“How do you write the first journal post?”. That was the sentence I Googled, then AI'd, and then came the lists. Ten ideas, things you must include for engagement, how to establish a voice, something about goals and being smart...

Feeling overwhelmed, a month passed and still I pondered this issue. Then finally remembering that the only way I've managed to sustain any sort of writing in the past, like in a journal, is to just rant, chatter, make myself laugh and cry, introspect, extrospect, recall weird events, recall annoying people, recall funny ideas, ego massage with delusions of grandeur, ego deflate with painful honesty… So if I'm going to keep up with this, the unsuprising-suprising solution is to just write and tell stories.

Okay manifesto over, let's get into it. Roughly ten years ago I had an idea to follow my love of art by combining it with my other love for science (basically like many I just like making things), and to put a name to it, get into medical illustration. So I went back to university to top up the art bit, but it didn't work out the way I imagined, and I realised that at best a Masters degree is a starter for ten, and at worst you just start again.

By the end of that year I felt that the art bit was more elusive than ever, and I went back to a normal job. The only issue was, being particularly stubborn and hating the idea of a certificate going to waste, I just couldn't stop thinking about how great the initial idea was. So knowing I might never be headhunted by Disney, unless they do operate on wishes, I decided to forge my own path and thus started the building of this website.

Who knew websites could be so complicated? From building components to understanding hosting, it took many years to untangle, and although it was enjoyable and I learned a lot, mostly about designing systems, I still wasn't doing the art-science bit I had thought would be so fulfilling.

Well, fair reader, on October the 1st 2026, I sit here typing this post for V25+ of the website, and cutting the ribbon to a fulfilling creative experiment.

Hmm, suspicious eyes. Let's see.