What I learned in 2024

1st January:

On the first day of this little "challenge" I set myself, I learned that my needs and wants are never clear to me, I wanted to stay indoors and play some new games that I had gotten, and try to get Delphine to play with me (a thing I've been slowly getting her to do more and more). but instead, she wanted to leave our apartment and go out to do something in nature. Something I always love doing, but rarely something I do on the spur of the moment. I was reluctant, she offered to go by herself, but I asked myself why I didn't want to go, there was no reason. So I went and enjoyed it, It was something I needed to do, but not necessarily wanted, a good first and thoughtful lesson for the year.

2nd January:

Today I learned that people like to talk, whether it's about their holidays or just a quick hello. I also learned that I love this as well, and don't return the favour enough, I don't say "what about you?" as much as I could or should.

3rd January:

Today I learned that people don't expect change, they expect things to stay the same, and will only realise change once they have been told or shown. This applies to the mind and in day-to-day tasks.

4th January:

Don't jump straight into a complex situation, block it out before you take the leap.

5th January:

Fonts are actually Typefaces, but most mind-blowingly... popular and common fonts today were created decades, if not centuries ago. crazy how much of the past we bring into the future.

6th January:

The wait feels longer, even if the event is technically longer.

7th January:

you can rock climb higher grades easily with the right technique, your mind is the main blocking factor.

8th January:

Irish structure (when it comes to college, and honestly applies to most other things I'm now observing) is a lot more hands-off when it comes to admin work, for example, my internship handler at Bioviva was expecting to fill out a report for me and have a meeting with my college handler. Instead, my college handler said he was going to organise a meeting, and 2 months later still nothing, I got a message saying to not bother with the works report, something Bioviva is not used to as they compared it the the French system. I think it's a cultural difference as the Irish tend to be more relaxed about the little details than the French, we will get it done if we can with less hassle, while the French prefer to do the hassle to make sure everything is proper.

9th January:

"doing nothing sometimes leads to the best of something"

10th January:

motivation is hard to find when doing tasks you are not invested in, but sometimes you need to get on with it as the result can be rewarding.

11th January:

I'm really bad at writing reports, I kinda knew this already, but with the end of my internship coming up I have to write about it, and I cannot be serious while doing it, nor do I care, I value the things I learned, but I don't care about writing a report just so someone else can say I did good enough, nor do I care what they say hence why my report is filled with jokes, sarcasm and on my website instead of a college approved times new roman size 12-word document.

12th January:

I like little small theatre plays.

13th January:

Companies don't care about their products. I got a full refund for my USB hub, without proof or asking to return it. also, the person was working on Saturday.

14th January:

You can tell when a game is made passionately, even when it has game-breaking bugs and lacks in some places (Sail Forth) its a great small game, that has passion.

15th January:

Its hard to know that things are going to change.

16th January:

Doing what you enjoy, is more valuable than doing something you have to do.

17th January:

When playtesting, you should go through and explain each element fully before rather than skim past every element to explain the goal.

18th January:

I always say to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but today I realised that when it comes to events I organise, I always prepare for the best, and expect the worst.

19th January:

It's hard to do something for the last time.

20th January:

Eating cookies and milk BEFORE a restaurant is not a good idea, I couldn't finish my meal.

21st January:

The Cuphead designers didn't expect the attention their game would get and amazingly took a massive financial risk to continue the project, If you have a good feeling, and others do too, maybe it's worth giving a shot.

22nd January:

Happiness is different thigs to different people.

23rd January:

People would rather simulate nature rather than save it.

24th January:

People who try so hard to fit in and worry about what other people think, end up becoming become bland.

25th January:

I am no dependant on my macropad on my laptop, i actually dont know how i managed it before!

26th January:

Remembering to do something like this is hard, and I tend to forget, I need to remember to take the time to do the little things!

27th January:

The team behind Insurgency Sandstorm was let go?!?! cause the bigger company is not getting enough money (essentially). It is such a shame that big corporations have no passion for their projects.

28th January:

I should pay more attention to the people around me, I tend to miss out on details, big and small.

29th January:

I've been making "serious games" in Bioviva, I never knew they had a name, but I just started a module on them there, so pretty exciting!

30th January:

I started learning GODOT :) it's going well... ish.

31st January:

I don't feel good if i go to bed late and get up late, I'm more of a day person.

1st February:

Blocking things out, makes tasks easier to plan for and execute, even if it's just small things, don't let them build up. and I learned the Fusion 8 knot :) It's going to be my new go-to for rigging pitches in caving.

2nd February:

Today I learned that delegating tasks to people and making sure that they verbally confirm it and take them down, will ensure that they know they are responsible for their tasks.

3rd February:

college gives you too much freedom in some areas and fails to restrict us when it comes to other areas, for example in my current group project, everyone is used to writing the initial document after they have begun development, which means it usually has assets and concepts that will be in the finished game. why is this bad? when we had to write a game proposal for our serious game, and I asked for concept art to show different routes we can take, they all asked for end product-related details, things we shouldn't even be starting now as the project has not been greenlit. the college makes us pump out games in quick succession, speeding up a realistic development cycle, and therefore the students don't properly learn what is expected of them in these documents.

4th February:

when entering a situation you have had a bit of anxiety about, it is best to approach it with an open mind and positive attitude, as it will usually be fine. When you overthink you tend to think of worst-case scenarios that often will never happen.

5th February:

Passion projects tend to be the most open to change and new ideas, trust in those that come with inspiration and you will be rewarded.

6th February:

my lecturer is insane, but he does have some good advice on life, sometimes.

7th February:

Doing stuff now is better than later.

8th February:

DJ'ing equipment looks complicated, but in reality, it works simply.

9th February:

The open beta for Skull and Bones is a great testing and marketing stunt. it provides enough gameplay to get players hooked and wanting more, but also irons out the game braking bugs that would normally arise on launch day.

10th February:

Some People have little experience with camping, I went on a camping night with some friends, we were close to Dublin and close to the car, but to some of the lads it was as wild as it could get.

11th February:

Beauty is subjective, I tend to dislike the skyline view of Dublin from the Dublin mountains, but others seem to find it amazing, most things are subjective in life.

12th February:

Love is more powerful than it looks, people will always have more love in them than you can see from the outside.

13th February:

I learned the Fusion 8 knot for rigging caves and applied it in training, I also learned how to easily orientate the knot to have no overlapping ropes and an easier way to set up a distant rebelay when the bolt is too small for the rigging crab and your cowstail.

14th February:

Not everyone thinks of Valentine's Day the same, for some people, it's just another day, cause why stop and do something when you can just do it another day?

15th February:

Safety and first aid are very useful, but an Irish Cave Rescue Organisation (ICRO) member mentioned that if there are too many responsible people for the amount of accidents in Ireland, and are stepping down for training so that they can be used as general help rather than be one of the many with specific training for rare scenarios. If everybody is trained to carry the stretcher, no one will think or want to carry the equipment after.

16th February:

my new picture bag is a tight fit, probably better for when i need specific equipment

17th February:

the fusion 8 knot has a big downside, you can get stuck if the carabeener is clipped on the wrong side.

18th February:

some caving clubs have completely folded for the SSI complying with everything, even if it means unintentionally endangering themselves in the long run.

19th February:

I learned about Depaul and the services it provides! its cool to note that its not really affiliated with saint vincent depaul

20th February:

Taking care of yourself is more important than attending optional events.

21th February:

I learned methods of clipping into the rope while lead climbing, I also learned 3 different types of prusik loops!

22th February:

I can't focus on tasks easily if I'm not in the right mindset, I tend to get overwhelmed if I have many tasks without much planning.

23th February:

I learned what my thesis is going to be about, I'm set on the idea that it incorporates developing communities and environments and how games can influence this. the project will take 6 months to complete.

24th February:

Many people go hiking without the proper attire in Ireland, I assume it's because people here aren't used to mountains, and assume all the hikes and walks are accessible seeing as we aren't known for having difficult hikes and trails.

25th February:

the time beside the plan is after the gate closes, I had a close call.

26th February:

practising for something will never prepare you for the real situation, as almost all factors are different, for example I practised clipping into a quickdraw for ages, then I forgot when I was halfway up the wall and had to clip with another hand.

27th February:

I will always forget that my computer is not on French time when I'm in France. it can lead to moments where i seem more forgetful than I am, as when I forget my plan go out the window as now I'm an hour behind.

28th February:

Writing down and planning your tasks, can lead to more efficient time management (duh) It is something I struggled with until Delphine told me to try it.

29th February:

always keep your stuff up to date, even if you don't think you need it now, you may need it later.

1st March:

I learned different audio properties in unity. which is useful and cool!

2nd March:

People make exceptions to everything, whether that's a vegetarian saying they'll eat meat to make it less complicated for cooking, or someone using a different pen than usual because they think they're in a rush. Very few people are willing to make small sacrifices, even if they directly go against their beliefs.

3rd March:

Ambulance electricals are hard to manipulate for van conversions, they tend to be built for specific cases and not made to be interchangeable or expandable.

4th March:

People don't have the same sense of urgency as I do on certain subjects, which makes leading a project hard. I like to think that my priority is split, managing projects and clubs I tend to spend a lot of time supporting the groups in all ways that I can. However, my peers struggle with this management, creating holes and blunders when relying on others for work. It's not on them, it's on me to improve and try to motivate my teams to do their best.

5th March:

The Irish Student Caving Forum is going quite well, my committee members are taking the initiative and are invested, in contrast to yesterday, it is nice to see.

6th March:

Meeting in person is worth at least 3 emails, From now on I'm going to meet with people in person rather than a thread of emails. For caving, I had sorted what would have taken many back and forwards, same for Game Engines and work.

7th March:

Companies are heartless even when they say they aren't, especially big ones like IKEA, SAP, and Amazon, these companies have one thing in mind, revenue. they can't be trusted to help the environment or our planet. It's also sad to see that their employees believe the lies these companies put out, like yes they plant trees, but the impact of their other actions is not offset enough, only on a spreadsheet that doesn't incorporate all the data.

Also, I was looking at the fusion 8 knot wrong, I was crossing over the wrong strands.

8th March:

I learned how Lego Duplo developed their games, it was interesting to see that their full developing timeline had to fit into 8 weeks, that not a long time for prototyping, developing, QA and bug fixing!

9th March:

5 guys has gotten more expensive since I've last been, even more pricey than it was.

10th March:

Easons online has sales that don't apply in shops, it was cheaper to get it delivered to the house rather than pick it up in the shops.

11th March:

More people than I expected left things to the last minute, much of my team for the Charity game was stuck doing the assignment due that day, bar one who had it done and he was sick.

12th March:

I learned how sound bouncing and refraction worked in basic terms, this is for my 3d orchestral project.

13th March:

I learned many driving theory test things, such as road signs and laws.

14th March:

I learned how to drive up to second gear in a car, it was great fun.

15th March:

I learned how to use Mendeley effectively for my dissertation. and also a bunch of stuff from the caving technique book, such as different methods to ascend a rope and different equipment pieces that we don't use in Ireland.