blog.dreameffect.org » personal

Getting old!?

Ludovic — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:59:31 +0000

Last Thursday I left my keys at home. Luckily my flatmate was in when I got back. On Saturday I got my car washed. Only after handing over the keys I realised I left my wallet at home. And of course I had no money on me. I had to walk all the way back home and took the bus to pick up my car. Not exactly how I envisioned spending my Saturday morning. Now I’m waiting for the bus to go to work. For the second time this morning! Once in front of the building I noticed I forgot my badge. Wonderful!

Is this what happens when you get old?

C’est la vie!

Ludovic — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:20:05 +0000

This cynical expression is something we use very often in France. When I think of it it reminds me of one day back a number of years ago. Back then I was looking after children as a summer job. I was spending my days playing with kids on the beach. It was awesome..but I digress. One day I was playing with this 6 year old boy. Paul his name was. By mistake he hit me in the face. He looked at me and very coolly said: “C’est la vie!”. I was a bit surprised to hear that from a 6 year old kid but the memory has stuck with me since then and it always makes me smile.

For various reasons things have been quite challenging recently. Not least of all my troubles sleeping. Without going into details “that’s life” is an expression which has been quite a lot in my vocabulary in the last couple of months. I guess it’s a way to say that we don’t control events in life. You just have to take things as they come. It’s also a way to avoid feeling sorry for myself. Life’s tough. You just to have to deal with it.

So, yeah, c’est la vie! Things always get better…eventually.

I want to sleep!

Ludovic — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:20:17 +0000

For as long as I can remember, expect for a couple of periods, I’ve always had difficulties sleeping. It materialises in different ways but the end result remains the same: I’m exhausted. It used to be manageable but recently I’ve been really struggling. The worst is when I lie down in my bed for hours unable to find sleep. This happened to me last night. In addition to the heat of the last few days I guess I have a few things on my mind too. I only managed to sleep at around 5am (and I’m supposed to get up at 6am!). Most other days I would manage to fall asleep early but I would have agitated nights and I would wake up several times during the night. On weekends I would go to bed later and still wake at 6am or 7am. I’m really tired of being tired! It’s a real pain. But I’m at a loss as to how sort it out.

I just want to sleep! I didn’t think it was a lot to ask.

Buying my First Car

Ludovic — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:31:10 +0000

Photo not factual!

I have been considering buying a car for a few months now. For one reason or another I kept delaying it. Money was of course one of the key reasons. That said I was not looking at very cheap cars. But after much internal debate here I am, the owner of a car, for the first time! Today I bought the road tax and sorted out the insurance (ouch!). All in all it is not cheap to own a car but it gives one such a feeling of freedom. I was so frustrated at relying on public transport to do my grocery shopping that I, in fact, wasn’t doing it. Now I can bring myself to going to the shopping center to get food. I am also looking forward to going outside of London on weekend trips. I haven’t been to Scotland yet. Definitely one destination high on my list.

When is it time to move on?

Ludovic — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:57:15 +0000

It is easy to find yourself in a comfortable situation when you have been in the same place for a while. You are used to how things work and you don’t need to make much effort anymore. Comfort and stability are nice but they can lead to complacency. And in any technology-focussed environment – or any fast-changing environment for that matter – it can then lead you to becoming obsolete. So the question I ask myself is when is it the right time to move on?

I have been working in the same company for over four years now. I have tremendously enjoyed the first three years. The last one has been more challenging. Having considered my options I am faced with two choices:

Stay and possibly take on a different role.
Or move on and take on a new challenge altogether.

When I have to make important decisions I always try weighing the pros and cons of each option against the other ones. In this particular instance there are a few reasons why I should stay, not least of all being that I have had the chance to progress so much during my time there. This, however, is balance out by the fact that I don’t feel I am learning so much anymore. And if I don’t get intellectually challenged I lose motivation. Lack of motivation can too lead you to complacency. Plus, as one of my friends says, a change is a good as a break. And I could use a break right about now.

So, when is it time to move on? Well, if you are lucky enough to have options – which is a luxury in these difficult times – and you have become a bit too comfortable it is probably time to look for a new challenge. That is the line of reasoning I have followed up to now in my career and it has so far always worked out. So with that in mind I know what I have to do.

Another Year

Ludovic — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:55:12 +0000

Here we are again. One more year has come and gone. With 2010 only a couple of weeks away I could, like last year and the year before, make a list of the most notable events of 2009. This time, however, I will not. You know how people say that it is when things are hard that you learn the most. Well, suffice to say that a fair amount of learning was accomplished this year.

Next year, there are a few things I would like to concentrate on. First, I would like to be more present for my family. I have been shying away from my responsibilities (as a son, as a brother and as an uncle) for a while but this is not very fair to them. Second, I would like to find extra-curricular activities I can invest myself in. Maybe something which could also be useful to others. I also want to lead a healthier life – a recurring theme – : sleep more, eat better and exercise regularly.

Let’s see how long my new year’s resolutions last for. But for now Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just like old times

Ludovic — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:08:20 +0000

When I started writing a blog I felt a little uneasy about it. Exposing my private life for everyone to see was not something very natural. Then I realised that although accessible to anyone there were – and still are - actually very few people, if any, reading my blog. That made things easier. These days, I write mostly for myself. Just now, I was going through some very old posts of mine. This is what I like about blogging. It allows one to capture one’s thoughts and feelings at certain points in time. And to be able to go back and read them. It’s a bit like being able to travel in time.

Back then I seemed to be most prolific in the early hours of the morning. Looking at the time now (1:56 am) it doesn’t look like this has changed much.

Which CI should you choose?

Ludovic — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:56:24 +0000

Continuous Integration systems are nowadays a requisite for any half-decent software development outfit. There are many CI solutions available, some open source and some commercial. Over the years I have come across and used different ones: CruiseControl, Hudson and Bamboo. CruiseControl is highly versatile and works well but it is a pain to set up and maintain, especially in large teams where projects get added and modified regularly. Hudson works pretty and has an active follower base contributing many plugins. But I have to say Bamboo is my favourite thus far. It works a treat, scales well with remote build agents and the web interface is user friendly. Plus this is the one I use at work so I am very familiar with it. The only down side is the cost.

I have been setting up my own dev tool set at home so I can work on my own projects. What I need now is a CI tool. I was looking for comparisons between the various options and I came across this page on the ThoughtWorks wiki:

http://confluence.public.thoughtworks.org/display/CC/CI+Feature+Matrix

It is a very comprehensive comparison matrix and it seems to be updated frequently.

I’m still not sure which one I will go for…answer in the next post.

Flatmates Found!

Ludovic — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:25:00 +0000

Following my ad on gumtree to find a flatmate a couple from New Zeland came to visit the flat and liked it. They seemed quite nice and friendly. So that’s it. They are my new flatmates and are moving in on Saturday. That’s London for you. I love that aspect of the city. Things happen very quickly.

Flatmate Wanted!

Ludovic — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:18:38 +0000

Now that I have settled in my new flat I’m looking for someone to move in to the spare room. Here are a few picts.