Moving My Entire Life To Obsidian

Posted 4 weeks ago by Eric Winchester

I’ve been using Obsidian lately. They call it a “second brain.” Maybe it is. What I know is this: it’s a Markdown editor, which means everything is raw text. No hidden formatting, no bloated files that only open in one program. Just text I can open anywhere, edit anywhere, and keep forever.

Here’s how I use it.

I started with one little web server, an HP EliteDesk 800 G3, the same box you’re reading this on right now. I didn’t spin it up with some big master plan. I just wanted a reason to mess around with Linux again. Putting a website online gave me that excuse. You need a destination before you can enjoy the drive, and for me, the website was it.

From there, projects started stacking up. Backup scripts, little utilities, network tweaks — each one felt like progress, but I had no system. Notes were scattered across random files and half-remembered commands. And it wasn’t just simple stuff. One day I’m looking up a long backup string for the hundredth time, the next I’m piecing together my floppytop script, or trying to remember where I saved the code that spits out my web stats. The projects were fun, but the way I was tracking them was holding me back. That’s when I realized I needed to start documenting for real.

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So I Made A Game… Why? Why Not!

Posted 6 months ago by Eric Winchester

I’ve been doing my daily walks, listening to the history of people creating shareware games (see previous post), and the way my brain works, I thought, “Hey, I want to make a game…” So I did. Honestly, today there’s almost no reason you can’t learn to create whatever you want.

Here’s where we are in life right now: I went to ChatGPT, told it what I wanted to build, and it was ready to roll. I didn’t just type “make me a helicopter game” (though you probably could). I started with an idea, mapped out a plan, and started creating the project with AI as my co-pilot. Along the way, I learned a ton about game design, building environments, creating graphics, setting up collision logic, debugging, and working on playability. Most importantly, I gained a whole new respect for the original teams behind games like Choplifter and Chopper Strike — they were doing amazing things with way less tech.

My goal was to create a working game demo, and after about 20 hours, it’s up and running. It’s my first real game under my belt, and now I’ve got a ton of ideas and the confidence to keep building whatever I want. It’s a fun place to be.

Could you do this too? Absolutely. Did my years of web development help? For sure.

Want to play it? eChopper 0.03 is here to play.

I’m going to continue to add a few game play features, and make it feel a little more complete, then I’m moving on to the next challenge.

Later, I’ll write more about how to actually learn while working alongside AI — not just getting answers, but breaking things down, asking why and how at every step.