More Muc Than You Can Handle https://scottmuc.com/blog/ Recent content of More Muc Than You Can Handle en Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:10:00 +0200 Music of 2025 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2025/ Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:10:00 +0200 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2025/ Music of 2025

Let’s see if 3 years in a row can make this a routine. Here are the last two posts:

2025 In Review

Just like 2025, I had 27 concerts lined up but I missed a few due to being sick or generally having kein bock. I am a but surprised by how tilted the concerts were to the second half of the year. March and April barely had anything.

Many of the bands were ones I already knew, so there wasn’t too much novel music discovery in 2025.

Concerts that were planned, but didn’t happen:

  • 11.09.2025 The Lemonheads at FRANNZ Club (missed due to being sick)
  • 30.09.2025 The Dear Hunter at FRANNZ Club (cancelled)
  • 27.11.2025 Swans at Festsaal Kreuzberg (skipped to due to low energy)
  • 08.12.2025 The Rural Alberata Advantage at Privatclub (missed due to being sick)

There were my top shows of the year:

  • Ghost - They are incredibly entertaining live and their music always makes me feel good. The atmosphere is positive with people having a good time.
  • King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - This particular show was fun because it was in an interesting venue in Barcelona. They also played a lot of interesting heavy prog-like songs from their catalogue.
  • Midnight + Yoth Iria + Sarcator + Bloodfang - Noteworthy because I saw it with a few ex-SoundCloud colleagues and came in with zero expecations and left having a blast moshing with the crowd. Yoth Iria was the most noteworthy of all the bands that played.
  • Marillion - This was a 2 night performance and it was fun to plan an entire weekend around it. There was a fun and drunk Polish group of fans sitting around me that made the experience a lot of fun as well.
  • Hania Rani - I enjoyed this performance with an old high-school friend who was visiting from Vancouver. It was a psychadelic audio experience where she played a more electronic orientated set in an art gallery with spacial audio.

Pictures

Queensryche
Marillion
Kerala Dust
Coheed and Cambria
Hellenica
Eleanor Friedberger opening for Destroyer

Summary

Berlin doesn’t dissapoint with the options to see live music. 2026 already has several concerts lined up. I keep a live upcoming concerts page page to keep track.

This post took 3 pomodoros

]]> Music of 2024 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2024/ Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:10:00 +0200 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2024/ Music of 2024

Last year’s post was fun to write and I like the journalling component of this exercise. Let’s see if I can continue and make it a routine.

A Bumper Crop of Concerts

2024 was an exceptional year for great concerts. 27 of them to be precise! This was a year where my appetite for live music was huge. I made efforts to ensure that my life had space for these shows.

There were many highlights:

  • Dan Mangen, Mother Mother, Great Lake Swimmers: A noteworthy contingent of Canadian bands I have fond memories of getting into when I was working at CBC Radio 3.
  • Yard Act - This was such an energetic and entertaining performance.
  • Florigin - You may notice I saw this band multiple times. That’s because my friend, Pip, is the drummer! It’s a joy to see them play live and gain more and more experience. Check them out!
  • Air - This was the band that first got me into music with a touch of electronic in it. They played in a beautiful outdoor venue that amplified the experience.
  • The Nits - A band that I’ve known and enjoyed since my old roommate in Vancouver played them for me. The concert was in an old church and despite not knowing much of their catalogue, there wasn’t a song I didn’t enjoy.
  • Lizzard - My friend Pip was adamant that I check out this band. I was floored by how good of a show they put on for what was probably a crowd of 50 people.

Music Discovery

Music discovery transformed a lot in 2024. The podcast that had been the source of discovery for nearly a decade, All Songs Considered, changed direction with the retirement of Bob Boilen. Therefore I don’t have much of a journal on how or where I learnt about some bands.

The being said, some of the concerts I went to were for bands I discovered through the podcast, so the spirit still lives on:

Looking at the list of concerts, I think I owe a thank you to my old Vancouver roommate, Doug Mason (aka The Newf). He introduced me to the following bands:

  • Calexico
  • The Lemon Twigs (an email from 2017)
  • Air
  • The Nits
  • Floating Points (an email from 2018)

Over the last few years, a new form of music discovery has entered my life. It’s called Music Church and how it works warrants its own post. There are so many bands that I’m into now as a result of this.

Concerts I attended by bands I discovered via Music Church:

  • Altin Gün
  • Sleep Token
  • Baroness

Summary

Live music is still awesome as is the album listening experience. I’m also growing an appreciation for my organic music discovery channels. Algorithmic music discovery has never appealed to me. It turns out just a handful of humans can enrich your music journey beyond your music consumption capacity.

This post took 4 pomodoros

]]> How Does One Introduce Rush? https://scottmuc.com/blog/how-does-one-introduce-rush/ Fri, 08 Mar 2024 21:19:58 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/how-does-one-introduce-rush/ How Does One Introduce Rush?

Earlier this year I was chatting with a friend about the band Rush. I said they played a fundamental part of who I am and still have an impact on me today. This prompted them to ask how they could learn more. The most wonderful thing for any Rush fan to hear.

I’ll start by describing how I learnt about them. It was through my brothers who are older than me and they still joke about how as a child I would giggle to this guitar part in The Trees. A few years later, as I started learning how to play guitar, they suggested I learn songs like YYZ and Kid Gloves. I was immediately hooked to learning as much Rush as possible on guitar. Eventually I made an online quiz playing snippets of Rush songs on classical guitar. See if you can find YYZ and Kid Gloves there.

Lately I’ve grown to appreciate the lyrics as much as their musicianship. I explained to my friend how I enjoy more than just the music. I’ve also grown to appreciate the whole back story of the band. I love the relationship they have with each other and how they’ve stuck to their creative vision with the rebellious, but liberating, 2112 release. They’ve inspired me to get better at what I do, to stand up for my creative decisions, and to foster that inner-child.

Neil Peart passing away is one of the few celebrity deaths that made me emotional. It encouraged me to get more of my own thoughts into writing because I can appreciate how ones spirit can live on, just like Neil’s.

So with all that being said, how does one introduce Rush? How can I possibly convey how I feel about this band by suggesting a few songs to listen to? With 20 albums there’s no singular way to start.

These few suggestions are intended to shed a light on the evolution of the band’s sound along with a lyrics focus. I love all of these songs, but they might not be the best samples to make you like the band. I do hope they communicate why I love the band beyond their musicianship.

Red Barchetta (Moving Pictures 1981)

(lyrics)

Moving Pictures is their 8th and most commercially successful album. It has songs like Tom Sawyer and Limelight which you may have heard before. I chose this song because it exemplifies their ability to make music that tells a story (not just with the lyrics). The intro to the solo sounds like a revving engine and the tone on the guitar during the solo sounds like changing gears.

Honourable mention also goes to the following lyrics from Witch Hunt which is part of a reverse trilogy of songs that span multiple albums on the topic of fear.

Quick to judge, quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand

For a deep dive into the Fear Trilogy, check out Doug Helvering’s reaction (if you don’t care or like reaction type videos, check out the origin video).

Subdivisions (Signals 1982)

(lyrics)

Just 1 year later they release Signals which introduces a lot more 80s like synth sounds. Some folks call this the point where Rush started to suck. I’m not one of those. This song (and its excellent video) resonated with me strongly as a child. It captures that feeling of wanting to be yourself, but also wanting to belong. In Canada, the suburban upbringing is a common experience when growing up. I was also made fun of a lot for liking Rush as I was growing up and this song reminds me of those moments.

The line that is so relatable is the following:

Some will sell their dreams for small desires

This is a lyric that I think about often and why Rush has had a profound impact on my life.

Analog Kid also gets an honourable mention for the following line:

Too many hands on my time

This motivates me as I pursue financial independence.

Red Tide (Presto 1989)

Presto is an often ignored album, but it’s the first album of theirs that I remember being released. I have a strong memory of my brothers coming home from the record store (A&B Sound) and the excitement of putting it into the CD player (I was 9).

The song has a main topic (environmental impact) and a secondary topic (AIDS). Neil Peart was a well read person and his lyrics showed his breadth and wasn’t shy about sharing an opinion on a subject.

Color of Right (Test For Echo 1996)

This album has an impact on me because it was released when I was a teenager. Rush albums have a general theme. Test For Echo to me has a theme around group association, group selection, tribe, beliefs, us vs them, etc. Another example is their album Roll the Bones which covers the theme of luck, chance, and risk.

This song feels as relevant today as it did back then. It’s not very detailed, but to me it suggests to not bear the weight of the problems of the world on your back. Also, what is right is a matter of perspective and cautions against being so black and white about a topic.

To emphasize how with the times Neil’s lyrics were, check out Virtuality and keep in mind that this was released in 1996.

The Garden (Clockwork Angels 2012)

I never heard this song until this year! Not sure why I never looked into it. When it was released I was wasn’t really paying attention. As the years went by, and knowing that Rush was most likely done, I feared hearing an album of theirs I might not like. Heh, I was so wrong.

It’s weird, but I felt proud of them for making incredible music on their 20th album. They never settled for “good enough”. It prompts me to think about what dimensions of my life do I not settle for “good enough”? Good enough is practically my catchphrase for most of what I do so this poses an interesting question for me to ponder right now.

This song being their last song on their last album hits me hard. The lyrics to me communicate some form of farewell. It also has an incredible lyric:

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect;
So hard to earn, so easily burned

Well said Neil.

Summary

This is an in-the-moment sample of Rush songs I drew up without thinking too hard about it. I don’t like “top x” lists as I don’t believe ranking art is that useful of an exercise. I hope this little story along with some samples at least provides a glimpse to how Rush has had an impact on me in some dimension.

One could argue that there’s a personal story being projected with this list. I’ve recently written about my reflections on reaching midlife. Many of these songs describe a bit of a filtering of the the world outside oneself so one can focus on the self. I want to belong, but I don’t want to sacrifice who I am to do it. I care about the environment, but I cannot let it keep me up at night. I want to do good, but I need to reflect on if I’m virtue signalling. As someone who’s not adept at describing their feelings and emotions, I find Rush gives me a palette to paint a picture to the question “what’s on your mind?” or “what are you thinking?”.

If you’ve listened to the songs and they’ve piqued your interest and you’re curious to learn more. The documentary, Beyond the Lighted Stage, tells a vivid story of their origin and evolution while often showcasing their wonderful sense of humour.

This post took 3 pomodoros and a bunch of covid induced unfocused time

]]> Music of 2023 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2023/ Mon, 01 Jan 2024 16:12:53 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/music-of-2023/ Music of 2023

Music has been a big part of my life since at least 1990. It was a great bonding moment with my oldest brother as we both got into They Might Be Giants - Flood at the same time (and independently). He got me into going to concerts, and indie music.

My joy and participation in music has been a constant and I’ve always enjoyed sharing my experiences and discoveries. This is my attempt at turning what is usually an e-mail to a few friends into a blog post.

The Return of Concerts

With the pandemic restrictions behind, it was great to see the return of concerts to Berlin. There are several concerts per day and there were many events I had to decline. Still, I managed to make it out to the following gigs:

Ghost and Tangerine Dream feel like the highlights to me. Something about these shows felt really special. Regardless, there wasn’t a bad show in this list. All were enjoyable and many were attended by friends as well (half I went to alone). It’s also interesting to see I didn’t go to any venue more than twice.

Music Discovery

Over time I’ve found a sustainable way of discovering new music without feeling too overwhelmed. The All Songs Considered podcast has been a great source of music curation that I’ve followed since 2016. Over the year I add noteworthy songs to a playlist on YouTube. Over the last few days I’ve narrowed these picks down to something that can be listened to in a session. My pick for 2023 have a nostalgic tone for me. As well as a tilt towards female vocalists.

Here’s the playlist. I tried to organise it in a way that makes for an enjoyable musical journey.

Below is a reference to which episode I learnt about the track. I do this because the podcasts give great commentary on the background of the artist, album, and song.

  • Hayden Pedigo (check out his tinydesk), Rắn Cạp Đuôi source
  • Sissoko Segal Parisien Peirani source
  • Rodrigo y Gabriela source
  • Whitehorse (cannot find source episode)
  • boygenius, Nilkas Paschburg & lùisa, Miss Grit source
  • Big Thief, Squirrel Flower, Saya Gray source
  • This Is The Kit, Grandbrothers source
  • Mitski, Meurtrieres source
  • Kate Davis, Haffmilch, Rozi Plain source
  • Speedy Ortiz, Laura Wolf source
  • MIIRRORS source
  • Fatoumata Diawara source
  • Daughter source
  • Little Moon source
  • Marina Herlop source
  • Lankum source

Summary

This was fun to write and I find the exercise of citing the source of the song enjoyable. Let me know if you would like me to retroactively do similar posts going back a few years.

This post took 3 pomodoros (about the length of the playlist)

]]> A Fresh Start in Midlife https://scottmuc.com/blog/a-fresh-start-in-midlife/ Mon, 17 Apr 2023 20:12:53 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/a-fresh-start-in-midlife/ A Fresh Start in Midlife

Over a year ago I posted a life update, and now it’s time for another! In Nov 2021 I hinted about a new job I was starting. So let’s go back a year and see how that developed.

2022

Entering ClimatePartner

The cliffhanger that I ended the last post with was getting a job with ClimatePartner as a team lead. A team lead in this context was a mix of tech leadership and people management. Along with that, I was bootstrapping the technical organisation in the Berlin office. The job began in Jan of 2022.

Several months were spent learning about the organisation, the mission, and what role software had to play. It came clear early on that going back to a full 40hr work week wasn’t something I want to regress (I went to 32hr weeks for the last 8 months or so at VMware) on and thankfully was able to switch to a 32hr work week a few months in.

The Berlin team wasn’t going to appear from thin air so a lot of my time was spent interviewing candidates. It wasn’t until June of 2022 that the first new hire of Berlin was coming to the office. New hires would be added to the roster every single month until the end of the year!

Permanent Residency

In the meantime, I also managed to get my German Permanent Residency title! This was a huge milestone and has been a goal of mine for a couple years. This was one of the reasons I needed to be working again. As articulated in my last post, permanent residency wasn’t the only goal of employment, but an aligned benefit.

The feeling of relief and freedom after acquiring this permit is hard to describe. To keep it short, acquiring permanent residence means I can live in Germany without being employed. Otherwise, I would be reverting back to a tourist visa which has a limit of 3 months. Now a myriad of of life possibilities were in my field of view that were previously obscurred by the work permit requirement.

Again, a huge thank you goes to Legal Links, specifically Juliane Linke and Sophie Baumann, who were a joy to work with and experts in their field. Money well spent.

Covid Again

As mentioned in my last update, I had the OG Covid and it was horrible. Over a year had passed and I still didn’t have my taste/smell back 100%. In June of 2022 I caught Covid again. It hit me like a ton of bricks again, but thankfully it was a shorter stint. I fully lost my taste/smell again too. The odd thing is; when the taste/smell came back, it returned much stronger than before I caught Covid the second time!

I did a little travelling in Feb/Mar of 2023 and I noticed that my taste/smell were still improving. Perhaps it was being in the same place for 3 years that desensitised me. I wouldn’t say I’m back 100% but I’m back sufficiently enough that I can enjoy a much wider selection of food and drink, so much so that it’s made dining out pleasurable again.

Unfortunately, I still wonder what the long-term negative impact of having Covid will have on me going forward.

Shelly Passing Away

Sadly, Shelly passed away during this time. I knew adopting an old cat would have a shorter time span, but 3 years was shorter than expected. Not much to say other than it was a very difficult time for me. I’ll get another cat at some point but not sure when.

Saying farewell, now her ashes are on a shelf in an urn with all my other relics

Lack of Motivation and A Fork in the Road

At this point (Aug 2022), I was feeling like something wasn’t quite right. My motivation was down, and I couldn’t say my surroundings or people were the cause of it. I felt like I didn’t fit in with what I was doing. It wasn’t quite imposter-syndrome because I felt competent at what I was doing. In the end, I am questioning my current career direction.

I couldn’t have predicted the feeling of empowerment the permanent residency gave me. During a train trip in August (my first real trip since Nov 2019), I gave a thought to my current life/work trajectory. Some books I read during the trip are:

  • Wild Problems (my review) by Russ Roberts and Transformative Experience (my review) by L.A. Paul – These two books gave me the confidence to make a risky decision and a bold choice.
  • Midlife (my review) by Kieran Setiya – Helped me understand that many people feel this way at this point in their life. It gave me a language to understand my lack of motivation.

Over the course of the trip I felt I had to make a decision on whether or not to leave ClimatePartner or stay. By the end of the trip, I decided that I needed to leave! I think my book review of Midlife describes my rationale for my decision. To summarise, I want to take some time to explore work outside my bailiwick. Though I can’t deny a decreased interest in my current industry. Identifying what my issues are with “current industry” will need to be explored and written about in a future time.

Leaving ClimatePartner

The decision to leave was made in August and I gave my notice in September. This meant I would be working until the end of the year (3 month notice period). Little did I know how much the remaining months would test me.

As each month passed, the vibe and culture in the Berlin office was becoming incredibly rich, fun, and energising. I was extremely proud of the people that I was a large part in bringing to ClimatePartner Berlin but was feeling guilt and sadness for leaving them so early. It also tested my decision to leave. I’m glad it was difficult though because despite the incredible people and team I was leaving, I still felt in my gut that I was doing the right thing.

During my last days the teams gave me the most amazing farewell I could have imagined. I didn’t want to do much and I suggested a graveyard walk as a group activity (I learned earlier that many others on the team like strolling in graveyards too). They turned it into a funeral ceremony for me and even read a eulogy to my departure! They also gave me this hilarious conversation guide (see below, inspired by How to talk like Boromir). Below are also a couple lovely pictures of the spirit of the office and colleagues, and I am proud of the framed picture the team gave me as my final gift. Sadly, ClimatePartner laid off 50% (Feb 2023) of the folks in Berlin so several of the people in the picture are now looking for work).

How to sound like me!, Digital Solutions Berlin at Christmas, post graveyard festivities in a Christmas market

Like SoundCloud, ClimatePartner was on the shorter side of employment stints I’ve had, but impactful. Building up the teams in Berlin has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my career. But now it’s time to move on.

2023

Goal Revisiting

To start the year, I thought it would be good to revisit the goals I stated back in 2021. I’ve had a dubious history of goal setting on this blog but nevertheless do ok in progressing or course correcting. Here’s the progress made so far:

  • ✔️ Permanent Residence – Complete! Things really fell apart on this in 2021, but happy to have ended 2022 with this special entitlement.
  • ✔️ Winding Down Work – Complete! I was working 4 days a week with VMware from Apr 2021. Likewise, I was doing the same with ClimatePartner in 2022. Now I’m unemployed and revisiting my relationship with income and work.
  • 🚧 Cycling Initiative – This hasn’t gone so well. I was tracking progress in 2021 and was doing some significant rides, but this regressed in 2022.
  • 🚧 Launch Personal Finance Website – The extra time has worked well in helping me better understand what I want to build.

Feels good to have a couple of these significant goals checked off, and decent progress made on the others. I plan on continuing with the unfinished goals and reflect on goal setting in 2023.

Starting Career Break #2

So… Now what?

Digesting the books I read over August, and the emotional test of my decision to leave ClimateParter, gave me a lot to reflect on. I knew I wasn’t getting the same satisfaction from my career as I was previously. I was on autopilot for a bit, and at some point was at a place where I wasn’t sure I liked doing my job, despite all the good feelings I had about my colleagues and work environment.

On the train ride back home in August, I asked myself one simple question: “How would you feel if you were at ClimatePartner 5 years from now?”. My immediate answer to myself was “regret”. I would regret not having the courage to pursue all the things that don’t exist on my current career direction.

So… I am going to explore those things. I don’t have much of a plan, but now I have the space to explore. I intend to rediscover the things I intrinsically am motivated to do. Over the last few months, this has narrowed down to 3 specific topics:

  • Personal finance mindset and modelling
  • Gaming (development, playing, reviewing, designing)
  • Personal IT infrastructure aka SmallOps

I can’t really say specifically what I’ll end up doing, but those are 3 topics that I can effortlessly research, explore, tinker, share, and educate. My only plan is to see where these interests take me for the next little while.

My last career break was a special time in my life. The context was different then; I was younger, didn’t have a fixed address. This time around, I have a home that I love. My travel ambitions are smaller and nearer. I’m going to travel in mind and spirit more this time around, and less physically.

That being said, I did take 3 weeks to travel by rail and ferry to Brussels, London, Cardiff/Swansea, Liverpool, Dublin. So physical travel isn’t completely out:

Liverpool cathedral, beach near Tenby Wales, Brussels museum, Pen y Fan Wales

Following My Updates

I understand that being absent from social media has made it harder for everyone to keep tabs on what I’m up to, so I’m going to re-evaluate how to broadcast updates in a humane way.

This post took 12 pomodoros (and a lot of pondering on train rides)

]]> Life, Work, and Covid https://scottmuc.com/blog/life-work-covid/ Sun, 28 Nov 2021 20:12:53 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/life-work-covid/ Life, Work, and Covid

It’s been a while since I’ve done a general life update. I’m no longer active on social media and have left a lot of people out of what’s going on in my life. One effect of my lack of posting was that my immediate family didn’t know much about my day-to-day life. Social media used to be good for this type of communication until it became more of an opinion soap-box.

This post is for all those I’ve lost touch with.

Let’s treat my last life update post in 2017 as the latest context. Here is what has happened since then:

2018

New Home / New Role

As the above post mentions, I had moved back to Berlin. Wanting to see a different side of Berlin, I found a bit of an eclectic apartment in Wilmersdorf. It once was a restaurant and a butcher shop before that. My basement still had the meat locker storage! I really do miss this place.

(Liked the office view, large kitchen, summertime office, lounge area above the workstation)

I also Joined the Pivotal Cloud Foundry Solutions (PCFS) team and began working 100% remote. This involved a lot of travel to Milton Keynes for 1 particular customer and to Norway for another. I met a lot of great people and still keep in touch with client connections and former teammates.

(Milton Keynes, Oslo, Bergen)

I struggled a bit with the travel and reflected that I didn’t move back to Berlin to be on the road a lot. Later in the year I transferred to the CloudOps team in Pivotal. Ironically, the team was based in Dublin, but I was able to work 100% remote. This was the beginning of a really fun time learning SRE practices and actually applying them. My days with PCFS and transitioning to CloudOps was in Switzerland at the CloudFoundry Summit in Basel.

(Hiking in Switzerland after CF Summit)

(Trip to Dublin to onboard with the CloudOps team)

Around summer time I decided to purchase a home in Berlin. By the end of the year I had found a place I loved and signed all the papers. I kept a thorough time journal of the whole process. I’d be up for writing a blog post on this if folks are interested.

2019

New Home (again) / New Role (again)

At this point I had been with CloudOps for a couple months and was really enjoying it.

By February I was able to move into my new home. As much as I missed my castle in Wilmersdorf, I loved being closer to my friends around Prenzlauer Berg and the surrounding area.

(Nearby S-Bahn, music corner, enjoying the south facing windows)

New Companion

Once I had settled in and got my place organized, I was ready to add a new resident to my flat. A few months later, I rescued this beautiful 10year old cat named Shelly from the animal shelter. Her previous owner had passed away and couldn’t let her stay in the shelther.

(Nothing but attitude… but I still think she enjoys my presence)

Since I was enjoying settling down, I didn’t travel very much. However, I still went to Dublin several times to meet up with the team and my last visit to Vancouver occurred in the Fall.

One of the things that I’m proud of in this year is the talk I did at the CF Summit. The theme around maintenance and motivation will continue to play out for the next few years. It took almost 20 years to learn that I’ve never been motivated by building “the next big thing”. Maintaining and improving existing systems is something I’ve enjoyed doing throughout my career.

2020

4 Month Sabbatical

Now that I’ve feeling settled in Berlin, I wanted to take some time off to savour my new found “stability”. I figured 4 months would be a good amount of time to tackle some projects and recharge my batteries.

I enrolled in an intensive German class Unfortunately the intense structure didn’t work well for me. What I did learn was that I need to apply German in everyday life. Joining some social clubs was my plan (billiards, or something gaming related). After the course was over the pandemic arrived stopping those plans.

During this break the acquisition of Pivotal by VMware occurred. I learned that the Dublin office that I used to work at was being closed and some of my friends and colleagues were being let go (my understanding of the situation was that VMware was very generous and did make space for people that wanted to stay and work remotely in some capacity).

During my time off and in the midst of the first wave, I took some time to get back into PC gaming and built myself my first PC in over 20 years. I tinkered with a bit of game streaming but that didn’t last long because I was back to work in May.

Back to Work

Since the team I was on before my break no longer exists I was put on a new team. We worked on disaster recovery capabilities for Cloud Foundry running on Kubernetes. It was a great team to land in after my break. I got to work with some familiar faces and some new faces that I’m happy to still connect with from time to time. Looks like some of the things we worked on got released!

However, I did miss running things. It’s one of the things I found really difficult working on product software; you don’t normally run it yourself. This started in a search for a different team to join to provide a similar experience of CloudOps. This led to joining the Bitnami SRE team. Bitnami was also acquired by VMware before Pivotal was; but I suspect due to how small they were, the integration wasn’t done as quickly (e.g.: The Pivotal G Suite was merged before the Bitnami G Suite). In Bitnami, I was part of their SRE team, which was more like an operations team managing the infrastructure for all the products and services Bitnami provides.

Shortly after joining Bitnami, I caught covid in November.

Getting Covid

This was an absolutely horrible experience and writing about my covid experience could be another post. I was lucky that I didn’t need to be hospitalized but this has been the worst illness I’ve ever experienced (my frequent fights with strep might have more pain, but they are shorter).

I had a fever for about 4 days. I lost 5kg and was sleeping all the time. I thank Spiritfarer for getting me through those days. Probably not the best idea to play a “cozy management simulation about death”. Hearing the soundtrack transports me back to that difficult week.

For the next few months I had chest pain which made it hard to sleep. I got brain fog on a weekly basis that made me useless for the day. I wouldn’t have the mental capacity to even play a game to pass the time. Thankfully music was something I could still enjoy.

The worst bit though has been the loss of smell and taste, which still hasn’t recovered to this day (yes, 1 year later). It’s partially come back but it’s degraded severely. The mental stress of not detecting my own body odour does give me some social anxiety still. A lot of foods taste drastically different. Wine tastes horrible (like mouthwash), and most beers are flavourless. Whiskey doesn’t provide that aftertaste that I enjoy so much. My diet is now quite simplistic but I have built up a mental database of things that still provide some enjoyment (I believe it’s around the umami sensation).

I was hoping the vaccine would have affected my long-covid symptoms, but it hasn’t changed much.

Something that came about as a result of being ill is that I created a system of connections between a couple of my friends who I’ve given house keys to, and my family back in Vancouver. As someone who lives alone and isn’t active on social media, enabling the ability for my family to remotely check in on me seemed prudent. Since the Fall of 2018 I’ve sent a monthly newsletter to my family and that’s also turned into a good Dead Man’s Snitch. I’ve been consistently sending an email for the last 3 years such that if I missed one, it would be a signal to find out if something bad has happened to me.

Also… a big shout out to my neighbor, Divyendu, who brought me groceries while I was incapable of leaving the flat.

2021

Leaving VMware

Now for a tangent on the acquisition experience. An acquisition is a very disrupting experience. One that I’ve never been through before. I had the intent of continuing with VMware for at least a year to learn from the experience and to ensure I don’t make any quick decisions based off of an emotional experience in the moment. In the context of the pandemic, it was also good to have that job stability anyways. It was a roller coaster for me, but in the end I felt VMware was professional and kind.

After some time I could sense that VMware wasn’t a suitable fit for me. I wasn’t sure what to do, but stuck around because of my permanent residency application. When I learned that my permanent residency process wasn’t communicated after the acquisition and I had to start the process from the beginning with a new agency, I became very frustrated and decided to leave.

The 9 month experience with Bitnami grew my Kubernetes knowledge and experience to a new level. I wish I wrote publically about the things I worked on. I’m proud of some of the videos I created internally to demonstrate how some of the complex integrations worked.

Decisions

When I left VMware, I had the financial security to take a long break, decompress, and re-evaluate the direction I’m going. Maybe due to long-covid, or just dealing with the pandemic in general, my energy levels weren’t super high, and I had a hard time doing my day-to-day job and as well as doing a bit of life planning. I figured using my short-term financial freedom, I could focus on that without work distracting me. Unfortunately, my residency status became my next urgent issue.

After enjoying a mon th and half break, it was time to evaluate what my options were. This resulted in a complicated decision tree (see image) that was made simpler after a 1 hour consultation with an immigration lawyer (Juliane Linke is my hero). It became very clear to me after our conversation that getting a job is the simplest thing for me to do in order to stay in Germany and also not jeopardize my future ability to stay in Germany.

So now I’m currently looking for a job. At this very moment I have 6 applications ongoing with a dozen more in the queue. I’m so fortunate that there’s so much available in my domain of work. At first the job search was a quest to get residency, but I found that motivation rather unfullfilling. I was near the point of accepting any job at any compensation just to end the residential anxiety. After some time and after many chats with friends that I trust dearly, my perspective broadened and saw my next job as a place to build on my financial security, extend the time for me to figure out what I desire the most from financial independence, and save up for getting some property in rural Canada.

So that’s where I am now. Looking for a job with a plan to stay in Germany. I don’t have any plans on posting in social media again, but do miss writing for a broader group of people.

note The majority of this post was written a few weeks ago. I currently have accepted a job offer! I will be writing another post about the job search. I haven’t had this kind of positive feeling about a new job since I joined Pivotal in 2016 or ThoughtWorks in 2010!

Lastly, I wish I could mention all the fabulous people I got to work with with or got to know. There are too many of you fine people and going through my pictures of the last 4 years reminded me of all of you.

this post took 10 pomodoros to complete

]]> My Goals for 2021 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2021/ Sun, 10 Jan 2021 20:12:53 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2021/ My Goals for 2021

Reflections on 2020 and Earlier

I can’t recall exactly why I didn’t bother write a goal post (pun?) last year, but let’s ignore that for now. I’m back in action! Let’s start with some reflections:

  • Berlin has now been my home for 3 years. This is the longest I’ve lived somewhere outside of my home city since Calgary (over 11 years ago)! I’m loving my home and my life here so I don’t see myself moving again anytime soon. Here’s a view of my happy place in my flat (Meine Wohnung).

  • I managed to do start some initiatives related to my 2019 goal around game streaming!. My videos have been vieed 377 times and watched for 71hrs. The Soul Level 1 Dark Souls play through is by far my favourite. It’s really a shame I lost episode 1 on Twitch. I learned that doing these streams and videos does take a lot of time and energy and doing it while working full time is not feasible for me (I did these videos during a couple months break from work).

  • Journal entries: 27 - I found myself writing in my journal a lot less in 2020. This is not something I want to abandon this year. Reading my previous entries has been valuable to me. That being said, I’ve probably written more words in 2020 than previous years, they just aren’t publically accessible. My internal work journal probably has more than 27 entries.

Goals for 2021:

  • Permanent Residence - Given how much I gush about living here, you would think I’m a permanent resident? Nope, my residency here depends on my work permit. I want to break this coupling.

  • Winding Down Work - I’m reaching a point where I would prefer to have more time in my life than money. Success will be reducing my hours somehow (most preferrably working 4 days a week). This is primarily for obligitaory employed work. I know I’ll never stop working :-)

  • Cycling Initiative - I bought a bike this year, and given that all things are pointing to me sticking around Berlin, I’m not as concerned about have to either sell it or transport it. I’ve been dealing with all sorts of different pains in my legs/knees/back ever since I injured myself training for a half marathon in 2015. Riding a bike has been the best activity for me. Even walking long distances hasn’t been good. I want to incorporate bicycling with how I travel and experience Germany. I have a MASSIVE goal around biking to Luxembourg for a wedding.

  • Launch Personal Finance Site - The first two goals wouldn’t have seemed feasible to me but the way I’ve been managing my money has opened them up to me. At the moment there’s a skeleton of a website for a project that I’ve called Good Enough Money.

Summary

I’m looking forward to shaking things up a bit. My appetite for risk and adventure is back. Funny how in my last update I mention my travel hunger is satiated. That’s certainly turning around now.

this post took 3 pomodoros to complete

]]> Valuable Links - Git https://scottmuc.com/blog/valuable-links-git/ Sun, 30 Jun 2019 16:16:51 +0200 https://scottmuc.com/blog/valuable-links-git/ Valuable Links - Git

Why a links post about Git? There are plenty of resources, right? Exactly! There’s almost too many resources around Git and you can reach a profiency in Git with just a few.

For fun, check out the results of this search for git books vs svn books. Hopefully this post will help you to never need to go through that list.

Some Opinions

It’s funny to me that git is a tool one can become skilled at. When using svn I never felt that I had to learn advanced things (I did own one of those books listed above though). Perhaps it’s more a sign of the times and the number of people in software has grown immensely; which is great!.

Start with just the bare bones git CLI. All those helper tools like tig, gitx, and IDE integrations will hide what’s going on. Knowing how git works comes most handy when you’ve done something and you think all your code is lost. Learning through vanilla git commands will go far. Why learn another tools way of doing things when you can just use the underlying git commands?

Ignore the git cheat sheets out there. You’ll be able to make your own cheat sheets easily enough. Trust me, once you learn a bit of how the internals work, you’ll realise that it’s difficult to really screw things up. Source control is, hopefully, something you’ll be using every single day. The commands will become muscle memory quickly.

OK, I’ll get off my soap box.

  • Git from the inside out - Mary has written by far the best article I’ve read about git. It’s long, but if you get to the end with a focused effort, you’ll never need to stress about any git command. She even posted a video too!
  • gitready.com - This site has been around when git first started and has a few good recipes that you should be able to understand well if you’ve read the above article. Yeah, there are cheat sheets, but you don’t need them now, right?
  • The Human Git Graph - A great way to learn is to teach. I created this workshop for those that could use a different angle at understanding git. It’s a lot of fun and I would love to know if you try faciliating it yourself.

Summary

What? Just 3 links? Pretty much! The 2nd link has enough resources to keep you busy for days, but I don’t believe you need them. You can use that time to grow more important skills.

This post took 2 pomodoros to complete

]]> The Day the Universe Changed (Me) https://scottmuc.com/blog/the-day-the-universe-changed-me/ Mon, 10 Jun 2019 15:27:50 +0200 https://scottmuc.com/blog/the-day-the-universe-changed-me/ The Day the Universe Changed (Me)

Background

The Day the Universe Changed is a documentary (9.1 on imdb) from 1985 that covers the effects of science and technology on western society. I was introduced to the show in grade 8 social studies and I clearly didn’t appreciate the message of the documentary when I was 13-14 years old.

Unfortunately it’s not viewable online. However, this first 10 minutes of the first episode should be enough to get your gears turning.

In short, it’s about trying to understand how do we know what we know and how has it shaped us to be who we are. Funny enough, in the writing of this post I learnt that James Burke has recently gone a bit viral! I really miss James Burke’s style.

Now you’ve seen the very beginning and the very end of this 10 episode documentary. Episode 2 is worth watching too if you do not have access to the full series.

Relevance Today

I had watched the documentary again recently so it was still fresh on my mind and found myself applying it to a few recent conversations I’ve been having.

Two conversations were around folks watching the Flat Earther documentary on Netflix. I haven’t watched the documentary, but I always thought considering a model where the Earth is flat is an interesting brain puzzle. Like the intro linked earlier alludes to, if the Earth was flat, how would that change what we perceive? If a child asked me to explain why the world is a sphere (and we know that’s not entirely correct either), how can I do that? I simply take it as fact. I only understand (and could explain) a tiny fraction of my everyday life and I can still thrive.

After listening to yet another excellent Econtalk podcast episode about mastery, specialization, and range, I learnt about how pre-modern people sometimes cannot make logical reasoning based on abstractions. For example, if you say “the ground in Yellowknife is frozen solid most of the year, would it be suitable for farming?”, their answer would be “I don’t know, I’ve never seen Yellowknife”. Despite the clue that would suggest a reasonable answer of “No, I can’t imagine a place with frozen ground growing crops”, they base their answers on first hand experience. Yet another reminder to step out of one’s own brain to understand how much trust (faith) we put in our abstractions.

Back to the Flat Eather debate. Could one consider this a breakdown in the faith of our abstractions? Or am I leaning too heavily on abstractions and I ought to test things out myself once in a while?

Religion vs Science?

I enjoyed how the show didn’t pit religion against science. To me it showcased that they both can have the same goals in mind. Give you what you need in order to make decisions with your life. It strengthens the statement “Everybody worships” said by David Foster Wallace in 2005 at the Kenyon College commencement address.

Science is still limited in that it cannot quite decribe the “why” of so many things. It’s great that we have Philosophize This! to go to when feeling lost.

Reflections

Rewatching this today reminded me that I’m much less sure about everything these days than I was before. But that’s a good thing, because I was overly certain about things before. I feel like I have more gratitude for the everyday mundane things that simply just work.

It’s also renergized me about the promise of the Internet and the World Wide Web. In these days of concerns around privacy and questionable platforms, it’s good to remember that posting a web page to a system with no centralized orchestral can be viewed by anyone with an Internet connection (and isn’t under a regime that censors the media) is a powerful and amazing thing. Perhaps it’s time to dust off the ol’ blog and write up all the thoughts (I refuse to call it content) that I’ve been keeping buried for the last couple years.

If you’re in Berlin and would like to watch the whole series, let me know. I may update this post with watching notes next time I go through the series. Which is something I will be revisiting frequently now.

This post took 5 pomodoros to complete

]]> My Resolutions for 2019 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2019/ Sat, 16 Feb 2019 20:12:53 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2019/ My Resolutions for 2019

Reflections on 2018

This will be easy because I didn’t set any goals last year! It felt great to take a break from goal setting because 2018 was a big year of transition. I moved yet again and I started a new role at work. I then found that it didn’t fit me and I finally had some self awareness to reach out for help and was able to switch roles again to something that suits me at this moment in time.

Here are some things I discovered about myself in 2018:

  • Working from home for the first time and I absolutely love it! I don’t believe I’ll ever go back to having a regular commute again.
  • My travel hunger has been satiated. I will be minimizing my travel until my appetite grows for it again.
  • Berlin is truly where I want to settle down in the long term. So much so that I’ve bought a home here and I’ve just finished moving in!
  • I love writing, but sometimes my output doesn’t reach the public domain. I’ve written more in 2018 than probably any other year.

Goals for 2019:

As always there are so many things I would like to do. I had a dozen blog post drafts that I ended up purging. I need to work on my physical health too. Those who know me know that I have some very specific financial goals. To keep things simple, I’m going to stick with one goal and approach it more like a project. For 2019, I would like to end the year with a published Let’s Play that has at least 50 views of the final video in the series. This ought to be a good test on whether or not game recordings is something worth pursuing.

Summary

I’ve sneakily already started on my goal with a completed series of Civilization VI! So far it’s only been shared with a private group of friends.

By-the-way, journaling (goal from 2016) has been the one habit that I’ve cultivated and has lasted several years! Here are the numbers:

No pomodoros were harmed in the making of this post (I composed this while watching a Stellaris stream)

]]> My Resolutions for 2018 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2018/ Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:13:42 -0800 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2018/ My Resolutions for 2018

Reflections on 2017

  • Perform 1 pull up - This didn’t go so well. I’m now the heaviest that I’ve ever been (95kg). My psoriasis (scalp) has become really annoying and gets worse when I exercise. So 2017 wasn’t a good year for my health. It’s very clear that I don’t handle disruption of my routine very well. Below is a graph of my workouts:

Only 1 or 2 of those gaps was related to illness; most of them were due to travel (work and play). The last few months was me being preoccupied with my move to Berlin (yet another excuse).

  • journaling - I also took a look at if I adhered to my 2016 goal to maintain a journal. The following graph shows that I started the year off strong and then it faded away for a bit.

I’ve been looking back in my journal periodically now and finding it a great source of insight into what my previous self was thinking. I’m happy I’ve started picking it up last month.

Goal for 2018:

Inspired by Cate Huston, I’m going to liberate myself from making a goal for this year. I’ve just moved back to Berlin and will spend this year settling in and exploring.

This doesn’t mean I’m not going to doing anything about my personal health, I just am not deciding what it is at this current moment.

Summary

2018 is going to be a year of settling down and some reflection. I’m happy to have found a home where I’m excited by the prospect of being there for many years. I’m just going to let that feeling spawn iniatives as the year goes on.

This post took 2 pomodoro to complete

]]> Moving Back to Berlin https://scottmuc.com/blog/moving-back-to-berlin/ Sat, 09 Dec 2017 16:25:18 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/moving-back-to-berlin/ Moving Back to Berlin

Remember that post about moving to Dublin from almost a couple years ago? Consider this a tiny git revert --no-commit of that, modify it slightly to keep my location as Berlin but Pivotal as my employer.

A Pivotal Moment (that has lasted 2 years)

The whole process started with a strong desire to move back to Berlin (I’ll go into why later). I was willing to look for a different job but I really really didn’t want to. Pivotal has been fantastic and I’ve enjoyed it there. Since I joined I’ve worked on 3 different teams over 2 years:

  • Ops Manager - A web platform for managing all the products offered on the Pivotal Network (think of this as an AppStore for Ops Manager)
  • Release Engineering - A team responsible for packaging all the components of Cloud Foundry in a package that can install in Ops Manager. Now they support even more products and the automation to sustain it all is really impressive!
  • RabbitMQ for PCF - This is where I spent the bulk of my time (18 months). For part of the time I played software developer and for the majority of the time I played product manager. Both roles had a myriad of activities that cover the many facets of software delivery so I enjoyed this time very much.

In all of these projects I got to work with great people who challenged me and allowed me to challenge them as well. The products themselves are also quite interesting and are gaining a lot of traction in the market. Cloud Foundry is something I would have enjoyed using if my primary activity was writing application code.

So, when I mentioned my desire to move to my manager, Jamie Monseratte, he responded with support and positivity. I was able to explore the different things I could do in Berlin and eventually landed on a role called Platform Reliability Engineer (we’re hiring). It feels like it’ll be a fun mix of enablement, hands on operations, and customer engagement. I’ve learned that I love running software more than the building software so this appears to be a great fit for me.

I’ve spent a few days in the office and met everyone at the Christmas party (photo to be added soon). I already feel welcome!

Dublin

Living in Dublin was a great experience. I’ve learned all about irish whiskey which is now my favourite spirit. I’ve made some friends and have visited more pubs than I can possible count. I’m going to miss all the concert venues which became my home away from home.

What’s The Deal With Berlin?

It’s hard to explain why exactly I wanted to be back in Berlin. It’s the first time I’ve ever moved back to a city. The best way I can describe how I felt is that Berlin has the most gravity. Every location has a bit of gravity: Vancouver, San Francisco, Bangalore; But Berlin had sufficient gravity to pull me out of Dublin. You know a place is right when people describe the things they dislike about a city and you find those are the reasons why you like it.

In my head this is the last move I’m going to be doing voluntarily. I wish to settle down in Berlin and make it the first place I’ve lived in for longer than 2 years since I lived in Vancouver (which implies I haven’t lived in the same city for longer than 18 months in the last 8 years).

In my first week in Berlin I’ve found my new home. It’s an interesting flat in Wilmersdorf. It’s large, has lots of character, and is well connected to all of Berlin. I look forward to having you over :-)

This post took 4 pomodoros to complete

]]> Valuable Links - TLS https://scottmuc.com/blog/valuable-links-tls/ Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:40:48 +0000 https://scottmuc.com/blog/valuable-links-tls/ Valuable Links - TLS

This is embarassing to admit but I have to re-learn Transport Layer Security (TLS) on a continuous basis. This post is my cheatsheet to remembering all the itty bitty details, which I’ll forgot shortly after I do whatever TLS related task I have on my plate.

What’s TLS you ask? Take 9 minutes to listen to this fantastic episode on Public key cryptography which will prime (hah!) you up for the rest of the post.

What’s The Difference Between SSL And TLS?

The fact that I still think SSL over TLS is likely a result of my first exposure to dealing with these sorts of things was in a multi-tenant Windows web hosting environment. I seriously can’t believe I was able to do the things I did back then without having one iota of understanding what was going on.

I only learned that the difference between SSL and TLS is so simple just a couple years ago. It boils down to this:

  • Are you expecting a secure connection because the port you’re connecting to is by definition intended to be a secure port? Then we’re talking about SSL.
  • Do you start connecting and switch to a secure mode based on the feedback coming back over the “wire”? Then we’re talking about TLS.

Yup, it’s as simple as that. Big thanks to the SSL vs TLS - What’s the Difference? post for helping me finally understand this!

What Are Certificates?

When it comes to certifcates, I’ve yet to find a resource that does a good high level explanation. For the time being I’ve found SSL/TLS Certificates Beginners’ Tutorial the best resource because it does explain the openssl command in a bit of detail and links to even more resources. Having a basic grasp of Certificate Authorities, and the chain of trust (not a 90’s Christian metal band) is another piece of the puzzle to understand well because it’s where things can often go wrong and result in cryptic errors (like the browser warnings that we all ignore).

My simplified understanding is that a certificate certifies hat the one (machine) with the certificate is the entity that the certificate says it’s certifying. I believe this is true for server and client certificates, but I am not 100% sure.

What Goes On When You Use HTTPS?

Nearly everytime I need to setup HTTPS I find that I need to reread the First Few Milliseconds of an HTTPS Connection article. It’s a long read but if you spend a day following the links and focusing on understanding that article, you’ll tackle any HTTPS related task with ease. You’ll just forget it all after a few days.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know SSL… is another great post that dives deep into the low level of what happens in creating a secure connection.

Hostname Verification

Will Sargent wrote an excellent series on Testing Hostname Verification which goes into the guts of many of the parts discussed in this post.

How Do Things Go Wrong?

The following video by Moxie Marlinspike is told at a nice slow pace on how certificates can break down. It’s a good reminder to be humble when dealing with these complex security tools. I tend to rewatch this video after reading the above articles. If I can follow the video, then I’ve chunked enough knowledge to move on.

Summary

Hope these help. It’s inspired by all the other folks that also couldn’t tell me the difference between SSL and TLS. It’s easy to feel ashamed about not knowing these technologies, security is a very hard domain. I’ve kept my explanations to a minimum because I don’t feel confident I can provide correct information, nor am I able to explain it simply. When in doubt, I’ll look to the resources here. Hopefully this will give you a good starting ground if you’ve been asked to do anything related to SSL/TLS and certificates.

Update I was contacted by Matt Banner who asked me to update this article with some content from his website. I took a look at it and it’s a really good guide for updating from http to https (pop quiz, is this SSL or TLS?) plus it has a really good infographic.

Update 2 Found a couple more excellent resources on the subject. A Tour of TLS is probably the clearest video I’ve watched on the subject. It clarified some of the more obscure pieces of the protocol like OCSP and Stapling in such a way that I finally got it! Everything PKI brings pretty much of what’s in the Tour of TLS video in the frame of a system operator (e.g.: through openssl commands).

This post took 2 pomodoros to complete

]]> Irish Whiskey Appreciation https://scottmuc.com/blog/irish-whiskey-appreciation/ Mon, 20 Feb 2017 19:05:47 +0000 https://scottmuc.com/blog/irish-whiskey-appreciation/ Irish Whiskey Appreciation

Disclaimer - I was not paid or propositioned to write this post and/or link to the Mitchell & Son web store. I just enjoyed their course a lot. At the end of the course I was given a 10€ discount on any Green/Yellow spot whiskies. I would also recommend the Celtic Whiskey Shop too.

Over the last month I had the wonderful opportunity of learning all about Irish whiskey. It was held in the Mitchell and Son store in The CHQ Building (where I work) so how could I not participate? If you see them offering it again I highly recommend it! Not only did I learn a lot about Irish whiskey, I learned a lot about whiskey in general.

First, a bit of history. It’s quite possible that you are screaming at your screen shouting that I am spelling whiskey incorrectly. Chill out. The word originates from the old Irish word uisce (meaning water). When Scotch whisky became popular the proud Irish introduced ’e’ into the anglicised version of uisce, hence whiskey. The USA often uses this spelling too which may be because of the large amounts of Irish emigration during that time. What’s very clear is that people do spend way too much time arguing about what is the “right” way. The liquid doesn’t care what you call it.

Three of the evenings had brand ambassadors to do a bit of a sales pitch. At least that’s what I thought they were going to do. What I ended up hearing from them was passion about whiskey and its Irish origins. They enjoyed their competitors products and they were happy to be a part of the booming Irish whiskey resurgence. There was a feeling of disappointment about the world view of Irish whiskey. Scotch is perceived as the ultimate whiskey and that Irish whiskey is only used for shots (and usually only Jameson).

Thankfully, I know better now. The course made me appreciate Irish whiskey, but it made me appreciate the Irish people as well. The course did not have any air of snobbery about it. The presenters gave tips and hints about how they like to enjoy their whiskey but didn’t seem to be too bothered too much if people had other ways of enjoying it. In the end they just wanted people to know that Irish whiskey isn’t just shots of Jameson and a brutal hangover.

Let’s begin!

Week 1 - Single Pot Still Whiskey

Irish single pot still whiskey is the traditional way of making the spirit. It’s a bit more laborious compared to using a continuous still (aka column still), which some whiskeys in later weeks are made by.

For traditional Irish single pot still whiskey the mash bill is half malted barley and half unmalted barley. The unmalted barley is there because of tax laws the existed in 1795. This tickles the economist in me because I love seeing how financial incentives create innovation (the history of British ales and Belgium beer have similar economic origins). With the tax incentives gone this style of whiskey is still made because the flavour profile became rather popular.

The distilling begins with a fermenting mash heated to a temperature where the alcohol evaporates. The first distillation isn’t pure enough so this gets distilled again. When you read a label that says “triple distilled”, it’s because it was distilled in pot stills and you need that third distillation to really extract the cleanest distilate. Some whiskeys are known and enjoyed for being double distilled, but this usually isn’t by design. It’s most likely because of budget since the extra still does cost quite a bit (again with the financial incentives).

The evening started with a collection of whiskies in a circle. In the period of 2 hours we heard the wise words of Mark McLaughlin. You can instantly tell the guy is mad about whiskey. He does an excellent job of getting you just as excited to experience the whiskey as he is.

To the right you can see the whiskeys I tried.

  1. Green Spot Château Léoville Barton - A very unique nose (how it smells) on this one. My notes say hopscotch but after further tastings I would add cookie dough or frosting. On the palate (how it tastes) is a bit like buttered toast but transforms into a cinnamon toast. There’s some nuts and spice to it as well. The finish (aftertaste) is fruity, warm, and medium length.
  2. Red Breat Lustau - Like the above it had a buttery nose to it. On the palate it was much meatier and savory. There’s dried fruit and a bit of spice. This is one of the remaining bottles I feel I need to add to the collection.
  3. I have to mention the Green Spot 10 Year Old and the Middleton Dair Ghaelach because they were amazing, but way out of my price range. I’m quite content with the mid priced gems above.

The representitive for this week was from Irish Distillers and boy could he talk… and talk… and talk.

Week 2 - Single Malt Whiskey

The theme for this week is single malt whiskey. The term “single malt” has become synonymous with high quality. You may even hear people say that they like a nice “single malt” and not mention the word whiskey. That’s how popular and recognized the term has become.

Some individuals think this is the only real style of whiskey and frown upon anything that’s blended. They forget that the word “single” implies that the liquid is just coming from the same distillery. The “malt” part means that only malted barley is in the mash bill (you’ll recall single pot still also had unmalted barley). Blending 100% malt whiskey of different ages is very common. Again it’s a matter of economics as well as taste. Because the business has fairly long feedback loops their finance departments often face liquidity (zing) issues. So when you get a bottle and it says 8 years on the label, that’s just the age of the youngest liquid in the bottle. Master blenders will use their stock to combine different casks of several ages and come up with flavours that can be great and ready for the shelf.

The brand ambassador of the evening was from Bushmills which is the only old time distillery still in operation on the island of Ireland (circa 1784). I really need to get myself up to Belfast for a visit and then a distillery tour up in Bushmills at some point.

To the right you can see the whiskeys I tried.

  1. Bushmills Port Cask - Something about this one tasted familiar. I believe I had a port cask Lagavulin that was like a warm cozy blanket. This one was like that.
  2. Teeling Revival Volume II - My notes show a dominate apple characteristic. The nose was like freshly cut green apple. The palate was like experiencing a 3 course meal! First was a light salad with fresh cut apples, then something savoury like a vegetable stew, then finishes up with apple pie. I don’t know if the first whiskies had an affect on me, but I need to get a bottle of this to see if I can replicate that experience.
  3. Tullamore Dew 18yr - Again I got lots of apple, but that could have been the residue from the previous whiskey. The palate was all over the place with juniper, mint, raisin, and honey. I even got a feeling of masala chai out of it. This was very nice whiskey.

You may have noticed an absence of links in a couple of the above whiskies. It turns out that airport duty free stores are a huge market and many brands create airport only whiskies. The Bushmills representive said that 50% of their product turnover is in airports! Such a shame because these two were really really good.

Week 3 - All Grain and Independent Bottlers

The first couple whiskeys of the evening was a brief tour of Single Grain whiskey. The best I can understand it is that the distillate is made of corn and distilled by column stills. This makes them a bit cheaper to produce and have their own flavour profiles. They are much lighter on the palate and easy to drink. While I thought they were quite drinkable, they didn’t have the bigger flavour that I prefer.

Independent bottlers are a collection of brands that aren’t backed by the big players in the market. What I found very interesting is that the brand of the whiskey doesn’t imply that they distilled the liquid. Since Ireland only has a handful of running distilleries the liquid would only come from them (usually Bushmills but others are upping their production). The independents can then choose their casks and blending strategies to make something unique and distinctly theirs. I’m glad they did because they produced a couple of my favourites!

To the right you can see the whiskeys I tried.

  1. Writer’s Tears Red Head - This is probably the best value out of all the whiskies that I rated highly. The finish just keeps going. The middle provides this mouth feel that is a joy for the tongue.
  2. Dunvilles PX Cask Finish - The nose is full of pineapple and tropical fruit. There’s a bit of chocolate there too. When you taste it you get something like a spicy valentines day heart candy, which settles down into a nutty soft middle. The finish is smooth and long with hints of black berries and pine. Every sip of this is a new story and trying to explain the flavours is so much fun. This is by far my favourite whiskey of the entire course.
  3. Connemara 22 yrs - Another really complex whiskey with the flavour going all over the map. It was very peaty, but behind the smokiness was many other flavours hiding in the woodwork (zing!). At the price point it’ll be something I pick up for a special occasion. Nah, I’ll probably get a bottle soon enough.

The first two were so good that I bought both of them the next day.

Week 4 - Blended Whiskey

In the single malt section I described a bit of what blending entails. It’s pretty simple to describe, but the execution of the tasty blend is where the skills comes in. Blends are also quite fun to drink because it provides a puzzle for the drinker to disect and figure out the blend composition is made up of. I felt that I was a bit snobby regarding blended whiskies but I’m ready to give blends much more time than before. It’s funny how fickle our opinions can be when it comes to taste. If it doesn’t taste like what you’re used to it seems natural to dislike it. Shake out those preconceived biases and enjoy the drink on its own. Easier said than done.

The final week was extra special because the tastings were done blind. I loved this because it makes biased opinions a lot harder. I would like to taste more whiskies this way. Something to keep in mind is that every single whiskey is very good. None would be something I wouldn’t be able to finish a bottle of. My scores just help me decide which of these fine whiskies I should spend my money on.

To the right you can see the whiskeys I tried.

  1. Tullamore Dew 12yr - This one was a lot of fun to drink. It’s a triple style blend (single pot-still, malt, and grain). I don’t know if it’s the blending but I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the nose compared to the palate. It plays with the tongue in a prickly way too. At less than 50€ it’s a pretty decent value too.
  2. Irishman Cask Strength - A bit pricey but it provides so many ways to enjoy it. Every sip was different. Adding a few drops of water took the edge off and created a brand new whiskey. Reading my notes seems to reflect that because they didn’t even make any sense! They were all over the place.

The representitive for this week was from Tullamore Dew. I enjoyed his easy going nature and his more laissez faire attitude about how to drink whiskey. Seemed like someone that would be fun to go out for drinks with.

Summary

The course was well worth the 160€. Now I’m happily building up a small collection of my favourites. Because of this course I feel that I am getting much better value for the money spent because I am purchasing the whiskeys that best fit what I enjoy. I wouldn’t complain about any of the whiskies I tried, but when it comes to spending your hard earned cash, it’s nice to know a bit about what you’re getting. Now I just need to add the Red Breast Lustau, Tullamore Dew 12 and the Teeling Revival Volume II and I’ll have a collection fit for any occasion. Ok, I still need something peaty like a Connemara too.

Sláinte!

This post took 12 pomodoros (and drams) to complete

]]> OSX Workstation Setup Automation https://scottmuc.com/blog/osx-workstation-setup-automation/ Wed, 11 Jan 2017 15:45:48 +0100 https://scottmuc.com/blog/osx-workstation-setup-automation/ OSX Workstation Setup Automation

DISCLAIMER Try out at your own risk. This setup is not meant to be copy+paste reusable. It’s about keeping MY workstation under source control, and this strategy may destroy the machine you wish to attempt this on.

Objective

IT infrastructure has gone down a long journey of automating all of the things. We have automated deployments, production environments, and regression testing. We can make an API request to Amazon and get a server instances in minutes. The developer workstation is another story. Often, the developer workstation is a finely crafted machine. Just like production, your workstation should be treated like a hotel room rather than an owned residence.

My Setup

Why bother with this for my personal machine? It serves as a good disaster recovery method. Using this automation for the last several years (several laptops + multiple laptop repaves) has given me a lot of confidence that I know what is required to get my machine ready.

There are plenty of tools that help with this process. What I am going to describe is yet another approach, but I hope the simplicity of it will be attractive to those who have struggled trying to get other frameworks to work.

To see what’s included in this tooling take a look at the Inventory. Essentially you get shell configuration, some OSX tweaks, and a bunch of software installed.

There’s No Place Like Home

My workstation automation is cloned straight into $HOME on a fresh machine. This is a bit different than a lot of the other dotfile repositories you’ll see on GitHub.

$HOME as a repository was heavily influenced by Gary Bernhardt’s dot files. I really liked the simplicity of not having extra scripting to create a bunch of symlinks. Once you have your home directory cloned, you’re already quite far down the path of having your machine the way you want it. Because it’s a repository, when you delete a file, it goes away and rerunning your setup will not restore that file. It’s inherently an idempotent system!

Another feature I like about Gary’s setup is that uses ~/bin scripts rather than liberal use of aliases in his shell profile. This way you really minimize the configuration of your shell. I personally dislike shell plugin frameworks like bash-it and oh-my-zsh as I believe they add complexity where it really isn’t warranted. Keep things simple and you don’t need frameworks to manage stuff.

That being said, not using a framework is accepting the trade-off of not getting the benefit of community updates. I personally like watching the community for inspiration, not for automatically ingesting their updates.

Awkward OSX Settings

My previous iteration of this automation was 100% pivotal-sprout based. If you look closely you will see that this automation still invokes sprout. I’ve gone the route of using it as a collection of OSX configurations. I could maintain some of these as shell scripts, but I feel ok having this additional complexity and added dependency.

The configuration provided by sprout is listed in the Inventory.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong

Workstation automation can be extremely flaky and that’s due to the nature of it fetching dependencies from all sorts of locations. This drives home the reason for needing to run it frequently. I can pretty much guarantee that the code that worked a month ago will not work today. Packages change name, or download locations change. This can result in a lot of mistrust of the automation.

Having a good routine of wiping your machine and setting up from scratch is a good way to ensure it all still works. I used to be the type that was proud of how long they could keep their workstation running and would do OS upgrades (Windows, OSX, and FreeBSD). Now I feel much more satisfied by destroying and recreating.

Duplication is OK

Choosing when to vendor something is an important decision to make around construction your setup. The more you vendor, the more reproducible your automation will be. The more you vendor, the harder it is to keep up to date with changes.

The OSX installer steps is something I’d be willing to copy and paste into my own repository. Vendoring vim plugins is something I’m in favour of doing as well. The principle is that the fewer moving parts there are, the better. Even with what I believe to be a simple workstation setup, there’s still many external facing pieces that will cause failure or tricky bugs to appear.

There does not exist one true workstation to rule them all. Neither is there one workstation automation method to rule them all. Your automation is going to be a somewhat handcrafted piece of art, but it’s going to be a simple piece of art (hopefully).

Replicating This Strategy

Attempting this kind of automation seems to be best grown and not copied. If you’re starting from scratch, the first step is running git init in your $HOME dir, adding 1 precious dot file, and pushing that somewhere off your machine.

Summary

In the end, I have a setup I’m relatively happy with. It turns out that my implementation looks oddly similar to Gerhard’s, a colleague of mine.

This post still took way too long to write making me think that I haven’t made it simple enough though. There’s still a lot of moving parts and many concepts I didn’t dive into at all (e.g.: what about my data).

Appendix

  1. Other Tools and Strategies

    • Sprout - Intially this was called pivotal_workstation but transformed into a slightly more configurable and modular system. It uses chef under the covers and is quite comprehensive.
    • Boxen - Created by GitHub, this tool uses puppet under the covers.
    • osxc - Not sure where it was born from, but it uses ansible underneath.

    All three of these strive for the same thing, but use different engines. It probably makes sense to use whichever one uses the Configuration Management tool you’re most comfortable with. The problem though, is that these tools may add a bit more complexity than is really necessary.

    Sam Gibson wrote a great article about this using Babushka. He believed the above styles are too complex and strived to find a simpler solution. I like it, but I felt that it could be simplified further.

    Gerhard Lazu’s workstation setup. He replaced sprout with a collection to shell scripts that I may be tempted to migrate towards. But one thing at a time; that’s an important principle around working on this kind of stuff. There are a lot of moving parts and it’ll only prove itself out over time.

    Joey Hess has been doing this since 2000 using CVS (then SVN, then git).

  2. SSH keys

    You are probably going to want to update your code. In order to be able to push your changes to GitHub you’ll need to have your keys. For this, I follow Tammer Saleh’s excellent post on building an encrypted usb drive for your keys.

  3. Baseline OS

    Technically you cannot start from scratch because you need at least an existing OSX machine to create the installer USB stick. To do this, I followed the instructions on Brooke Kuhlmann’s workstation automation* repository.

    When following this process, I reformat the machines disk with an encrypted volume and always create my new machine with a different username (to ensure my automation doesn’t make too many assumptions on pathes).

    * Similar steps worked just recently for macOS Sierra

For fun, here’s the complete output of the latest run:

~ ? coalesce_this_machine
~/workspace/sprout-wrap ~
Rubygems 2.0.14.1 is not threadsafe, so your gems will be installed one at a time. Upgrade to Rubygems 2.1.0 or higher to enable parallel gem installation.
Using rake 10.5.0
Using awesome_print 1.6.1
Using builder 3.2.2
Using mixlib-config 2.2.1
Using mixlib-shellout 2.2.5
Using libyajl2 1.2.0
Using hashie 2.1.2
Using mixlib-log 1.6.0
Using rack 1.6.4
Using uuidtools 2.1.5
Using diff-lcs 1.2.5
Using erubis 2.7.0
Using highline 1.7.8
Using rspec-support 3.4.1
Using mixlib-cli 1.5.0
Using net-ssh 2.9.2
Using ffi 1.9.10
Using ipaddress 0.8.2
Using systemu 2.6.5
Using wmi-lite 1.0.0
Using plist 3.1.0
Using proxifier 1.0.3
Using coderay 1.1.0
Using method_source 0.8.2
Using slop 3.6.0
Using multi_json 1.11.2
Using net-telnet 0.1.1
Using sfl 2.2
Using syslog-logger 1.6.8
Using mini_portile2 2.0.0
Using rufus-lru 1.0.5
Using polyglot 0.3.5
Using yajl-ruby 1.2.1
Using thor 0.19.1
Using minitar 0.5.4
Using bundler 1.13.2
Using chef-config 12.6.0
Using ffi-yajl 2.2.3
Using rspec-core 3.4.1
Using rspec-expectations 3.4.0
Using rspec-mocks 3.4.1
Using net-ssh-gateway 1.2.0
Using net-scp 1.2.1
Using pry 0.10.3
Using gherkin 2.12.2
Using nokogiri 1.6.7.2
Using treetop 1.6.3
Using librarian 0.1.2
Using chef-zero 4.4.2
Using ohai 8.8.1
Using rspec_junit_formatter 0.2.3
Using rspec-its 1.2.0
Using mixlib-authentication 1.4.0
Using rspec 3.4.0
Using net-ssh-multi 1.2.1
Using specinfra 2.50.3
Using foodcritic 6.0.0
Using serverspec 2.29.1
Using chef 12.6.0
Using librarian-chef 0.0.4
Using soloist 1.0.3
Bundle complete! 3 Gemfile dependencies, 61 gems now installed.
Use `bundle show [gemname]` to see where a bundled gem is installed.
Installing build-essential (2.2.4)
Installing dmg (2.3.0)
Installing homebrew (2.0.5)
Installing osx (0.1.0)
Installing sprout-base (0.3.0)
Installing sprout-osx-settings (0.1.0)
Installing sprout-osx-apps (0.1.0)
Password:
[2016-10-11T22:06:06+01:00] INFO: Forking chef instance to converge...
Starting Chef Client, version 12.6.0
[2016-10-11T22:06:06+01:00] INFO: *** Chef 12.6.0 ***
[2016-10-11T22:06:06+01:00] INFO: Chef-client pid: 14253
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Setting the run_list to ["sprout-base", "sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate", "sprout-osx-settings::function_keys", "sprout-osx-settings::screensaver", "sprout-osx-settings::set_menubar_clock_format", "sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences"] from CLI options
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Run List is [recipe[sprout-base], recipe[sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate], recipe[sprout-osx-settings::function_keys], recipe[sprout-osx-settings::screensaver], recipe[sprout-osx-settings::set_menubar_clock_format], recipe[sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences]]
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Run List expands to [sprout-base, sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate, sprout-osx-settings::function_keys, sprout-osx-settings::screensaver, sprout-osx-settings::set_menubar_clock_format, sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences]
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Starting Chef Run for Meriadocs-MacBook-Air.local
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Running start handlers
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Start handlers complete.
Compiling Cookbooks...
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: /Users/merry
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] WARN: Cloning resource attributes for osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ] from prior resource (CHEF-3694)
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] WARN: Previous osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ]: /Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/sprout-osx-settings/recipes/dock_preferences.rb:24:in `from_file'
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] WARN: Current  osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ]: /Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/sprout-osx-settings/recipes/dock_preferences.rb:31:in `from_file'
Converging 17 resources
Recipe: sprout-base::var_chef_cache
  * directory[/var/chef/cache] action create[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing directory[/var/chef/cache] action create (sprout-base::var_chef_cache line 3)
 (up to date)
Recipe: sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate
  * osx_defaults[set key repeat rate] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[set key repeat rate] action write (sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate line 1)
 (up to date)
  * execute[set key repeat rate - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - KeyRepeat] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set key repeat rate - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - KeyRepeat] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
1
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
  * osx_defaults[set initial key repeat delay] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[set initial key repeat delay] action write (sprout-osx-settings::defaults_fast_key_repeat_rate line 8)
 (up to date)
  * execute[set initial key repeat delay - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - InitialKeyRepeat] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set initial key repeat delay - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - InitialKeyRepeat] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
15
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
Recipe: sprout-osx-settings::function_keys
  * osx_defaults[Turn on function-keys-work-as-function keys] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[Turn on function-keys-work-as-function keys] action write (sprout-osx-settings::function_keys line 5)
 (up to date)
  * execute[Turn on function-keys-work-as-function keys - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - com.apple.keyboard.fnState] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Turn on function-keys-work-as-function keys - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - com.apple.keyboard.fnState] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: execute[Turn on function-keys-work-as-function keys - /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences - com.apple.keyboard.fnState] ran successfully

    - execute defaults write /Users/merry/Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences com.apple.keyboard.fnState -boolean true
  * ruby_block[Fix Function Keys] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:20+01:00] INFO: Processing ruby_block[Fix Function Keys] action run (sprout-osx-settings::function_keys line 13)
merry             275   0.0  0.5  2611920  40944   ??  S    Sat06pm   7:11.60 /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemUIServer.app/Contents/MacOS/SystemUIServer
157:242: execution error: access for assistive devices is NOT enabled! (This is not an error, just a warning) (-2700)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: ruby_block[Fix Function Keys] called

    - execute the ruby block Fix Function Keys
Recipe: sprout-osx-settings::screensaver
  * osx_defaults[ask for password when screen is locked] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[ask for password when screen is locked] action write (sprout-osx-settings::screensaver line 1)
 (up to date)
  * execute[ask for password when screen is locked - com.apple.screensaver - askForPassword] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[ask for password when screen is locked - com.apple.screensaver - askForPassword] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
1
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
  * osx_defaults[wait 60 seconds between screensaver & lock] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[wait 60 seconds between screensaver & lock] action write (sprout-osx-settings::screensaver line 7)
 (up to date)
  * execute[wait 60 seconds between screensaver & lock - com.apple.screensaver - askForPasswordDelay] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[wait 60 seconds between screensaver & lock - com.apple.screensaver - askForPasswordDelay] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[wait 60 seconds between screensaver & lock - com.apple.screensaver - askForPasswordDelay] ran successfully

    - execute defaults write com.apple.screensaver askForPasswordDelay -float 60.0
  * osx_defaults[set screensaver timeout] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[set screensaver timeout] action write (sprout-osx-settings::screensaver line 19)
 (up to date)
  * execute[set screensaver timeout - ByHost/com.apple.screensaver.E30179FA-16E3-5588-9F5E-127D843E0F27 - idleTime] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set screensaver timeout - ByHost/com.apple.screensaver.E30179FA-16E3-5588-9F5E-127D843E0F27 - idleTime] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
600
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
  * execute[set display, disk and computer sleep times] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set display, disk and computer sleep times] action run (sprout-osx-settings::screensaver line 26)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[set display, disk and computer sleep times] ran successfully

    - execute pmset -a displaysleep 20 disksleep 15 sleep 0
Recipe: sprout-osx-settings::set_menubar_clock_format
  * osx_defaults[turn on date & seconds for menubar clock] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[turn on date & seconds for menubar clock] action write (sprout-osx-settings::set_menubar_clock_format line 2)
 (up to date)
  * execute[turn on date & seconds for menubar clock - com.apple.menuextra.clock - DateFormat] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[turn on date & seconds for menubar clock - com.apple.menuextra.clock - DateFormat] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
MMM d  HH:mm:ss
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
Recipe: sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences
  * osx_defaults[set dock to be on left] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[set dock to be on left] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 3)
 (up to date)
  * execute[set dock to be on left - com.apple.dock - orientation] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set dock to be on left - com.apple.dock - orientation] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
left
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[Guard resource] ran successfully
 (skipped due to not_if)
  * osx_defaults[set dock autohide to ] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[set dock autohide to ] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 10)
 (up to date)
  * execute[set dock autohide to  - com.apple.dock - autohide] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[set dock autohide to  - com.apple.dock - autohide] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[set dock autohide to  - com.apple.dock - autohide] ran successfully

    - execute defaults write com.apple.dock autohide -boolean true
  * osx_defaults[remove persistent apps from the dock] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[remove persistent apps from the dock] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 17)
 (up to date)
  * execute[remove persistent apps from the dock - com.apple.dock - persistent-apps] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[remove persistent apps from the dock - com.apple.dock - persistent-apps] action run (/Users/merry/workspace/sprout-wrap/cookbooks/osx/providers/defaults.rb line 4)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[Guard resource] action run (dynamically defined)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[remove persistent apps from the dock - com.apple.dock - persistent-apps] ran successfully

    - execute defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array
  * osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 24)
 (skipped due to only_if)
  * osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[adjusts dock size to ] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 31)
 (skipped due to only_if)
  * osx_defaults[toggle dock magnification on/off] action write[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing osx_defaults[toggle dock magnification on/off] action write (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 38)
 (skipped due to not_if)
  * execute[relaunch dock] action run[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Processing execute[relaunch dock] action run (sprout-osx-settings::dock_preferences line 45)
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: execute[relaunch dock] ran successfully

    - execute killall Dock
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Chef Run complete in 1.275448 seconds
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Skipping removal of unused files from the cache

Running handlers:
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Running report handlers
Running handlers complete
[2016-10-11T22:06:21+01:00] INFO: Report handlers complete
Chef Client finished, 7/27 resources updated in 15 seconds
~
Already up-to-date.
Succeeded in installing golang
Succeeded in installing jq
Succeeded in installing mp3blaster
Succeeded in installing pstree
Succeeded in installing tree
Succeeded in installing 1password
Succeeded in installing dropbox
Succeeded in installing evernote
Succeeded in installing flycut
Succeeded in installing google-chrome
Succeeded in installing iterm2
Succeeded in installing selfcontrol
Succeeded in installing shiftit
Succeeded in installing skype
Succeeded in installing tunnelbear
Succeeded in installing vagrant
Succeeded in installing vlc
Succeeded in installing virtualbox

Success: 18 Fail: 0
Last software update was 3 days ago
Since softwareupdate ran recently, not going to do anything
remove /Users/merry/.softwareupdate_indicator to force an update

This post took 12 pomodoros to complete (more time than it takes to setup a laptop from scratch)

]]> My Resolutions for 2017 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2017/ Mon, 02 Jan 2017 13:07:40 +0000 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2017/ My Resolutions for 2017

2016 was the first time I accomplished my goal!

Reflections on 2016

  • Write in a Journal - This one I am marking as a success. Here are the (manually) calculated stats:
Jan 9
Feb 3
Mar 12
Apr 9
May 15
Jun 9
Jul 13
Aug 14
Sep 12
Oct 14
Nov 9
Dec 12

I wrote 143 journal entries over the course of 2016. After counting them all up there are far fewer than I thought, but the frequency is actually more consistent than I thought. I had imagined I had more months that only had a couple entries. I see this as my first step in writing more and hopefully bringing it to this website. Seeing that my journalling actually increased by the end of the year makes me really happy. I’m going to continue this in 2017 for sure.

Goal for 2017:

In the spirit of keeping my goal(s) simple and achievable I’m going to stick to a similar strategy as 2016.

Perform 1 Perfect Pullup

It’s been many years since I’ve been able to do a pullup. My body finally feels recovered from my previous injuries, but it’s certainly weaker than it’s ever been. My health dashboard has already helped me reach a gym going habit, but now I need to direct this routine to a different end. I cannot do the physical things I used to because I’ve gotten so out of shape and my previous focus on running put too much pressure on my weak body.

Summary

As I grow older, the length of a year seems much shorter. I wonder if my previous goals were a result of not acknowledging how much I can possibly do in that time frame.

This post took 1 pomodoro to complete

]]> Dealing With Contempt Culture in the Software World https://scottmuc.com/blog/dealing-with-contempt-culture-in-the-software-world/ Wed, 13 Jul 2016 18:10:27 -0600 https://scottmuc.com/blog/dealing-with-contempt-culture-in-the-software-world/ Dealing With Contempt Culture in the Software World

A few years ago I left ThoughtWorks and was considering leaving IT altogether.

Though I’m listing things related to ThoughtWorks, a lot of my weariness is more from IT in general. It could be an age thing, but I’ve been around long enough to see a lot of terrible things going on in this industry. No one seems to care about security, and the innovation that is making billions in the stock market are consumer products that mean almost nothing to me. It’s hard to be optimistic after Edward Snowden revealed the NSA privacy issues.

Me Leaving a Dream Job and Going on an Adventure

After a long break and working at a couple more companies I am able to pinpoint some specific behaviours of individuals that have an affect on my work ethic and general work happiness.

Contempt Culture (in software)

Recently I read an excellent post about Contempt Culture. What resonated so much with me was that I remember being that way when I first started my career. I was impressionable and looked up to the veterans that I met at conferences that appeared to me as people that knew everything. They’ve seen it all. They would speak with such authority on all the things and I bought it all. I didn’t question, nor probe for reasons.

Nowadays I feel like my attitude is much better (friends, please correct me if I’m wrong), but I still have a lot of room for improvement. But… I’m now one of those so called veterans I looked up to. I can see how much BS they were spouting and how overconfident they were. I don’t believe I’m a bad developer, in fact I think I have a fairly strong skillset, but I definitely don’t know as much as I perceived those veterans to know.

Reading the quote from my previous blog post reveals the contempt that I was feeling. Do I still feel the same? Sort of, but my energy is more focused on delivering value. It feels like a weight off my shoulders.

Part of me feels that bike shedding and the narcissism of small (code) differences are linked in some way. I don’t have any evidence whatsoever, just something to ponder. It’s easier to mock something that differs in a trivial way. Anecdotally, I’ve heard more criticism fired at Python because of the significance of whitespace more than any other parts of the language.

Please watch this discussion titled Why So Mean from the Alt.NET Seattle 2009 open space conversation. It does show many of the different personalities and perspectives.

How it Affects Me (and how I deal with it)

What I’ve learnt is that this attitude can suck the energy out of me. When I meet an individual that exhibits these behaviours I then have contempt for them! This is just as toxic and I’m struggling to deal with it. I rarely engage with these people because of the energy it takes out of me. Here are some thoughts that come to my head when I hear dismissive comments:

  • My friend made that! I saw what was there before and they have improved it so much!
  • If it’s so easy why don’t you do it?
  • You’re wasting energy, can we focus on the problem in front of us?
  • You’re too stupid to understand the complexity of the problem they are trying to solve.
  • If everyone did things the way you think they ought to be done, you think the world would be better?

Not so healthy huh? I don’t like having these thoughts. They drain me and dampen my motivation. What’s worse is that I find myself absorbing a bit of their attitude and will potentially mimic it. I don’t know why but I get the feeling my reaction to this is stronger than others. I wish I could ignore it, but if I could, I clearly wouldn’t be writing this post.

Strategies for Handling Contemptuous Individuals

Aurynn’s post has a lot of good strategies to handle your own personal contempt, but what I need are ways to handle other individuals. If I don’t, I could see myself getting overly frustrated with the industry again.

This response not only summarizes with a good list on how to deal with your own contempt but also brought up an interesting observation about identity. The language, tool, framework becomes an identity of sorts. However, that does bring up the point categorizing the individual is not healthy. Placing someone in a bucket doesn’t move things forward at all.

  • Assume the person is experiencing imposter syndrome and is mimicing others in the field.
  • Ask why they have such a strong reaction. Try and find the root cause of the reaction.
  • Redirect the focus to the outcomes. Yes, language X has problems, but look how it is helping Y.

A recent EconTalk episode titled “What if We’re Wrong” discusses in the first 10 minutes around the utility around strong statements. Understanding the individual may better lead to why they feel the need to voice their disdain so loudly.

Also that contempt culture can take many forms. This year has been full of unhealthy thoughts, but this post is intended to speak specifically about the programming industry.

Clearly I need some assistance with this. Please leave a comment with your strategies. Or, if this doesn’t bother you much, I would love to hear why.

This post took 10 pomodoros to complete

]]> Joining Pivotal Cloud Foundry and Moving to Dublin https://scottmuc.com/blog/joining-pivotal-cloud-foundry-and-moving-to-dublin/ Sun, 21 Feb 2016 13:45:13 -0800 https://scottmuc.com/blog/joining-pivotal-cloud-foundry-and-moving-to-dublin/ Joining Pivotal Cloud Foundry and Moving to Dublin

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a “life update”. The TL;DR is that I have joined Pivotal Cloud Foundry in January and will be moving to Dublin in June.

Reflections on Berlin and SoundCloud

My guess is the most frequent question about this is: what happened? When I posted about my decision to move to Berlin and join SoundCloud it appeared that I had found something I really wanted to do. Looking back at the post you can see subtle hints of doubt, but went with the option that seemed a little more risky. In the end, the risk was worth it as I learned a heck of a lot!

The Awesome Stuff

  • Berlin has been my favourite city I’ve ever lived in. It’s modified future projections of where I would like to live long term. It’s a city for humans with its comprehensive public transportation system, low cost of living, and its openness to new cultures moving to the city.
  • I felt I managed to fulfill many of the goals I had set in mind in my earlier post. My most important take-away is having developed empathy for those who speak English as a second language.
  • More traveling (Ukraine for Easter, Prague, London, Paris, Germany, and Switzerland). There are still so many places to check out.
  • New friends (you know who you are)

Not So Awesome Stuff

  • Working in the media domain is very different than the public media domain. As monetization became a focus and utilizing advertising became a core piece of it, I felt that it wasn’t a strategy I wanted to participate in. Watching Century of Self too many times has probably made me a bit too cynical about advertising.
  • Really missed the ThoughtWorks culture around software development. I missed pair-programming and the role was more consulting than it was software-dev (which is one of the reasons why I left ThoughtWorks). At the same time, I learned how important it is to be aligned with the “how we do work” at an organisation. I can’t say SoundCloud is doing it wrong… there’s just too little data to make that call. All I know is that it left me drained and unmotivated (but has the opposite effect for many of the great engineers there).
  • I injured my hamstrings (and later my back), that definitely affected my life, but unrelated to my decision to move to Berlin and join SoundCloud.
  • My personal possessions didn’t reach Berlin until July which may have made the whole move feel quite transitory since I never quite got the chance to settle down properly. I had grown the thought of leaving SoundCloud only just a few months after my things from Canada had arrived.

What Triggered the Change?

The funny thing is when I explain the work I was a part of in SoundCloud many folks wonder why I would ever leave. The technology was interesting and we had a lot of autonomy. This was true, but when it comes to work, I’m a process over product kind of person. After a few events occurred I felt the urge to explore my options. I reached out to Mathew Kocher and he said that the offer from a year ago still stands! After living in Berlin, I didn’t have much desire to leave the city let alone move to North America. He encouraged me to go to London and go through another round of interviews.

In London I had a fantastic day of pairing interviews then a good evening out with Tammer Saleh. We discussed many things about the industry (he later was a receipient of my link bombs that I often send out after an evening discussion). I was definitely engergized about the experience but still wasn’t decided. A few weeks later, many people came to Berlin for the Cloud Foundry Summit and there was a chance to meet some more people. I expressed that I love Berlin a lot, and that I wasn’t ready to leave Europe. Then the option of Dublin came up. It would allow me to go to SF for 3 months and move to Ireland in the summertime. If I do want to do consulting again, there’s a Pivotal Labs office in Berlin.

The energy I had after the pairing sessions still was on my mind. I learned that the 3rd pillar of the company is to “Be Nice” and the people I interacted with definitely seemed to espouse this value. After a few more days of discussing the contract and some e-mail back and forth, I gave my notice to SoundCloud and accepted the offer from Pivotal.

So What is Happening Now?

Dublin in the night

It’s quite common for companies to have a 2-3 month notice period. So I had 2 months to finish up my work at SoundCloud and then figure out the process for a Canadian living in Germany soon to be employed in Ireland but going to begin work in the USA. I’ll spare the details, but I managed to get my passport the day before going to SF.

After 3 weeks I’m feeling quite good about my decision. I’ve been pairing every single day and really enjoy the people that I’m working with. There’s a strong diversity initiative as well, so hopefully the demographics of the organisation will be just as good as ThoughtWorks. The applications for Cloud Foundry are more large scale and focused on the Enterprise which I’ve learned is an area that I’m much more interested in (as opposed to start up products).

Since I’ve “lived” in SF before I’m not feeling very rushed. I’m spending my days as I normally would with meeting up with friends periodically dotting my calendar. I’m excited about living in Dublin even though I’ve never set foot in Ireland before!

Even my back is feeling a bit better. I managed to do 2 3k runs this weekend. :-)

This post took 6 pomodoros to complete

]]> My Resolutions For 2016 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2016/ Fri, 01 Jan 2016 17:08:42 -0800 https://scottmuc.com/blog/my-resolutions-for-2016/ My Resolutions For 2016

This post almost didn’t happen. 2015 holds a lot of dead-air from me in the blogging world, but I’m so compelled by my routines that I felt that I had to do it! Honouring a self-made routine/tradition is my achilles heel and my biggest strength at the same time.

Reflections on 2015

2015 wasn’t a good year for sticking to my goals, but I still learned a lot on the way:

  • Brew Beer - Didn’t do well here since I didn’t brew a single batch, but there was a lot of taste testing!
  • Nurture a Healthy Habit - The year was off to a great start until I injured my leg. I attempted to get back into running a bit too strong and injured myself again. If there’s something positive I can take from this though is that I still wish to run. It’s been a very frustrating year as a result because I missed running in Berlin during the best time of the year! I ended up gaining weight, which made me not feel so good about myself and other healthy habits collapsed as well. The good news is that the desire is still there and I just need get back slowly.
  • Think More Critically - This one is a strange one because I don’t have anything countable to associate with it. In the end I feel more clueless about everything. As I put a critical focus on anything it opens up complexity that I had never imagined. Now I’m not sure how people are so sure about anything! I need to stop listening to so many economics podcasts ;-).

That being said, I kicked arse on a 2014 resolution which was to learn Docker! Docker is a core piece of technology in what I was working on at SoundCloud.

Looking back, 2015 was a difficult year to make such goals. I’ve found a lot of interesting tactics on James Clear’s article about good habits. How would things been different had I set the goal to 1 run per month? Even with my injury I’m sure I would have been more proactive in testing the waters with a single 3k run each month. Also, why not make the beer brewing goal a single brew for the entire year? I held back on brewing because I was intimidated by the equipment I would have had to purchase and store. If it was one brew, I would have simply brewed with the few people that I’ve met in Berlin that do home brewing. Then again, it’s easy to say that in retrospect.

Goal for 2016:

This year I’m going on a bit of a tangent from previous years. I feel I pushed 2015 too hard. It was more work than I had anticipated. A good challenge but I set my expectations too high. 2016 is likely to be similar with moving to a new city and starting a new job (post on that coming later this month). So I’m only going to make 1 goal. I see it as a realigning goal, a course correction from the journey that started when I left ThoughtWorks back in 2014.

Write in a Journal

I have the urge to write, but the public forum doesn’t feel right. A real physical book where my text doesn’t flow through prying eyes wanting to find patterns, so that they can serve me better ads. I’ve been fairly public with my life and I’m curious about taking that down a notch. My head feels like a swirling mass of ideas that hasn’t quite found its outlet (though those who have been out drinking with me when the topic of economics comes up, would beg to differ).

Think of it as close-sourcing my thoughts. Once public, it’s hard to make things private, but the other way is certainly possible.

Summary

A bit of a change from the usual. Let’s see how things are in a year, shall we?

This post took 2 pomodoros to complete

]]> How to make Masala Chai https://scottmuc.com/blog/how-to-make-masala-chai/ Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:22:50 +0200 https://scottmuc.com/blog/how-to-make-masala-chai/ How to make Masala Chai

This is the simplest masala chai recipe I know how to make. Compared to the street side chai you would get in India my recipe differs in the fact that mine is less sweet and has a strong black tea and masala flavour (especially the ginger). The wonderful thing about masala chai is that it’s easy to adjust to your own taste and it’s fun to experiment with.

So let’s get started!

Ingredients (for 1 mug)

  • 1/2 mug of water
  • 1/2 mug of high fat fresh milk (I use 3.5%)
  • 1/2 thumb (a unit I made up, but is the approximate size of a thumb) of ginger
  • 3-6 cardamom pods (depending on the freshness and size of the product you have)
  • 1 hand of Brook Bond Taj Mahal tea
  • 1 hand of course-unrefined sugar

Other stuff

  • heat source (eg: stove)
  • small pot
  • strainer
  • mug
  • chopping board
  • knife

Instructions

Cut the ginger into a few pieces and then crush/pound it so that the juices are flowing out. Using the flat of the knife blade crush the cardamom pods so the seeds inside come out. Place these and the water into a pot and bring it to a boil.

Just before a boil is reached throw in the tea. If the boil is too intense, turn the heat down. Too much heat applied to the tea will cause it to taste overly bitter. The tea should naturally spread like in the pictures above.

After about 2 minutes, add the milk and set the heat to around medium. Add a hand of sugar now (I’ve forgotten to add sugar a few times so I just try to make it part of the routine at this point). Also remember that you can always add sugar later. Since I tend to have a sweet snack with my chai, I like to have a less sweet chai to let the dessert compliment the chai.

After several minutes the mixture will start to foam and rise up (I like to call this the hot break which comes from beer brewing). This means that the proteins in the milk have become denatured (ie: cooked) and this will give you the lovely brown skin on your chai. Turn down the heat and let the chai continue to brew for a few minutes longer in a soft rolling boil.

Let the tea cool for a minute and transfer it directly to a mug through a strainer.

Enjoy your masala chai and the fact that your garbage can will smell awesome for days!

Adjustments

In order to make more chai, it’s just a matter of multiplying all of the ingredients. The limit is usually the size of the pot. It can be hard to make a large batch when the pot is more than 3/4 full.

Other ingredients you can use to spice things up are:

  • cinnamon
  • fennel
  • pepper corns
  • star anise
  • different chai (though I find Brook Bond Taj Mahal makes for the most consistent results)
  • chilis

What I love of masala chai is that you have an easy method for trying out many different flavours!

This post took 1 pomodoro to complete (or the time to perform this recipe)

]]>