Here's the 2nd installment of my weeknotes. My attempt at [#100DaysToOffload](/tags/100daystooffload/) didn't go particularly well but I'm optimistic that I can keep up with 1 post a week, let's see!
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This week I finished [How to take smart notes](https://bookwyrm.social/book/335594) on my kindle I'm making my way through some of the blog posts on [Zetteltasken.de](https://zettelkasten.de/). One thing that strikes me about the puritanical zetteltasken approach is that it is designed for more for someone who writes articles or books for a living rather than code (although I do write articles with my academic hat on from time to time). That said there are certainly some interesting practices I intend to assimilate into my personal knowledge management practices. I really like the idea of pre-processing your notes before you store them so that they can be re-used for downstream tasks with minimal thinking. I'm wondering to what extent I can add code snippets, patterns and algorithm documentation to my PKM for low-overhead retrieval and use in new projects and to synthesise new ideas and approaches that I could try out.
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On Thursday we found out that our local sustainable/refill shop is [sadly closing down (link to facebook news post)](https://www.facebook.com/AllGoodThingsFareham/), citing a lack of business. I was sad to hear about this as its a particularly lovely shop and the owners have put a lot of effort in to keeping it running for the last 3 years, even during COVID. I've been buying dried goods and cleaning supplies from them since they relocated to our town early last year.
However sad, this news isn't surprising. Consumers in the UK are feeling the squeeze at the moment as inflation squeezes the cost of living upwards and many have [abandoned refill shops](https://inews.co.uk/news/zero-waste-shopping-crisis-refill-stores-1522978) as a luxury they cannot afford. As the shop owners say, eloquantly:
> The world is a tough place right now - plagued with war, the ongoing effects of COVID and financial uncertainty for many households. We must accept that the Climate Crisis is taking a backseat in many people’s priorities out of necessity.
Unfortunately, while we all continue to feel the pinch, the climate crisis will continue to rage on. Whilst some [high street retailers are starting to install refill stations](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/02/refillable-groceries-uk-shopper-waitrose-morrisons-refill-stations-plastic-waste) and many of us continue to do "our bit" for the environment, much more will need to be done in the coming months and years to keep our planet habitable.
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We've made a little more progress on the garden this weekend, finally clearing some of the weed-filled raised bed and assembling some wooden planters which we intend to grow veggies in. We've also installed some cute solar lamps too.
{{<figuresrc="images/beds.jpg"caption="We spent some time levelling the beds and adding a weed membrane. We'll be growing veggies in the planters and adding shale to the surrounding area.">}}
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On Saturday we awoke to find out that [Taylor Hawkins](https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-60885675) from Foo Fighters had tragically died. My wife and I are big fans of the foos and were lucky enough to see them live at London Stadium in 2019. A very talented chap who will be missed by many.
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We were due to travel up to visit my mum for mother's day today but her and her partner tested positive for COVID so we've had to delay our trip for a couple of weeks time. Covid rates in the UK are at an [all time high](https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-cases-rocket-to-new-high) and given that free testing ends in April (so 4 days time) and isolation is no longer a legal requirement it's probably going to get worse.
## Next Week
We don't have a lot on this coming week. If the weather stays dry I want to get some more time out in the garden, otherwise it'll be more PhDing and reading when I'm not at work.
