The Art Of Not Asking Why

For the last two weeks, I’ve been writing a long post on what’s been going on in my head since October 7th of last year, and I broke my two blog writing rules:

1. Don’t write a post for more than two full days.
2. Don’t write negative things about other people.

Let me explain first what I mean by these self-imposed rules.

Two full days mean usually two full mornings writing and not being done. I revise my posts and check for typos and grammar before I publish them, but this editing process is not part of “spilling the beans.” When I run out of time writing, I give myself the option to wrap things up the next day (or later in that day if I get the chance), but not to sit down and continue writing a second part.

Why not keep on writing? I found that if I’m not done writing down what I have to say in one sitting, I’m probably never going to publish what I’m writing. I will keep on writing until I forget my point and go into endless tangents or get overwhelmed during the editing part, which takes a decent amount of time, and the whole thing will feel like a chore. This used to happen sometimes with my old blog, and it sucks.

As for saying negative things about people, this is something I picked somewhere else a couple of years back: it’s a positive-karma-enhancing tool and a troll-preventative measure in one. It’s one thing to be grumpy and complain about an idea; it’s another to criticize a group of people (or someone specifically, which is even worse) in a negative light. This can be tricky at times, but usually, it means criticizing the idea a person (or a certain group) is after rather than the individuals themselves.

For my October 7th post, I gave up somewhere around the third day of writing. I was also getting too judgmental of people, and I came across as bitter and negative. The post started to look like the kind of post that makes me stop reading and even stop following a person, at least for a while. These are crazy political times for all of us, after all.

It’s natural that there are a lot of feelings about what happened and what is still happening, and it’s a good thing that I feel like I can talk about it more in length now. But. I must remember my two rules, they are there two help me. So, what can I do when approaching a difficult topic like this one?

For one, I should write one idea at a time without expanding on tangents and related events. For another, if I write about other people, I should focus on how they make me feel, not what they are saying and what I feel they are saying. One is authentic and honest, while the other is negative speculation.

I will try to salvage the big mess of a post I have for parts and see what I come up with. I’m also considering some sort of content warning for people who don’t want to read anything of the sort but still like other stuff I write about.

I gave up on The Last Girl Scout 📚. It started out OK, but it quickly became too “cute” for me with “Sugar” here and “Honey” there every time the two transwomen (which is important to mention in the context of the book) talk to each other. I’m not that kind of person and not that kind of a reader.

Dungeons of Hinterberg [DoH] is a chicken soup for the type of mental cold I feel I’m recovering from during these crazy political times. On the surface, it’s another hack-and-slash game with some puzzles sprinkled on top, but as you go deeper into its dungeon, its balanced tempo starts to drift you away.

The game’s high point wasn’t my latest mini-boss fight or when I finally figured out the puzzle in the Jelly caves; it happened when I was sitting next on a wooden bench on top of a cliff, a wooden hut with a straw roof behind me with a couple of cows ruminating grass.

Luisa, the protagonist, sat her sword down and admired the view. As she breathed in the fresh air, I also took a long breath in my chair and let my mind rest from the long list of emails I needed to catch on. Later, when Luisa was ready to go to town and make new friends, I was recharged enough for a little walk outside myself.

DoH is not an excellent action RPG, a visual marvel, or a deep story you’ll remember for months. There are other games for that. Rather, It’s a game about experiencing life. The monsters in the dungeons and the puzzles are well-crafted metaphors for conquering both mental and physical challenges with the help of friends, a good night’s sleep, and well-honed skills you’ve learned in the meantime. The game’s mechanism works like a calm therapist, reminding you that breaks and self-care go a long way in helping you later when you pick up your sword (keyboard) to slay monsters (another set of instructions you need to write, perhaps a piece of code).

Taken in like that, in little dosages between other pressing projects at work, you got yourself an inviting relaxation routine you’d want to adopt. This game is a treat, meant to be taken slowly and with care. Don’t rush it; just relax and enjoy.

I’ve had my MacBook Pro docking station for a while, but this morning I was thinking that the term “docking station” is a bit vague. Wikipedia doesn’t help much: “Because a wide range of dockable devices—from mobile phones to wireless mouse—have different connectors, power signaling, and uses, docks are unstandardized and are therefore often designed for a specific type of device.”

This is why I couldn’t find a simple “docking station” for my MacBook Pro when I was looking for one about a year ago. It was (and still is) a long list of USB hubs, aluminum brackets, cables, and other things in between.

I found a MacBook stand in the end, which is a simple metal bracket. It’s a nice sturdy stand that holds the MacBook safe next to my PC. Here it is with the MacBook connected to everything I use daily:

The MacBook is connected to a KVM switch, which allows me to switch to my PC (the monster you see in the background) at any moment with a keyboard shortcut. I use it for gaming (Windows) and networking/private browsing/productivity (Linux). The KVM needs HDMI and USB connections, which you can see on the left. There’s also a small case under the HDMI cable to hold it up straight since it’s heavy and needs support in this position.

The MacBook needs to be connected to power to work with its lid closed (docking mode). I was concerned about the battery at the start, growing up at an age where keeping devices with batteries connected to power at all times is a bad idea and even a fire hazard, but the MagSafe connector (lower right) is a sophisticated chip that knows to turn off the power automatically, designed to work like this. This is why the LED is orange: the battery is never full when it’s like this; it keeps the battery at around 75-80 percent. I’ve had the Mac for a year now, and the battery can still hold a charge of about 10 - 12 hours of work.

The MacBook Pro came with USB Cs, and I had a perfectly working USB-A 4-port “dock” (see?), so I’m using a metal USB-A to USB-C converter. On the other side, I have cables for my Android phone if I need to load files on the Mac, and these days, a Wacom tablet for drawing. The charger for my Apple Watch is connected to the remaining USB-C port. I charge the watch daily whenever I take a shower (the Watch can take water no problem, but showers work as a good reminder to charge it)

I use the Mac remotely about once every two weeks. When I do, I carefully remove all the cables and place the Mac in a plastic shell (with stickers, of course) that goes into my backpack. I usually don’t even bother taking the charger with me, even if I’m going to stay overnight.

The MacBook is the best device I’ve ever had for work/life balance. It can run whatever I need for work (these days, it’s mostly Microsoft Edge) while providing me with classical music (IDAGIO), Signal (to chat with friends), WhatsApp (to chat with family, sometimes work), and all the other necessaries, from email to Photoshop, and of course, Emacs to bridge both worlds.

A few quick updates:

• Insomnia has been hitting hard for the second week in a row. My days have two parts: a small one from around 4 AM to 8 AM, and then after I get to sleep again, 9 AM to until 3 PM or so when I crash and take another 20-minute nap until later.

• There’s a lot going on out there. Some good, some bad, and too much to express, especially in my state right now. I’m aware and am following with interest

• Work’s been taking extra of my time with projects, and that was before the whole CrowdStrike thing. Yeesh. Between that, other hobbies, and trying to shove some exercise when I’m not a zombie, there’s little time left for other things

Hope everyone else’s doing alright, these days are a crazy ride.

This, in a nutshell, was the problem Friday, and it still carries on to next week in some places:

Crowdstrike : its fine u just have to manually visit the PC boot it into safe mode and remove a sys file

US Organization with 50,000 pcs and a completely outsourced IT department in Bangalore : what

— Hammancheez (@Hammancheez) July 19, 2024

Not only hundreds of computers stopped working because of CrowdStrike, to fix those, you had to manually get to the computer.

Not only do you have to get to these hundred computers with an IT department that has 10 or so people on call, but many of these computers are locked away in offices you don’t have access to or belong to people who happen to be in a different state or a different country.

Not only many of these computers were impossible to reach, but there were computers IT didn’t even know they had in their inventory until they got BSOD, and users who work have been remote since 2020 or were forgotten in the basement next to their red staple called the helplines until those collapsed.

Not only IT have computers they didn’t know existed, but management was (and is) in full panic mode and wanted a full report of inventory (how many computers you have vs how many are fixed) ASAP. Because IT can’t give them such a report because they don’t even know how many computers they have or are affected, management demands that IT keeps reporting every few hours for a meeting that goes for an hour between all IT departments in an organization while they are running around fixing issues.

The technical issue is always just the tip of the iceberg.

At least at my organization, most managers are IT folks themselves and have known the people they work with for years, even decades. They trust each other to do their job, and it shows. And I have to say (I wish for the day I wouldn’t have to say this and it will just be normal) that the few women who lead IT groups through all this did an amazing job. They led by example and came up with ideas that helped everyone. Happy to be working in a place like this.

Had a couple of things to go over this morning, but the CrowdStrike ordeal kicked me to work in high gear. The memes on social media are awesome though! Should collect them in one post when I get the chance.