BUILD 23/30: Alpha Word Counting Calendar!

Posted Tuesday, November 18, 2025 by Sri. Tagged JOURNAL

Today's sharepiece is the minimum viable prototype for the Word Counting Calendar. Grab the November and December 2025 prototypes.

About the Title Picture: Making that last column of PROGRESS counts took longer than I thought due to calculation rounding bugs, but it works now!Screenshot of Visual Studio Code showing source code fragments and the rendered December 2025 Word Counting CalendarScreenshot of Visual Studio Code showing source code fragments and the rendered December 2025 Word Counting Calendar (full size image)

Hooray! I have finally gotten all the major elements of the programmatically-generated Counting Calendar put together!

My code can now do the following:

  • draws the title
  • generates and draws the end of week counts
Example PDF for December 2025. I think all the counts are correct.The December 2025 Word Counting Calendar, version 2025-11-19The December 2025 Word Counting Calendar, version 2025-11-19 (full size image)

November 2025 Building Challenge Posts

URSYS Web App Template code01

Embedded TypeScript Apps in Eleventy code02

A Review of Old Work and Stories work01

Eleventy Templates for Atom Feeds blog01

Productivity Energy Crash prod01

Workshopping the 'Activity Bingo' Form prod02

Last Run of ETP Notebook Production tool01

Activity Bingo Form Progress prod03

ETP Mini Notebook Printing Press Tour tool02

Identity and Logo Thinking Pass work02

Unprofessional Business Cards work03

Word Counting Calendar Reboot wcal01

Word Counting Calendar Interim Release wcal01

Calendar Layout Code Progress wcal02

Super Simple PDF Progress wcal02

Articulating Friendship docs01

First skip day due to day trip to Concord, etc. prod04

A PDF-LIB Reference docs02

Programatic Drawing of Word Counting Calendar Blocks wcal02

Minimum Progress Despite Nausea; useful noobly attitudes wcal03

Calendar Day Drawing Progress wcal04

Progress noted in Groundhog Day Resolutions for November 11 ghdr01

A Mythical Magical Adventure Cat Primer docs03

Correct Calendar Layout Progress wcal05

Calendar Labeling and Space Filling wcal06

A Restorative Visit to the North Shore arts01

Alpha Word Counting Calendar! wcal07

Other improvements under the hood are:

  • generate counts for any arbitrary target number
  • parameterized color palettes
  • centralized rendering constants

Preview Versions

If you'd like to test print current draft, grab them here!

There are a few more things I'd like to do, but I could release this calendar this week. Here's what's left:

  • TODO: calculate block labels based on target number
  • TODO: calculate SPECIAL text
  • TODO: review typography
  • TODO: substitute SVGText for embedded fonts
  • TODO: look into alternate color palette management
  • TODO: refresh color palettes for better color fidelity

BUILD CHALLENGE COMMENTARY

Until today I couldn't predict when I'd be done with this project, but I can see the finish line!!!

It's tempting to spend some time to refactor the entire codebase, but I think I'll save that for the future. I have the minimum viable product within my grasp, and the next phase will be to use the new digital counting calendars to update my Patreon Perks for subscribers. It will be a hundred times easier to created customized versions on demand, which is super exciting!


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