Week Notes: 28

Oct 3, 2022 12:07 · 849 words · 4 minutes read weekly-reviews

This review is more of a monthly review since I never had the mental capacity to write weekly reviews consistently - yet again, this month has been tough on me and at one point I crashed. That said, here’s a good piece of advice I got from someone I respect:

You have a lot on your plate. I know that. The trick behind achieving is to focus on the IMPORTANT things only. I know it is not always fun, but I am sure your look back fondly on this period. It actually does not get better or easier. With age you just get better at picking the right things to do.

After some deep thinking, the values most important to me ATM are: selfless honesty, compassion, patience, and gracefulness.

Free and Open Source (FOSS) Work

  • Got rid of MySQLAchemy dependency in #730. Here’s the associated issue tracker: Replace sqlalchemy with MySQLdb.
  • I attempted to fix some broken correlations in #732.
  • Currently working on: Annotate traits page with metadata from RDF. Here’s the design doc: Add Metadata To The Trait Page (RDF).
  • Filed a new bug report here. If/When I get the band-width, assuming my team-mate won’t have time to work on it, I’ll go ahead and resolve this.
  • I started slowly learning the workings of the Linux Kernel at my own pace; and consequently some C programming.
  • Explored Federated Queries in the context of Genenetwork. In one demo I gave, I gave a crap example :(
  • I’ve started preparing for a trip to Brussels for FOSDEM 2023. ATM this involves: booking a flight and applying for a visa in good time.
  • Be careful when using “readability” as an excuse for changing a piece of code - that’s a personal opinion/preference.
  • I finally got access-writes to the Nairobi LUG’s repositories on GitHub. I merged: #5. I reviewed: #1. I’ve also started a conversation on adding a Code of Conduct. You can read it here. Finally, wrt the LUG, I started a conversation on adding proper licensing here. I hope to make the community more lively - at least code-wise - in the future.

Grad School

  • Aced one of my units - Applied Machine Learning - scoring a 94% in my projects; and a 77% in the CAT.
  • Did some group work for: “Communication Strategies for Analytics”. Here’s the work: 2020-eu-salary-analysis.
  • I still haven’t started writing my dissertation. I need to step-up my game on this one.
  • I haven’t paid my school fees. I won a grant that’s supposed to aid with this. I tried e-mailing SU but I haven’t got any helpful response. I’ll schedule a physical meeting to visit SU and figure things out.
  • I have a missing unit I never sat for last year that’s due next week. I have the option of taking it next year, which I reckon I will do. ATM, I’m swamped with too many things; and I see no point in sitting for an exam you haven’t prepared for.
  • Yet to replace my student ID. I requested assistance, and I’m yet to receive it.

Long Form Reading

  • Almost finished: “How to Read A Book.” Before finishing it - 2 chapters remaining - a dear one borrowed it.
  • Made good progress with:
    • A Philosophy of Software Design.
    • The Art of Non-Violent Communication.
  • Made little progress with: RDF for the Working Ontologist.

Personal & Miscellaneous

  • A quote from an article I read: “Burn out happens when work load exceeds the motivation to work.”
  • Bought a new (small) shelf for the many physical books I own.
  • Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully.
  • His Excellency President William Ruto got sworn in as the 5TH president of Kenya.
  • Three things that help luck: (a) Deconstructing your craft so that you know what good opportunities look like; (b) Remaining vigilant so that you know when lucky breaks come your way; and © Acting quickly so that you are more likely to seize luck when it comes.
  • Replaced my National ID, and my access pass to the Nairobi Garage.
  • Both my siblings birthdays - 4 days apart - happened.
  • At some point, I crashed.
  • Not out of self-pity, but: I realize I still care a lot about my ex-partner. I understand that given the strong emotions they [IMHO] felt against me because of being absent when they needed me most to be present in the way they wanted [not in the way I wanted], I’ll support them to the best of my ability, even if it means staying out of their life to allow them the space to feel/deal with things. Nevertheless, at one point in the future, when I work the courage, I may shoot an e-mail their way.
  • This statement influences my current understanding of what freedom entails: “When we are in contact with our feelings and needs, we humans no longer make good slaves and underlings.”