Finished reading The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life. I think I'd give it a 6/10.
It wasn't a bad book, it was just way too in depth some times. The book is a door stop, and the information flows liberally at times and with great intention. So much so that certain sections seem to get bogged down in the finer details of everything that happened to be happening at the same time. It's a strange bit of craziness.
Anyways.
Warren Buffet was always a little strange. He was the kid that had six jobs and was rich before everyone knew what rich was. He really was. Which is possibly why he ended up becoming as rich as he did. I guess his major obsession was simply making money. And with a bit of the right knowledge and a lot of luck, he made a lot of it.
My primary takeaway on this book is that you need to find an obsession and work towards the end of that obsession until it leads you down a path. Could be a good path, and it could be a bad path. It's simply a path.
Buffet worked essentially on concentration throughout this entire life. Those parts that were important to him, he followed deeply. Everything else he ignored.
Things not follow from Warren Buffet: his personal life. His personal life was flat out strange. His obsession with various women that he wasn't married to caused all sorts of strangeness in his life. His disregard for his kids during their formative years also seems to have been critical.
It that category, he fit in with other visionaries I've read about. John Boyd comes to mind. Anyways, I'd say the book is worthy of reading. Just be prepared to donate a lot of time to it. I dropped the book half way in (shortly before the Furniture Mart section) just simply due to the large amount of detail. Part of that detail simply took away from the flow of the book.
Next up on the list... Boone.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Automation
I've been trying to automate more stuff. Most recently, I used AutoIT to delete 4000 pages of fake assets. So that was a great win. I set the system to show 200 pages per item, and yet there were still 4000 pages. When an import would fail, the system would create 65,536 new assets. Do that 12 times and you end up with 800,000 assets. That have to be deleted. Manually.
Of course, if we were running the on-premise version of the software you could use a simple SQL command. But we migrated off to the cloud. So that was out of the question.
If you can't do it with SQL, then it's time to do it with some other method.
Now, with 4,000 pages of stuff, at about 1.5 minutes per page deletion it would have taken me 12.5 work days to get rid of the fake assets. Not happening.
In the end, it took me about 4 hours. 30-45 minutes to write the original script. Then another 3.5 hours dealing with crashes of the script to make tweaks. Granted it was just a bunch of web page clicks, but sufficient time prevents those failures. The main thing was adding time between the clicks.
Click one button.
Wait 2 seconds.
Move to another location.
Click.
Wait 2 seconds.
Click.
Wait 4 seconds.
Wait a minute.
Start script at line 1.
I wish I could have written a better script. But I haven't become good enough at that. So the scripts I end up writing are generally very specific to the computer being used. Exact screen coordinates and what not.
Anyways. Enough of automation.
Just realize: repetitive IT work can often be automated. It just takes time and effort. And documenting the large behaviors.
Of course, if we were running the on-premise version of the software you could use a simple SQL command. But we migrated off to the cloud. So that was out of the question.
If you can't do it with SQL, then it's time to do it with some other method.
Now, with 4,000 pages of stuff, at about 1.5 minutes per page deletion it would have taken me 12.5 work days to get rid of the fake assets. Not happening.
In the end, it took me about 4 hours. 30-45 minutes to write the original script. Then another 3.5 hours dealing with crashes of the script to make tweaks. Granted it was just a bunch of web page clicks, but sufficient time prevents those failures. The main thing was adding time between the clicks.
Click one button.
Wait 2 seconds.
Move to another location.
Click.
Wait 2 seconds.
Click.
Wait 4 seconds.
Wait a minute.
Start script at line 1.
I wish I could have written a better script. But I haven't become good enough at that. So the scripts I end up writing are generally very specific to the computer being used. Exact screen coordinates and what not.
Anyways. Enough of automation.
Just realize: repetitive IT work can often be automated. It just takes time and effort. And documenting the large behaviors.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Not for you
I've come to the realization that most of the things I see are not for me. It's a sad situation where the advertisements just simply aren't what I need or want.
See, I'm a scrawny white male. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm in relatively decent shape. I'm not really into the "lose 10 pounds quick" and go with the flavor of the month HIIT workout. I've done enough of that. Practical strength type stuff. Except there's no comparison and no feeling of going anywhere. No progress. I can't look at a number and see any improvement.
Is this thing going to improve me? What are my starting metrics? What about ending metrics?
See, being a hard gainer is something that alienates you from the rest of the world. Take a look at the most recent information from MyFitnessPal. Which is basically a site for fat people trying to get skinny.
Not for skinny people trying to gain weight.
"Healthy" always means lose weight. "Unhealthy" always means gaining weight. And that's wrong.
Why is it that every time I gain weight (which is my goal) the system tells me nothing?
Why does the system declare how great it is when I lose 2 pounds since my last weigh in? When you are trying to gain weight, a movement in the scale downwards is a failure.
And the system asks "are you trying to lose or gain weight"?
Maybe the submit feedback thing will actually work and cause MyFitnessPal to fix their system.
I think I'll finish with something I heard from Jocko Willink.
Don't count on motivation. Count on discipline.
See, I'm a scrawny white male. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm in relatively decent shape. I'm not really into the "lose 10 pounds quick" and go with the flavor of the month HIIT workout. I've done enough of that. Practical strength type stuff. Except there's no comparison and no feeling of going anywhere. No progress. I can't look at a number and see any improvement.
Is this thing going to improve me? What are my starting metrics? What about ending metrics?
See, being a hard gainer is something that alienates you from the rest of the world. Take a look at the most recent information from MyFitnessPal. Which is basically a site for fat people trying to get skinny.
Not for skinny people trying to gain weight.
"Healthy" always means lose weight. "Unhealthy" always means gaining weight. And that's wrong.
Why is it that every time I gain weight (which is my goal) the system tells me nothing?
Why does the system declare how great it is when I lose 2 pounds since my last weigh in? When you are trying to gain weight, a movement in the scale downwards is a failure.
And the system asks "are you trying to lose or gain weight"?
Maybe the submit feedback thing will actually work and cause MyFitnessPal to fix their system.
I think I'll finish with something I heard from Jocko Willink.
Don't count on motivation. Count on discipline.
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
more c-store stuff
Went back to looking at Hong Kong after reexamining a previous entry. I picked an area in Kowloon and wandered around and found a gas station.
More Google Maps, by the way. So, from a c-store point of view this is kind of interesting. Also, the other thing that adds to my complexities... What we're looking at is a 5 dispenser station crammed into a small space. This location has several single grade dispensers which don't seem to exist in modern America.
By comparison, in the central US you have 3+1 and 3 dispensers. That would be..
3 grades of gas off of 1 hose
1 grade of gas off of 2nd hose
Or
3 grades of gas off of 1 hose.
In comparison, these look like
1 grade of gas off 1 hose
1 grade of gas off a 2nd hose
1 grade of gas off a 3rd hose
I'd guess Gilbarco, but I'm just guessing. I can't see well enough, and the shape doesn't look modern/futuristic enough to be Wayne.
Now, the secondary part of my observation.
I'm used to wide open terrain and gas stations in the middle of open spaces. Stations shoved into small spaces are different. They strike me as a bit weird. It's an open territory birth thing.
Now...
Moving to the inside is my thing. I'm more of an interior control person than an exterior. Pump technicians have a tendency to be farmed from plumbers (at least in the US). Smart pump techs become point of sale techs. Me? I'm an IT guy that got into pump controllers. The d-box is the end of my knowledge (most of the time).
Anyways.
In the process of wandering around this location, I found a couple of 7-11s. Both of those were non-fuel locations.
Non-fuel c-store locations are minimal in my part of the US.
The difference between a fuel and non-fuel location is very small. A couple pieces of CAT5 and a distribution box.
Another random thing I noticed... (I think I started on Liberty Street). The area seems to have a lot of animal doctors.
By comparison, in the central US you have 3+1 and 3 dispensers. That would be..
3 grades of gas off of 1 hose
1 grade of gas off of 2nd hose
Or
3 grades of gas off of 1 hose.
In comparison, these look like
1 grade of gas off 1 hose
1 grade of gas off a 2nd hose
1 grade of gas off a 3rd hose
I'd guess Gilbarco, but I'm just guessing. I can't see well enough, and the shape doesn't look modern/futuristic enough to be Wayne.
Now, the secondary part of my observation.
I'm used to wide open terrain and gas stations in the middle of open spaces. Stations shoved into small spaces are different. They strike me as a bit weird. It's an open territory birth thing.
Now...
Moving to the inside is my thing. I'm more of an interior control person than an exterior. Pump technicians have a tendency to be farmed from plumbers (at least in the US). Smart pump techs become point of sale techs. Me? I'm an IT guy that got into pump controllers. The d-box is the end of my knowledge (most of the time).
Anyways.
In the process of wandering around this location, I found a couple of 7-11s. Both of those were non-fuel locations.
Non-fuel c-store locations are minimal in my part of the US.
The difference between a fuel and non-fuel location is very small. A couple pieces of CAT5 and a distribution box.
Another random thing I noticed... (I think I started on Liberty Street). The area seems to have a lot of animal doctors.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Hardgaining... or when eating has to become a hobby.
I'm decided to gain weight this year. I'd like to hit about 160. I haven't broken 140ish in 5 years. So it's going to be interesting.
I started working on gaining weight today. And I realize it's going to be a pain.
See, that's after dinner. And that's just to break even. I've got probably 3 hours before bed before bed and I have to eat another 1500 calories just to break even. Eating has to become a hobby at this point. From what I've heard and read, the real answer is eat like a cow.
In general, I'm following the ideas presented by Starting Strength. Mark Rippetoe is the only person I've heard that has produced a decent reasoning behind what they were doing. He's also got an article about the novice effect. One of his suggestions was to drink a gallon of whole milk a day. The reasoning makes sense. You need to increase your caloric intake a lot. You need to eat about 6,000 calories a day and lift heavy weights three times per week.
That sounds great... but eating 6,000 calories is a lot. It took a lot for me to get to 3,000 calories. Making it to more than that is going to be interesting.
But then I've always followed complex programs that promised maximum gains without fat. But then came the answer from Mark Rippetoe. Basic answer was you can't have it both ways. If you want to get bigger and stronger, you've got to eat a lot and lift heavy weights. Spend six months gaining weight and strength. You can drop those extra few pounds later. It's worth gaining the strength and muscle mass now.
So it's now time to make eating a hobby. Let's see if I can make it past 2 gallons a week this week.
I started working on gaining weight today. And I realize it's going to be a pain.
See, that's after dinner. And that's just to break even. I've got probably 3 hours before bed before bed and I have to eat another 1500 calories just to break even. Eating has to become a hobby at this point. From what I've heard and read, the real answer is eat like a cow.
In general, I'm following the ideas presented by Starting Strength. Mark Rippetoe is the only person I've heard that has produced a decent reasoning behind what they were doing. He's also got an article about the novice effect. One of his suggestions was to drink a gallon of whole milk a day. The reasoning makes sense. You need to increase your caloric intake a lot. You need to eat about 6,000 calories a day and lift heavy weights three times per week.
That sounds great... but eating 6,000 calories is a lot. It took a lot for me to get to 3,000 calories. Making it to more than that is going to be interesting.
But then I've always followed complex programs that promised maximum gains without fat. But then came the answer from Mark Rippetoe. Basic answer was you can't have it both ways. If you want to get bigger and stronger, you've got to eat a lot and lift heavy weights. Spend six months gaining weight and strength. You can drop those extra few pounds later. It's worth gaining the strength and muscle mass now.
So it's now time to make eating a hobby. Let's see if I can make it past 2 gallons a week this week.
Friday, December 30, 2016
The inability to count
People I know... I'm not naming names...
They don't seem to be able to count. Simple math kind of count. The electricity or water gets cut off every other month. Some sort of crisis is always happening in that household. And the funny thing... several years ago, I thought they were doing awesome.
I know it's strange. But 6 years ago, I knew several families like that. All of them seemed to be going somewhere. Everything was just awesome, and the world was rocking along great. It was 2010, and the world was wonderful.
Now, we're entering 2017 and I wonder what happened to those families. I know what I did. I started making a budget and following the thing. It doesn't help if you make a budget and don't follow it. I got my wife on board, and we look at the budget regularly. We adjust as needed. She tells me she needs things and I try to fit it into the budget. We discuss everything. The budget makes that possible.
The other families? They lurch from chaos to chaos, barely surviving what are normal and expected rocks of the ship. See, emergencies happen. So they aren't really emergencies. Those "catastrophes" are normal occurrences. You just have to plan for them. And a stack of cash helps. It's not a lot of cash. Just $1000. But that's a life changer. It's just enough cushion to keep the big bad from beating down the from door.
But the people I know... they get payday loans.
Six months ago, they said "payday loans are the devil".
I guess that's the biggest trick of the devil. He convinced the world he doesn't exist.
But then there is another side of the coin. The part I don't understand. I don't have to. I just have to believe. And I do.
See, I started going to church six years ago. And it was a church that preached the new testament, and told me what the Bible said. It wasn't about what someone thought. You had to argue against the Bible. Not against some random person. Not against the thoughts of the world. Against the word of God. And there's a lot of parts in there that don't make a bit of sense to me. But those parts are the ones that are the most important.
As I heard someone say once... If you hear someone say "It doesn't make any sense" then that person has an invalid perspective of the world. The world always makes sense. It's not the world that doesn't make sense. It's our view of the world.
Now, the average person would tell me that the budget made all the difference. But I know going to church and doing what the Bible said had an effect. "Have faith and believe" it said. I did. That's all that was asked for.
See, you really need to read the new testament. It's a hard book to read. Not for the words. The words. The words are easy. They concepts are hard. It's filled with a lot of differing and complicated stuff. I don't pretend to be the greatest scholar of the Bible in the world. What I do know is the main portion is so stupidly simple it's hard. "Have faith in the living God and his son Jesus.". That's the main thing.
Because a lot of what people teach is flat out wrong. Or at least contradicted by other parts of the new testament. And if we're getting into a Paul vs Jesus interpretation, I'm taking Jesus any day of the week. I think Paul is the problem with a lot of Christianity. But that's an argument for another time.
I guess the biggest thing I want to leave with is this: Jesus is knowable. I'm not saying you are going to understand it all. But he is knowable. And it's worth knowing him.
They don't seem to be able to count. Simple math kind of count. The electricity or water gets cut off every other month. Some sort of crisis is always happening in that household. And the funny thing... several years ago, I thought they were doing awesome.
I know it's strange. But 6 years ago, I knew several families like that. All of them seemed to be going somewhere. Everything was just awesome, and the world was rocking along great. It was 2010, and the world was wonderful.
Now, we're entering 2017 and I wonder what happened to those families. I know what I did. I started making a budget and following the thing. It doesn't help if you make a budget and don't follow it. I got my wife on board, and we look at the budget regularly. We adjust as needed. She tells me she needs things and I try to fit it into the budget. We discuss everything. The budget makes that possible.
The other families? They lurch from chaos to chaos, barely surviving what are normal and expected rocks of the ship. See, emergencies happen. So they aren't really emergencies. Those "catastrophes" are normal occurrences. You just have to plan for them. And a stack of cash helps. It's not a lot of cash. Just $1000. But that's a life changer. It's just enough cushion to keep the big bad from beating down the from door.
But the people I know... they get payday loans.
Six months ago, they said "payday loans are the devil".
I guess that's the biggest trick of the devil. He convinced the world he doesn't exist.
But then there is another side of the coin. The part I don't understand. I don't have to. I just have to believe. And I do.
See, I started going to church six years ago. And it was a church that preached the new testament, and told me what the Bible said. It wasn't about what someone thought. You had to argue against the Bible. Not against some random person. Not against the thoughts of the world. Against the word of God. And there's a lot of parts in there that don't make a bit of sense to me. But those parts are the ones that are the most important.
As I heard someone say once... If you hear someone say "It doesn't make any sense" then that person has an invalid perspective of the world. The world always makes sense. It's not the world that doesn't make sense. It's our view of the world.
Now, the average person would tell me that the budget made all the difference. But I know going to church and doing what the Bible said had an effect. "Have faith and believe" it said. I did. That's all that was asked for.
See, you really need to read the new testament. It's a hard book to read. Not for the words. The words. The words are easy. They concepts are hard. It's filled with a lot of differing and complicated stuff. I don't pretend to be the greatest scholar of the Bible in the world. What I do know is the main portion is so stupidly simple it's hard. "Have faith in the living God and his son Jesus.". That's the main thing.
Because a lot of what people teach is flat out wrong. Or at least contradicted by other parts of the new testament. And if we're getting into a Paul vs Jesus interpretation, I'm taking Jesus any day of the week. I think Paul is the problem with a lot of Christianity. But that's an argument for another time.
I guess the biggest thing I want to leave with is this: Jesus is knowable. I'm not saying you are going to understand it all. But he is knowable. And it's worth knowing him.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
The hilarity of it all
Life is really, really funny. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.
Eight years ago, Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States, and the right decried the death of the free world and the end of everything they saw as important.
One month ago, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, the left decried the death of the free world and everything they saw as important.
8 years ago, Texas started talking about secession.
1 month ago, California started talking about secession.
It's ridiculously humorous the parallels between what happened eight years ago and what happened a month ago.
Everything the right was saying eight years ago, the left is saying now.
History is doing a bit of repeating, and it is hilarious.
Eight years ago, Barrack Obama was elected president of the United States, and the right decried the death of the free world and the end of everything they saw as important.
One month ago, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, the left decried the death of the free world and everything they saw as important.
8 years ago, Texas started talking about secession.
1 month ago, California started talking about secession.
It's ridiculously humorous the parallels between what happened eight years ago and what happened a month ago.
Everything the right was saying eight years ago, the left is saying now.
History is doing a bit of repeating, and it is hilarious.
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