Personal

I am too attracted to shiny objects

|

And disappointed when they don’t work. I know everybody starts at the basics, and builds up from there. But I like shinny objects much too much.

I’ve just been trying to figure out how to link and use big modern C++ libraries using cmake and visual studio. When the truth is I should be mastering C code and automake and VIM. That’s what the work computers have on them, and it’s simpler, probably faster and more reliable.

But at the same time I don’t want to reinvent the wheel and I want to do useful and interesting projects for myself and not another boring hello world project. R is great, but I want to program a real language, namely C. Yet, I find myself incredibly frustrated with broken build environments.

61 years since the shots rang out in Dallas 💥

|

A good day for listening to some Phil Ochs as I walk down to the express bus. Not raining but pretty cold and damp. You can make so many theoreticals about how things would have turned out had Kennedy not been in Dallas that faithful day or if Trump hadn’t won a second term.

Truth is that I don’t mind riding the bus 🚍, it would have been quite damp to ride in. 🚲 Didn’t catch the earlier bus in as I was running late on this Friday but I did walk down to the express bus. 🚶 It’s fine, it’s a Friday and I’m tired 😴. It’s been a long week, five days in person. Had meetings downtown yesterday so that kind of broke things up.

Looks like the Catskills got a fair amount of snow ☃️ and some up north. Not sure how much of that will last or for how long, but it’s not that much along the East Branch Scandaga though we might get more after Thanksgiving and then fairly cold for early December. 🎄 Still hoping to get out of town after Thanksgiving. 🦃

Rainy days return 🌧️

|

It’s been a good run riding to work but the rest of the week it will be the bus. I mean I could drive to work but the bus gets me there without the hassles and cost.

Walking laps in the Plaza and doing the stairs in the LOB this morning. 🚶 Figured get as much exercise as possible if I’m not busing it to work. Didn’t catch the real early bus in due to needing to cut my hair and then traffic downtown was slow with the rain.

Not a real heavy rain so far this morning but still well needed. Checking the web cams to see how much snow in Spectulator but I ain’t seeing much. ❄️ Seems like there will be more in the Catskills. Could turn to snow later up north but it doesn’t seem like much.

I am just thinking about the conditions for next week for heading up north. 🏕️ Really would like to see some of the area around Newcomb, especially the Essex Chain Lakes and Santoni. A lot depends on the weather, a rainy and cold in the wilderness ain’t much fun in early December.

I am starting to thinking I’m mastering build environments, 🖥️ now the thing is just to build the habit of building software and writing 📝 code every day in C if I want to be truly good at it. I’m hiking the stairs in the LOB this morning and I’m out of practice. Really do got to practice more, I’m more built these days for riding the bike 🚲. Practice makes all the difference. I miss working in the skyscraper 🏢 with all the stairs.

Grateful dead 💀

|

One of the observations I have is that a lot of older people reminisce about those departed. Truth is by natural selection and time, a lot of people pass away. You got to live, have some fun and know there is at least some risk at whatever you do.

It’s only a few hours before the rain comes ☔ and I’m out for my evening walk 🚶 on this mild evening. I wasn’t doing an evening walk for a long time as I get my exercise bike 🚲 commuting but it’s been mild and sitting at home in bed 🛏️ sort of makes the evening drag on even if I’m asleep by 8 PM many nights. Just more brown rice 🍚 and lentils for dinner.

Truth is that I hate riding after dark 🚲 to the express bus 🚌 but the alternative is busing and shuttling it both ways. 🚀 Like tomorrow with the rain but I have meetings downtown so I’m going to be easier at five to just catch the express. I’ll walk laps in the Plaza in the morning before work. I’m excited to have a chance to tell the other directors about the exciting projects I’ve been developing.

I just don’t love riding from Menands to downtown at rush hour in the darkness, I’m constantly told by people how dangerous that is. 💥 I have good lights and bright reflectors and white it’s pretty on a clear evening at twilight over the city skyline 🏙️ I’m always reminded by folks of the danger. But is it more dangerous than smoking grass or dragging on a cigarette up at camp? 🏕️ Or camping in the remote wilderness all alone without cell service? Or all that plastic crap I’ve burnt over the years? Lately I’ve been listening to the Grateful Dead 🎸 again, dreaming of those summer days high as duck 🦆.

I’m hoping that they don’t get too much snow ☃️ up north so I can get back to camp 🏕️ on Black Friday after Thanksgiving. 🦃 I mean I can always dig out a parking 🅿️ spot and hot tent ⛺ with the propane heater but I don’t want to deal with that much snow 🌨️ at this point if I can avoid it. I’d rather just be able to back up to camp 🏕️ and have the lights. 🎄 Plus I’d like to start out the day with a good leg stretcher or longer hike after that big turkey day meal 🍴.

I think I’m finally figuring out various build environments – cmake and GNU autotools 🖥️ and how to work with external libraries I’ve gotten either through. It’s in simple in practice but wading through the documentation and tutorials and all the different components has kept me busy and my head spinning. 🌪️ There is just a lot to learn but I want to do it the right way to build projects that work well and stand the test of time.

Before the big rain and slop storm ☔

|

We haven’t had much rain this autumn but just wait for it – wait for it – two plus inches of rain is expected or maybe it will be more slop then anything, you know slush, road salt and big glops of wet white crap following out of the sky. Pretty much what one would expect these days.

I am just hoping for not too much snow up north 🌨️ or at least it won’t last long, as I plan to head north after Thanksgiving for at least three nights, maybe more. I am undecided but it could start out along the East Branch and then drive north to the Vanderwhacker Woods and ride either back to Camp Santoni or Essex Chain Lakes on the mountain bike, assuming there isn’t too much snow. But it’s good it’s going to be snow and wet, as I have plans for a big fire. 🔥 Especially if there is a bunch of leftover pallets and other scrap wood from hunters who set up camp for the season. Plus more motor oil and other burnables I might have. I also probably will get up early on Black Friday to hike, hopefully before the crowds. 👪 No way in hell am I going anywhere need a store that day. It’s Buy Nothing Day for a reason.

It’s off to work after showering 🚿 on the mountain bike 🚵 for the last time this week as tomorrow will be much too wet, so I’ll be busing it. But it’s fine, I have afternoon meetings downtown, and I don’t exactly love riding up the State Street Hill, especially in the rain. Kind of a cloudy day today before the rain, but it looks like it will hold off until I’m home in the evening. Went for a nice evening walk, finished off most of the bean soup 🥣 and this morning cooked up more rice and lentils with tomatoes. 🍅 Breakfast was cornbread pancakes I cooked up with lots of tumeric and more stevia then I’m proud to admit. It was too sweet with that fake sugar, and I didn’t remember to add any salt. 🥞 Topped them with non-fat Greek yogurt. I’ve gotten into my dairy habit again, though I’m not eating those big blocks of cheese anymore.

Been spending a lot of time lately studying Autotools, Cmake, Visual Studio and Build Environments. 🖥️ I am just trying to figure out what build environment I like best and what I should put my efforts into learning how to code. I feel like I have a very good grasp of C / C++ languages and also Rust after studying them but I need to get better at setting up a professional-like build environment to manage my code, and make sure every day I’m writing a little bit of code. I was all about Rust but that language has it’s limitations – – almost all of it’s binaries are statically linked – – and it’s one of those odd languages. But I also want to a good package manager, so I maximize my use of libraries while writing code rather then re-creating the wheel, 🎡 as results are more important then trying to create what has already been created by others who know far more then I do.

Also been trying to finish up my libraries books 📚 which return automatically on Hoopla today. I keep getting out my 10 Hoopla books each month, and then I get busy and only end up skimming half of them. There is so much to learned by doing more reading, but many nights, I get home and I’m fried, preferring to watch silly YouTube videos 📺 on my phone about homesteading or technical topics, especially old technology – – thinks that teach some things – – but aren’t really practical things. It’s not a complete waste of time, but I could be using my time better, though at times after work I”m so fried. 😴