This gives me chills. Biden watching this years ago … then embracing the character demonstrated by Washington.
So much geek fun
Today is the 4th day of my four-day holiday. I woke up with nothing to do. After a year of working every day (which I’ve enjoyed), I’m watching my brain and body unwind. And realizing that winding myself up was not the only option. I can (maybe) learn to rest in the midst of great effort.
“The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.” – Albert Einstein
As part of optimizing my writing workflow, I’ve set up Obsidian (where I write daily) to publish posts here. Using github.com/otaviocc/…
This is two books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar. I was desperately flailing around the internet, looking for something restful to read. Reddit threads said “this is my favorite series ever.” It’s not my favorite ever but a week later, I’m on the third book. Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold 📚
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 📚
I don’t enjoy novels that switch between voices but this book did it brilliantly. I admired the unconventional use of punctuation and chapter structures to convey the characters. I didn’t love them but stayed invested. Alas, I got to the end and … threw my kobo. Nope.
Upgrade: A Novel by Blake Crouch 📚
I enjoyed a story that doesn’t simplify intelligence into “I can win at Jeopardy.” Along with the protagonist, we experience emerging neurodiversity, the way social experience and perception shifts. A bit too much exposition for me but still a fun puzzle to solve.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood 📚
I consumed the Twilight series like potato chips. So it was with Bride. Yes, it’s a “vulnerable woman who’s actually independent and strong falls for a pseudobadguy who maybe wants to kill her” story. But a top Bookseller Recommendation, not just another pretty face.
I’ve been reading novels every night. Since Covid, I’ve needed stories, no nonfiction. So I’ve let myself go on this journey. I’ll share some reviews in the coming days.
Looking for something good to read? I rely on IndieBound to help me find new titles. www.indiebound.org/indie-bes…
Playing on repeat to improve my Wednesday energy.
This talk “presents a new lens to understand our contemporary world” and “a set of tools that honor and leverage emergence in order to have agency and impact.” It’s not about technology. But if I didn’t tell you that, you’d probably think it was.
Let’s face it, software systems are messy … that’s what makes them work.
After watching the movie Anatomy of a Fall, I couldn’t sleep. It is a psychologically chilling, and familiar, experience of what happens when a woman is vulnerable to the judgement of men. The tone and patterns are the background music of our lives. I’m grateful it exists, it turns up the volume.
6am, sitting on the couch together, drinking coffee. Macbook Pros & noise-cancelling headphones. Wordle scores posted in the family Slack channel. He’s studying for the K8s exam. I’m writing the last chapter of my O’Reilly book. I’d say something snarky about “geek love” but this really is wonderful
Why turning off Messages before you begin your focus session is important. Your friends are interesting or they wouldn’t be your friends.
Andrew Harmel-Law is writing Facilitating Software Architecture while I am writing Learning Systems Thinking. Today we started a 30 day challenge using Writing Analytics. I’m not usually motivated by data tracking but this tool has improved my focus significantly. app.writinganalytics.co
Well, that’s a thing. 2023 was quite a year.
If you do the thing you most want to do – the thing you fear you can not do – you’ll discover your blockers. Success isn’t achieving your goals; goals are changed by experience. Success is transforming your relationship to whatever is holding you back.
Early in my career as a systems architect, I felt alone with the challenges I faced. Now, I am surrounded by people who understand. The key to our success is learning from each other and sharing insights. We are all in this together.
