Preface#
This article is a record and reflection on the past few weeks of life from November 8th to November 12th, 2023.
This week returned to the normal rhythm. In terms of work, the main tasks were discussing and designing solutions, with not much coding involved. I also worked on an AI-related project, writing some backend API code for smart contracts and invocation chains. Although I wrote a lot of contracts, there weren't many opportunities to work on a complete non-demo project that covers the entire process. In terms of exercise, I attended two private training sessions and felt good. In terms of life, I cooked a few meals. My sister created an online document to record recipes and menus, and I feel like my cooking skills are improving. I also organized some video materials I had taken before and plan to edit them into a version, which can be considered as a video version of the review. I rearranged my office environment in Beijing and it became much more comfortable. I went shopping and bought some clothes for the changing season. There were also many interesting things.
Burnt Keyboard#
The most interesting (?) thing this week was when I was working overtime one night, I suddenly smelled something burning. I shouted to my sister, "It seems like something is burning." Then I continued writing. After a while, I smelled a strong burnt smell very close to me. I shouted again, "Maybe it's my computer or keyboard burning." Then I continued writing. After a while, the keyboard stopped working. I picked it up and smelled it. It had a strong burnt smell. It turned out that the keyboard was really burnt.
At that time, I didn't think much of it. Later, I realized that my reaction was quite funny. Maybe I was debugging a bug and was in a focused state, so my reactions to the surroundings seemed like a programmed output. I guess I'm the kind of person who, when an earthquake happens, thinks of "git commit" + "git push" as the first response.
I have been using this keyboard for almost a year. It is the Hanwen 75 designed by Zhihui Jun in "[Self-made] I made a modular mechanical keyboard! [Soft Core]". The appearance and feel are quite good. I contacted customer service and they said it was probably the ribbon cable that burned out. I need to contact after-sales service for repair. They said this was the first case they encountered.
I guess my coding skills have become so powerful that I even burned my keyboard.
My sister: "Do you want me to buy you insurance? Being a programmer is a high-risk profession." 🤣
Pompeii Mythology#
My sister's company has some benefits for art exhibitions, which can be enjoyed with family members. We thought that we couldn't stay at home every weekend, so we selected and went to the National Classic Library on Saturday to attend an exhibition called "Pompeii Mythology - Ancient Greek and Roman Treasures from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples". It includes several parts: "Return to the Golden Age," "Love Myths in Ancient Greece and Rome," "Enjoying Life: The Roman Passion for a Good Life," "The Concept of Beauty in Ancient Art," and "Myth Reenactment."
Because it included guided explanations, we listened to the fantastic ancient Greek mythology along the way and saw the ordinary but not simple daily life of people in that era. It had a magical sense of harmony. I think compared to the ancient tombs that only the royal family in China can have, these cities that suddenly disappeared seem to better show the true face of a city and have a greater sense of reality.
In our imagination, it seems that 2000 years ago was a distant era, but in terms of the state presented by the city of Pompeii, their pursuit of life far exceeded ours today. The food, paintings on tableware, various paintings and sculptures about gods, and interestingly, Pompeii had more than 20 brothels and many wall paintings depicting sexual activities. Their openness to sex and desire was even higher than that of the present.
The volcanic eruption froze time at that moment, without experiencing aging and slow death. Perhaps this also perfectly matched their attitude towards life. Their daily lives also reflected the pursuit of "seizing the day" and the ultimate pursuit of beauty. Their longing for and praise of love were also reflected in their artworks. Besides religion, I think they also believed in a good life and love.
Magical Dream#
Something magical happened on Sunday night.
Because I wanted to finish writing the weekly report at night, but after a whole day of exercising and shopping, I was very tired and sleepy. I thought about putting my laptop on the bedside and waking up at around 3 o'clock to write (but I didn't wake up in the end). I had a dream in the middle of the night. I dreamt that for some reason, my MacBook accidentally broke into two pieces. In the last moment of the dream, I should have regretted not buying Apple Care. I woke up suddenly and grabbed the laptop that was about to slip from the pillow to the ground.
It seemed like my computer and I were connected telepathically. It sensed the danger and sent me a dream to save it. It was a very magical dream. Coupled with the release of OpenAI's GPTs and a series of new features this week, as well as watching the anime "PLUTO" about the relationship between humans and robots, I couldn't tell whether I was looking forward to or afraid of the future.
Health Adjustments#
Fitness#
About a month ago, I started going to the gym for personal training twice a week. In fact, I haven't been very concerned about my body for many years, thanks to my decent physique and rarely experiencing minor illnesses or pains. During high school and college, I would do some basic exercises in the dormitory, such as sit-ups and push-ups, and I could maintain good physical fitness and body shape. However, as I grew older and my daily routine became less controllable due to work and other factors, I gradually started to think about increasing the frequency and intensity of exercise.
After considering various factors, I signed up for personal training at the gym. Usually, there are two sessions per week, from 7-8 am on Wednesday/Thursday and from 2-3 pm on Sunday. This can cover various parts of the body that I want to exercise. I have already attended 7 sessions. This is the body condition measured before the first session. I will measure it again after one or two more sessions to see if there is any progress.
Fitness is actually quite an interesting activity. The first two times were novel, and I would try to exceed my limits in each exercise. After attending a few sessions, I sometimes feel tired and not in a good state. I often glance at the clock on the wall during some challenging movements, thinking that it's taking too long. But now that I can clearly see some results, I have become slightly accustomed to and even look forward to the feeling after exercising.
Diet#
As my fitness and daily routine became more stable, I started cooking more for myself. Although it takes more time each day, I find it an interesting experience, and life seems to have become more tangible.
Interesting Things and Events#
Shopping and Couple Outfits#
Beijing has already entered winter. The temperature dropped suddenly these days, but I haven't prepared thick clothes yet. After exercising on the weekend, I thought it was time for a seasonal change and I should buy some new clothes.
So I went to the shopping mall near my home and spent a few hours shopping with my sister. It suddenly occurred to me after buying that this seemed to be our first real shopping trip to buy clothes. It was quite magical. It seemed like we had been together for a long time, but we still discovered many new and fresh things. It didn't matter whether our relationship was close or not. It was probably more about the way we interacted. Neither of us deliberately tried to check off any "must-do" items. Everything happened naturally.
Then we went to support Cali's Zowan Mall and bought a set of "404 Not Found" couple outfits. Looking forward to receiving them and seeing how they look.
Inputs#
Although most interesting inputs are automatically synchronized in the "Yu's Life" Telegram channel, I will list some here, as it feels more like a newsletter.
Books#
- Building a Second Brain, currently reading.
- Elon Mask, currently reading.
Articles#
Videos#
- Earn Big! Learn to Shoot Great Videos with Drones Even with Zero Experience [Aerial Photography Tutorial]
- My First Time Having a Heart-to-Heart Talk with a Murderer
- Study Vlog #37 | Daily Study Routine of a Female Programmer After Work | This Episode is Overflowing with Cats | Reading "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" | TEDxTalks Group Reading: "The Secret to Self-Control"/"The Problem of Personality"/"Is Technology Our Savior or Executioner?"
Anime#
- Pluto, an interesting theme about the symbiotic relationship between robots and humans. I watched the first episode and it was pretty good.
TV Shows#
- Prison Playbook, directed by the same director as "Reply 1988". I watch it during meals for relaxation. It has a different style, but it's also interesting.