Notes

Documentation: https://github.com/trailofbits/algo Make sure IPv6 is supported on the cloud provider. (For e.g., see this for Oracle.) Commands # Activate python env source .env/bin/activate # Update users ./algo update-users # Once deployed, if you want to update the ad blocker list, update and run the following. sudo vim /usr/local/sbin/adblock.sh sudo /usr/local/sbin/adblock.sh Config ~/algo/config.cfg contains the following: adblock_lists: - "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts" - "https://hosts.oisd.nl/" - "https://hosts.oisd.nl/extra/" - "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/x0uid/SpotifyAdBlock/master/hosts" BetweenClients_DROP: false block_smb: false block_netbios: false

I sometimes think about FIRE and what I’ll do once I get there. However, a thought struck me when I was listening to the book, Deep Work: I probably just want FI, i.e. financial independence so that I can work on whatever I want. And, truth be told, I already have some of it today: good degree of autonomy at work on what projects I pick up or numbers of hours I work. ...

I had a really great conversation with a mentor at work today. Here’s what I learnt: Say no by default. The idea is not to be an ass. Instead, check with yourself whether the ask aligns with the direction you want to take before agreeing to it. In other words, stay in control. If someone asks you to do something, try to understand what that ask translates for you. Meetings: Only two types: those that announce/communicate something or where you want to make a decision (and all necessary parties are present). What about other bureaucratic meetings (which are often recurring in nature)? Just ignore as much as you can. You think you made a deep insight by a single comment in an ops meeting but that’s probably false. The org I am part of right now is full of operators. How will I stand out amongst them? By making an impact, not by making smart comments in ops meetings. Only attend meetings where I am actively contributing. Multi-tasking doesn’t work at all. Don’t even try which leads to the next point… Intense focus. Where do I find time to tackle big problems? His answer, which was a light bulb moment for me, was that you have no idea how much you can achieve in 1 hour if you focus intensely on the work. Just close out all distractions during such time chunks, like all of them. This is exactly what the book, Deep Work, also claims. You probably don’t want more hours in a day, just more intensity and zero distractions when you are working.

TODOs are one thing but I also have a few things in the back of my mind that I want to do. Here’s a list of those. Get a Masters in computer science or whatever, the field doesn’t matter. Learn Spanish. Travel for 1-6 months in Europe and trek Himalayas for a week one more time. (On a similar note, I’ve thought about becoming a digital nomad but that probably just a fancy idea and won’t happen with a kid anymore.) Build something myself, maybe start a company. Have parents stay with us, wherever that is. Finish learning Deep Learning but that’s going to be the last thing I learn on the technical front (outside work, of course). (The reason I don’t want to drop the ball on this is twofold. One, I want to finish a course that I started, something I haven’t done in a long time. Two, I am fascinated by the subject.) Give back to society on a regular basis. Instead of trying to figure out the best way to do this, I’ll start small, with a recurring monthly donation.

I am on a plane right now, our first flight with our kid (yay!), and thought I’ll jot down some of the ideas in my mind: I have noticed that I have an almost uncontrollable urge to check my phone every now and then. And I don’t like being that way. I’ll start keeping my phone offline for long periods of time. So, I’ll only be able to use those apps that work offline (which, as I realized on this flight, will be few). I should pay attention to what I pay attention to. Attention is my most important resource and I should continue to be mindful of where I allocate it. This ties closely to doing more focus work. I like how lately I’ve started saying no to lot of things at work and should continue with that. This idea came from this podcast. You can achieve a lot by just showing up daily and doing small bits of work towards some goal. No need to wait for long stretches of time on all occasions. Get a mentor.

This is one of those recurring ideas that keep coming back: I should focus a lot on building things and aggressively decline other things. That may come at the cost of some reputational loss, like one of my mentors told me. Build anything. Or just be happy exploring new things and be ready to fail. Who cares if I fail on company money?

I recently listened to How to Live Your Rich Life with Ramit Sethi. While I don’t agree with everything that Ramit mentioned, I realized one important thing from the podcast: creating wealth isn’t sufficient, you also need to learn how to spend it, otherwise what’s the point of earning all that money. Moreover, the switch - on when you realize you have enough to stop saving and start spending - doesn’t flip automatically. I know because it didn’t (or, rather, hasn’t fully) for me. ...

I often give too much importance to arbitrary things without asking myself why I do that. One of those things recently was the idea that I’ll go deeper into music lyrics. I’ve liked music from as long as I can remember. However, for the last year or so, this idea to go deeper into the lyrics of the music I listen, and that it were a waste if I didn’t do that, has been so overwhelming that I’ve mostly stopped listening! Most of the times when I do want to listen, I start thinking about what I am going to listen and whether I have the lyrics open in parallel. ...

It’s high time I leave Amazon: I’ve been here for ~8 years now. That’s a lot for an environment as stressful as that of Amazon. The culture in other companies is going to be very different Amazon’s, and I should be experiencing that in my short remaining career. I can earn a lot more than what I get here. In the worst case, I can always come back to Amazon. (But I really hope things don’t come down to that.) Next steps: ...

Serves 1. Prepare the matcha: (This will be the base for everything else.) 1 teaspoon (= ~2 g) matcha in a big bowl. (You may want to pass it through a sifter but that’s too much work.) Pour 2 ounces of water. Should be steamy but less than boiling. Mix the two in W or M motion (not circular) until you see froth on top. Latte: Froth 6 ounces of milk. Add the matcha base, 1 teaspoon honey and froth some more.