A journal of learning in life and software.
Recently, I've been seeing many reports of experienced developers fully embracing the productivity boost offered by AI-assisted development. It looks especially useful for low-stakes personal projects where the code doesn't need to be production-ready but only get the job done. I've never believed in the utility of "vibe coding" until now. Vibe coding , for those developers who have been avoiding…
I recently setup Borg to perform backups of local files to a remote server 1 . As part of that, I was also checking out the backup restoration process. You don't want to be in a situation where you've put in place an elaborate backup strategy but haven't tested out how to restore files in case things go sideways. First, we need to list the archives for the remote repository. You can think of an…
I've been working remotely for the past couple of years now and here are some of my thoughts. The best parts of remote work for me right now are, Being able to take a power nap late afternoon in case I'm not able to focus and need a quick boost of energy. Allows me to output better quality of work afterwards. Getting a chore done in the middle of the day. I can get back to my laptop later to…
It's been a while since my last post or update on the Log page. There's a couple of half-finished thoughts in my Obsidian vault which I'd like to flesh out more and publish eventually but as of now, they remain incomplete. During the months where I'd been rigorously searching for a new job, writing new posts for the blog came naturally as a by-product of consolidating my notes for projects I was…
Recently, I crafted my own GNU/Linux system from the ground up, entirely from source, by following the very informative Linux From Scratch project. I implemented the 12.1-systemd version of LFS documenting my progress along the way. Most of the steps presented are concise and straightforward but I did face occasional challenges where the guide assumes the reader to know certain details or to make…
There's a particular morning I remember vividly from many, many years ago where my Dad, my sister and I were sitting around the table for breakfast. Mum had prepared some steaming hot idlis 1 along with sambar and all of us were preparing to dig in. Then my Dad casually remarked to me, Did you know that each idli you eat has your name written on it? Of course as a kid, I started giggling and…
What is an efficient way to shuffle a list in an unbiased manner? Or in other words, how would you implement the functionality of the shuffle method from the random module in Python's standard library? To aid us, we are allowed to use a random number generator like randrange to obtain a random number within a provided range. ✶ Let's define a few key terms first. Permutation : Any possible ordering…
After a little over 2 months of slow but consistent progress, I finally attempted the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) exam today. Here are some notes and tips on the whole ordeal. Preparation I prepared using the video lessons and labs from the excellent and well-recommended Kodekloud CKA course . All the topics were explained in-depth and there were links to other supplementary resources…
I recently completed Kubernetes the Hard Way created by Kelsey Hightower which is a series of steps to set up your own Kubernetes cluster without using any automated tools. If you are looking for the automated approach to a production-ready deployment, kubeadm is the tool for the job. Going through this guide gives you an insight into the many moving parts of Kubernetes and how they all work…
I've been wanting to put up some photos I've taken over the years, on the internet, for both myself and close contacts where I could hand them a link to check out. These are pictures I enjoy due to their composition, the colours or even just the memory around capturing it. Now I know what you must be thinking - upload it on Instagram! But I didn't want to do this for a few reasons. I wanted these…