| date | author |
|---|---|
2024-10-07 |
Moonbase59 |
As much as I hate having to let you down and disappoint you, I’ll have to discontinue working on this project for the time being. Due to health issues and my work desktop broken down, I couldn’t update you earlier. I’m writing this on a used $20 convertible I got online, because I didn’t want to leave anyone "in the dark".
I much enjoyed working on this, and the good feedback and working with you all, but severe personal issues now keep me from working on Open Source (and other) projects much. You won’t believe how hard it is for me to stop keeping my brains working on interesting and beneficial projects for music and radio enthusiasts like I am myself, and thus let you down. I expected to be able to continue this project in mid-August 2024, but the realities of life have finally caught up with me.
- Old age takes its toll.
- My severe lung and heart condition almost immobilizes me and makes every day a struggle. It keeps getting worse and I already have five stents.
- I lost my car two years ago (engine damage) and couldn’t afford buying even an old used one anymore. This makes everyday shopping, getting to my physicians and even picking up my medication almost impossible.
- I’m still looking for regular employment, but couldn’t find one these past few years. It’s hard at age 65, living in the outskirts with no car, and only being able to do desk or home office work. Retiring isn’t an option, because the expected pension wouldn’t even allow me to pay the rent, let alone the costs of electricity, internet and food.
- I currently have to live on government civilian’s allowance—far below the official poverty level. The ever-increasing cost of living, rent, power and internet access eat it all up, so there’s almost nothing left to buy food or a new PC from. My good 15-year-old main desktop recently broke down, and its monitor too.
- I never expected donations to sustain me, but donation culture has become a disaster these past 40 years. I checked, and in the past 25 years (since 2000-01-01) I received exactly two donations: 10 and 50 Euros. This is for all my Open Source projects, and all so-called "affiliate links" in total. In the 1980s, I at least received a few $5 personal checks for some shareware I did then, but could never clear these, since the check deposit fee at that time was DEM 14, roughly also USD 5 (in 1984).
- Now I will also lose my home, where I’ve been living the past 12 years. Unexpectedly, my landlord’s lawyers sent me the rent termination notice just a few days ago. Being all alone, I have no means, strength or finances to manage a move. There is also nothing adequate to be found at an affordable price, and I couldn’t afford the needed rental deposit and cost of moving anyway.
- You can see that my head is now fully occupied with trying to solve this situation. I need help and don’t know how and where to find it. This makes me sleepless and fighting depressions setting in every day.
So now you know the rest of the story…
I’m sorry letting you down, and I mean it. Maybe I can come back to this at some point in the future.
LLAP
Matthias