Serhiy Barhamon life
44 (2025)

44 (2025)

Russia is still trying to conquer Ukraine, and Ukraine still fights back. I don't see how it can end anytime soon. I would very much like Russians to stop and go home, but until then:

Here is how you can help Ukrainians

- There are many pets in the fighting area whose owners were killed or displaced. They need food and medical care. uanimals.org does a great job helping them.

- I know motohelp.ua from my motorcycle life in Ukraine. They were saving lives then and do the same now.

- hospitallers.life are risking lives saving others on the front line.

- Most importantly, all of that does not make much sense if the army of Ukraine does not have enough rounds, warm clothes, vehicles, etc. prytulafoundation.org does an excellent job helping with that.

#Intro

The end of 2025 was quite busy for me, and I did not manage finish this article in December as usual. On the other hand, every year I wrote a year-end article, I thought it made more sense to tie it to my birthday rather than to a year-end.

Here we go:

#What I did while I was 44.

#Iceland

This year, one of my dreams came true, we visited Iceland. What a land! The last time I was so excited about a travel destination was when I visited Thailand, where I end up living for a few years. I do not see it coming, but it would be cool if we ended up living in Iceland for a few years.

#France Crossing

1000 km on a bicycle. Through mountains, rivers, sea, croissants, cheese, and broken ribs. It was sporty and beautiful, especially the alpine section.

#Music

I released two singles, Unusual Proximity and Tannhäuser Gate, this year. In the 2025-09-11 Roll, I said that I hope to release a new album soon. But I still don't feel that it is ready. Maybe next year.

#Software

One of the things I really like about software development is that it is a constant source of dopamine. I can get my dopamine by building a working prototype quite fast. Then, receive more dopamine by improving that piece of software later.

#Yamd

YAMD is markdown-like markup language parser library.

New features and improvements:

  • Support of emphasis node.
  • Serialization to string
  • Serde is an optional dependency now

#img2text

A library and CLI app that gets prompt, temperature, and a list of images (URL or local path) and runs it through the moondream model. It will download the model from HuggingFace on the first run. On macOS, it uses Metal. Everywhere else, it uses the CPU. At this point, adding CUDA support should be trivial, but I do not have a device to test it. It has two output formats: JSON for machines and an ASCII table for humans. Here is a write-up: Notes on running LLM locally, about the initial version.

#gpxtools

A library and CLI app with the following features:

  • Join multiple gpx files into one.
  • Get statistics from the GPX file. For now, it's only distance and gained elevation.
  • Plot the route. It will use a user-defined map tile server to fetch map tiles, plot the route on them, and save the result as a PNG image with the provided dimensions.

#BAR

BAR is a static site generator, that I use to build this website.

New features and improvements:

  • New “article” subcommand. It creates an empty yamd file with frontmatter. At some point, I want to add template support.
  • Alt text generation by using img2text library.
  • GPX rendering using the gpxtools library.
  • Improved error messages. Further Improvements depend on a new version of YAMD parser, which I am working on.
  • Simplistic cache layer.

#Stages

I needed a video for Tannhäuser Gate and built an app for it. Here is a write-up about the first version of Stages. Since then, a few new features have been added, but I did not have the time/inspiration to write about them.

It was fun adventure. I have a few ideas where to go from here. But most probably, I will start with rewrite as a standalone app. Video rendering in browser is far from ideal.

#Serve

Serve is a simple HTTP(S) server that I use to serve static files (this website).

  • This year, I found the time to read about how certbot works and added HTTP to HTTPS redirect. So yeah! Finally, there is no need to restart the server on certificate update. Would be cool to find the time for ACME implementation.
  • Log to file with filerotate. The log format will definitely change, maybe even become configurable at some point.
  • Config file. At some point, I got tired of typing all the options on the command line and added support for a TOML file.

#Books

  1. How to Build a Motorcycle: A Nut-and-Bolt Guide to Customizing Your Bike by Gary Inman and Gilbert Adi
  2. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
  3. Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
  4. The Nature of Code by Daniel Shiffman
  5. The non-objective world by Kasimir Malevich
  6. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
  7. Learning Domain-Driven Design by Vlad Khononov
  8. Discworld 1-6 by Terry Pratchett

That's seven (7!) books more than the previous year. I am on fire. All of them are interesting in their own way, but if someone ask me to choose only one book from that list, it would be Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing.

#Work-related stuff.

Starting from September, I am leading a new project in Check24. We are making good progress, and I am optimistic about the future of that project.

#Favorite pictures

⟨⟩ People on bikes are riding down a path next to a body of water.
⛶
A firework explode in the sky above a building with a window. A sunset over a forest with a large flock of birds flying overhead. A bridge over a river with a cathedral in the background. A mountain with snow on top and a clear blue sky in the background. A man and a woman wearing warm coats and taking a photo together at the top of a mountain. A mountain with a lake in front and a blue sky in the background. A river with a forest on its bank and a clear blue sky in the background. A large tree has been cut down with its stump in the snow. A bridge is shown with cars on it and a large building in the background. A bridge over a river with a forest in the background. A tree branch with a few leaves is in front of a body of water with a very cloudy sky. A blue sky with mountains in the distance and a large number of snowflakes falling. A remote control sits on a snowy log with a microphone attached to it. A lake is in front of a tree with no leaves on it. A tree is in front of a blue sky filled with many small dots. A large white windmill against a deep blue sky. A field with trees and mountains in the distance with a flock of birds flying overhead. A mountain with a foggy atmosphere and a multitude of small pinpricks scattered throughout the mist. A field with a small house in the middle of it. A sunset with a green and orange sky and small specks in the sand. A black and white photo of a beach with waves crashing on it. An aerial view of the ocean with waves crashing on the shore. An aerial view of a road with green grass on either side. A sunset with a bunch of birds flying around in the sky. A sunset with a lake and mountains in the background. A large block of ice is in the ocean with a small section of water next to it. A beach scene with clear ice and rocks, and a person in the distance. A mountain with a greenish yellowish tint to it and snow on it as well. A boat named ReSat is at a dock. A bunch of insects are on the windowsill, and a model boat is on the ledge. A field of flowers that are white and green in color. A black soundboard with several knobs and dials sitting on a table next to a green thermos. A boat can be seen on a cloudy day with a mountain in the background. A mountain with a path going up and down it. A field of purple flowers next to a body of water with a bird flying over it. A picture of a river with a waterfall shown with clouds in the background. A cat is sitting on a machine that is outside on a sunny day. A mountain with a road going through it and a few trees. A cityscape with a river in the background with buildings near the water. A church with a clock that is lit up in the night sky. A lake is shown with a reflection of a mountain in it. A road that is next to a river is very wet from the rain. A bicycle parked in front of a building with a large wooden door. A person on a bike is riding down a path in the mountains. A narrow, green river is flowing through a forest. A rock face is shown with red dots all over it, below it. A lone tree stands in a field with a flock of birds flying overhead. A valley with green grass and houses with a road going through it. A forest of trees with a mountain in the background with a large flock of birds flying over it. A road goes by a row of houses with trees in it. A road goes through a field of green grass and the road is very narrow. A path winds through a grassy field with trees and a fence. A river runs through a town with a castle on its hill. A field with trees and mountains in the distance with a bumblebee effect on the mountains. A field with trees and mountains in the distance with the grass being green and the sky blue. A white building with colorful paintings on it and a sign that says "Raeae". A bunch of multicolored insects are flying over a mountain range. A beautiful mountain scene with a lake and mountains in the background. A shot of a copper headstone with a spout coming out of it. A small white building sits on a green hillside next to a lake. A green steeple with two bells can be seen on a church with a wooded hill in the background. A field of green with rows of trees and a house in the background. A road with a stop sign and two people on bikes going down the road. A river flows through a lush green forest, with mountains in the background. The sky is pink and blue and has many balloons. A field with trees and birds flying in the sky at sunset. A building with a steeple and a group of multicolored birds flying by. A cityscape with a castle in the background with a lot of flying insects near the castle. A large tree is cast in a warm glow over a building and the sky. People on bikes are riding down a path next to a body of water. A large number of kites are being flown over a large, open sandy beach. A black and white cat sitting on the road next to a white car. A cloud in the sky that looks like it has a lot of detail. A large, open field with a road going through it and trees lining the edge of the field. A large body of water is flowing through a long, narrow passageway with splash outs on either side. A forest of trees with a red roof in the distance. A building with a red roof and white windows can be seen with a flock of birds flying overhead. A church with a clock that reads 11:20 on its face. A window on the side of a building with the glass pane showing a blue sky. A lake is shown with trees in the background and it's reflection is visible. A single snow covered branch in a field of mostly dry grass. A path through the snow leads to the top of a hill where the trees are thin. A field covered in snow with trees and a mountain in the background. A church with a mountain in the background.

#Outro

Those birthday (year end) articles look like a brag list because they are. This is my way of feeling productive. I like that feeling and hope that next year will be at least as productive as this one.

tags:
lifeyearphoto roll
posted on:
2026-01-26T19:19:45.982815Z
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