Bathroom project is coming along

 Martha has been working on re-doing the bathroom in the main floor. We're putting new wallpaper, and adding a new mirror. It's a total DIY project and we're learning as we go. 

This video is our 3rd or 4th attempt to remove the mirror that's glued to the wall. It's funny that Martha knew how we should remove it but neither one of us knew the name of the thing we needed. Last week we both went to the Home Depot going up people asking them about "skinny pieces of wood to remove mirror" and they were scratching their heads. We ended up going home with a wiresaw. The wiresaw did not cut it. 

Then Saturday morning I did some google research looking for the name of the thing, turns out, the term I was looking for is a "Wood Shim" so as soon as we got the name for the thing it was pretty straight forward. 

Here we are using the shims to take the mirror out. I got to say working on the house is more fun than I expected. 

Currently Reading on GoodReads

 If you look at the GoodReads widget on this blog's right panel you'll see that I am currently reading four books. Am I reading them all at once? The short answer is, yes. But I have a system. 

The Daily Stoic (audible)

This audio book is broken down into 366 daily meditations, so I just listen to a 2 minute daily meditation first thing in the morning. I use it to reflect on the teachings of the Stoics. I like it because it's a practical philosophy for everyday people. I just started today, but this will be a daily habit for the next 365 days. 

The Staff's Engineer's Path (kindle)

This book describes what senior engineers (as opposed to managers) actually do, it's for those people who want to grow into more senior roles. 

I think it's more accurate to say that I'm studying this book and using it as a reference book, however, I am slowly working my way through this book in order to level up my engineering game. 

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (kindle)

This is the book that I'm reading when I'm not studying the Staff Engineer's Path. I'm reading in short bursts. It's the ancient Roman Emperor's diary, where he was writing things down for himself only. In it we get a glimpse of the inner life of this man. These meditations are now a classic introduction to the teachings of Stocism. 

It's very accessible for such an old book. 

ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life (paperback)

This is a book I'm studying with pencil and note taking, I'm doing a chapter per day. This book is filled with practical advice for organizing your time, priorities and physical possessions when living with ADD. It's written in a very ADD-friendly format with lots of lists, outlines and text boxes. 

Hey, thanks for the mention, Dan

If there was only one piece of advice that I wish I had known early in my career as a software dev is that understanding people is more important than undertanding tech, by a long shot.

— Yes Way Jose 👨‍💻 🇺🇸 🇻🇪 (@PhilosoGeekDad) June 5, 2021

So my buddy Dan quoted my tweet yesterday in his blog post go check it out! He writes advice for developers that are starting their career journey. Good stuff. 

My Review of "Darkness Visible" by William Styron on GoodReads

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A lucid, honest and intense memoir about the author's struggles with depression and how close he came to committing suicide. The book is written in first-person perspective and narrated by the author. (I read the audio version)

Overall I am glad I read it, it came recommended from a buddy of mine in the Marine Corps.

The author did the right thing, he recognized he needed help and reached out for help when he was close to doing harm to himself.

There should be no stigma associated with mental health. Everyone can use help sometimes. It does not make you less of a person, in fact, it is a sign of strength to know yourself enough to reach out for help.

View all my reviews