Exercise (246) Sodium vs (table) Salt

Completely random, I was reading an article about the difference between sodium and salt. I think it a good short read on how salt or sodium reacts in our body. Nothing ground breaking, just a pleasant read for those who enjoys a near-layman's explanation of physics.

I have not been exercising per se for a long, long while (except for an hour of volleyball). I have been also eating a bit unhealthy lately. Fortunately, my weight has not gone up. I have been moving around a lot (moving boxes and things) which I do not count as exercising. I hope once I finish, I will be able to get back to exercising more regularly.

Reference

https://www.thoughtco.com/difference-between-sodium-and-salt-608498

Exercise (247) Sometimes life happens

My father was in a serious accident. I was heart-broken to hear the news. I couldn't help to feel extremely saddened when I saw his condition. Fortunately, he is recovering although it did take some time for him be out of ICU.

During these times, I sometimes feel a bit jealous of others. And I have to remind myself that there are things much more important than money or success. Although there are people that experience even more tragic situations, I do not believe that should justify a different decision even. Because the logic would not hold for whoever has the most tragic experience.

What made me second guess myself was that I did not have a good relationship with my father. I did quickly decide to drop everything and fly to the hospital. I have no regrets in the decisions made. Sometimes I feel disappointed in myself that I had to think about it or remind myself, and not just instinctively decide.

Even though it put a long pause in my professional and other personal life progress, taking that time off to care was totally worth it. It also did add a lot of life perspectives. What good is all that wealth if you do not take care of yourself? Sometimes things just happen, are you prepared if one day you realize you cannot move or talk? Most if not near all parents have sacrificed a lot for their children. Isn't it a little counter-intuitive that we sacrifice the rest of our lives to care for them? Sounds wrong when you say it out loud, but still makes logical sense in my head.

Best of luck, and do what you believe is right for you and your family/friend. Some decisions will not be easy and there will be some that even seem impossible. In those cases, don't dwell on "what ifs" later; just constantly remind yourself that you did the best you can in the situation you were in and the information you had. And remember to also take care of your own health.

I had a lot of trouble posting this message because it was very personal to me and wasn't sure how much detail to share, but I hope the message is detailed enough to help someone (maybe even reminding my future self) else in a similar situation.

For someone who is not but knows someone in that situation but not in any capacity to help, simply say that the person is in your prayers or thoughts. Even if I thought the person may not really do so, the statement is still powerful besides that it typically fills any awkward silence. At the very least, it allows me to respond or transition to another topic. In all honesty, the support was actually very helpful even if I cannot explain how that is. Thank you to everyone who supported me and my family (whether it was said out loud or within your hearts).

Expanding to Linux, Apache, Postgres, Python, and Django in Google Cloud

I finally got around to learning Linux and Python for the second time. I tried many years ago at a friend's place but never went back after I messed up a build. This time it was way faster with Google Cloud.

I spent about half a day figuring out the free trial versus always free. In reality, I was trying to figure out and extrapolate the always free part. Because as a hobbyist, this was very intriguing part. So basically, I can spin up a small VM and Cloud Sql for free, of course up to a certain limit which I think is well below the traffic and usage that I will be working in.

I think this is great because I am mostly on to practice and learn. If I were to expand my projects, scaling up my projects looks to be kind of simple for both infrastructure and cost. Although I did not delve deep into how to do that exactly. But the costs seem rather reasonable on a personal level.

I spent the rest of the day learning the different parts of google cloud. I quickly went through some of the options then saw all the different types of OS and DB google cloud has to offer. Of course, I spent most of the time figuring out which Linux distro to choose (Debian) and database (Postgre).

I chose Debian because it was free and seemed to have good amount of documentation online. I chose Postgre because it is new to me (I have worked with Oracle, MySql, and MS Sql in the past) and appears to be gaining some popularity (and also been seeing quite a few on job posts).

The next day, I spent all day trying to install Python, Apache, and Django. I spent part of the day looking into which web server to use which I almost scrapped because Python had its own server. I could not get the Python web server to work properly because I did not know how to open a web browser to be local within my google cloud "space" (I am still unsure if that is even possible). I was not able to open the ports to access it from an external source.

I also spent a lot of time trying to learn all the Linux commands to install. I spent a good amount of time trying to find what I can do without super user (sudo) which I found to be almost nothing. I was eventually able to install Apache with Python by following directions and open it from my system's browser (outside of google cloud).

I then looked into Python IDE which then I stumbled across Django which I later learn is a framework for python web development. So then I attempted to install Django, but ran into a lot of issues. Because I already had Python and Apache installed, I was trying not to repeat certain steps or skip certain steps. Because I was not exactly clear on what needed to be done and things were not working, I deleted my Django project and tried to start over.

I had to start over a few times until I found a different site (https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-serve-django-applications-with-apache-and-mod_wsgi-on-debian-8) that eventually got me up and running. On the bright side, I am now a bit more familiar with a few basic Linux commands: sudo, nano, mkdir, rm, mv, cp, service, etc. At least I think they are Linux commands as opposed to Python or Apache commands.

I have not started any programming yet, but excited to eventually get to that point. I still need to learn a bit about the Django framework before I can really start. So hopefully, I will get some time to work on that soon. Also, I still need to find an IDE or text editor.

Reference

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-serve-django-applications-with-apache-and-mod_wsgi-on-debian-8

Health: Temporary sharp pain down one leg

One morning, there was a sharp pain down my leg. After I shifted, the pain kind of went away then kind of forgot about it. When I got up, there was a little sore in my leg but I figured I could walk it off. Then after a standing for a minute or two brushing my teeth, there was a sharp pain that went from hip to ankle. After I sat down, the pain was not as sharp but was still painful. Then will subside almost just as fast as it came.

This went on all day with the same pattern, so I spent most of the day sitting. I figured it would go away after a day. I went to work the next day with the same problem. This went on for a few days. 

About a week later, the pain finally started to go away and was a bit more tolerable. After a couple more days, I did not even realize that the pain was gone.

I think I must have slept in a funny position or slept on something. This is not unusual as I typically just sleep wherever I get sleepy at night... on the couch, in a chair, on the bed, etc.

I stopped using Microsoft Visual Studio and Azure (2019)

I am mostly a hobbyist developer. I had moved to more process management in software engineering. So the cost of paying for the professional version ($1200 / $800) of Visual Studio is quite steep even though I still paid for several years. I am aware there is an Express version which I had used initially but the professional provided a lot of neat features also provided Azure credit so I figured it compensated some of the cost.

I was content with paying but then my real work got busy for several months, also many things came up in my personal life, so I had neglected programming for a bit. When I returned, I realized Visual Studio no longer let me log in. I eventually found that my subscription had expired. I then noticed that I had received a bunch of emails that said I was overdue. This was due to a fraudulent charge on my credit card which was canceled, and that card was the one on record to renew.

This was extremely confusing, because I thought they had moved to subscription basis which I had been paying. When I paid all the overdue costs, I was still unable to use VS 2019. But somehow VS was separate and that had expired several months past, so it will cost me another $1200 to repurchase to use. I am still a bit confused exactly what is what, like what was Visual Studio and what was monthly subscription.

My current understanding is that I was paying monthly for Azure which does not include VS. I had paid for VS the prior year. Sadly, I didn't notice that I had been paying some much to MS for so long. So I still have Azure to host my site temporarily, but absolutely no access to VS. But if I paid for VS, then I should basically own my copy of VS. After talking to support, this was confirmed to be the case. I was unable to find a key in my MSDN subscription. I just grew tired and frustrated, then just refused to use VS again... not even the Express version.

On top of that, since I had purchased VS 2019, I should have had $50 monthly credit to Azure so why was I paying the Azure monthly costs (which was under $50 / month)?! Ugh.... this is so painful.

In Summary

I had once forgot to renew in the past and paid the full cost, so this is the second time. I was barely ok with the cost. Then they moved me to subscription basis which I had complained about because I just wanted to pay a flat amount. Then I found out that I still had to pay the VS subscription and I guess I was paying the Azure subscription. I had been using VS for over 10 years, maybe around 15 years.... and absolutely no sympathy for my situation. I have been a promoter of MS VS, .NET, and MS SQL, but no longer. I don't hate them, but definitely no love anymore. 

And so, I have moved to Google Cloud, Linux, Python, Apache, Django, and Postgres. After one week, the pricing scheme is very reasonable for hobbyists and people who wants to experiment before going full production. First impressions for this new tech stack will come in the future.

Will I go back? Maybe if there were some changes, but unlikely. I'll continue to use MS Windows, although a good chance I may move