A year, and an eternity, has passed since my last update. The paths I’m deliberately walking on, and routes I’m taking, keep on getting intriguing but one thing remains certain: the positivity, adaptability, and flexibility. I chose to adapt, indeed, and fully embrace my lifestyle. Every moment is a treasure in life, wherever it takes me and wherever I take it!

Life

Undoubtedly, it goes without saying that instability and constant stress in Lebanon has become the redundant tune, it plays on and on, incessantly. Yet, people are tired of the same dark melody. Instinctively, they have become attuned to it; they are zombified-phoenix, numb by unwillingly moving to the “dance macabre” imposed to them.
There aren’t that many choices in this type of situation: either to embrace and live in the chaos by mentally disconnecting from it and finding solace in artificial bubbles, to succumb to the mess and fall into despair and depression, or to be malleable and stretch geographically by physically departing and only keeping part of us there, but that’s a luxury that not many have and isn’t easy to juggle.
It always feels like so much potential and opportunities are lost in that country. Endless hope - and the renewal of hope - never seems to satisfy the hunger of the stubborn minds. The country is stuck, in an old men’s deadlock, while the rest of the world moves on. Still, we only have one life, and a limited amount of time and effort to spare. As much as I love Lebanon, it keeps on failing at its side of the relationship.

Hence, currently, I didn’t see a long-term future in Lebanon, and thought deeply about the direction I want to take. I chose to try to “base” myself somewhere else in world, to see if I fit, and if I can work there.
I’ve been blessed enough to be able to work remotely, and I’ve done so the past 5 years. I believe that doing so is something that helps me grow tremendously. Indeed, I’ve got the wit and will to manage it properly. Nevertheless, what I’m looking for isn’t the travel, or the nomad-style, in itself, but to prosper mentally and flourish as an individual. That’s something that has been lacking and slowly fading in Lebanon, especially the prospect of a stable future. Basics, from water, internet, electricity, urban planning and green spaces, transport, gym and health facilities, and others have become a luxury for Lebanese, and people’s standards are lowering. There’s no grasp on reality, and price-to-quality ratio anymore either.
So my plan the past months was to find and try some spots in the world where I could concentrate on work and myself, to search for places that fit my needs and my lifestyle. I want to welcome and cultivate the flexibility and adaptability I have while I have it. My aim wasn’t leisure or novelty, but to learn about myself by facing other cultures and ways of being, to expand my thoughts, widen my horizon, and fully live without constant worries about basic needs and lack of options.

A few things stood out: my minimalist, stoic, pragmatic, syncretic, yet organized approach to life, which I’ve talked a lot on this blog, has burgeoned and bloomed. I’ve internalized a few motto as guiding principles of my values:

• “Competence and coherence precede symbols.”
• “If no one were watching, this would still be my choice.”
• “Stability is something I produce, not something I buy.”
• “What someone thinks is more interesting than what they’ve accumulated.”
• “Life paths matter more than titles.”

We often forget what we stand for, what we value, our essence, and clumsily bump into one situation to the next just because other’s indirectly pressure us to. For me, repeating these sentences helps to keep me on track, not as goals but intents. They’re reminders of what I stand for, especially when I need it the most.

Psychology, Philosophy & Books

I haven’t read that many deep or life changing books recently. The most notable books I’ve read were the ones of the Lord of the Rings universe. I’ve had a deep dive into everything I could get my hands unto, or watch, such as the Hobbit, the Silmarillion, and all the intricate lore. Also, even though many despised it, I am looking forward to the continuation of the Rings of Power series.
I’ll definitely get back to reading on sociology and psychology soon, especially on semiotics, as this is something I enjoyed.

Here’s a couple books I’ve read:

• Project Hail Mary — Andy Weird (along with the recent 2026 movie)
• Drumindor — M.J. Sullivan (the latest in the series)
• Let them — Mel Robbins
• Useful Delusion — Shankar Vedantam
• How the world think — Julian Bahgini
• The Prophet - Khalil Gebran
• The Denial of Death — Ernest Becker

Soon enough I’ll start to read Brave New World, which weirdly I never read before, and Metamorphosis by Kafka.

Apart from books, I’ve also been on a journey of self-discovery. So many podcasts and discussions have helped me process and hone who I am. I won’t expand on this, but the past year has been one that acted as a directional pivot and anchor.

Unix, Nixers, Programming & Articles

Yes, I’ve only published a single article the past year, but it’s a beautifully deep research about the input stack on Linux, a topic I’ve always wanted to understand from bottom up. I believe I’ve done a wonderful job at covering the topic, especially weaving together every part of the stack and how they interact with one another, even the kernel side of things. Indeed, this is now a reference on the matter.

I’m yearning to research and write more, however I’ve fallen into a bit of a rut. Still, I’m currently learning about networking, reading a lot on thermalcircle, which is one of the best blog I’ve found on the matter.

Goes to say that in the age of LLMs, it’s getting hard to focus on the quality content, well-researched articles, and being able to parse and adapt writing in a way that is usable and understandable by others. It’s also a bit of a downer knowing that most people will dismiss reading, and instead rely on the LLMs to do the work of summarizing everything, and solving the issues for them.
In all cases, I’m actively on the lookout for interesting things to dive into.

Besides that, I finally went again to FOSDEM in February and ended up meeting z3bra from nixers. It felt like I’ve already known him in-real-life, since technically we’ve known each others online for 15+ years. The encounter was refreshing, it’s not every day that you spend time and connect with people that share the same niche interest as you do.
I’ve told myself I should go to more conferences, and travel to meet my friends and people, whenever I can, since I have the possibility and means to do so. I’ll be the thread going there, the glue making things happen.

Additionally, as usual, the newsletter is still going strong. More than 340 issues have been published thus far. That’s around ~6.5 years of newsletter!

Arts

I’ve spent quite a lot of time on ASCII art and it’s been rejuvenating to get back to it:

• I finished the series on aquatic creatures
• I finished a new small series on hands. I was joking that LLMs are bad at drawing hand (bad at drawing ASCII art in general too). The series is aptly named “not_ai”
• I started a new series about frogs and lizards, which I find exciting and fun

Overall, I’m genuinely happy with the art I’ve managed to draw the past year, my collection keeps growing. Hence, I got back to thinking that I should restart my online store on redbubble, and also publish my artworks on other platforms. To focus on the branding and traction, to spread it further. However, I’m not particularly experienced in that domain, but I’m definitely ready to venture into it.

Aside from this, my movie review hobby is still active, and I’m continually learning about the intricacies of films. What continually fascinates me is that the movies that strike and leave a mark, the true art that make me reconsider things, are not necessarily the films that appear as such as I watch them. Instead, they linger and leave an impact days later, making me wonder and ponder. As they say “Art is provocative, while entertainment is forgettable”.

Furthermore, I’ve also been dancing a lot. I feel more open and expressive with my body, comfortable in my skin and confident. It’s surprising that once upon a time I used to be shy to even stand up when others where on the dance floor. Now I look forward to it, and appreciate rhythm and music with a fresh perspective.

Others

Congratulations, I’ve been trained and certified for first aid by the Red Cross. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and that I consider as essential.

I’m still keeping my streak on the brain teaser app Elevate, and I’ve yet again changed the language I’m learning on Duolingo. This time I’m learning Russian, and it’s enjoyable.

Last year, I was still a beginner investor, learning about finance, and still learning. Well, it’s bearing its fruits, even though I am continually schooling myself on the topic.

Other than those, I’m still cooking and teaching myself new recipe. Additionally, traveling has opened new flavors, novel ingredients, combination opportunities, and delighted me with novelties. In a way, for me, it’s a form of art.

One thing I’ve intensely focused on is my health. I’ve been doing skin care routine, applying sunscreen diligently, exercising more intensely and swimming often, trying supplements with and without success (some were useless and/or not for me), eating more properly, and generally being more deliberate and being attentive to things. I’ve never felt better!

Apart from this, for obvious reasons, I haven’t gardened in a long while, nor painted or drawn anything. Yet, I try to compensate by being in nature whenever I can, and to be in touch with art.

Also, you might not have noticed but I’ve done tiny SEO optimizations revamp of the website. It’s not much but it seems to do the job. I should be the first result coming up if you search for “Patrick Louis Lebanon”.

Now

So for the coming months I’ll be more serious about work, investments, and the new adventures and amazing opportunities that my life is bringing and has brought recently. I’ll focus on trying to open the ASCII art shop, and to get out of my writing rut, on psychology, philosophy, or Unix-like systems.

Truly, I’ve never been as fulfilled in my life as I am now, and that’s a great signal that I’m in the right direction, so I’ll keep at it!

This is it! As usual… If you want something done, no one’s gonna do it for you, use your own hands, even if it’s not much. You can do it!
And let’s go for a beer together sometime, or just chill.

See ya!

If you want to have a more in depth discussion I'm always available by email or irc. We can discuss and argue about what you like and dislike, about new ideas to consider, opinions, etc..
If you don't feel like "having a discussion" or are intimidated by emails then you can simply say something small in the comment sections below and/or share it with your friends.