Hyper Wrapped 2025

So, here we are again. Another year in the can, another “Hyper Wrapped” to write. If you’ve been here before, you know the drill: a look back at the tech I’ve wrestled with, the media I’ve consumed, and the general state of my digital existence. I’m not going to do the whole ’this year was worse than the last’ routine. Let’s just say if my career were a video game, 2025 was the expansion pack that consisted solely of escort missions and unskippable cutscenes about synergy.

For the first time in over a decade, the motivation meter hit absolute zero. Usually, I’d be neck-deep in some arcane side-project, teaching myself a new language, or re-compiling my kernel just for kicks. This year? The biggest project I undertook was figuring out the optimal nap-to-coffee ratio.

Surviving the bullshit-driven development #

This was the year the “AI” buzzword, formerly a cool sci-fi concept, became a corporate mandate. My employer, struck by a sudden, feverish urgency, decreed that we must have the “AI” label slapped onto something, somewhere. The problem? There was no clear use case. No clean goal. Just a desperate need to be part of the hype train.

The result was a masterclass in “Bullshit-Driven Development.” Our days filled with endless meetings to “develop something” out of this AI-flavored ether, all while simultaneously keeping our normal duties afloat. For me, the mental whiplash was brutal. The context-switching required to jump from patching production systems, to keeping our actual codebase in shape, to acting as the go-to oracle for random platform questions was already a lot.

But wait, there’s more! For our biggest customer, where the official Product Manager position has been a ghost for over two years, I’ve had to become a one-man army. On any given day I’m the developer, the tester, the systemist, and support levels 1, 2, and 3. I’ve also become the designated “meeting frontman,” which means I’m the one absorbing all the questions and pulling project estimations out of thin air¹. On top of all that, I have to navigate the complex bureaucracy for security compliance, releases, and product lifecycle using a plethora of custom, and often undocumented, software. I refuse to call myself a PM, because that would be an insult to the serious professionals out there who do it for real.

I won’t lie: I’d be surprised if I managed more than eight total hours of deep, effective work this entire year. My brain felt like a browser with 200 tabs open, all of them playing different YouTube videos at once².
I feel completely stagnant as a professional. When you’re constantly context-switching and putting out fires, there’s no room left for actual growth.

The zen of logistics in a digital war #

So, with my professional motivation shot, where did I spend my time? In a muddy, pixelated trench, that’s where. I sank a considerable amount of time into the game Foxhole.

Now, before you picture me as a digital Rambo, racking up kills, you’ve got the wrong idea. My big discovery in Foxhole was that individual skill is almost irrelevant. The game isn’t a shooter; it’s a brutal, large-scale lesson in logistics, philosophy, and the human condition. It’s about hundreds of real players trying to supply a persistent war effort across a massive map.

You can be the best tank commander in the world, but your tank is useless if some guy 100 kilometers back didn’t mine the scrap, to give to another guy to refine into materials, to give to a third guy to build the tank, and a fourth guy to drive it to the front line on a truck that a fifth guy fueled up. It’s a game about supply chains, patience, and the frustrating, beautiful, and often hilarious chaos of large-scale human cooperation. I learned more about project management from a failed attempt to deliver shirts to a bunker than from any “agile” seminar.

Fun fact: my italian regiment became quite respected on our faction and among enemies; and they dedicated us a song for our massive naval logistic, and an anthem:

The analogue awakening #

In the midst of all this digital despair, a strange thing happened: I started reading again. This wasn’t just a preference; it was a necessity. My eyes went on a permanent, unsanctioned vacation this year. I’ve already been through two pairs of glasses and I’m heading for a third, thanks to months of vertigo, headaches, and a newfound hyper-sensitivity to light.

The simple solution I found was revolutionary: I went outside. It turns out that spending just 10-15 minutes reading a physical book in the daylight during the summer and autumn was a game-changer. It felt like I was healing my brain.

This spring, I even bought a Kobo Clara BW to supersede my ancient 2017 Kindle. The choice was made after Amazon killed USB sideloading in February; I wanted to escape to a freer ecosystem on top of just wanting some fresh hardware. In a perfect encapsulation of my year, I then let the brand-new Kobo collect dust up until this Christmas.

I promise I will write some notes and thoughts on the books I read on the newsletter; I already have a few nagging thoughts buzzing around in my head.

Side-effects #

Reading made me realize something hilarious: I became my relatives. I started repeating things like, “it’s written too small”, “come closer” , and “move where there’s more light”. I never thought the day would come, but I had to surrender and buy a reading light and one of those “book lens” magnifiers. The transformation is complete.

A second side-effect of all this reading: the desire to write came back. The input started generating output again. I actually wrote more this year than I have in a long time. A few new blog posts made their way onto this site, and I even sent out a couple of newsletters that I’m very proud of.

I’ve decided to formalize the language barrier. From now on, this blog will be the home for my strictly English-language tech thoughts and nerdy deep-dives. Meanwhile, the newsletter is where I’ll get more personal, reserved for everything else and written in my native pizza-eater-tongue. It’s a system that makes sense in my head, at least.

Hitting the pavement #

Running was another analogue activity that helped me disconnect this year. I won’t bore you with the details here, but I did write about it in one of my newsletters if you’re interested.

The hypnotic escape of prog metal #

When I wasn’t reading or writing, music was my go-to escape from reality. I listened to an obscene amount of progressive metal this year. There’s something hypnotic about it; I’d close my eyes, go with the flow, and feel my empty social and motivational batteries slowly recharge.

I had several moments where I’d just glitch out for a solid hour, standing motionless while doing the dishes (no, I don’t own a dishwasher), just carefully listening to the intricate drum kicks. It was my form of meditation.

Speaking of listening, I finally leveled up my audio setup. I thrashed my old, trusty cable headphones and invested in a pair of Technics EAH-AZ100E-A earbuds. It was long overdue. They are not only ridiculously practical, but the sound is absolutely incredible. 200€ well spent, I regret nothing. I could write an entire post on how immersive the sound is, but I’ll spare you and fall back on a simple “you gotta try them.”

Tech log #

It wouldn’t be a proper wrapped if it didn’t have a tech log.

Fedora 43 #

The upgrade to Fedora 43 was the first in many years where I had to manually fix a couple of things. The issues were mainly around Wine, but it was nothing more than a 10-minute detour through the forums to find the solution. As usual, Fedora never fails to deliver. My nerd-pride also swelled this year when Linus Torvalds confirmed in an interview with Linus Tech Tips that he uses Fedora. It makes me feel even more like a true hackerman.

Shortcuts ninjitsu #

I finally buckled down and mastered the Zellij shortcuts. In a year where I can hardly talk about being productive, those moments when I have four terminal tabs open with sync turned on, all accepting my commands at once… chef’s kiss. It’s a small victory, but I’ll take it.

SSH level-up #

In the grand tradition of “devs being lazy,” I finally centralized all my SSH accounts into the .ssh/config file. I’ve known this was possible for years, but I just never got around to actually implementing it. I also started exploiting the super-useful SSH sockets (ControlMaster for the initiated) to avoid having to type the same password again and again when connecting to the same server multiple times over a few hours. A game-changer.

Culinary side-quest #

In a year where digital creation felt like a chore, I found some joy in the analogue world of the kitchen. I added a few more recipes to my skillset and got weirdly passionate about two things: olive oil and pumpkins. I discovered there’s a whole world of olive oil beyond “extra virgin,” and I also learned that you can do a surprising amount of stuff with pumpkins. More importantly, it’s a vegetable my nephews will actually eat without being too picky, which is a victory in itself.

Patch notes wannabe for 2026 #

So what’s the plan for 2026? This year is about a concrete action plan, because something desperately needs to change.

My main quest is to fix my work situation. First, I’m officially retiring from my unpaid position as “digital bitch and happy taxpayer”. They don’t pay me enough for that level of stress. To make that happen, my primary skill to level-up is communication. This isn’t just a work thing; I’ve felt the tension from this burnout leak into my personal life and with my coworkers, and that’s a red flag. The second goal is a direct consequence of the first: I will be dodging as many meetings as humanly possible. I believe communicating clearly and setting firm boundaries is the key to reclaiming my time and sanity.

This is my ultimatum to myself: if I can’t carve out a space where I can do interesting work without burning out within the next six months, I’m out. I’ll be moving on to a new environment. It’s not about the cash; it’s about finding a place where I can actually build, learn, and not feel like I’m running on fumes 24/7.

On a lighter note, building on this year’s culinary side-quests, my personal goal is to cook more and add more variety to my diet. And, of course, continue the deep dive into the world of high-quality olive oil.

That’s all folks. If you made it this far, you have my respect. If you’ve also felt the burnout, drop a comment below. It’s good to know you’re not the only one in the trenches dealing with bullshitⁿᵒʷ⁻ʷⁱᵗʰ⁻ᴬᴵ.