Nice and tidy setup. What specs do the Thinkcenters have? And what rack is that?

No, but I’ve started thinking about getting a plan B ready (despite being in very stable circumstances). I am a late arrival to tech, but came to this field because I’m genuinely interested in it and want to immerse myself. It’s not my background and trying to catch up and keep up is tricky, but it has been interesting.

Yet, with what tech is trending towards (chat control, government IDs required to participate online, talk of banning adblockers and VPNs, the ever expanding reach of FAANG or whatever the acronym is) I’m not sure whether I can keep the enthusiasm up. What attracted me to tech was the scrappy underdogs in FOSS, the people standing up to the monopolies…but I’ve been losing some of my initial optimism.

AI is just the latest development in the saga, which puts question marks on the viability of a career in tech, as well as providing sort of poisoned chalice of convenience to somebody still starting out. I want to know and learn whatever I can myself, but my peers are ahead and using AI. Whenever I use AI I can feel my patience, curiosity and satisfaction atrophying.

Power naps? In the car (since you’re not driving) or at any point you can get even 5-10 mins. Get a sleep mask and ear plugs if you need to. Try to sleep max 15 mins at a time, so you don’t get that super groggy feeling. Set an alarm or timer. If you drink coffee or tea, supposedly if you drink it just before your nap it will metabolise while you nap and give you a boost when you wake up.

Go for a walks in between to energize yourself. You can also do a sort of walking meditation to try and reduce stress, just kind of look around at the colours, light, shade and movement, listen to the sounds around you (and the gaps between sounds), the feeling of your feet meeting the ground and lifting up again, etc. Try to just take it in as pure perception and if you start thinking, just return to the physical sensation you are focusing on. Even 10 mins will do.

Eat an apple or two for a healthier sugar rush.