This week’s feel good attempt for my dog involves coconut oil. Because kidney disease causes extreme dry skin, I dab his stomach and private area with coconut oil-soaked- cotton balls and it works like a charm. He recently started developing gum issues - so I tried giving him some edible ones to drink and he licked it off my palms. He has been doing this every night this week, abt 3 teaspoons, and his gums are much better. He had some throat irritation and that’s gone. Every night I hear his stomach churning and that’s stopped too in recent days. This boy is feeling much much better, still weak from lack of red blood cells which is also a side effect of kidney problems to which he takes folic acid, but as of now he is a happy boy, out sunning his balls and just chilling! Keep those kidneys well. One too many problems when they get messed up!

Took a break today to decompress as it’s been 14 hours a day work none stop for the last 2 mths. But here I am, up by 5am, went for a walk with the dog at 6, hit the market by 7, gave the dog a bath. And by 8am, I need a new list of non-work things to do lol. It’s going to be between painting, carpentry, soldering and sewing today, my brain refuses books or screens. That and I should probably stop making a list!

Chess is a game that needs you to think with both structure and creativity. Leveraging long-term strategy and short-term tactics. And relentlessly guarding what’s most vulnerable and precious to you, while attacking just as hard. To win you have to work as a team. Each strength is understood and maximised in ways that benefits the overall team - sometimes some shine more while others are baits or distractions. Some are shield, and others go for the kill - but all play a role for the end game. Positioning matters - some bring out their best when they have more freedom of movement and options, while others do poorly if limited. If you want to gain influence, you need to put yourself in a place of opportunity. You must be adaptable and flexible - think long-term while making short-term moves - zooming out to see the big picture and zooming in to constantly survive. If you are smart and smooth, you will not show how you are coming for them . Sometimes subtlety and unpredictability keeps them guessing, making it harder to anticipate your strategy. Also the Queen is one powerful warrior who it out there protecting the King - just saying.

“Supplying open-source tools to the market will require new business models. But by delivering unique benefits to the market, those companies that develop the business models will be very successful competing with companies that attempt to retain control over their customers.” - Bob Young, Chairman and CEO, Red Hat, Inc. Red Hat software is fully based on open-source model, anyone can access, modify, or redistribute it via open-source licenses (GPL). But they have flagship products like Red Hat Enterprise Linux (enterprise OS) which is only available through paid subscriptions. They also offer training, consultation, cloud services, and middleware solutions enabling them to monetize. Intel was one of the early-stage seed investors in Red Hat In 1998 . 20 years later, they were acquired for $34B by IBM and operates as an independent subsidiary. IBM was ones the largest business in the world 20 years ago. Today it only has a single digit market share and Red Hat has been it’s saving grace to better bridge enterprise and cloud solutions. Bob Young’s quote above was from his foreword taken the book ‘Cathedral and Bazaar’ by Eric Raymond - this book is on the open-source software ethos based on Linux. Bob went on to say that two things are needed for open-source software to change the world: 1 - It has to be widely used 2 - the benefits to the users needs to be communicated well and understood. The book itself is a good read - slightly harder if you are not from a software background - some parts made me wonder what would happen if devs wrote soap opera scripts - but in general, its a great reflection of what happens when people come together with the intention to build, and build up and build forward and build together.

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door

Random thought - oftentimes breakthrough innovations come from mavericks, skunkworks projects, open innovations, or prize competitions. I'm not sure if the Git exploration on Nostr has gained traction, but if it hasn't, it could be due to lack of visibility among a broader pool of developers and not a lack of incentive. And maybe spreading the word about the innovation and prize money - outside of Nostr - could attract wider participation. This could also be a good chance to increase early adopters (tech folks) on Nostr

My dog is always the happiest fella in the mornings and I love that as I love a happy morning. I’m one of those annoying people who just wake up happy and my dog matches my energy. He wakes up on dot and gets his sunlight circadian rhythms checked-in like clockwork. This has been the last 12 years. Of late tho it’s been hard waking him. But today, after many weeks, he was up and energized. For a bit. He also plops throughout the day, taking a nap wherever he is. He played fetch twice before he plopped again and he hasn’t played fetch in a long time. These days he needs to go for his walks twice (toxin release through waste) and today’s night walk was graced by a beautiful full moon. He hasn’t been himself in a while but in retrospect today was a wonderful day. It’s little moments like this that are so precious. On a separate note, his mouth is stinking lol. I normally brush it with water and he chews on carrots but with kidney disease, it affects the gut which affects the gums. I’m contemplating doing a DIY paste with a tiny bit of baking soda and coconut oil. Anyone with pets do DIY tooth paste here ? Love to know your recipe

Wildflowers are beautiful even in the toughest conditions, when they're free to bloom wherever they choose Poppies growing in the wheat fields of Northamptonshire by @Jim Howard-Birt 🐦📸: Photos

Maybe the messiness is just part of what makes these efforts real

It’s been a few weeks of working day and night to finish something and I sent an early working piece to a few people within the trusted circle this week. In my mind I was expecting the worst and told myself any response is great, as it will help me polish up and roll out better. But little did I expect the feedback to turn out to be “ So far I am loving it, it totally resonates” and another on offering a consulting gig and a full time job in D.C. That’s a lot to think about but it was a pleasant surprise. I think when you are so used to bad news over and over, nice things like this shocks the living hell out of me. I might probably get the rest of the feedback on a negative scale who knows lol, but it’s been a nice day and I am gonna enjoy it. On a different note - this boy has been so sick the past month. He has chronic kidney disease and his toxin level got too high. I’ve added extra kidney probiotics (kidney meds are not cheap!) and increased his fish oil dosage. He’s also taking spirulina, chia seeds, folic acid, and daily massages to help with muscle cramps. I think I can pursue a career as a dog masseuse now! But on a brighter side, I noticed he wasn't a fan of red rice (maybe too high in phosphorus) so I switched back to low-starch white rice, and he's finally feeling much better. His diet includes chicken, liver, pork, sardines fish (fresh not canned), and raw carrots for snacks. At some point I have to mentally prepare myself to administer his subcut IV. The vet will teach on how to do it so that I can do it at home daily. He hasn’t reached that stage but eventually he will. The last time one of my previous dogs had a blood transfusion, I actually passed out at the vet! so this is definitely going to be an interesting experience. But you do what you gotta do for love ❤️ I hope everyone is doing ok. To devs, don’t be too mad at users! We love and appreciate you guys ❤️

My naivety is in believing in the law. These are rules made by the ruling class and if the rules doesn't suit them, it is changed accordingly - Julian Assange https://www.youtube.com/live/Mq85IZMeigc

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. —E.E. Cummings

Occasionally, disruptive technologies emerge : innovations that result in worse product performance, at least in the near-term. Ironically, in each of the instances studied in this book, it was disruptive technology that precipitated the leading firms’ failure. From ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail’ by Clayton M. Christensen

I was going through my dad's library over the weekend and found a collection of Grolier Encyclopedias - business edition (along with a full Britannica set we’ve managed to preserve). I’ve never read this collection prior, and rather amazed that even after 30 years of it being written, so much info remains relevant in business practices, team building, and self growth. One volume I liked was called ‘Managing Yourself’ - I’ll share some bits from it : Engage someone based on what motivates them , not based on what motivates you 3 common factors that motivates people : - to achieve something - to feel a sense of belonging - to influence An example shared - A man wanted to go skiing to gain a sense of achievement. He convinced his wife, who valued belonging, by framing it as family time. His children, motivated by influence, were persuaded by letting them shape the trip. Everyone was happy, it was a win for all. Drivers are what drives you to your goal. It can be based on your need for speed, perfection, approval, effort and strength. People have factors that motivates (internal) and drives them (external). Understanding this leads to a more effective engagement. Engaging people based on what works for them reminded me of this book - The 5 Love Languages' by Gary Chapman. The lesson was simple but beautiful - love someone the way they want to be loved, not the way you think they should be loved (and vice versa) Some other things I liked from this Grolier volume on Managing Yourself : - Don’t tell people to change. You can’t make them. Just ask them to do things differently and be open to their efforts. - Sharing how you feel is hard for many but it prevents emotional build-up and stops you from bursting out. - How you behave is a direct reflection of how you feel. - Passivity can lead to self-pity, low self-esteem, and being taken advantage of, letting yourself become a “doormat” . Passive people may seem “nicer” but can be just as irritating in the long run. - 50% of any situation is within your control. Focus on what you can manage—by yourself, for yourself.

Maxwell's equations have had a greater impact on human history than any ten presidents. - Carl Sagan

love her, but leave her wild  - Atticus

I’ve been bootstrapping a project while juggling countless challenges - ngl I long for peace of mind and often wonder wtf am i doing. But over the weekend, I visited my friend's parents. My friend is heavily pregnant and abroad, her mom recently had a tumor removed, and her dad is recovering from knee replacement surgery. One of my project’s use cases is to help the elderly. On top of that, I haven't had much sleep this week as my 12-year-old dog with CKD stage 3 had stomach issues—another use case is for pet owners like me. And while the journey has been a struggle, it's these little reminders in life that reminds us of why we do what we do in wanting to make the world a better place. So if you are at a crossroad wondering wtf you are doing, or trying to figure out the value you bring to this world, look into how people who need it will benefit from it - and it will be these little things that keeps one going.

Agreed

this is true, I am a curious chaos