<img alt="Auto-generated description: A sunset over a silhouette of trees with a streetlight in the foreground." height="451" src="https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/136355/2024/pxl-20241212-1107373672.jpg" width="600"/> <p>As the sun sets for 2025, I find myself wanting to attempt a 365 photo project again. Yes, again means I’ve tried and failed miserably in the past. Pretty confident I’m not alone on this.</p> <p>With the expansion of the open social web in the past year, it occurred to me that the lowest friction way of doing this would be just posting via a hashtag on your existing open social service of choice.</p> <p>Personally, the benefit for me is by hosting my blog on micro.blog and cross-posting to Mastodon/Bluesky from there; I’m also able to keep a <a href="https://andrewmelder.com/365in25/">page for my 365 project on my own site as well</a>.</p> <p>Follow or join in with your own 365 project in 2025 on the Fediverse or Bluesky through <strong>#365in25</strong></p>

<img alt="Auto-generated description: A group of people are gathered indoors, with one person facing the camera and others engaged in dancing." height="900" src="https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/136355/2024/dscf7985.jpeg" width="600"/> <p>The lead up to this year’s end of year holiday period has been met with less anticipation than previous years.</p> <p>After years of deteriorating health, my father was finally diagnosed with moderate to advanced Dementia in October this year. With his mental capacity rapidly falling, he has already needed to enter full time care instead of being at home. As you can imagine, the stress has taken a toll on members of the family.</p> <p>While I generally take a pragmatic “deal with what’s in front of us” approach to things; I can’t deny there have been times it’s gotten to me too. There is an unspoken yet sober realisation now that this year’s Christmas will be the last for us with Dad where he is mentally and/or physically able to be with us.</p> <p>While we all understand that Father Time comes for all of us and that there will be a final time for our lives one day; it’s unnerving to know it is a final time before it happens. I’ve knowingly had this experience once before that I can recall.</p> <p>A couple of years ago, my mum and her sisters reunited at my parents place. Being located across the world, the unfortunate passing of their brother during the pandemic, and the known medical diagnosis of some; it was an unspoken but well known understanding that this was the last gathering.</p> <p>I’m normally not keen on extended family gatherings if I’m honest, but I had a purpose that night as the amateur photographer in the family; take all the photos.</p> <p>The night was a success. With dancing, singing and many photos taken and shared since. While I’m generally always the one taking photos at family gatherings anyway, I’m normally hesitant to take many photos of candid moments. But in times of realisation like these final gatherings, they are the ones I want to capture the most.</p> <p>This year, I find myself having that purpose again. I’m unusually grateful that I even have the chance.</p> <p>But I mainly write this to implore any of you reading of one thing: <strong>Do not wait for your realisation of the final moment. Always take the photo.</strong></p>

The Vergecast is the flagship podcast from The Verge about small gadgets, Big Tech, and everything in between. Every Friday, hosts Nilay Patel and David Pierce hang out and make sense of the week’s most important technology news. And every Tuesday, David leads a selection of The Verge’s expert staffers in an exploration of how gadgets and software affect our lives – and which ones you should bring into yours.