Blog

27-01-26

I missed my websites one year anniversary, although saying that today is when I actually published it under the domain jameslamb.blog. In my original post I said that I hoped this website would make me more organised. I'm not sure if it's actually a result of the website and to be fair it hasn't be a huge improvement but there has definitely been progress. I have changed a fair amount in the past year although my surroundings haven't. I'm a measurably better student. I quit nicotine. I think this would be a good point to reflect and look at the "organisation" attempts I have made this year. I can't remember how long I had been daily driving Linux for when the first post was made but I do remember that at the time I was using VScode. Switching to Vim was good for my productivity and only recently have I properly started implementing scripts in my .vimrc to make my life easier. This was about the time I started using vimwiki to keep a private repository of "notes" - this comprises of what is essentially very rough ideas and an evergrowing todo list. I have made a number of attempts to both keep and file physical notes all of which have been in vain. In terms of raw output of work this has drastically increased over this period. The notes section on this site is ok but there is definitely room for improvement. My main revelation has been flash cards which have hugely increased my content memory. I am also trying to develop the habit of reflection after each day. Going through hour by hour writing down the content learned on a sheet of paper and making flashcards based off this and revisiting topics I did not take in or putting physical note on my desk for the next day.

- James

24-01-26

Who knew that there are "rules" associated with handwriting. I'm currently trying to relearn handwriting to make my handwriting neater. I first wanted to work out what actually makes handwriting look good. Outside of personal preference for font it came down to one main thing. Consistency. Specifically consistency in 3 areas. Form - the actual shape of the letters on the page, size - the height and width of each letter and spacing - how far apart separate letters are. Now I suppose I should have realised this sooner but my dumbass never put this together. When I was younger and first learning to write we would always fill in those books with printed fonts that you are meant to copy out and try to emulate - but I guess I was never told (or never listened to) the purpose of this. Another thing I very stupidly never clocked was to actually put letters on the line which despite my wonky lines and tragic inconsistent form has already made my handwriting significantly better. I'm also imagining the line as being divided into three and keeping low letters in the lower third and allowing taller and hanging letters into +- 1 third which for some reason I had never thought to do despite those geometries being marked in my old handwriting books. I think I will try and write a informal framework for how my letters should be written. Since before now I have never even really thought to make letters consistent.

Imagining guideline as thirds
Defining my own letterforms
holding the pen lighter

- James

02-01-26

It's 2026 now. I still feel like my mind hasn't fully moved on from the 2010s. I assume this is due to my perception of time going faster due to the number of novel events going down simply because I have done more. However a similar rational can be used to justify a perceived slowing of time due to the rate of change of time relative to lifespan and subsequently memories going down. I definitely observe the former. I don't normally do new years resolutions but I wanted to delete Snapchat and my girlfriend insisted I delay until new years so I guess I have this year. I'm also aware that any unis that might see my site for admissions may look at it around this period? Which if a uni admissions person is reading this is a very meta commentary. I have been thinking a lot about how knowledge is taught and how problem solving skills aren't. This then led me to start thinking about what problem solving skills even are and if they are the same thing. If there is a set of all knowledge and a set of all problem solving skills there is definitely some over lap the question really is is the set of all problem solving skills a subset of the set of all knowledge. I don't think so. I think there are definitely attributes which make one a better problem solver. I also believe that while some might be set in stone some can be practiced. Now whether this makes them skills or attributes I have no idea. Somewhat of a meaningless musing but oh well. HAPPY NEW YEAR

- James

26-12-25

Wow I am terrible at CSS

- James

01-06-25

Super tired right now but just set up discord server and bot for Blitz going to send the link on Reddit communities tomorrow. TODO: fix Openai key, fix sleep schedule.

- James

21-05-25

Fractal encryption is a new idea I am playing with, more specifically encoding binary data within coordinates of a fractal. It may just be easier to use a mathematical function which outputs every sequence of 1s and 0s and give the range of y values however finding such a function proves to be difficult.

- James

20-05-25

Day by day I find myself using the terminal more. I find it such an efficient workflow if you have never used it PLEASE try it—install Linux Mint on a live USB and TRY IT OUT. Yes there might be some growing pains but after becoming familiar you will find your proficiency and speed of use skyrocket as well as your understanding of the operating system. While Windows does have a terminal and WSL even lets you use Linux commands it does not come close to the openness and familiarity with your system you get with Linux.

- James

27-04-25

New strategy for Blitz: I am going to approach creators on TikTok STEM and try to recruit them to create content. Eventually I hope to have creators such as 3Blue1Brown and Fireship on the app but at the moment I think smaller creators are more realistic.

- James

17-04-25

Currently in two minds about uni. For the longest time I have considered Oxford my first choice but now I think that this is a mistake on my behalf. This is due to Oxford not adding as much emphasis to practical applications and more emphasis to maths. Computer science is not maths. It is not a subject which second rate mathematicians go to. This and due to strategic reasons I am now beginning to favour Cambridge: this also allows me to focus my whole effort to the TMUA rather than spreading it across the MAT and TMUA. Which puts me in a better place to apply to Imperial and LSE. Also having slight existential crisis over computer science being oversaturated and ultimately ending up with a low-paying job I do not enjoy.

- James

02-04-25

A little update on Blitz: development of the app is going well. I have the infinite scrolling and loading videos from a remote server down. Yet to add user accounts—I expect this will be difficult. However I am having real trouble with getting high quality videos; it seems none of the automated pipelines I create are even coherent and paying someone else is very costly. Ideally need an incentive for creators to come to the app before it even has users but how on earth do I do this?

- James

17-02-25

I have just released a section about Blitz in my projects page. This is a short-form content platform I have been thinking of making for a while. I am unsure of the future of this project and how I will organise it. Morally it would be ideal to open source it and allow access for all but I currently don't believe that this is in the best interest of the project as it could be more beneficial if it is a business and generates revenue allowing for higher quality content, servers etc. I'm sure as I develop the project this will become clear.

- James

23-01-25

This is my blog. Welcome-I'm not sure what this is gonna become but it will hopefully help me become more organised.

- James