Things I did today

I know a lot of SQL. I also don't know a lot of SQL. It just depends on what part you're looking to focus on. I always admired the Microsoft MVPs at the PASS Summit - not only do they know the querying and reporting side, but the engine internals and how to troubleshoot and fix performance issues. This isn't quite the correct skill to pick up for Ultralearning because I already know most of the material for the first exams and a fair amount on the second, but I don't want to stall on my goal of being certified since that window is closing soon. I suppose I can focus on the fact that I don't know how to take the certification exams because they seems to specific and unwieldy and the training kit book per exam is around 600 pages. However, the book I bought has a few practice tests as well as lessons and code to practice on, and I can buy a few test dumps to further give chances to know what the real test will be like. A real ultralearning goal would be to take on

There are way too many things that I want to do, and I always feel like I never have enough time. As Matt D'Avella and James Clear has done, I need to figure out how to do habit stacking. Listen to educational resources while exercising, for example. The skills I want to either step up or learn entirely: T-SQL, along with the ability to understand and fix issues with Microsoft SQL Server Weight lifting (or bodyweight exercises, and continue physical therapy exercises) Piano playing (While I played a lot between 2004 and 2008, I really want to focus on better bass/left handed playing, and faster melodies on my right hand, and work on playing with different volume and tempos) Music Composition (I did a lot of music composition mostly just by experimentation in the late 90s and early 2000s, but most of my music skills post stroke have gone to pretty much 0.) Cooking Skills I think I have a good handle on but want to be sure I have time to keep them active: Running Med

I'm reading the book Ultralearning by Scott Young. I've felt rather undisciplined and wayward about my hobbies and some of the things I need to be learning for my job. I read some of Tim Ferris's stuff that often talks about things like 'metalearning', distilling what you need to know down to just a few things. I've always struggled with that concept - how can I know what 20% I need to know to get 80% of the gains when I know nearly 0% of the material? I still don't really know the answer to that question except for going out to interviewing people in the field and understanding what helped them get outsized returns, or things that they know people normally spend time on, but don't need to in the grand scheme of things. It seems that consistent effort and application of skills gets you somewhere faster than continuing to learn more. Not only does the book slant that way so far, but the four "challenges" I've done since December greatly in

I've spent at least an hour a day over the past four days skimming through or reading many of the articles I had put in the folder in my email that I'd hoped the application Pocket was going to solve, but instead made much worse. On the first day, I worked through the oldest articles in the folder, deleting the ones that were of no interest any more, and reading the ones that were, and finally writing about them. I did the same the next day, and yesterday, I started deleting the article links that were of no interest to me now. Today, I read through a few articles that were from one person, realizing that what he wrote were little snippet of ideas, not something that I could easily expound on and create interesting articles. I deleted all similar articles from him. Slightly similarly, I deleted all the emails from a YouTuber that I regularly watch, because the emails are just pointing me to the video they had just created... and I had just watched. I wasn't getting anythi

I'm a big fan of James Hoffmann and the content he creates on YouTube. I could watch his stuff forever. Calm, but funny, inquisitive but not unfocused, and English, which I really enjoy. His video about adding salt to coffee popped up on my YouTube recommended section, and I wondered what salt could do for coffee, so I watched it and love it! I've yet to add salt to my coffee, preferring oatmilk instead, but it still was an interesting idea. I've heard a lot about dalgona coffee over the last few months, and as a person that likes weird food and drinks, I was interested in trying it out sometime. It looked like a way to have a coffee milkshake. James decided to try it out , and to experiment with better ingredients and do a bit of helpful troubleshooting when things go awry. It was also hilarious to see his reaction at his first attempt, which made me want to watch more of his videos!

I admire people who are overwhelmingly positive. I'm also slightly annoyed at them because life doesn't always work out as planned and stuff goes wrong... right? I wouldn't say that I'm negative. I'm optimistic toward things like my plans, and people who have a track record of getting the results they want, or finding a way to persevere through adversity. But I often complain about people who don't put their best effort forth, and despite my own growth of having more patience than I used to, I'm finding that my complaining hasn't helped anyone, especially me. I often enjoy complaining in a comedic fashion in an ability to share a funny story, but I wonder if I can still share funny stories that are not mostly me complaining about how certain people are not doing their best or getting the task done that they've been hired to do. The news these days is entirely too click-baity and lacks substance regardless of political bent. Some of the subreddi

I want to discuss a neat webpage, but it includes a lot of swearing. Even the URL has a swearword in it. If you're offended by such language, pass this article by. I have used this webpage for a long time because I enjoy the positivity and the random books, quotes and videos they link to. While I often put the books they link to on my Amazon wish list or marvel at their photo of the day, I don't get a lot of lasting information. It's like a light serving of ideas meant to tickle your fancy and get you to question and wonder what you could accomplish or learn. I recently read an article from Mark Manson based on the website , and it turns out, I'm not doing too poorly. I just need to work on being kinder to myself. It's been a long struggle about that. I'm not as hard on myself as I used to be, but I'm still not great - I get upset when I try and don't do well. I enjoy clicking on Random Post as the site has been posting links every day for years, a