Data, Debian, Dating & Deliberate Practice (Journal)

[Macallik86]

The last thread ended with me quitting my job to decompress & try my hand at trading. My two-year anniversary is coming up in February and I'm still job-free. I haven't been able to achieve consistency in trading, but I have matured/grown so much as a person that I'm eternally grateful that I took the time off, and I'm content w/ this chapter in my life as it comes to a close.

My earmarked 'sabbatical' funds will last up until two-year anniversary in February, so my plan is to focus on trading until then, and then start to transition towards reestablishing my Data Analysis skills and starting my search for a new job. Generally, in this thread I also plan on covering everything from analyzing random datasets, to using Linux, to self-hosting docker containers, and everything in-between.

About an hour ago, a woman I've been seeing for about two years just ended things. We weren't bf/gf since I stubbornly didn't want to settle down, yet she was easily the most consistent person in my life in that time period outside of my best friend, It definitely stings. I've fallen back on being in these streets as much since becoming unemployed, and navigating that territory will also be a point of interest in this journal.

Lastly, there's deliberate practice. It's the popular theory that you can grow faster at anything by targeting your weak points, reflecting on the feedback as well as best practices by the pros, & then making adjustments and repeating that cycle until you're an expert. That's the theme that will tie all of the disparate parts of this journal together.

 

[moorfeus]

The last thread ended with me quitting my job to decompress & try my hand at trading. My two-year anniversary is coming up in February and I'm still job-free. I haven't been able to achieve consistency in trading, but I have matured/grown so much as a person that I'm eternally grateful that I took the time off, and I'm content w/ this chapter in my life as it comes to a close.

My earmarked 'sabbatical' funds will last up until two-year anniversary in February, so my plan is to focus on trading until then, and then start to transition towards reestablishing my Data Analysis skills and starting my search for a new job. Generally, in this thread I also plan on covering everything from analyzing random datasets, to using Linux, to self-hosting docker containers, and everything in-between.

About an hour ago, a woman I've been seeing for about two years just ended things. We weren't bf/gf since I stubbornly didn't want to settle down, yet she was easily the most consistent person in my life in that time period outside of my best friend, It definitely stings. I've fallen back on being in these streets as much since becoming unemployed, and navigating that territory will also be a point of interest in this journal.

Lastly, there's deliberate practice. It's the popular theory that you can grow faster at anything by targeting your weak points, reflecting on the feedback as well as best practices by the pros, & then making adjustments and repeating that cycle until you're an expert. That's the theme that will tie all of the disparate parts of this journal together.

How old are you Bro?

 

[Macallik86]

How old are you Bro?

Late 30s

 

[moorfeus]

Late 30s

Gotcha. As a 44yr old man I would definitely suggest focusing on self, knowing your strengths and building on that. Also building up your finances. With the ladies I would also suggest having a calculated approach to the women you deal with, search for quality, character and someone worth building a legacy with. The right woman can and will help level up everything that you are doing. Especially if she's on point and knows you are about building a legacy together and not just playing around. No desirable woman with her head on straight, 28yrs and up, will want to waste years of her life with a man who is not really committed to building a future with her. Its a lot of goofballs out here too that allow social media and society to fill their heads up with nonsense. If you have a woman that is on point mentally, you would be crazy to push her out the door.

 

[Macallik86]

As my sabbatical from work draws to a close, I am optimistic in the near term and very concerned about the future.

Pandora's box has been opened and the amount of uncertainty it brings will be unprecedented in our lives. Obviously I'm talking about AI, but specifically LLMs.

There are aspects that make me optimistic... There has never been such a strong support system for learning in the history of human civilization. Having an ever-present teacher that can cater to each individual w/ relevant feedback is futuristic AF even if it rarely gets shine. It has been good times bouncing ideas off of it, going off on tangents, or grasping concepts after a great analogy from it. There's a lot less friction when tackling things that used to be outside of my comfort level.

On the other hand, the pace of innovation makes me very nervous. Within the last 4-5 years, LLMs have gone from identifying shapes/images like a toddler... to passing the bar and helping w/ research like a college student. The rate of progress seem very fast and unpredictable, and by extension, what the workforce will look like in 4-5 years seems even shakier.

Data Analysis is my plan B, yet LLMs are such a disruptor that I'm not sure how viable that will be in the next few years. Case in point:



What takes me hours can take the system seconds.

If, during the time when data is increasing exponentially, Data Analysis doesn't have job security, then the future is hazy for a lot of other white collar jobs as well. Society is clearly going to be unprepared with the ensuing upheaval

Right now, I think my best option is to get more and more specialized (or maybe go into Gov't work since they've historically been laggard re: adopting new tech). The high ground right now seems to be gearing myself towards something AI-related, but that's something I can reevaluate at the end of next year. In the interim, I have been working on creating a list of my weak points re: data analysis and will work on that for the time being.

 

[Macallik86]

Tonight is one of those nights where I'm just frustrated.

This moment reminds me of the lead-up to Covid where the experts were sounding the alarms about the ensuing carnage, but Americans were assured that tomorrow would be just like yesterday... Similarly, since we generally have a limited view on (world) history, there's an inability to recognize the descent into chaos and the destruction of our norms.

A part of me wants to just focus on doing me and letting the cards fall where they may, but I realize that redirecting my energy to solely look out for myself is basically how most people Republicans navigate the world. Thanks to the way the economy is set up (and the way America has always been), when AGI/the next recession/a world war/etc happens under Trump, black people are specifically going to be left high and dry.

It seems like an obvious through-line, but that level of critical thinking seems devoid in a lot of electoral choices. I'm an atheist but 'praying' for the future for my people. I have a strong feeling that things are going to get worse. I'm going to make a more concerted effort to my lil part ot offset the ensuing destruction of social services/the education system, etc. I encourage you to think about doing the same.

 

[Macallik86]

I've been burying my head in the sand a bit post-election when it comes to politics. I know that being uninformed plays right into the hands of the people who want to change the way the world works w/o oversight, so I will eventually pop my head out to become informed. If nothing else, I will skip the news during the week and listen to a recap via 1A's News Round Up podcast. About 45 minutes on national news and 45 minutes on global news to stay relatively informed.

Beyond that, I will try to lead by example locally by pushing myself to create the community that I believe black people deserve. Hosting more events, getting to know more people beyond a surface level, building out support systems and safety nets for if/when things go off the rails in the next few years.

 

[Macallik86]

I've been dabbling in a bunch of random ish recently. Typing it out, I realize I've been on a bit of a privacy kick as well. I don't think the FBI is about to kick in my door, but I think the next four years are going to be full of deregulation and tech companies doing whatever they can get away with, so a bit of additional protection never hurts. Here's what I completed in the past month, followed by what is coming down the pipeline:

Recently Completed Tech Tasks

1. Copped a Humble Bundle Linux book bundle - I like learning about Linux and quite a few of these books look great. I've gotten generally better at Linux thanks to troubleshooting w/ Claude being more efficient than Google Searchs and specialized discord chats.
2. Remove DRM from Amazon books I've purchased - The book bundle were all ePub format so I can do whatever I want with them, but what about the hundreds of Kindle books I've bought over the years? I wanted to be able to do things like self-host my book library in calibre or track my reading stats across devices using the KO Reader app. I followed some tutorials online and have been able to knock that out
3. Compiled free books via Bookdown - Many authors of programming-related books use Bookdown (which is an extension in R) to write books. A lot of them put the book on GitHub, but you basically have to build the book which is a sh!t show. I compiled 3-4 books for the free altho it took a lot of debugging. This book is the one I'm looking forward to reading the most.
4. Changed ISPs - Moved to a new place and my T-Mobile Home Internet stopped working properly. Had to transition to sh!tty Comcast
5. Wiped my router's firmare and replaced it openWRT - I have had a T-Mobile device of some sort for probably +10 years. I probably trusted than as a company more than I should given their recent track record and how they acted during the last Trump administration. I already know not to trust Comcast, so once I switched services, I started looking for ways to shield myself and having better router software was the first step.
6. Learning about networking via openWRT tweaks - Since then, I've set up DNS over https (aka DoH), forwarded all traffic through AdGuardHome to limit trackers/ads across all devices, and tried to stop Google from phoning home so much by blocking their DNS servers (8.8.8.8 and 4.4.4.4). Stopping Google didn't quite work so I need to make adjustments there.
7. Reinstalled Debian on my laptop - My laptop was already running Debian which is a Linux Distribution, but I ran into some login issues and had to reinstall my OS. The restore process was erroring out, and I ended up having to troubleshoot w/ a LLM. The entire situation was full of debugging and stress but the hardest part is beind me fwiw.
8. Created a Debian USB Live stick w/ Persistence - Basically, this means that I have a USB stick that I can plug into any computer and run a Linux OS from, and that any changes I make will be saved to the USB stick. TBH, it's mostly just an interesting side project for a new USB stick, but troubleshooting any future booting issues won't be as stressful.

Tech Tasks Backlog

1. Automate my backups - Technically my backups are already automated, but I need to automate moving them to my server so that if I experience any future issues, restoring backups goes more smoothly.
2. Install GrapheneOS - Android phones are mature and the changes between versions are small nowadays. If any Operating System will do, why not opt for one that respects my privacy? I've used a custom ROM for my tablets before, but this will be my first time doing it with a phone that I use daily.
3. Set up a VPN - With AdGuardHome and openWRT, my privacy has improved, but so has the realization that my ISP can still read every domain I visit and sell that info to marketers. Also, my phone is raw-dogging the internet whenever I leave my wifi. A VPN will solve both issues.
4. Set up a (self-hosted) VPN using a Virtual Private Server (VPS) - I might start by paying for a VPN, but I'd like to host a VPS and spin up my own VPN. It'll be a fun, self-sufficient project I can tackle down the road.
5. Spin up a Blog using the VPS - If I host the VPN via a Virtual Private Server, I can also use the same server to host a blog. Seems like a lot of work tho so I might not do this
6. VLAN Creation - I have a Chinese tablet (Boox) that I use for reading and I am coming to the realization that I can't trust it. The tablet has been phoning home, sharing God knows what w/ God knows who via Domain Generation Algorithms (read: malware). After talking to Claude about it, it suggested I create a VLAN and put it on there by itself. Low priority for now since I set up a wildcard search to block any DGA Domain attempts for the time being, and I keep the tablet mostly offline and free of personal info.
7. Move away from Google Services - I still use Google Photos, Gmail and Google Play Services regularly. I don't like relying on Google for everything, so I wanna make some changes in the future.
8. Root my Tablet - I've had a Xiaomi tablet for months but dragged my feet on installing a custom ROM. Now that I'm ready to install a custom ROM, Xiaomi are ignoring most requests to unlock bootloaders and might do away w/ the practice completely next year.

Lowkey, typing this out, I'm proud of the shyt I've accomplished lately. It felt like I was just bullshytting and breaking shyt, but looking back, I'm starting to get a bit of structure and there's progress happening and a method to the madness when I take a step back.

Chime in if you have any experience w/ anything or just wanna chop it up

 

[jj23]

Could have gone with Ubuquiti and saved yourself some of the networking stress.

But I understand the desire to learn and figure out as you go.

Best of luck.

 

[re'up]

I reflect, sometimes weekly, before bed, or when I am just sitting with my thoughts, take a date, like November 16th 2024, and try to either go back 10 years or 20 years, and get as close as I can to where I was in my life. This gives me the challenge to sometimes unwind nostalgia, sometimes embrace change, sometimes be impressed at the progress, and ID your own patterns. Uncover forgotten memories. Compare your life to your own life, not someone else, it keeps the focus on you.

For a lot of reasons; memory, distraction, not wanting to assess yourself, people are often delusional to extremely misguided about their own life details and trajectory, either wildly self serving or incomplete, and fragmented.

and while there is bliss in that ignorance, it leaves huge blindspots. There's a real value in knowing yourself, and knowing exactly who you were and where you were throughout your life. Lots of people run from that.