The middle can be the hardest part of a project. My dad taught me not to make a list of tasks until a project is almost finished and you don't want to forget the last few details. (Don't do the math on how many thousand screws you have to put in the deck boards - just start!) As a girl, I would keep going in anything until I knew I was well past a halfway point before stepping back to measure progress, so I wouldn't get stuck. I started my project with an overview document outlining the features I wanted in my new app. I could make notes of the next few steps I didn't want to forget or anything else I needed. Now I'm officially at the "make a list" stage, working through my sticky note of things to finish before polishing up the app for real users. I'm sure there will be more I don't see yet, but I'm nearing the goal of version 1.0.0! Most of the features I want in the first release are built - now it's testing and filling in the missing details!

#FOSS vs. #FLOSS... Choosing an open-source software #license was a little trickier than I expected. Some explanations encouraged #copyleft licenses, to make sure the software will always be free. Sounded like a good idea - when given a bunch of options, I tend to choose the most thorough route by default. #Linux has a #GPL license, and clearly made an impact. The #AGPL covers all the bases. But it's quite long, and strangely authoritarian, imposing a lot of rules in the name of making the software free. It wasn't what I was expecting to find in an open-source license. Then I found a video of Linus Torvalds actually arguing against GPL v3. He used v2 for Linux, not "v2 or later", and didn't think v3 should have been considered the same licence. The #MIT license is wonderfully short, just a few readable paragraphs. I'd have gladly chosen it, except that it doesn't explicitly cover patents. I landed on the #Apache licence (v2). It seemed the best fit for my project, to let people use it as freely as they like, and didn't impose anything arduous. I would've been happy to guarantee users the right to the code no matter who builds what with it, but I want people to be able to use my ideas without having to choose the same license for everything they touch, and without jumping through hoops. Maybe it's odd to say permissive licenses are freer than strong copyleft - I don't know. It just seems more free if people can use it easily without red tape, whoever they are, for whatever they like. If this is part of the difference between FOSS and this new term "FLOSS", I'm happy with the former.

When I start feeling black-pilled when I check Nostr, I figure out who to unfollow (often to follow again when times change). You know, the feeling that the walls in every country in the world are closing in on us, and we just hope we can outrun the corruption long enough to live our lives. I get scared too. But I'm always looking to point people to hope. It's the value of an algorithm we control - I can choose whose notes I see, mute npubs I really would like to never see again, and mute words that don't need to be part of my day. I'm not complaining or rebuking anyone, only expressing that balance between awareness and sanity, and the importance of knowing truth without losing joy. Thanks to all who bring a wholesome, productive, cheerful contrast to the important news we know we also need. It helps us be aware and still enjoy the life we've been given. @Contra mentioned helping each other find new follows... I'll mention a few who brighten my day: @Kat, @Bitcoinbonden, @ATELIER LUG, @JLHoffmanGuitars, @The Babylon Bee (even if it's only a bot), @GlobalTraces, @SeedVaultMarket, @Delta Kid.

A different kind of progress today... I added a description to my Nostr profile, set up a Codeberg account, created keys for signing releases, set up my first repository online, chose an open-source license, configured git, and uploaded my code!!! There's still plenty of building to do before it's ready for real users, but now it's officially visible to anyone interested. Being on Nostr spurs me on, hanging around so many builders! Thanks to @Paul for the #vibecoding video walkthrough, @Tim, @mike, @MK Fain, and @Derek Ross for their inspiration, and @PayPerQ for making Claude available. I've enjoyed this journey (from learning to check GPG signatures to signing with them), each step building on the last: #Bitcoin > #Linux > #GrapheneOS > #Nostr > #MyOwnApps! codeberg.org/Grace-and-Truth/Connections

Project idea for anyone interested... Is there a good app yet for "friend streaks"? Duolingo pushes streaks: - widget shows streak progress - friends can have streaks together, so you don't want to let each other down - friends can send "streak freezes" if you almost lose your streak - the longer your streak, the more streak freezes you can have to protect it I heard a girl say, "I don't even really like Duolingo - I just do it to keep my streak." And I've done that too. There are good habit-tracking apps, such as Loop Habits, but what if those motivational features (streaks + friends) could be used for anything? Some examples... - group fitness challenges, like #31days - 2 friends encouraging each other in the same activity - accountability for breaking addictions (streak shared with friends who aren't sharing the same habit) - friends encouraging each other in separate activities - non-daily activities (play music with my kids twice a week) - household chore tracking within families I'm focusing on offline apps, not ones with users connecting online, but maybe #nostr is a good base for this? The interaction between users would be fairly minimal, similar to Lichess or Duolingo - sending challenges, checking in, but not a full-fledged chat app. Users could login with a nostr signer. #asknostr #vibecoding