Weeknote for 10/9/2022

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

😐

I’m trying a third-party script, enex2notion, for importing my Evernote notebooks into Notion, since Notion’s import is unreliable. Last week I laboriously exported all my many notebooks from Evernote into ENEX files for the script to import, and this week I’ll attempt the import.

Programming

🤔

Professional Software Development by Steve McConnell was, for me, a feel-good piece about the effectiveness of careful and organized work. Overall the book dealt with the institutional aspects of the software development field, and the most interesting new-to-me discussion was his case in favor of software engineer licensing and how that would fit into the industry.

The Leprechauns of Software Engineering by Laurent Bossavit reminds me to take programming advice with a pound of salt and makes me wonder if the field’s body of knowledge is really ready for a license. The book recounts the author’s attempts to track down and evaluate the sources for some common “leprechauns,” notions about software engineering that have grown from unsupported claim to assumed fact within the community.

People skills

🤔

Long Story Short by Margot Leitman gives practical advice for the kind of live personal storytelling I probably won’t specialize in, though it will sometimes come in handy. As usual there were places I wish the advice had gone deeper, mainly on story structure, but I know where I can get that kind of info, and she lists some helpful places to find storytelling examples to learn from, notably David Sedaris, who I didn’t know was such a luminary in this field.

Movies

🙂

References in Stranger Things and Mr. Robot convinced me to finally fill a pop culture gap in my childhood with Back to the Future. It was lighter entertainment than I normally go for, but it drew me in with its stressful situations, its point about the power of self-assertion, and a guitar performance that got a LOL out of me; and I’ve moved the rest of the series up in my queue.

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Weeknote for 10/2/2022

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Andy

Life maintenance

😐

I narrowed down my candidates for primary doctor and ranked them to clarify my options. This week I’ll try to make an appointment with one of them for the annual physical I’ve been postponing since the start of the pandemic.

Productivity

😐

I’ll take a couple of weeks to work on importing Evernote into Notion. In the meantime I’m starting my note writing exclusively in Notion and considering Evernote an archive.

Programming

🙂

Software Architecture in Practice by Len Bass, Paul Clements, and Rick Kazman filled in, at an overview level, some gaps in my knowledge of software design, such as virtualization and designing for mobile systems. It was another of those well-organized, comprehensive practitioner textbooks I find so satisfying, so it’ll probably be my starting point when I study software architecture in more depth.

Housekeeping

🙂

I managed to decorate for fall early in the season this year. And I picked up the gourd and pumpkin decorations I wanted to use last year.

 

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People

🤔

Saturday I visited the grave of my friend Phil, who I used to visit at his nursing home. I found out the night before that he had died a few months ago and where he was buried, and since it would’ve been my scheduled day to meet with him, the next day I made the short trip over there. I listened to the recording of his graveside service and spent a little while talking to him and his parents, who are buried with him. Phil’s life had significant challenges, but he met them with perseverance, hope, and kindness toward the people around him, and I’m glad he’s at peace now.

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Weeknote for 9/25/2022

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Andy

Life maintenance

🤔

Looking into candidates to replace my retired primary doctor has been teaching me some more about research processes that work for me. I’m hoping this week I can settle on a few doctor options and make an appointment.

Productivity

🤔

Taking care of longer life maintenance tasks I’d been putting off has me thinking again about large-scale rhythms my schedule could adopt so I can make sure I keep everything important moving in a timely fashion. I’ll need to experiment to find satisfying patterns, but one likely idea is to take week-long break from my main project every month or two for a side project.

People skills

🤔

The Power of a Positive No by William Ury came across the most earnest book of his negotiation trilogy, since so much of it was about finding and affirming the deeper values that are driving your “no.” As usual I appreciated all the detailed advice, but I was left feeling the series had some gaps when it came to the problem of social engineering, which will be a future topic in this project.

What Great Storytellers Know by Bernadette Jiwa gave me permission to take an organized and careful approach to collecting and crafting stories. It also got me to ponder what inspiration I have to offer my storytelling listeners.

Programming

🤔

Object Design by Rebecca Wirfs-Brock and Alan McKean features extensive and valuable discussions of the design process. But it also reminds me I still haven’t done enough object-oriented design to comfortably understand all the metaphorical language of responsibilities and collaborations, and the complexity of the design decisions only strengthens my interest in Clojure’s perhaps simpler data-oriented paradigm.

Nature

😎

I’ve been neglecting my nature walks lately, so I took a couple more so I wouldn’t regret missing the rest of summer. It reminded me nature is the show that never ends.

 

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Weeknote for 9/18/2022

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

😌

I finished transferring the tags in the imported Nirvana tasks to their new properties in Notion. I have more to do to set up my Notion task management, but for now I’m taking a break for a few weeks to take care of some life maintenance issues, and then I need to import my Evernote content into Notion.

Food

🤔

Even though I’m technically taking a break from the productivity project, I’m working on a spinoff, simplifying my meal plan so it doesn’t eat up so much of my time. I’m starting with a chicken, vegetable, and rice bowl I used to make last time I simplified, and then in the coming weeks I’ll see how I can make it more interesting and nutritious without much extra time.

People skills

🤔

Getting Past No is the second in William Ury’s negotiation trilogy, and it covers how to handle difficult negotiations. As with the first book, I felt reassured by my impression that principled negotiation can work, but I felt overwhelmed by its complexity, which is fine because untangling complicated things is practically what I live for.

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Weeknote for 9/11/2022

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

I’m nearly done integrating the tags from the Nirvana import into my databases. Once that’s finished, I’m going to take a break from the productivity project to take care of some life maintenance tasks that’ve been piling up, and then I’ll come back for the Evernote import.

Nature

🙄

After much waiting and procrastinating and researching and packaging, I finally shipped the binoculars I got for Christmas to be repaired. They’re on their way to the UK for collimation, and maybe when I get them back, I can use them to take some better nature photos.

People skills

🙂

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman gave me a practical and scientific framework of emotional skills to hone and reminded me I have a whole lot to learn about the brain. And Goleman joined the chorus of authors making the welcome case that relating well to others requires tending to your own emotions.

Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton whetted my appetite for principled negotiation. Along with other books in this project, this one starts to solve a problem I have in many areas—how to implement my ideals in effective ways while responding with integrity to the derailing forces other people are bringing into the situation.

Programming

🙂

Composing Software by Eric Elliott introduced me to elements of a functional approach to software design. Since I was mostly listening, many of the topics whizzed by me, but a few caught my attention—abstract data types, his take on OOP history and characteristics, object composition, transducers, code style, TDD, and decoupling.

TV

😎

Russian Doll is an odd show, but it’s made a home in my head. It’s the smart kind of soft sci fi that uses its reality-bending powers for narrative good, pressuring its characters into grappling with their issues.

Fiction

🤔

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks roared to an interesting finish, which mostly made up for the long, slow start and some unlikeable characters. I kind of want to live in The Culture, which is like the Federation if it were run by superintelligent AIs.

Posted in Fiction, Nature, People skills, Productivity, Programming, TV, Weeknotes | 4 Comments

Weeknote for 9/4/2022

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

Last week I made lots of progress on integrating my Nirvana import into my Notion setup. This week I’ll try to finish that and return to the Evernote import.

I’ve spent the past several weeks streamlining the process of writing these weeknotes so I finish them sooner while maintaining their quality. My initial experiments made the writing take even more time, but I think this two-sentence format will work as both a quick report and a conversation starter.

My boss started an occasional lunchtime discussion group for a few of us who are into productivity systems. There are endless opportunities to learn about productivity and discuss it online, but it’s a different experience—reassuring and energizing—talking about things in a group in person.

Programming

🙂

SQL: A Comparative Survey by Hugh Darwen might be where I start when I learn SQL more seriously because the book aligns its discussions of the language so carefully with its explanations of relational theory. But my reading will also include a book or two by SQL defender Joe Celko, who I discovered while researching Darwen and Date’s views.

Politics

🤔

After the Fall by Ben Rhodes gave me more details on Russia’s struggles with democracy and a better perspective on China’s. I admit I’m susceptible to the formula of making a situation sound dire and then relieving and motivating the audience with potential solutions, and I did feel more hopeful at the end, though the author’s optimism was based more on the general possibility of solutions than on specifics.

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Weeknote for 8/28/2022

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

I finished replicating most of my Nirvana task management in Notion so that it’s in a usable state. This week I’ll integrate the task and project properties I migrated from Nirvana into my existing Bulletproof setup, and maybe I’ll get back to importing my Evernote notebooks.

Programming

😎

Data-Oriented Programming by Yehonathan Sharvit (author’s related blog posts) affirmed for me that there’s a disciplined way to part from object-oriented design and manage your software’s data separately from its functions. I’m looking forward to trying this style on some project in the near future, and I even feel motivated to learn Clojure at some point (don’t tell Haskell), since data-oriented programming was inspired by it.

People skills

🤔

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown was a validating and challenging manifesto on fostering true belonging in our divided society. I was hoping for a bit more detail in her advice, but it was motivating and a little intimidating to hear a vigorous case that the kind of bridging I aspire to is not just a private wish but something I should gather the courage to do.

🙂

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker (TED talk) gave me a road map for making the meetings and get-togethers I find myself hosting more meaningful. It was refreshingly deep and principle driven and covered a range of gathering types, from the avant-garde (her preference, apparently) to the everyday (my preference).

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Weeknote for 8/21/2022

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

Last week I struggled with importing my Evernote notes into Notion, but I settled into a groove on transferring my Nirvana tasks. I still have a few more days of work on that, but I’m going to finish integrating Nirvana before I try again with Evernote.

Programming

😎

An Introduction to Relational Database Theory by Hugh Darwen revealed to me the hidden predicate logic that underlies relational databases. It dovetailed nicely with the insight I’ve gleaned from both my productivity system and my recent programming at work, that finding simple, consistent ways of slicing a task can dramatically enhance your power to work with it.

Coffee

🙂

Barissimo Adventure Blend Ground Coffee: 4/5. Brewing it tastily was no problem this time, so whatever was happening last time, I’d say this is another good everyday coffee.

Personal development

😎

Give and Take by Adam Grant was a satisfying tour through the intricacies of generosity. It got me to examine my own reciprocity style and where I’d like to move it in “otherish” directions, a style that emphasizes giving without leading to burnout or victimization.

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Weeknote for 8/14/2022

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

Last week I replicated my Nirvana setup in Notion as a starting point for my task management. This week I’ll work on moving my Evernote setup to Notion, which will transfer over both a bunch of content notes and some more pieces of my project management.

Personal development

🤔

Daring Greatly reintroduced me to Brené Brown’s work on shame resilience. It alerted me to the need both to learn these skills before I venture into shame-prone situations and to learn ways to communicate and persuade that foster others’ resilience and avoid triggering shame.

TV

😎

I finished season 3 of The Orville, and the show keeps getting better. Charly’s and Topa’s storylines stood out to me, especially watching what Topa’s situation brought out in the other characters.

Music

🙂

I’ve been adding to my old dubstep playlist. I hadn’t touched it in several years, but a few weeks ago I stumbled back onto it as an energy source to help me get moving when I’m tired.

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Weeknote for 8/7/2022

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Andy

Productivity

🙂

I began looking at ways to implement my productivity system in Notion. I chose three processes from the system to focus on, and I began describing the first one, task management, which I currently do in Nirvana. This week I’ll finish describing how that process works and explore how I might create a Notion version of it.

Programming

🙂

Patterns of Software by Richard P. Gabriel took me on a welcome side trip through programming philosophy. It’s a loose collection of essays on a cluster of themes centered around the author’s career in software development. I was interested because it seemed like a unique and thoughtful big-picture look at patterns in software development. And other than maybe the long autobiography toward the end, the book didn’t disappoint.

It started off with a bang with a foreword by Christopher Alexander, the patterns architect himself. After that the book gave me a better picture of Alexandrian patterns and reinforced my sense they were deep water worth exploring. I was especially struck by the point that patterns are about promoting a certain quality of vitality and not just generically solving common problems. Another essay drew some intriguing and useful parallels between natural language and software design. Later essays made arguments about programmer productivity and product success that I found rather depressing at first, but on a second reading I saw them less as an attack on me personally and more as a look at systemic issues in the software industry and at the nature of design and the market. Gabriel even persuaded me I should study poetry for the lessons it can teach on writing prose. It’s a book worth revisiting.

Music

🙂

I’ve been making a playlist of reflective muted piano music. It’s a style I run across occasionally, notably in Thomas Newman soundtracks, but outside of those it’s not easy to find examples. So I’m collecting them. It’s great background music for writing. And some of it will get added to my playlist for contemplative dusk walks.

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