AcademicalNerd @academicalnerd@social.cleverlibre.org
People are more important than wires.
Joined Jan 2021
2021-08-22
This summer was quite challenging in a lot of ways. I think there will be a longer post near the end of August, detailing lessons and achievements for the past two months.
2021-07-24
Learning some shell scripting in the most relaxed way possible, with youtube in the background and a nice cup of tea. It feels nice to relax once in a while.
Thank you for your support and for a new word (to botch). It does shine, indeed, if you survive long enough.
I have just sent the last piece of code and plan on writing and playing guitar for the rest of the day, with maybe an occasional walk around the place.
Oh well, the usual. I made some plans for the summer, that didnt really work out. In part because some extra work was required in lab, in part because I'm young and have no idea what am I doing and where life is headed. I decided to take a whole week off, away from my computers and even laptop. Maybe it'll help me to calm down and see the forest behind the trees.
"Overwhelmed" by Royal & The Serpent pretty much bescribes how I feel. Behund, stuck, left out. Even though I'm better off than a lot of my peers. Comparing myself to others never was a problem for me, but it won't bail me out of this emotional rut either. Most of my plans crumbled under the weight of burnout and unexpected work tasks. Maybe I'll be able to figure this out and het everything together, fix my life. Maybe not, we'll see.
# 2021-07-06 #blog
Day 6 of summer project. #nerdyjourney
Baby steps. Still recovering from the vaccine, but at least the fever is gone. Managed to do some lab work and fiddle with backend for the personal database app. Also started reading "Money" by Y.N. Harari. I liked his other book, "Sapiens", and this one I got in English paperback, which is rare here in Russia.
2021-07-05 #blog
Today I am suffering side effects from the first dose of "sputnik" vaccine. Temperature gets up to 38 C and I have to take paracetamol every 4-6 hours.So it's day off for now.
Approx. 5 hours after the first shot, arm hurts moderately when moving, mostly triceps, in the last hour it spreaded to forearm as well. Can't say I'm a fan but it's better than I expected. It should also be noted that I took 25mg of chloropyramine 20 minutes before getting a vacccine.
First shot of #vaccine. Let's see hiw sputnik performs.
I hesitated getting this because of allergy and autoimmune condituin I have. These aren't life threatening, but annoying and potentially conflicting with vaccines. Especially engineered once, like sputnik. Also, most of 20-30 years old people who get it lay in bed for two days and I couldn't afford this during exams.
Now the exams are done and even pregnant women are vaccinated, and there is no choice left but to get a shot and hope for the best.
# 2021-07-04 #blog
Day 4 of summer project. #nerdyjourney
The main concept in CRUD-centered programming is information flow. You are a plumber, essentially, whose job is to carefully direct information from database to the end user. Then present it in desired form and prevent any leaks along the way. A fancy, well-paid, office-sitting plumber. Bedroom-sitting, in my case.
I managed to hook a script to local psql database with some dummy data today. Not too bad, considering that it's the first JS code I've ever written. Even though these things are mostly based on tutorials and simple to do - the end goal is to combine a bunch of simple things to build something more complex.
Side note: using vim for this stuff it surprisingly convenient, I set up a test command in config file and simply call ":!npm test" when necessary.
# 2021-07-03 #blog
Day 3 of summer project. #nerdyjourney
Managed to remember some basic js and found electron-postgres interface. Turns out it's just "npm install pg", nothing fancy. I think I understand now the reason people like developing with electron. It's possible to roll out an MVP in a week without much trouble. Even though the executable size and performance are suboptimal to say the least.
There are many good things in life, of course, but lately it takes a lot of effort to notice and remember them.
Interesting conjecture: in order to notice and remember good things, one should exert as much effort as one does fixing bad things (or worrying about them). This can be done in the form of writing or other documenting, for example.
And I managed to make a helloworld app in electron. Now I need to learn enough JS to hook it to my database...
# 2021-07-02 #blog
Day 2 of summer project. #nerdyjourney
Life gets in the way. Sometimes it gives you lemons, sometimes - hits you in the face with a hemmer, or something in between. Anyhow, I managed to make an outline for the project and construct PSQL database. Nothing fancy, four tables within a single database with some "on delete cascade" and foreign keys. My sql skills are a bit rusty so it took some time to remember all the tricks, especially setting constraints.
# 2021-07-01 #blog
Day 1 of summer project. #nerdyjourney
I decided to go for two different projects in order to switch between them whenever I get bored. This usually works well for me and there is no reason to limit myself with just one direction, since summer projects are supposed to be fun. Besides, this goes along with my lab work and other duties.
So, two projects.
1) Storytelling. I probably won't be able to pull of the entire book yet, but short diaries and stories are fun to read and don't take as much resources. I'm not sure which language to write them in and where to post them. I'm open to suggestions!
2) Personal database. Mostly a resume-type project, although I intend to build a decent app for it to keep my notes and stuff in order and synced decently. The idea came from [Kalle Halden](https://youtu.be/QfGZpx0iGvM). I should be able to draft both projects this afternoon.
Progress reports will appear here, of course.
I'm not sure yet, it may be code or something different. In any case, telling a story validates accomplishments emotionally, which is more valuable, I believe. And I like telling stories.
2021-06-30 #blog
I heard an interesting concept in some podcast a few days ago: transparency about your current work in social media is, essentially, a proof of work in crypto. There is a guy on youtube who streams 12-hours pomodoro sessions and occasionally makes a lifestyle video, and you know it's real, because you have that proof of work. Whenever an artist tells a story as he creates something - you know it's legit, because the creation process was unfolding before your eyes.
I'd like to turn this account into something similar. I'm not sure yet whether to work on my usual lab projects or take on something new entirely, but no matter what I decide - tomorrow will be day one. Hopefully I make something worthwhile out of these two months.
2021-06-30 #blog
Done. The semester is over with all the horrors and exams and whatnot. I have a few days to relax and plan everything, and after that the grind starts anew.
2021-06-28 #blog
Throwing a little four-person (two couples) party in late evening is a good way to patch up wrecked nerves. Although the last glass of wine is always excessive. I have to do some work today and tomorrow for reports on scientific work, and after that most of my time will be dedicated to rest and work on side project.
2021-06-26 #blog
The exam is done. I have no idea if I passed and honestly don't even care at this point. The teacher did his worst and so did I. There are two reports on 28th and 29th of June, the second one is in English. These won't be a problem, however, so I will probably start planning my summer break tomorrow. Only two months worth of time and so much to do.
