Hard Things 3
=============

This is just to say, "hey, I'm still alive."

I knew it was going to be hard starting a new job and moving a
four-person family across the country.

But dang, this is *hard*.

I'm actually looking forward to living in an apartment on
the other end of this move; living in a building that
*someone else is responsible for* sounds really attractive!

Above all, I look foward to having some free time.

I've barely been able to *read* phlog entries, let alone
write one.  But I still love seeing the gopher updates from
the regulars and I still want to keep participating.

In particular, I really want to complete that Nim language
tour I started a lifetime ago.  Not because I believe anyone
out there is eagerly awaiting its conclusion, but because I
like to finish what I start.

Unfinished projects make me itchy!

Nim-ish Slackware-ish progress creeps onward
--------------------------------------------

Against all odds, I did create a SlackBuild script for Nim
the other day.

Slackware packages are simple compressed tar archives with a
few standard files. SlackBuilds are the method by which
Slackware Linux packages are created.

In the typical situation, a SlackBuild script takes the
"upstream" source for a project, compiles it, and "installs"
the result (executable(s), documentation, etc.) to a
microcosm of the root filesystem within a temporary package
directory.  The directory is turned into a tarball and
that's pretty much all there is to a Slackware package.

Anyway, I created my own little nim.SlackBuild and it seems
to work just fine.  I need to test it a bit more and also
add a few standard files, then I'll be able to submit it to
SlackBuilds.org and thereby crown myself the Nim maintainer
for Slackware.  Neat!