about

Hey! I'm Niraj! This is a blog I want to use to chronicle different projects.

It feels like most people(both in blogs and academia) only publish positive results. But sometimes, we learn the most from failures, and this attitude makes it difficult to share failues with others. With this blog I want to share both successes and failures. It is unlikely to be updated frequently, as these projects are a hobby and get outprioritized by other areas in my life; but I hope these posts are useful to anybody who also enjoys trying out new ideas. Ultimately, I will filter out projects I post here based on whether I think they will be useful to others or not. But that will be the main criteria for inclusion, not whether the project is successful or not.

The title, Mitigating Failure, is because I feel that failure isn't something to be eliminated but simply reduced. Most lessons are learned through failures.

I have three categories; Lab, Workshop, and Studio. This comes from the research and development aspect of a video game, XCOM. The Lab is meant for investigating ideas and concepts. The Workshop is meant for actual projects I plan on using. The Studio is for art projects.

Projects will have different labels as defined below

These labels are for projects that are incomplete

In Progress - Currently being worked on

Stalled - Not yet complete, but deferred until a later date

These labels will mark a project as complete

Partial Success - Completed and successful; but not to the extent I would have liked

Successful - Completed to my satisfaction

Failed - Failed and abandoned

I'd also like to point out that these posts will follow my own progression through these projects. That means if I'm familiar with a topic I may move very quickly through it. I will try to link relevant background information when I notice this, but it may slip sometimes. Similarly, if I'm unfamiliar with a topic I will chronicle my learning process, which may bore readers who already are familiar with the topic. However, it is likely to be helpful to readers in a similar position to me; so I will not rewrite these sections either.