lennys March 25, 2024

Python Crash Course, and taxes...

I finished up the "Automate" book, and am now working my way through "Python Crash Course" again. I read through this book and worked on the code a couple of years ago, but I've found that I need a refresher on working with Python. So the practice helps. I'll probably be working my way through this book for another week, then I'll have to move on to something else. I have an active datacamp.com subscription, and they have plenty of Python lessons for me to work through so I might go that route and not get another book for a while. But we will see how it goes. I'm doing this so that when I eventually install Ansible on my Cisco gear, I'll have a better idea of how it all works. But that's a ways down the road. In other news, well there isn't much news. I've just been going through the regular work-week routine. I'll be going to the gym again today after work, but other than that I don't have anything planned for the next few days except for an appointment with H&R Block to get my taxes done. I'd rather do it myself, but since I sold some investments this year and I'm not savvy with how that affects my tax burden, I'm deferring to the experts and will begrudgingly accept their exorbitant prices. They'll take their cut out of my tax return, so I'm not out-of-pocket on this, but I'd still rather keep my money. Paying taxes is like paying for insurance, you don't want to do it but it's necessary if you want to live in this society without any issues. I'm still looking for business ideas. Last month I read a book about starting up a business, and while it had some good tips in there I'm still stuck when it comes to what I'll actually sell. It'd be easier if I just wanted to open a bait shop or some other kind of brick-and-mortar store, but I've learned that I'm more of a "passive income" kind of person. I'm not good with marketing in general, so the idea of hustling to get my name out there is daunting. If I ever get something off the ground I'll have to pay someone else to do the marketing and bookkeeping. I have a bad habit of wanting to do EVERYTHING myself, because I generally don't trust other people. I'll have to find a way to get over that if I want this to go anywhere someday.

lennys March 16, 2024

It continues...

So I'm still working through the "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" book. I'm on my third read-through, going over the code hoping it will stick in my memory. I expect I'll be done with the book sometime this week, then I'll be moving on to "Python Crash Course" and doing basically the same thing: go over the code and read through the book multiple times. That'll probably take another full week if not more. After that, I'll have to buy a new book somewhere. I've got one book picked out and waiting in my Amazon shopping cart, written by the same author who wrote "Automate...". Hopefully it'll be a good one, as I'm still unsure of myself when it comes to Python. Learning to code is slow going for me sadly. I haven't pushed any code to GitHub since early February. Not that I've been avoiding it, rather I've been busy with my Python books and didn't see the point in pushing code I got from the book that's only a few lines long. Almost none of my repos are public so nobody can see them anyway (I hope), but I didn't think it was worth the effort to be honest. And from what I've read online, it's possible to write a script that would automatically create a repo and push some code daily, without any interaction from the programmer. A way to game the system to make your profile look as though you write and push code daily, when actually you're not touching it at all. I don't have any interest in developing such a script, I've just read about others who have done it. It feels like cheating to me. Sometime soon I want to spend some time going over my CCNA stuff again. I've noticed that I've forgotten a lot of what I learned about CCNA last year, and I don't want all that work to be for nothing so I need a refresher. If I stay at this job for another year I'll be looking into studying for the CCNP exam to get another raise, so my CCNA knowledge will definitely be needed. Besides, I still have 3 Cisco routers and 4 Cisco switches running in my cabinet at work, so I should put them to use somehow. I also need to spend some time working with my Mikrotik router. I want to learn more about running BGP on that thing, and since there aren't a lot of books on the subject I'll have to spend some time fiddling with it to figure things out. So many things to do, and never enough time for them all. Sigh.

lennys March 09, 2024

Automate the boring stuff...and other things.

So I'm working my way through a new coding book last week. It's named "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python", and so far I've found it to be pretty understandable. I'm on my second trip through the book now, highlighting the important parts. It's written for total beginners, which I'm not, but it explains things well enough that I don't mind. It has chapters about working with Excel and Google Forms which were interesting to work through, even though I don't have any use-case for that at this time. I'm going to work my way through the book a third time and re-practice all the code, then I think I'm going to do the same process with my other Python book, "Python Crash Course". After that I'll move on to another Python book. I enjoy writing the code, but I'm still a bit unsure of myself with creating code from scratch. I've found over the years that if I don't have a book in front of me for guidance when I try to create new code, I'm hit with a bad case of writer's block. The only way I know to fix that is through practice. In the long-term I'm planning on using Ansible on my networking gear. Ansible is written in Python, so I thought it best to work on my Python skills before I tackle that task. The work I did earlier with Django helped me understand some of the code written in the book, especially the testing code I wrote. The progress is still slow it seems, but I am making progress. The truck is running well. It needs a bath again, and I need to clean the interior, but other than that it's good. I actually used it for its intended purpose yesterday, transporting some networking equipment from one facility to another. I still haven't tried out Android Auto, I need to get on that. I also got a new pair of glasses recently, and ordered new lenses for another pair I have. I've been getting by with glasses that are good for everything within arms reach, but nothing further than about 10 feet away, so having new glasses I can actually see in detail with has been a bit of an adjustment. Mainly I need them for driving. I'm old enough now that I have to carry around both pairs with me, one for long distances and the other for up close, because I refuse to go with bifocals (I tried those several years ago and they gave me bad headaches). Some of the people I work with have gotten laser eye surgery lately, but I don't think I can go that route. It's around $6000 and I've spent enough money from my emergency fund this year already. Tax time is coming up soon. I haven't decided if I'm going to do my own taxes again like I did last year. The paperwork I got from Vanguard about the investments I have is confusing, and I also don't have a good idea of what deductions I can take for "business expenses" this year. It makes me wish I had an accountant in the family I could consult with that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. I expect I'll get some money back from my taxes, probably around $1000 if it's similar to past years. This "business" I started up a couple of years ago still doesn't have any customers and hasn't made a dime. I've been doing some reading about starting a business, but I can't seem to get past the idea stage. Up until now I've always thought that I'd do something IT-related so I could create something useful with the skills I've developed over the years, but lately I've been asking myself if it's even worth all the trouble. I mean, I could just settle for a regular 40-hour-a-week kind of work life and not have to hustle, but then I'd still be vulnerable to possible layoffs. My main motivation behind creating a business has always been to just provide a decent living for myself and have some security, but the amount of "marketing work" involved in starting a decent business is daunting. I'm not a marketing guy, so I'd have to either hire someone to do it for me or develop the skills to do it myself, and I already have a lot on my plate. So the whole idea is causing me some stress. I have to "figure out" what to do at every single step along the way, and that gets exhausting after a while. Well that's enough for now. I'm going to try an be more regular about posting to this blog, so hopefully I'll stick to that and it won't be weeks before my next post again.

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