Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

🇨🇦

Of Great Exclaim

The way war was an abuse And hearing sirens’ call I must have been alone And felt true But buy this coal Claimed a piece of Andrew And surely felt well Upon this day But these fears The way of time, In just a mouse And had left me here, Inept, For just a minute

🌨️

North

I can’t understand Why Wisdom blue And Earth’s time Upon and edge The stellar plane Appears and whistles For conduct court But you a day In this great white ambulance Out of my way With flowers in hand For the USA Its day of forgiving From way up North In Heaven games C++ and lonely dreams To bless the ones Who dial as such And maybe two Accept this missile For the mausoleum Of freeborn men

In Sparrow’s view A gentle castle Protecting cats And difference made The early Brit Who headed West And one aseated Upon the desk

We come across an urgent land But five is plenty In fires of Rome And we sign peace Unto the moon But on this Earth We march within- And not against- As men in Rome Who hold the cares Of sovereign Man- And rain, and due course- And figures of eight And God blessed Trudeau In subsequent tales For peace within respect And not some reason- Unseen

We pray for peace Within toward The President on time To rectify this fear Who runs astray- Generally not far But placing days On heads of steel Fortune plaid In sixty seek

We’ll run this test And talk to Rome About within That Heaven’s departure For dolphins hear This express tune And know the weary Live at one

It's 2026 already, and not even the first day of the new year. For the rereading Project, that means a chance to share some of the exciting things we're looking forward to in 2026!

Committee Nominations

Governance continues to be the highest priority for the rereading Project. To kick that off, we'll shortly open a Community Forum post where you can nominate yourself or others to be inaugural members of the Steering, Partnerships, and Ethics Committees. We hope to shortly have all three Committees up and running, and to fully shift decision making into formal governance.

Expanding Arcalibre

We'll have more to say soon, but in parallel with starting up formal governance, we're also expanding our goals for Arcalibre, our AI-free fork of Calibre. Arcalibre was started with the idea of producing an “archival” version of Calibre with all AI antifeatures removed, serving as a basis for other forks in the future.

Since then, there's been a lot of excitement for continued development of an AI-free e-book manager, as well as new opportunities to streamline the Calibre build process. Meeting that excitement and taking advantage of those opportunities means treating Arcalibre as a living body of software, and expanding beyond an archival fork.

Pre-alpha Arcalibre Builds

Recently, two contributors were able to each build and run Arcalibre tests on their own machines (thank you @cthos@mastodon.cthos.dev and @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io!). That's a long way from having downloadable releases that can be easily tested, but we're excited to get Arcalibre into a pre-alpha state early in 2026, so that there's plenty of time to kick the tires and see where we still need to improve.

More Posting

Governance requires transparency, and that means a chance to write more about what's going on at the rereading Project. Writing is good and fun, anyway, so let's do more of that in 2026!

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There's a lot wrong in the world, but there's also books, people who love reading books, people who love writing books, and the whole community of people sharing that love. That's the love and excitement that we're looking to bring into 2026 with the rereading Project. Thanks for being with us on that journey!

Schermziekte

“Meneer Voorbijgaande Aard u lijdt aan schermziekte” dat zei de arts tegen mij, amechtig hangend in onzekerheid aan de dunne scheidslijn. Voor ze deze diagnose konden stellen hadden ze een data onderzoek nodig van maar liefst zes weken, vijf dagen, drie uur, twee minuten en dertig seconden zei een zeer net sprekende robotstem aan de ene, verre kant van de telefoon. Schermziekte kende ik niet maar ik was heel ontdaan toen ik het te horen kreeg. Ik moest meteen janken, hoelang heb ik nog vroeg ik als eerste, het moest namelijk wel terminal zijn. De arts zei dat ik nog niet in levensgevaar verkeerde tenminste niet meteen, daar was wel wat meer voor nodig dan dit, en omdat ik er zo vroeg bij was kon ik dat vroegtijdig uitloggen eenvoudig voorkomen door toepassing van zeer hardnekkige uitstel want ik verkeerde nog maar in de eerste fase van dit plots opgekomen kwalijke, zeer ongezonde nieuwe euvel.

Ik vroeg dan maar een andere wel bekende vraag voor artsen, welke pillen moest ik waar in pluggen zodat ik hiermee beperkt levend verder kon leven met van al wat is en kan zijn een stuk minder natuurlijk. De man sprak over vijfmaal daags een USB stick en drie keer per week een aangelijnde upgrade van dokter Mirco Google verder moest ik vaker dagen zonder scherm leven om de voortslepende afhankelijksproblematiek danig te verminderen. Die uitspraak deed pas echt pijn, er zijn zoveel dingen die ik moet volgen, de koersen, het veldrijden, de aandelen, de geweldige films op net flix, sky home video en prime video, echt ongelooflijk goed, daar een dag zonder zitten is als een dag niet ademen. Vreselijk moeilijk. De arts begreep dit allemaal heel goed, hij had er vaak mee te maken gehad, ook persoonlijk, nog altijd moest hij het volgen van zijn eigen aandelen en bijbehorende koersen overlaten aan bevriende bankiers. Het was echter een noodzakelijke ingreep om stukken langer gelukkiger te leven. Ik moest het maar zien als een oplossing voor een probleem en niet als een ziekte ook al noemde hij het dus zelf wel zo. Hij had net zo goed kunnen zeggen dat ik leed aan het zelf probleem oplossend vermogen door mijn geheel eigen persoonlijke werkomgeving, het persoonsgebonden lijf.

Ik kon dit niet rijmen met het missen van schermtijd, een intens verlangen daaraan vulde hele dagen, vooral de lange, bij het opstaan dacht ik aan alles wat ik later zou gaan beleven al zittende turend naar het leven van anderen op geruime afstand van mijn werkelijkheid, mensen laverend door een grote variatie aan bedenkelijke landschappen, teksten van anderen declamerend alsof ze het zelf zo wouden zeggen, rond banjeren met schietwapens, in het kader van een of 't andere boodschap mensen zogenaamd vermoorden voor een vrij vaag goed bedoeld doel, de boodschap van de predikant regisseur overhevelen van grote grauwe grijze hersenmassa in iets minder grijze massa, ik hier zij heel ergens anders, driftig bezig met overleggen en sponsor gelden optrommelen via een tam tam voor een nieuw vers komend film met serie potentieel project, iets over verraderlijke lege machten die een heel land meeslepen naar een hel van ongekende proportie en een stel helden met enorm geweldige krachten, ogenschijnlijk heel normale acteurs maar dan opeens zetten ze zichzelf om in meneer en mevrouw blockbuster, die met raket aangedreven anus, vuurspuwende oren en ongekend harde scheldwoorden de aarde redden van een andere serie van oorzaken en gevolgen, en dan later na de basis film volgt cultuurlijk een hele serie waarin Blok en Buster vrienden maken, verliezen in de bikkelharde strijd tegen de oerlelijke maar uiterst pientere vijand, gemaakt uit een combinatie van natuur en ai (marimba) door een zootje waanzinnige wetenschappers, biologen en micro computer biologen of zo en ik dat dan moeten missen omdat ik lijd aan schermziekte dat zou te erg zijn, erger dan dood gaan denk ik. Daar hoor ik namelijk nooit goede verhalen over van die arme mensen die daar eenmaal over lijden. Als er een god en hemel is of duivel met hel dan beschikken die vast en zeker over alles bedwingende zwijgcontracten.

De dokter zei dat ik misschien moest overwegen om ergens anders naar te turen. Hij noemde geen voorbeelden daarom vroeg ik, de vers bakken patiënt inmiddels in onzekerheid verkerend, door, over en weer door. Waar dan naar? Wie, wanneer, met welke ogen en hoe laat? Ik bedoel die schermen zijn er toch voor, ze zijn speciaal gemaakt voor langdurig turen, de programmatuur er op aangepast, leuk gemaakt voor dat ene doel, kijken en soms een beetje luisteren, mijn hersenen vinden dat enorm leuk, mijn ogen hebben geen enkele moeite met kijken naar ingebeelde verhalen, ook al zijn ze in principe niet van mij afkomstig toch maak ik ze mij meteen eigen. Geef me alsjeblieft werkzame, schermziekte genezende tips geneesheer! De dokter zei dat ik naar bladzijden kon kijken. Ja, nou, alsof die zo vreedzaam en goed zijn, daar zitten dezelfde predikanten aan het taal spinnewiel, makers en herhalers van dezelfde soort verhalen, waarin mensen die doen alsof met elkaar praten alsof ze echt zijn daar zijn en doen alsof ze ergens zijn waar ze nooit waren, zullen zijn, alsof ze zo willen wezen, ze zijn er misschien ooit geweest maar nooit niet op die ene dag en dat ene moment en al helemaal niet dachten ze wat ze volgens de auteur van het vehikel moesten denken en meestal ook niet deden zoals wel wordt beschreven, fake!!! riep ik, dit is van het zwart en de pot met de ketel gerukt, trouwens aan iedere episode op een scherm gaat zo'n boekwerk vooraf. Dit is meer van hetzelfde maar misschien nog wel ernstiger. Het lijkt op wel zeer gerichte marketing, direct contact met de hersencellen van mij, een onschuldig heerschap, oog in oog met een hoop donkere lettergrepen in conclaaf met klemtonen figurerend op een bleke achtergrond, ik in onmacht gezeteld op een zetel voor zitten lijden aan het einde maken der tijden gemaakt, mijn tijd aan het verdoen en dat nog wel op advies van u een heerschap die ik zeer hoog acht, enorm, een ongelooflijk geweldig en zeer kunstig en kundig mediageniek persoon. Kom bedenk iets beters ter verbetering, verheffing van mijn volkse en slaafse kijk aard, u zit toch ook niet dag in dag uit te turen naar schermen en blaadjes niet wiegend in de wind, waar kijkt u zo al naar als u ogen voorwaarts zijn gericht?

De arts zei dat ik misschien wegkijken moest overwegen dat als er iets was dat heel erg dringend aanwezig is, zo goed als zeurt om aandacht, gewoon door daar te zijn met een optie voor aanzetten dat ik dan kijk naar een plek op de muur, plafond of de vloer, en daar dan niks van noch over denk. Dat is onmogelijk dokter, dat kan ik niet, ik ben geen god, ik ben een eenvoudig heerschap maar dan met terminale schermziekte, ik moet ergens heen kijken waar anderen iets doen, bewegen van a naar b, springen, draaien, praten, geluid maken, iets laten waaien in de wind, met een pijl gooien op een klein rond rood oogje schijnbaar residerend in de ogen van een stier, al heeft niemand die stier ooit gezien, en dan een ander aan de zijkant van het spektakel, opgetogen in een zwart pak heel overdreven roepen one hunderd and eighty !!! of een man in een hele dure auto die dan zo snel mogelijk rondjes rijdt op een afgebakend parkoers met een aantal vijanden die hij moet verslaan door sneller over rechte stukken en door bochten te gaan, en dan daar tot hij over dat vooraf bepaalde finishpunt heen gaat met het jammerlijke volk achter hem of erger als die ene rijder mijn voorkeur heeft omdat hij of zij dezelfde taal spreekt en dingen zegt als “het is..” dat ik dan in mineur ben omdat die ene die in een andere auto rijdt en in een andere taal over dezelfde dingen praat voor mijn favoriet eindigt.. daar moet een echt deugdelijk mens naar kijken en het later over hebben tijdens een nabespreking, er iets aan vinden of juist niet, of niet dan. De dokter klonk bij het aandragen van andere opties steeds minder zeker, absoluut niet vol overtuiging van het eigen gelijk, je kon hem al sprekende horen piekeren over eigen gedrag en dat van zijn soortgenoten. Waar kun je zoal naar kijken op een dag, dus alles behalve naar een scherm maar wat is een scherm anders dan een façade, een spiegelbeeld van de geest waarin het leven zich lijkt af te spelen maar waarin eigenlijk niets gebeurt. Dat je als mens je hele leven waarschijnlijk alleen nog maar bij jezelf naar binnen kijkt, je eigen immobiliteit dan voorziet van een aangeleerde geluidsband, een script vol spanning, avontuur en ogenschijnlijke diepgang maar er gebeurt daadwerkelijk niks, helemaal niks, en toch en toch.

De arts wees me er op dat er mensen zaten te wachten op zijn woorden, dat ook zij moesten horen wat er niet aan het lijf en en of geest deugde, op welke wijze ze ongezond waren of juist verkeerden in blakende gezondheid, ze eigenlijk hadden moeten dartelen in de weide in plaats van zitten sippen in zijn preekkamer, mensen vol verlangen en energie in de zenuwen verkerend over een kluwen wrikkende cellen, een wel of niet spoedig naderend einde, een pijntje, een lichte irritatie of meer, helse pijnen! Dus...

En ik dan? U belt mij op na zes weken waarop ik in de zenuwen zat over mijn eigen naderend einde, ik heb me dingen voorgesteld, onvoorstelbare zaken, ik ben al meermaals begraven en weder opgestaan omdat ik er niet hard genoeg in geloofde, het verhaal niet voldeed, ik wil een fatsoenlijke kwaal met een degelijke oplossing, desnoods lange, zware kuren en diverse vormen van therapie, gymnastiek en zware oefeningen waarin ik weer leer denken en of praten misschien die beide wel een keer tegelijkertijd, iets met een doel waar ik naar toe kan werken zodat ik mijn over over over klein kinderen kan zien opgroeien en horen hoe goed ze tv kijken en computer taal leren beheren, het rij bewijs halen of beter het vaar bewijs, dat lijkt me in de toekomende tijd een stuk handiger. Iets waaraan gezonde mensen lijden in plaats van zo'n nieuwerwetse kwaal net gekomen uit de koker van de afdeling medicijnman fictie. Dit is helemaal niks, ik voel me volkomen verloren zeker in dit bedrijvig heden waarin geen mens meer zonder een verbeeldend scherm kan optreden. Heeft u niet iets in de aanbieding waarvoor ik pijnstillers kan slikken en dan tegen beter weten in van de beter wetenschap beter worden dan ik ooit was?

Piep tjielp tjielp piep tjielp piep

U luistert nu naar Bennie, de AI assistent van dokter Kolder, Uw geliefde huisarts heeft eigenhandig de verbinding met u verbroken, hij heeft het zo drug, drug, drug. U kunt echter wel via het economisch efficiënte telefoon menu iedere maand de aan u voorgeschreven zo goed als verplichte medicijnen bestellen om u schermziekte te bestrijden. Wij hebben alle informatie daarover alvast doorgespeeld naar alle daarin belanghebbende derden, vierden en vijfden, partijen die economisch belang hebben bij u in samenwerking met u vele kwalen, de vele bij werkenden van de geneesmiddelen u tijdens het leven voorbeschreven, met onze kennis van zaken hebben we onder andere de volgende partijen ingelicht, publieke en commerciële omroepen, de schrijvende pers, de orerende pers, alle mogelijke internet diensten, data leverancier(s), de leveranciers van de gebrandmerkte schermmiddelen zodat ook zij weten waar op ze moeten letten als u toch erg lang naar het u door eigen toedoen ziekmakende apparaat kijkt, de overheid om u als een simpel statistisch gegeven toe te voegen in hun data bestand over het aantal schermziekte lijders, tevens hebben wij contact opgenomen met een aantal therapeutisch directe belanghebbenden dit aangaande de te volgen therapie om u kwaal in goede beperkte banen en aan goede koper lijnen of glazen vezels te leiden speciaal voor bijzondere mensen zoals u die lijden aan deze ernstige ongeneeslijke terminal kwaal. Wij hopen dat u dit niet bezwaarlijk vindt indien wel, jammer dan. Wij zullen u voortgang blijven monitoren. Dank u voor u bereidwilligheid om door ons gediagnosticeerd te worden, wij wensen u een zo goed als gelukkig mogelijk nieuwjaar en veel progressie bij u [online] therapie.

If you’re ever on Facebook or any other social media platform and have your phone’s microphone on, you’ll always see ads tailored specifically to your wants and desires. For me, it’s always backpacks, notebooks, pencils, and saxophones. It’s a love/hate thing.

Every time I go on Facebook (love Marketplace by the way), I always see some company I’ve never heard of selling genuine leather notebooks, the best journal carrying system, or the newest electronic gadget that supposedly helps you write with few distractions. The Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) always rears its ugly head and takes your precious time and hard earned money.

Influencers praise these products and services and offer their discount codes to make sure you enjoy them as much as they do (until they move onto the next best thing). What ever happened to grabbing a simple notebook and pen/pencil and just write? Why is writing getting more complicated?

Do we really need devices with e-ink screens to help us write? Or an expensive journaling system forcing us to buy more replacement notebooks and accessories to make us look cool while we write? And do we really need an app just to time us when to start and stop writing?

I know I sound like the old man yelling at the clouds. So let’s just focus on the simple act of writing itself: paper and pen/pencil. And let’s deal with the more complicated stuff, such as publishing your manuscript and the online posts, later when the time comes.

#writing #simple #shinyobjectsyndrome

Gratitude

Manifesting and gratitude are not as simple as they sound. Many of us are living in the storm season of our lives, and when you are in it, it can be hard to see the sunshine at all.

I want to briefly share my 2025 the year manifesting finally clicked for me and I learned how to flow with the universe instead of fighting it.

Due to my disability, I rely on a van service to get to and from destinations. For several years, I spent 2–6 hours a day just commuting because it is a ride-share system. All of that time and energy was simply to get to work and rebuild my life.

At the same time, I had real concerns about healthcare costs. I made good money in my career, but not enough to comfortably cover nursing expenses.

Moving back closer to my job in the city a place I had already claimed as home despite the cost...it felt necessary. Still, money was a real concern.

But I knew the move had to happen. The long rides were exhausting me, and I was not getting enough rest to function properly.

So I made a decision: I was moving, and my needs would be met.

I focused my energy on exactly how I wanted my life to feel. I did not just think about it—I felt it. I lived as if doors were already opening and I was simply walking through them. I did not obsessively check outcomes. I only took action where it was required of me.

Here is what happened.

I was connected with an advocate who helped me secure full healthcare coverage. There was no lying, exaggerating, or manipulating the system. I stayed honest and transparent, and accommodations were made. She still jokes about invoicing me and never sent one, which tells you everything about her heart.

Over ten years ago, I said I would live where I live now because it spoke to my spirit. I would have preferred not to be wheelchair-bound, yet I was still able to secure the apartment. Management ensures my needs are met, and I have never had a complaint.

My nurses and caregivers slowly but surely fell into place. Issues are rare. One even buys groceries and cooks for me, which saves me a significant amount of money.

I also needed new medical equipment and searched everywhere for suppliers willing to help. Nothing worked until I finally found one. My insurance covered everything in full, even though other suppliers could not make it happen. I do not know what occurred behind the scenes, and honestly, I do not care.

Everything worked out because I aligned myself with the abundance already present in my life. Doors open for me because I believe they will.

You may be someone, like I once was, who overthinks this process and fixates on variables such as timing, location, or practical limitations.

Here is another perspective.

A friend of mine, who was previously my nurse, wanted to leave nursing to pursue her passion for music and transition into music therapy. She was struggling financially and has a special-needs child. She aligned herself with purpose and trust.

When we last spoke, she had quit nursing and was working in music full-time. Her external circumstances had not magically changed, yet she had not experienced a single financial crisis. More importantly, she felt fulfilled and aligned with her reason for being here.

Here is what I want you to do.

Something tells me some of you reading this do not need to start small. You need something to shift.

Let us use getting a job as an example.

You know you do not want to remain unemployed. What you do want is a career that pays the bills, allows you to live comfortably, and maybe even take time off to rest.

Close your eyes. Do not focus on desperation. Do not replay how hard life feels right now. Instead, feel what it would be like to already have the job.

Close your eyes. Imagine this.

You enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work. You feel accomplished when you complete your tasks. You are surrounded by coworkers who respect you. You made a difference today. You feel at ease when your paycheck comes in. You are grateful for the person who opened the door for you. You feel valued by your supervisor and respected for your ideas.

Notice the difference. There is no focus on what you do not want. The universe responds to frequency, not resistance.

Allow the opportunity to come to you, but still do your part. Update your résumé. Apply for jobs. Attend conferences if you can. Take advantage of free events. Meet people.

Do not dwell on rejection. You do not know what you were being protected from.

Stay aligned. Trust the timing. The doors will open, and the signs will be clear.

Lastly, be grateful. Being where you are right now is a privilege not granted to everyone.

This is just the beginning..

Prov

👋 👀👂✌️

👄

Hello hello

I have got a big heart and it’s not made of steel, like in this expertly written track by Manowar, named ”Heart of Steel“,

I listen to that one a lot, when facing hardships, I too feel like a comet. I too burn the bridge behind me, because there are things worse than death.

I think.

Always one more try!

And the falling snow, indeed will always melt, even though sometimes it takes a long time,

This song lyrics are very accessible for youth and adults alike, indeed the old sometimes forget that they have strayed from their paths somewhere long ago,

And sometimes some of them don’t remember who they once were meant to be.

But that’s not passing judgement, life can grind HARD! Sometimes a battery of circumstances can propel anyone into space or down into a very deep well, so much that the exit seems smaller than a star. And that’s not something I can judge people for, laying as I do, on the yellow sofa.

However, it’s never to late to do the right thing. Even Jesus says so.

Like in this text, it’s not about succeeding, it’s about perseverance. To not give up! It’s all we got?!

But yes! Staying true to the ideal is no easy task.

It requires a heart of steel

I think I have such a heart after all

I must believe I do

I thought I'd start a weekly post to try and get into a rhythm with putting stuff out there again. I only managed to write one post in 2025, even though at the end of 2024 I set a new year's resolution to share more. Let's pretend 2025 didn't happen, and I actually do manage to share more thoughts in 2026.

What I've been reading this week

I'm currently reading at least four books in parallel:

• How Life Works by Philip Ball
• Introduction to biotechnology by William J. Thieman
• The PARA Method by Tiago Forte
• Behemoth by Joshua B. Freeman

Reading the first two books in parallel is actually quite fun. How Life Works is a narrative of what we know about biology and DNA, and it's a nice contrast to the textbook style of Introduction to Biotechnology that just describes everything matter-of-factly. Philip Ball was an editor the journal Nature for over twenty years, so when he describes things like introns you get to learn how we came to know they exist and how much exactly we know about them, instead of just seeing them annotated in a figure with a short explanation. I even learned that there is a Star Trek TNG episode called Genesis (Season 7, Episode 19) where crew members have their introns activated at random, causing them to devolve.

The PARA Method is a way of organizing digital information by Tiago Forte, the same guy who wrote Building a Second Brain. It's a short read, and I hope to be able to apply the methods in the book successfully. Something from the book that I found insightful is that it takes time and effort to make private notes shareable. Without adding context and additional definitions, private notes won't make much sense for others. For that reason, it makes most sense to put it the time and effort to share your notes when they're about something you're working on collaboratively with others.

Behemoth is about manufacturing, and it's taking me a while to get through it. I've thought about just abandoning it a couple of times, but every time I read from it I do feel like I'm learning something.

Highlights from this week

And with that I don't necessarily mean personal highlights, but things I've highlighted in articles or books I've read.

From How I rebooted my social life:

If I wanted a community, then I could build it myself. I mean, in principle, it shouldn’t be too hard to do. Community has been the foundation of all of human society since the dawn of our species, so the playbook for how to build one had already been figured out. I think it boils down to a few key ingredients: a community needs a common connection or interest. It needs a place for people to interact informally. And it needs a mechanism for new people to join, to prevent it from decaying over time.

From The Punk Rock Good Life:

Reading books before bed serves me. Doomscrolling doesn’t. Cooking hearty, protein-rich, simple meals serves me. Doomscrolling doesn’t. Buying new stuff rarely serves me, while repurposing old stuff or making my own stuff generally does.

Thoughts

I don't know if anyone else would find these writings useful. I'm not really planning on starting a newsletter – I just want a place to record what I'm doing, and do so publicly so that I'm forced to make it somewhat coherent. If there's ways you think I can improve, let me know in the comments!

Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: 2026 Trends to expect in West Africa. Part 2, Waist Beads: More Than Just Jewelry, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), and Breakfast to Breakfast (B2B)

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2026 Trends to expect in West Africa. Part 2. 2026 in West Africa is all about pride, innovation, and self-expression. Whether you're stepping into the boardroom in a neo-Ankara suit or strolling through Osu, Victoria Island, or Plateau in breezy resort wear, one thing is clear: West Africa is ready to serve looks that speak boldly, culturally, and globally. Ready to create the next trend? The year is yours. The “Sustainable but Stylish” Revolution Eco-conscious fashion is no longer niche. In 2026, expect: Upcycled denim with patchwork artistry. Jute and kenaf fabrics reimagined for chic tailoring. Plant-dyed textiles. Circular fashion markets expanding across Accra, Lagos, and Abidjan. West Africans are embracing sustainability — but still slaying. Metallic Moments & Futuristic Glam: Nightlife fashion is stepping into the future. Think liquid metallic dresses, chrome-detail agbadas, iridescent mesh overlays, and holographic mini-bags. When the sun sets, West Africa is turning up the shine. Afro-Minimalism Rising: After years of maximalism, a calm wave is coming. Expect clean silhouettes, earthy tones, simple gold jewellery, and architectural garments inspired by modern African art. Afro-minimalism is for the chic, subtle, well-curated dresser. Streetwear with Heritage: West African streetwear is absorbing cultural inspo like never before — adinkra symbols, Fulani shapes, Tuareg indigo traditions, northern embroidery motifs, Ga prints, Yoruba bead colour codes. Young creatives are blending heritage and hype to produce streetwear that’s cultural, cool, and ready for global runways. Beauty Trends: Soft Glow + Bold Statements 2026 beauty in West Africa brings: Glass-skin-inspired melanin glow Chrome eyelids Brown ombré lips Sculptural braids and Fulani-inspired cornrows Ultra-short natural cuts Henna artistry returns in mainstream fashion. Community-Driven Fashion: Expect more fashion pop-ups, mobile ateliers, and community design collectives. West Africa’s fashion scene is becoming more collaborative, accessible, and youth-driven — and 2026 will be its most exciting year yet.

Waist Beads: More Than Just Jewelry. Waist beads are more than decorative accessories; they carry deep cultural, emotional and personal meaning for many women. Rooted in African traditions, they symbolize femininity, sensuality, protection, and self-awareness. But in this generation, ladies like to expose the waist beads by wearing it on their tummy, under a cropped top for others to see. What is really the right way to wear a waist bead? The right way to wear waist beads is to allow them to rest naturally on the waist or hips without squeezing the body or causing discomfort. They are traditionally worn directly on bare skin, hidden under clothing, so they move freely with the posture and body changes. We were made to believe that these waist beads helps give nice body shapes. How true is that? For some yes, and for some no. Some women choose fitted waist bead to help track weight fluctuations, while others prefer loose styles for comfort and self-expression. However they are worn, waist beads serve as a quiet reminder to honor the female body, embrace confidence, and celebrate beauty in its natural form.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that attacks the immune system, the part of your body that fights sickness. If it's not treated, it can make your body very weak. HIV spreads through certain body fluids like blood, semen, vaginal fluids, rectal fluids and breast milk. This can happen through unprotected sex, sharing needles, or from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. At first, some people might feel like they have the flu, with fever, tiredness or body pain but many don't notice any symptoms for years. If HIV is not treated, it can turn into AIDS, which is when the immune system becomes very weak and serious infections can happen easily. There's no cure yet, but treatment called ART (antiretroviral therapy) can control the virus, keep people healthy and reduce the chance of passing it to others. You can protect yourself by using condoms, not sharing needles, getting tested regularly and taking PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) if you are at a high risk.

Breakfast to Breakfast (B2B), 6th Street off Osu Oxford Street, Accra. I recently ate at Breakfast to Breakfast at Osu and it was great. I had their Full English Breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes and toast. It was filling, tasty and cooked just right. They really blend breakfast with lunch and with snack options, so you can go there any time of day for different kinds of food, from pizza and wraps to wings and fresh juices. The menu is more diverse and good for breakfast, lunch or a casual dinner. The staff were friendly, the atmosphere was relaxed and the prices were fair. I'd definitely go back for another breakfast or late-night bite!

Lydia...

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Ignition in the darkness bleeds light.

There is a knowing that that cannot be spoken— only entered.

Quietly crossed rubicon. Impossible distance, Collapsed to acceptance.

In a fantasy, resistance faltered And heat pressed in soft places Want squeezing in, naming voids.

Now; this life feels bound, in stasis years held, Ache pressing ache, without pretense.

Upon a time, tomorrow was lived for glory deferred, Endings promised by heaven.

Sunrise 'pon sunrise hopes: Your breath, Your nearness, Your sight,

smallest of proofs of life.

I am undone by you, Fears fulfilled Pull named in earnest.

And still, I remain. I want.

So we have just celebrated the New Year and I'm now trying to get a great setup for work.

Last year I gradually moved away from Obsidian, which had been my primary solution for managing knowledge. The main reason was the difficulty of using it across multiple devices. Their sync service was inefficient to handle conflicts and missing files, which occurred due to a security strategy of keeping my vault inside a VeraCrypt encrypted volume. Git Plugin was a great syncing alternative and presented no problem to me since I'm a power user but I ran into a serious limitations when trying to replicate the same secure setup on Android. As I couldn't install and use git properly in my smartphone along with encrypted volumes, I concluded that my Personal Knowledge Manager (PKM) should run as a web service.

I tried running Obsidian in a container using unofficial web server deployments, but the setup was fragile. Logseq was another option I had known for some time but they switched their storage strategy from a file-based system to a database, which doesn't fit my preference of using git and IDE to manage my content.

At the end of December, while searching for info about web access on the Obsidian Forum, I discovered Silver Bullet through a user suggestion. At first it seemed incomplete compared to Obsidian, but after taking a deeper look I realized it currently aligns better with what I expect from a PKM.

Silver Bullet Strong Points:

• Built as a Web Service and Container-friendly, was very easy to run
• Handles authentication, providing a necessary layer of security for those who want to access their deployment through the Internet
• Native query language, opposed to Obsidian that needs plugins to do so
• Fully Open Souce Software (FOSS)

It shares other functionalities that Obsidian have:

• a file based storage layer, which is very friendly to manage the same way as we do with code
• Extensible through addons (called plugs by the Silver Bullet Community)
• WYSIWYG live preview page while editing

Some functionality that currently I couldn't find yet on Silver Bullet

• Publishing options and how they could be managed within the app.
• A Notion database strategy to handle tables was recently implemented in Obsidian as Bases, I‘m not sure whether Silver Bullet has something similar implemented or if it’s on their Roadmap.
• In Obsidian, I had to use a lot of scripting to achieve a native behavior in Logseq which is to automatically aggregate content related to a page inside the page (i.e., pages with dynamic content loading). This seems to be a tracked feature because of this ongoing discussion

Well.. regarding to publishing, Today I discovered Write.as service and it matches what I’m looking for: simpler, clean pages with less distraction or intrusion. This aligns with my core values.

So this new year begins with some new cool tools to test. And it's only January 2nd!

Let's see what more will be uncovered to us in the next chapter.

Bye! Best Regards!

Endurance is not the same as living.

Written in moments of existential crisis just before dawn on a cold winter Thursday while I am living the dream of a lifetime by rooting in Madrid for a month. Proof that our state of mind and our state of being are often disconnected.

—

We all live with something. None are whole. It is the great tragedy of our times that we can only see the outside, while the whole of existence generates in the unseen. Everyone hides somewhere. Under the rock of achievement, or in the cave of inebriation, wrapped in the blanket of transitory relationships, possibly under the rug of a creative life—or worst of all, tenacious progress through accepting things that should change. That need to.

Wolf? A lifetime lived in pain, punctuated by moments of anesthesia—brief mercies that soothe the scared little boy pulling strings from inside this aging hulk. The body greys, wrinkles, loosens its grip. It breaks down honestly. But the masters of fear do not age. Infinite creatures, they who refine—grow sharper, more intimate, more convincing.

The scared boy in me never stopped working. He learned early that survival meant vigilance, that relief came only in flashes: desire, touch, meaning, feeling useful. Not healing—just enough quiet to keep breathing. Keep spinning the wheel. So he stayed at the controls long past the point of reason, long past the point of strength.

Now the fears, honed to a razors edge, speak softly. They sound like wisdom. They say this is what a life amounts to: endurance, longing, small anesthetics against a vast ache. They insist there was never another way.

We cannot avoid this. Only go through it. How we hold ourselves is the only power we have against the scared marionette. I don't know if we can cut the strings and set the boy free—that feels like an impossible effort. Some lucky few, find the right key to their own lock. A soul who can open them, see us objectively and, honestly, tell us that we're okay.

If you find that rareness, and it is exceedingly rare, hold on. Trust it. Reciprocate. We are too hurried in our lives to take the time we need to find the keys to our locks and so we quickly align with the wrong key, or even other locks. Injustice of the worst kind: chosen and abided because that is the way.

But, do not despair, little bird. If you shroud your darkness, your fear under the comfort of little anesthesia's, life is not over. Just more difficult than it need be.

Sometimes—rarely—there is a moment of seeing. The strings. The hands that pull them. The difference between pain and identity. In that moment, the boy pauses. The body breathes. And the future, for just an instant, is not foreclosed—only unnamed.

Remember those moments. Our futures are not what we fear, what we carry. They are what we shape. Work to shape them in the light.

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Thirty long winters tilling the fields— blackrime hands, raw and crooked, eyes set in hoarfrost, mouth grim: one more row.

Bent, elbow-deep, blind to the ebonblack sun slipping upward into a charcoal sky, a darker shadow, a blinding light: one more row.

Dove-grey soil under hand, warmed, releases a long sigh and up rises one palegreen sprout: ah.

Thirty more winters for the black sun to rise, melt eyefrost, and bring her flower to bear.

One more row.

Another year, but not like those of the past. This one was focused on my present, and future.

Admittedly, I sometimes feel a weird pressure when it comes to these “year end” posts. On one hand, I don't want to write just a few paragraphs, otherwise my life seems pretty boring, right? On the other hand, I don't want it to feel like a forced homework assignment.

But, in the end, I do like reflecting on some of the bigger things that have happened in the year. So with that, here are some highlights from my year.

Professional Break

At the beginning of the year, I had a very active coaching practice. There were many parts that I enjoyed, mostly, the people. It was also fun to think creatively and help them with some big wins.

Some of my achievements from coaching include doubling the revenue of several clients in just one year, coaching a client to $20K in a single day with a simple tactic, and helping another to a 7-figure buyout.

But in the end, I sort of burnt myself out from coaching, and I wanted to focus on my personal health and well-being without the pressures that come with a service-oriented business. So, I closed up shop to take an entrepreneurial sabbatical.

Adjusting to My New Reality

On the surface, not doing anything seems like it would be easy. However, it's quite the opposite. Initially, I struggled with the idle time. It took a little while for me to finally quiet and control my mind and to not feel a constant sense of urgency.

Today, I enjoy this new pace of life. I'm focusing on my health with sustainable exercise and physical therapy for nagging injuries.

One of the things I've started to do is post regularly on LinkedIn. I've enjoyed that, as it has given me a chance to explore my original entrepreneurial passion: elearning.

I get sometimes asked if I'm planning a “return” to that space. I don't know if I'm honest, but I'm open to it. And to clarify, it would be in elearning, not WordPress.

Personal Side of Things

The beginning of 2025 was front-loaded with trips, but even after those were over, we still managed to stay busy with visits from family during the second half of the year. In addition to coming and going, there were other little noteworthy events in my personal life as well.

• I started the year by mostly abandoning my Twitter account. Twitter was a big part of my past, but I decided it best to move on. I've pivoted mostly to LinkedIn for business and Mastodon for occasional personal posts.

• In February, I turned 40. I'm so grateful that I have made it this far, as many aren't so lucky.

• We finally sold our home after 10 long (and stressful) months.

• We moved to a new area and into our new home. It took a year, but we finally finished all the initial design projects.

• We took a trip to Sedona which turned out to be quite enlightening. I reflect upon this trip often.

• Shortly after Sedona, we went to Mexico for a week. It was nice, but unfortunately we came back with a awful bout of COVID (our first time getting it).

• We celebrated four years of marriage.

• I made the adult decision to end my time with BJJ after constantly battling injuries. That was harder than I thought. I never could get going with it, if I'm honest.

• We went to Hawaii for two-weeks. It was absolutely incredible. We embraced nature and each other. It was probably the best vacation we have taken as a couple. We plan to make a return.

• I wrote the most important blog post I've ever written regarding the relationship between alcohol and entrepreneurship.

• I was a guest lecturer at my alma mater.

• Over the summer and fall, we hosted a lot of family. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend came for a summer trip, my parents and in-laws each came twice, and Lorena's entire family came for the holidays.

Overall, there were plenty of laughs and intimate memories that I cherished the past year. Of course, I enjoy the big events, but I really appreciate the life that happens in small moments, because that is where life is lived the most.

2026 Will Be Life Changing

I'm not big on making predictions, and I've sort of gotten away from making formal resolutions, but I know that this year will be a monumental year for us.

I was bad at documenting everything from this year, especially in the second half of the year. I took a step back from everything and focused inward.

But that will change a bit in 2026, I'm sure of it!

#personal