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A year in review: 2023 from Max Böck RSS feed.

A year in review: 2023

Max Böck

Haven't done one of these since 2020, but this feels like a good opportunity to get some writing in just before the new year. Let's see if I can still remember how to do this blogging thing.

Work

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We built a lot of interesting projects in 2023 with Codista, and we’ve had a very good year working with established clients and partners. Some of it has been quite challenging, but we managed to pull off a stellar track record of successful projects, and I’m really proud of our small company!

We also hired our first front-end developer (other than myself). I’ve posted the job listing on our own website and on Mastodon, and with the help from the web dev community, we found somebody who fits our team really well and I’m very happy with them. A big thanks to everyone who boosted the post or mentioned it at meetups!

Health

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I’ve struggled a bit with personal health issues this year. I have a moderately severe form of atopic dermatitis, an auto-immune disease of the skin. I’ve had it all my life. Some days it feels OK, while on others it feels like my skin is on fire and it’s hard to concentrate on anything else besides the impulse to scratch. If you’ve ever seen me give a talk and my face was bright red, it’s not (only) because I’ve been drinking the night before.

When I was younger I’ve tried different forms of therapy, but none of them really worked - so I’ve become pretty much used to living with it. But then it got a lot worse in 2023. I couldn’t sleep properly anymore and it started to affect other areas of my life, so I decided to take another shot at fighting it.

I got a new doctor and started treatment with a new drug that recently got EMA approval. After half a year, I switched to a different drug, which I’m currently still evaluating. First results have been promising though, so fingers crossed that this is the one. Would certainly make my 2024 more pleasant.

Traveling

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I was fortunate enough to see some beautiful places this year. Event though my pre-pandemic days of traveling the more remote parts of the world are likely over, it’s still nice to get out and explore again.

I went to Zurich for a client workshop in the spring, and immediately followed that up with a trip to Amsterdam for CSS Day 2023. That conference was one of the best I’ve ever been to. Even though I caught a pretty bad cold and had to skip some of the fun - the talks, people and just overall atmosphere of that event were amazing.

I’m grateful I got to see so many familiar faces and talk to some of my web friends in person. I also left the conference feeling very inspired and (as always) a little guilty that I can’t find enough time for community work and writing. Hopyfully next year my schedule will allow for a bit more of that.

a group selfie of people in a hotel lobby, smiling faces all around
With Nils and Una at the CSS Café Meetup, the day after the conference

In the summer, we went for a vacation in the south of Croatia and spent two weeks on the Dalmatian coast.

clear, turquoise water and green pine trees in a small bay. a sailing boat in the background
A nice quiet bay at the shores of Hvar island

We also did some more work on our small garden house in Lower Austria and had a few lovely days in autumn hiking the surrounding hills and vineyards.

a small red house in a garden in spring, pink blossoms on a tree in the background
The matching birdhouse really brings it together

Music, Movies, Books and Stuff

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I enjoyed lots of stuff this year, so I’ll just give you the top 3 of each:

Music

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Movies

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Books

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Stuff

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Tech

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I think I’ve grown a bit weary of the tech industry this year. I still love the web and I love what I do for work, but I lost some of my interest in new developments, new frameworks, the hot tech of the day. I just don’t care as much anymore.

It may also be the rising topic of AI that is popping up everywhere you look, or the crypto-esque attitude that seems to go along with it. Instead of being excited about new possibilites, I feel a bit disheartened by the trends I see. AI looks like a great tool, but everything I read about how it’s actually applied comes from the same hyper-captitalist mindset that brought us gems like bitcoin mining and NFTs. I don’t know, maybe I’m just tired.

There are other trends as well that I feel more optimistic about. Ones that call for a weirder web with more original, human content. It could just be wishful thinking, but I’ve caught glimpses of that version of the future for a while now. Here’s hoping.

Well, that’s all folks. See you in 2024!