As A Man Thinketh
2024-10-21
While many people blame their circumstances on environment, James Allen argues that it is more accurate to say your circumstances are shaped by your thoughts, leaving only yourself to blame. My interpretation of this quite empowering because if the fault of your circumstance lies with you, the solution also lies with you. (Since I was a teenager I have said "if you don't like something, change it" in regards to life.) Some of the book is couched in an almost religious good/bad dichotomy and even has a ting of positive thinking or manifesting vibe to it. That said, you can easily ignore the language that might be off putting while still accepting the general premises; right though (to borrow from the Greeks and the Buddhists) is more likely to lead to right action that is more likely to lead to desirable outcomes. While positive thinking is not enough to achieve your goals, it should bias you toward action that moves you closer to accomplishing your goals, whereas negative thinking will likely bias you toward inaction and languishing.
Docker Book, The
2024-10-14
The first ~40% is what I wanted, an introduction to Docker and its basic uses. The last ~60% of the book is more advanced, containing information about swarm, compose, clustering, building more complex multi-container applications, the API, and development. Overall I think docker (having barely used it) is a reasonable tool, but the fracturing of (too) many applications into "micro-services" I think leads to overall fragility within software development. In my case I am simply interesting in running docker on a small (NUC-like) server that can provide me with a simpler way to get up and running with SeaFile and maybe an internal website. For what I want, the first half of the book provided me with an understanding that allowed me to do everything I wanted to do.
Melatonin - Your Body's Natural Wonder Drug
2024-08-26
A cheap and effective sleep aid that has a ton of other benefits; from anti-oxidant abilities to immune system boosting to lowering blood pressure. It's anti-oxidant abilities are second to none since it is both fat and water soluable as well as readily crosses the blood-brain barrier. There is such a low, almost 0, level of toxicity; mice used to test the LD50 were not able to have any more melatoinin physically injected. It should be studied more, and it has been, but since it can not be patented there is little reason for the pharmaceutical companies to study it. They have tried to create literally thousands of analogs that they can charge and arm and a leg for.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
2024-07-28
First of all, all of the advice here should be used from a place of honesty and truly come from your heart lest your words ring dishonest and cause even more harm than if they were un-tactfully delivered. When dealing with those you want to criticize, get them off their initial defensive posture by leading with praise and showing them you are guilty of the same mistakes that they have made. In many cases you don't need to do or say anything special to remove their guard, simply let the other person do as much talking as they want and they will disarm themselves. If you want something from them or want them to do something for you, first prime the pump by getting them to say 'yes' a number of times to little things that they would clearly agree with and then try to reframe the ask as a question, a suggestion or a challenge. The ultimate take-away is probably to spend less time focusing the conversation on yourself and more time focusing on the other person. Take a real interest in what they want, in how they feel, by simply listen to them.
Richest Man in Babylon
2024-07-12
A short, entertaining, and easy read that can be finished in only a few hours while still drinking in all of its advice. Each chapter tells a story where there is a takeaway lesson in financial literacy. The stories are set millennia ago in and around a prospering Babylon, but the lessons are as at home in the modern (then 1926, now 2024) setting. The lessons are explicitly stated and often restated (spend less than you earn!) so they leave little to interpretation. The stories themselves are very entertaining and told in mostly dialog format.