PJManning Monthly — August ‘21
Long Lost Surfers, Devs, & Friends!
Phil here from Wavetrotter | Travel Developer.
It’s been awhile since I last shared an update.
That’s why I created this monthly newsletter…
To keep you posted on…
- What I’m building,
- Where I’m working, and
- My favorite content of the month
I hope you enjoy the first issue and feel free to email me with any suggestions or if you wanna catch up — phil@pjmanning.dev.
Yewww!
-Phil
PROJECT UPDATES…
I’ve had some major changes to my lifestyle and workstyle since the pandemic (as most of you probably have) — but that hasn’t stopped the gears from running…
Travel Developer
I ended the Travel Developer Course.
Why? Mainly because nearly every job on a computer is remote now. You don’t need to be a developer anymore to work remote — just check out RemoteOK or any other remote job board.
Also, it took up a lot of my time for around net $40/month.
I’m happy for of all the people I’ve continued to get messages from saying their lives were changed and that made it 1000% worth it — but now it’s time for me to move on.
Freelance Work
Speaking of moving on…I’ve also stopped freelancing (kind of).
Last year I worked with 1 client that paid well and consistent.
They benefited from me being an independent contractor — and I benefited from them with good, consistent pay and not having to search for work.
After that, I decided I would only work for 1 single client / company at any time, with minimum hours/week and a set contract length.
It’s turned out to be great — both for my mental & physical health, travel & social life, and having time to spend on my side projects.
I do think this is a trend that many freelancers and independent contractors will begin to favor long-term.
Side Projects
During the past year, I’ve revamped a few past projects and built some new ones. I found it best to rebuild everything with the same tools to make my design/dev flow as fast as possible.
I’m currently using…
With this flow I’ve…
- Rebuilt my personal site
- Gave Wavetrotter a facelift
- Started a web version of my animal identifcation software
- Created a web app to find what people use, and
- Made a public dashboard of Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall fund
I got some great feedback and publicity on a few of the projects, but most are open-sourced.
I’m continuing to #buildinpublic and post my progress on Twitter for my next projects.
I’M CURRENTLY LIVING IN…
BALI, INDONESIA
I once wrote a post saying if you want to become a ‘Digital Nomad’ don’t come to Bali. The title was a bit clickbait-y but 100% true.
It’s too easy to live in Bali — internet, food delivery, transport, outdoor life, cost-of-living, etc. Once you’ve lived and worked here, it’s hard to go anywhere else…you expect Bali ease-of-life everywhere.
I never thought I’d be here longer-term, (I even told a friend in Jan 2020 that it would be the last time I’d ever stay in Bali) as the island had become disgustingly over touristy.
But now — it’s the complete opposite. Super quiet, small-town vibe, and much less of a party scene. Quite amazing for me personally — but absolutely heartbreaking for the 80% tourist dependent economy.
I started a GoFundMe to help the locals in the small town of Keramas where I’ve been based — if you are fortunate enough to be able to donate please consider it. It doesn’t cost much and the borders look to be closed for the foreseeable future. There is zero government assistance like in the western world.
MY FAVORITE CONTENT FROM AUGUST…
Business | Marketing
The rise of the one-person unicorn — www.nothingventured.com
The way we build startups is changing, and with that change comes the rise of a new breed of company: bootstrapped, cash generative, and growing like crazy.
Design | Development
GitHub Copilot — We’re all fucked 🤣 — copilot.github.com
GitHub Copilot works alongside you directly in your editor, suggesting whole lines or entire functions for you. It’s been a game-changer in my dev flow but scares me how quickly my job is going to become replaceable by a machine 😳
FlutterFlow — Build Apps Visually — flutterflow.io
A drag-and-drop Flutter application builder that supports easy integration with Firebase. Since I already use Firebase I’m super excited where this project is going…
The Open Source Firebase Alternative | Supabase — supabase.io
The Open Source Alternative to Firebase. I am a full Firebase user but I love open-source and this is super intriguing. Not using it yet, but possible great alternative for scaling any apps that become big…
Tailwind UI Ecommerce Release — tailwindui.com
Beautiful ECommerce UI components by the creators of Tailwind CSS. Tailwind has been a game-changer for my dev workflow…
Travel
SafetyWing — Insurance for Nomads, by Nomads — safetywing.com
I blew out my knee last December — I chose not to get surgery but SafetyWing helped cover the other costs.
Scott’s Cheap Flights | Get Some Compensation :)
As travel rebounds quickly, oversell situations are becoming more common. Here’s how you can get the most compensation possible…
Books | Podcasts | Music
The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War
Currently reading this — release date couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Alchemist
A classic worth re-reading. If your searching for meaning and purpose in your life, this book is a must.
Animal Farm
After listing to Yeonmi Park on a few podcasts about life in North Korea this was a must. Eery how similar her story and the fictional story of an authoritarian animal regime are.
The Constitution of the United States and The Declaration of Independence
Can’t remember if I ever even read both docs (maybe outside of high school). Pretty embarrassing and probably not uncommon. The docs are legendary.
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
A great book by Peter Thiel on creating truly unique and world changing companies.
#1691 — Yeonmi Park — The Joe Rogan Experience | Podcast on Spotify — open.spotify.com
Yeonmi Park is a North Korean Human Rights Activist, and author of “In Order To Live: a North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom.”
