Today is the shortest day of the year. 
(That is, in the northern hemisphere) <sup> the rhyme!</sup>
<sub>thanks @felix.herrmann for the reminder<sub> btw if you don't start voting soon, I'll stop voting for your shit, forever</sub></sub>

To me, this marks the real end of the year.
From here on, it's going to get brighter every day.
___
For 2023 I had planned to nuke this account, by starting to flag certain authors.
This would have caused retaliation and I was prepared to just start a new account to post from, or to abandon blogging entirely.
During the last weeks, I felt like blogging again.
The way Hive is moving, is still frustrating to me.
And I'll keep posting about that.
I won't give in to the negativity, though. I got shit to do...
___
## Positive things in 2023
### AI
After overcoming my innitial scepticism, I have started using AI - OpenAI's chatGPT specifically.
I believe this is the most important thing that happened and I am optimistic about it.
This could be as important as the discovery of fire. It will change everything.
It concerns everybody and everybody should look into it. Now.
### Personal growth
- I finally found the motivation to overcome my last 'sticking points' regarding software engineering and I am confident I can launch my first apps next year.
- I have found new tools to accelerate the way I build software.
- I have found some new accounts on Hive and the web to communicate and build with.
- I have identified and consequently abandoned a lot of concepts and patterns that were holding me back.
- I went on a very specific diet and even though I finished it, some things changed permanently and it altered my palette and appetite and I think I will be able to eat healthier in a more sustainable way in the future.
- I am about to finalize my application for a new job and I am confident, that I will get hired.
___ 
Even though some terrible things happened around me, now that I am focusing on the good stuff to write this post, I realize that overall this wasn't a bad year.
I am looking forward to 2024 now.

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/felixxx/AJpjVbhw7NntPf8UrttfcyVXts3tkLUtJ7rgtPkA2cpePdGN7Sykn4hCGoVnceT.png)
<center>_Image created with chatGPT + Dall-E
prompt based on parts of the text above_</center>

___
## The funniest piece of content from 2023

I'll leave you with my favorite piece of content from the last year:
[Huge Slide Disaster](https://youtu.be/fWzwKZ1qjBo?si=4AB_YxUNpgt5Kc_-)
It's a youtube clip, it's got a component of Schadenfreude, but I have watched it for the 5th time now and it's still glorious. 
>...bro, you can't even slide...

The delivery is what gets me...

Rewatching it, I noticed another element that only got relevant recently: The irony of Boston's mayor saying how everything has a chance to go viral these days...
She went viral during the last days, too, but not in a way she would have expected...

Anyways, maybe I could encourage someone else to share their positive experiences during the last year (maybe even someone from the southern hemisphere).
Feel free to link your post in the comments, I'll stop by.