kids doing the Young Rewired State hackathon whom I'd been mentoring all week. When I turned 23 (2013), I was in Birmingham, helping out at the finale hackathon weekend of the Young Rewired State kids programming week. When I turned 24 (2014), I was in London. I spent the summer there working on Semantic Web Stuff with industry leaders at the BBC. When I turned 25 (2015), I was visiting my Mum in Lincolnshire on the way home to Edinburgh, having attended my highschoolbestfriend Polly's wedding a couple of days prior. When I turned 26 (2016), I hung out in Boston (US) cafes by myself, and in the evening ate blueberry pie in Veggie Galaxy with my friend Ned (who didn't know it was my birthday). When I turned 27 (2017), I was at work as a software developer for OCCRP in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Nobody knew it was my birthday until I found out two of my colleagues had their birthday on the same day, so we all went out for drinks in the evening. When I turned 28 (2018), I was alone i…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: 20s in Review
published: 2020-08-10T21:17:44+01:00
tag: quantified+self
tag: logs
tag: week+in+review
tag: life
tag: travel

estonian-digital
type: Note
content: The Estonian Digital Nomad visa is cool and all but the income requirement of €3.5k per month means it's only for one kind of digital nomad. I've met many digital nomads who teach English (or other languages) online who would be excluded. Even in tech, those who work for nonprofits or other public-good type organisations, and for companies in regions with lower market rates, part-time workers and freelancers with variable income are all not going to make the cut. Pretty disappointing.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-01T08:11:45+01:00
tag: travel
tag: life
tag: digital+nomad
tag: estonia
tag: tech
tag: visa

feeling-when
type: Note
content: That feeling when you're in a non-hierarchical co-op and you've been given a mandate to do something that potentially affects everyone and there's no-one to sign off or approve it. No-one to defer to. You just have to decide how you're doing it and get on with it. It's good but also scary.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-18T15:13:30+01:00
tag: cooplife
tag: ods

found-really-nice
type: Note
content: I found a really nice flat to rent in Scotland and called to arrange a viewing and it was already taken over the weekend. Then I looked at a tenancy application form which has many questions about address history I can't answer helpfully and remembered about utilities and internet and stuff and now I'm lowkey stressed out about the whole concept of renting in the UK and yeah, moving once a month between hostels and short term lets in the Balkans is vastly preferable.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-24T11:51:44+01:00
tag: digital+nomad
tag: life
tag: renting
tag: uk

hmmmmm-find-most
type: Note
content: Hmmmmm find the most efficient and least complicated way to recursively walk a large nested javascript object and change certain keys in certain cases orrrrrr change the whole thing into a JSON string and do a find-and-replace?!? I think I have my answer here.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-02T08:10:59+01:00
tag: hacking
tag: javascript

lockdown-balcony
type: Article
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: All the photos I took from my balcony during lockdown
published: 2020-08-03T21:54:01+01:00
tag: travel
tag: life
tag: lockdown
tag: coronavirus
tag: covid19
tag: albania

love-wearing
type: Note
content: I love wearing a facemask. Keeps my nose cosy and warm (important in Scotland), and nobody can recognise me! Bonus: went running by the canal the other day and didn't swallow a single midge.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-20T18:15:40+01:00
tag: life
tag: coronavirus
tag: covid19
tag: uk
tag: scotland
tag: running

photos-coast
type: Add
content: Walked along the coast from Prestonpans to Seton Sands on an uncharacteristically beautiful day. GPS trace.
published: 2020-08-22T20:24:52+01:00
summary: Amy added 57 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-crochet
type: Add
content: An improv headband, because I found a tiny ball of nice aqua yarn with gold an silver flex that I really wanted to do something with. And a 'mandala' cardigan in mermaid colours, big enough for a very small person..
published: 2020-08-09T20:57:42+01:00
summary: Amy added 10 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202007-uk/
target: 202007-uk

photos-crochet-2
type: Add
content: I made some tiny mermaid themed shoes, and delivered them and the mandala shawl to their intended recipient, who giggled at them, kicked the shoes off at once, sucked on the shawl's picots, and everything fit perfectly :D
published: 2020-08-19T21:55:14+01:00
summary: Amy added 7 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-crochet-3
type: Add
content: Crochet cafetiere cosy from two different squares from thelavenderchair.com. They were super fun to make, I learnt new stitches like drop hdc/dc/tr and ways to combine basic stitches that are really pretty, and I got better at corners. I slip stitched them together along one edge, and then all the way around, and attached tiny poppers (clumsily, sewing is not my strong suite) to hold it in place around the handle. It keeps the coffee warm!
published: 2020-08-21T10:58:07+01:00
summary: Amy added 20 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-crochet-4
type: Add
content: I made more mandala squares and slip stitched them together in two pairs. Then went back and forth lengthways to make them into hand warmers, with shells on the ends. All improv, but worked pretty well! They're kind of chunky, so good for winter. A present for J.
published: 2020-08-30T20:17:05+01:00
summary: Amy added 14 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-edi
type: Add
content: Arrived in Edinburgh! The sun graced me briefly with its presence. Haggis and tattie scone roll from Snax, doughnuts from ConsiderIt, pizza from Sora Lella. A warm but grey run across the Meadows to Holyrood and back.
published: 2020-08-14T17:56:51+01:00
summary: Amy added 27 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-edi-2
type: Add
content: ConsiderIt doughnuts and chips powered a 5.5 mile walk along the coast, from Portobello to Prestonpans. Curry from Noor in the evening, followed by spontaneous knitting/crochet circle..
published: 2020-08-16T22:03:35+01:00
summary: Amy added 45 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-edi-misc
type: Add
content: Misc Edinburgh from just over two weeks in Bruntsfield and Newington. This place still takes my breath away, in all weathers. Featuring Holyrood Park, the Meadows, the Union Canal, random bits around town. Food from Seeds for the Soul, many ConsiderIt doughnuts, Biff's Jack Shack, Holy Cow, Black Rabbit, Sora Lella, Noor, Beetroot Sauvage (that vegan fried egg!!)..
published: 2020-08-30T12:08:45+01:00
summary: Amy added 65 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-food
type: Add
content: Homemade chips and curry sauce with not-homemade not-sausages and mushy peas. Lemon pie. Doughnuts (not pictured).
published: 2020-08-01T20:07:21+01:00
summary: Amy added 13 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
target: madefood

photos-food-2
type: Add
content: I made Chocolate Covered Katie's zucchini muffins with courgette from Mum's garden, replacing her apple sauce with almond milk, using normal white flour, and caster sugar. Mine look completely different. They could have done with 5 more minutes in the oven. Delicious and gooey though. Found a packet of ramen at the back of a cupboard and enjoyed my first ramen in months (with Fry's polonly not-sausage (!! <3), tomatoes from H's garden, peppers, edamame, garlic and chillis from Mum's garden, peanut sauce. And tried to bring a bit of Albania home with stuffed aubergine and pepper...
published: 2020-08-09T18:33:54+01:00
summary: Amy added 5 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
target: madefood

photos-garden
type: Add
content: Took some pictures of pretty things in my Mum's garden.
published: 2020-08-09T18:42:33+01:00
summary: Amy added 27 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202007-uk/
target: 202007-uk

photos-gullane
type: Add
content: Seven and a half mile walk along the best part of the East Lothian coast (GPS trace, from Seton Sands to Gullane Point. Very windy, but no rain. The beaches are epic. (Then pizza from Sora Lella.)
published: 2020-08-29T22:11:41+01:00
summary: Amy added 71 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-holyrood
type: Add
content: A walk around Holyrood Park during the alotted two hours of sunshine.
published: 2020-08-23T19:31:51+01:00
summary: Amy added 8 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202008-edi/
target: 202008-edi

photos-notts
type: Add
content: A day in hospital, dinner at Annie's Burger Shack, then the train to Edinburgh..
published: 2020-08-13T17:33:32+01:00
summary: Amy added 15 photos to https://i.amy.gy/202007-uk/
target: 202007-uk

there-one-hot-day
type: Note
content: There was one hot day last week and now it's freezing, the UK can't legally call this summer.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
published: 2020-08-04T12:57:03+01:00
tag: life
tag: weather
tag: uk

two-kidneys
type: Article
content: I was born in a hospital, but since then I've spent almost no time in one. Until Wednesday this week, when I achieved lots of exciting medical firsts. Don't worry, I'm healthy! Which is exactly why I'm finding out if I'm eligible as a kidney donor. I had blood taken for the very first time.. and then the second, third, fourth and fifth times. In between I was injected with something radioactive (GFR tests, to measure kidney function). I had a chest x-ray, an ultrasound (confirmed: I have two kidneys! Good to get that one checked before they bother with the rest), an ECG (when they stick little pads with wires attached all over you, and the output is a printed chart with squiggles on), gave them a urine sample, and tons of blood work. Besides finding out immediately that I had the right amount of kidneys, I'll get the results in a couple of weeks. In between blood tests I read a book in the sun in the hospital garden, which was very pleasant. For the first blood test, I was helpfully distracted after they found out it was my first ever time having blood taken. Later on I found it more helpful to look at the needle than look away, so when it stung or ached I could see why (in one case, because she was wiggling it around a lot). It was also interesting to see the different ways different people took the blood. I have no idea why this is. One time, the person wiggled the needle a lot and pumped the uh.. the thing where the blood goes, and it took quite a while. The next time, a different person stuck the needle in a slightly different place and it spurted out really fast and was done in a couple of seconds. Two days later, my right arm which had two needles in is bruised around the vein and a bit tender, and my left arm which had 4 needles is much less bruised. Not sure what variable causes that. The sort of scariest part of this is that I might find out I have some condition or internal fault that I had no idea about til now. The process is coordinated by someone with …
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: I have two kidneys
published: 2020-08-14T17:55:53+01:00
tag: kidney+donation
tag: life
tag: medical

vegan-albania
type: Article
content: During five consecutive months in Albania this year, plus shorter trips last year, I have done a lot of eating in Albania. Mostly I cooked for myself, because a large chunk of that was during the coronavirus lockdown. But when things started to open up again, I did eat at restaurants a few times. I'll round up some of these experiences here. Skip to: Eating out Groceries Tirana Shkoder Sarandë Përmet The Riviera Gjirokastër It's worth noting that 'vegan' is unlikely to be a well-understood word (though some places do know it) but 'vegetarian' is fine. Don't assume that because you start ordering a bunch of vegan dishes, and asking to remove cheese from some things, they'll get the gist of your requirements - be specific about everything. I never had a problem modifying dishes in restaurants, and waiters in touristy places spoke good English. Personally in the Balkans I don't ask too many questions about butter, and like to imagine that since oil is cheaper it is probably used for cooking most of the time. I also look for traditional recipes online for local dishes to get the impression if they're probably vegan before I go somewhere to try them, so I don't have to have too detailed a conversation about it in a restaurant. But that's because I'm conflict-averse and socially awkward. I drank the tap water in Sarandë and experienced no ill effects. You might hear otherwise from other people. Lots of locals and expats alike buy 8L bottles of water for home (which are very cheap). A better option to both of these, if you have the opportunity to drive into the mountains, is to fill containers up with fresh mountain water from a roadside spring. They're easy to spot and well-used. Eating out Traditional Albanian food is limited for vegans, but what options there are typically consistently delicious. Vegetables are fresh, local and seasonal, and Albanians have a habit of baking things for hours using lots of fresh herbs. One thing I quickly learnt the hard way in Shkoder wa…
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Vegan in Albania
published: 2020-08-04T12:57:20+01:00
tag: shkoder
tag: permet
tag: gjirokaster
tag: tirana
tag: sarande
tag: albania
tag: vegan
tag: food
tag: travel

week-review-10--
type: Article
content: Turned 30. A couple of days around Nottingham: one in hospital for tests of my eligibility as a kidney donor, dinner at Annie's and then the train to Edinburgh. Took most of the week off work, but did some internal Co-op stuff. Edinburgh! Ate lots of good things and saw friends. Hiked along the coast from Portobello to Prestonpans. Crocheted a lot, including a full crochet-in-bed day at the weekend, which was pretty excellent.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 10 - 16 August
published: 2020-08-16T23:59:59+01:00
tag: travel
tag: life
tag: food
tag: vegan
tag: week+in+review
tag: crochet

week-review-17--
type: Article
content: Enjoyed having a house to myself. Did some work on the OCDS Data Review Tool. Read A Thousand Splendid Suns. Propped up the Edinburgh vegan takeaway scene to the best of my ability. Ate amazing food from Seeds for the Soul, Biff's Jack Shack, Black Rabbit, ConsiderIt, Holy Cow. Visited a baby (and grownup friends) in Falkirk and took offerings of crochet. Ran a couple of times and ached a lot. Crocheted some cool patterns to make into a french press cosy. Walked from Prestonpans to almost Longniddry. Walked around Holyrood Park, and along the Union Canal. Saw a few people I haven't seen for a long time.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 17 - 23 August
published: 2020-08-23T23:59:59+01:00
tag: travel
tag: life
tag: food
tag: vegan
tag: week+in+review
tag: crochet
tag: friends
tag: uk
tag: edinburgh

week-review-24--
type: Article
content: Another week in Edinburgh, running or walking when the weather permitted, and eating loads of good vegan takeaway. Also crocheted. Worked on OCDS Data Review tool bugfixes, though not very efficiently. Went for another long coastal walk. Got results back to say my kidneys and other relevant body parts function as they should, and I'm the best blood type, so in principle I'm eligible as a kidney donor. Still more stages of tests to do though. Read Good Omens. Watched The Endless which was actually better than expected and has.. layers.. so I want to watch it again. Back on the train down to Lincolnshire, reunited with Dave and J!
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 24 - 30 August
published: 2020-08-30T23:59:59+01:00
tag: travel
tag: life
tag: food
tag: vegan
tag: week+in+review
tag: crochet
tag: edinburgh
tag: uk

week-review-27
type: Article
content: Drove to Tirana, then flew back to the UK :( Commenced the last two weeks of my twenties, in government-mandated isolation. Wrote up a post about the 5 months I spent in Albania. Worked on OpenActive Co-op stuff. Enjoyed Friday off as a the whole co-op was closed for a self-care day. Tried to re-engage with DID stuff I've been dropping the ball on lately. Made a nice list of articles by title on my site. Cooked for and hung out with my Mum. Enjoyed the one day of summer. Did some crochet.
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 27 July - 2 August
published: 2020-08-02T22:24:54+01:00
tag: sloph
tag: albania
tag: uk
tag: covid19
tag: coronavirus
tag: crochet
tag: ods
tag: cooplife
tag: week+in+review
tag: vegan
tag: food
tag: life
tag: travel

week-review-3-9
type: Article
content: Ate lots of vegan junk food. Wrote about food in Albania and everything else I did in Albania. Did lots of OpenActive nodejs stuff.. and finally finished! The bulk of it, anyway. And then actually started to take some time to think about Co-op stuff again. I've been drafted into the Resilience Group rotation, which is the emergency subgroup who think about how to keep us all functioning during current crisis.. Made exciting plans for when I can come out of isolation next week... Crocheted two things. Enjoyed limited sunshine. Started reading A Close and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (on actual paper). Watched all of season 2 of The Umbrella Academy. Made a silly toy for generating simple unicode charts..
generator: no-ceremonies-are-necessary
name: Week in review: 3-9 August
published: 2020-08-09T21:15:15+01:00
tag: life
tag: hacking
tag: food
tag: vegan
tag: week+in+review
tag: ods
tag: crochet
tag: uk

https://rhiaro.co.uk/2020/08
type: CollectionPage
type: Container
contains: estonian-digital
contains: photos-food
contains: hmmmmm-find-most
contains: week-review-27
contains: lockdown-balcony
contains: there-one-hot-day
contains: vegan-albania
contains: photos-food-2
contains: photos-garden
contains: photos-crochet
contains: week-review-3-9
contains: photos-bday-food
contains: 20s-review
contains: photos-notts
contains: two-kidneys
contains: photos-edi
contains: photos-edi-2
contains: week-review-10--
contains: feeling-when
contains: photos-crochet-2
contains: love-wearing
contains: photos-crochet-3
contains: photos-coast
contains: photos-holyrood
contains: week-review-17--
contains: found-really-nice
contains: photos-gullane
contains: photos-edi-misc
contains: photos-crochet-4
contains: week-review-24--
items: estonian-digital
items: photos-food
items: hmmmmm-find-most
items: week-review-27
items: lockdown-balcony
items: there-one-hot-day
items: vegan-albania
items: photos-food-2
items: photos-garden
items: photos-crochet
items: week-review-3-9
items: photos-bday-food
items: 20s-review
items: photos-notts
items: two-kidneys
items: photos-edi
items: photos-edi-2
items: week-review-10--
items: feeling-when
items: photos-crochet-2
items: love-wearing
items: photos-crochet-3
items: photos-coast
items: photos-holyrood
items: week-review-17--
items: found-really-nice
items: photos-gullane
items: photos-edi-misc
items: photos-crochet-4
items: week-review-24--
name: Posts between 2020/08 and 2020/09
next: https://rhiaro.co.uk/2020/09/
part of: https://rhiaro.co.uk/2020/08
prev: https://rhiaro.co.uk/2020/07/

photos-bday-food
type: Add
content: Homemade lasagne sheets with beetroot from the garden (made by Mum, not me) and compiled into a delicious vegan lasagne with beans and salad also from the garden, and homemade foccacia too.
published: 2020-08-10T20:13:28+01:00
summary: Amy added 6 photos to https://i.amy.gy/madefood/
target: madefood