2025 Year in Review
Another year in the rearview mirror
In my annual update a year ago, I opened it with the following summary:
In 2024, I wrote 9 posts including this one. That's down slightly from last year, but on par with 2020; my annual average from 2020 - 2024 has been 9.6. Having two kids under the age of four goes a long way towards explaining why I'm not writing as much as I used to (back in 2019, I had even started working on a book, which I still intend to pick back up in another season of life).
This past year has been similar, with one notable change: I now have 3 kids under 5. Last year I wrote 10 blog posts (not counting this one), which is pretty much average for the past five years; this seems to be a sustainable level of output in this season of life, although we'll see how this year goes. My goal continues to be to write one post per month, but of course family and work responsibilities have to take precedence.
Here is the list of posts from 2025:
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/kids-books-we-like/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/recent-3d-printing/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/300th-post/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/baie-des-chaleurs-industrial-patrimony/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/mini-reviews-2024/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/materials-processes-and-supply-chains-recent-readings-on-technology-and-industry/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/industry-series-retrospective/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/knowing-about-knowing-for-fun-and-profit/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/beavers/
- https://danbscott.ghost.io/the-inexorable-march-of-maintenance/
I reached the milestone of 300 posts early last year, and that post contains archive links if you want to browse through my past writing.
In 2025, I wrote a series of posts about industry, finishing a theme I had started in 2024 (although I may revisit it down the road). I also started a theme on Knowing. So far, I've only written one post, so continuing this series is my biggest writing goal for 2026. I've read half a dozen non-fiction books related to this theme, plus some articles and novels that have some relevance. I've also got five posts that are in the research notes, outline, or partial draft stage, so I have plenty of material to work with, assuming I can find some time for writing here and there.
Overall, I read 24 books in 2025, some of which I expect will show up in posts that aren't part of the Knowing series.
In 2025, I went on a backpacking trip that a friend of mine set up. We hiked part of the Nepisiguit trail, from Access point C to H. I don't have any similar adventures planned yet for 2026, but the year's just begun.
For 2026, I don't have a specific theme I'll be focusing on in my reading list, although it does contain a number of classic novels, as well as books on familiar topics like river journeys and technological history. I've also got some DIY projects underway or planned, but I'll wait to write about them until I see how they turn out, I think. Overall, I'm trying to keep my ambitions modest for this year—have I mentioned that I have 3 kids under 5?