Month: May 2025

Headquarters (Part 3)

Headquarters (Part 3)

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Just when you thought there couldn’t be more (oh trust me, there’s more), here’s comes another round of my series on computer setups (earlier posts are here and here).

Years: 2005-2010
Machine: The box in the closet from my last post but with a snazzy new LCD monitor (my first flat panel), wireless peripherals, and my wife’s great-grandmother’s writing desk.
What I was doing: writing daily on Xanga; applying to family camp; traveling to Tennessee to watch Revenge of the Sith with a high school friend; hosting LAN parties for Age of Empires III; traveling a lot for work.

Years: 2006-2007
Machines: A plethora of cast-off parts coalesced into a couple functional boxes in the garage.
What I was doing: running a NAS for storing all my media; trying to get Gentoo Linux to compile; realizing that running a bare web server on the Internet is asking for trouble.

Years: 2008-2010
Machines: A beefed up HTPC rig in a rackmount case with a whole bunch of amps to power my Magnepan speaker system, plus the plethora of beige boxes from before, but better arranged.
What I was doing: shivering in the garage when using this desk in the winter, listening to Comfortably Numb at peak volume, hosting movie-watching parties.

Year: 2011
Machines: Same rack mounted setup, but relocated from our old garage in Ohio to a closet in our new garage in San Diego, plus a random beige box (those just won’t go away).
What I was doing: Playing with some audio recording gear; streaming Game of Thrones; stocking up on printer paper, apparently.

Years: 2012-2014
Machines: Moved inside, and rebuilt the guts from the rack mount case into a traditional one (albeit black and silenced), also got my first Mac laptop (from which I’ve never looked back).
What I was doing: writing election software; creating hand-made guitar effect pedals (that were terrible); developing back problems thanks to a crummy chair.

Like Riding A Bike

Like Riding A Bike

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Yesterday I re-passed the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam. It’s my third time taking it (2019, 2022, and now 2025). I went into it cold turkey, absolutely zero preparation, and while my score wasn’t as good as before, a pass is a pass.

I guess at this point, I’ve done enough work in AWS that the knowledge is pretty much permanently ingrained. It reminded me of this article on Buying Moves:

There’s an amazing quirk of the human body that makes fitness adaptations work a bit like powerups in a video game. You can spend some resource to add capabilities to your “character,” and if you do it right they’re always available to you (for the most part). I’m talking about muscle memory and our ability to “lock in” physical skills.

Perhaps there’s a mental version of the same phenomena?

Speaking of that link, being one myself, I’m a big fan of True Generalist. While it isn’t for everyone (and that’s okay), I can’t disagree with his take on competencies that every person should have, and further skills that generalists need to function effectively. Both worth a read if you’re this type of person.