Shifted Sands

2025 was a hard year for most people I know. I won’t claim to know the exact cause - although I believe economic pressure and broader societal decay contribute - but stress, negativity and outright pain was widespread. It showed up everywhere and it showed up for the people I care about.

Personally, 2025 was the year I retreated to the bunker I’d been building for a few years. Not a literal bunker as that breaks planning regulations, but an isolated position of financial and operational safety. I’d rather not be in the bunker, but I built it for a reason and I’m glad I did.

Interestingly, sitting in this bunker has also changed what paths are available.

Beginning in 2026, I’m sitting in a quiet, stable place giving me all the time I’ve never had to take years of engineering brutality and spin them in a small garage workshop without meetings, politics or external pressures to accommodate. Without those pressures I’m just a NASA engineer applying rocket science to go-karts.

Therefore the plan for 2026 is straightforward - build and release a series of small, focused projects that are tangentially related to things I’ve previously done but without the overhead. No one else involved. Minimal external dependencies. Light, efficient, fast. Slight hint of derangement. a Parkside Flamethrower, Asda Smart Price Cocaine, Mechanised Caterpillar Workboots, etc. I don’t know which creations will resonate or how they’ll connect with the wider world, but that’s OK, the wider world is fucked so I don’t really care. The goal is efficiency, clarity and actualisation.

Maybe I’m an asshole and nothing will get done. Maybe I’ll go off the rails. Maybe I’ll be ultra productive. I appreciate the opportunity to find out.