First, I created the music-collection repository, which catalogs my CDs and vinyl records. When I merge PRs that include changes to my collection, that repository syncs the updated contents to my website repository. Then, my website updates with the new changes.

Why I chose to catalog my collection of CDs and vinyl records​

When you buy physical copies of music, keeping track of what albums you own can be difficult to remember. In particular, if a CD or vinyl record has multiple releases, like for specific countries, high-resolution formats, or re-releases, you might need to.

I chose to catalog my music collection so that I could:

• Catalog my music collection: This project is a digital keepsake for my growing collection of CDs and vinyl records, and is available whenever I need to refer to my collection.
• Share what albums I own: With my collections publicly available, I can share not only my collection but also my tastes in music with others.
• Document the unordinary: Cataloging album information is significantly different from writing guides or tutorials. Because of this, showcasing this type of information requires a different type of creativity.

What kinds of details I chose to include about each album​

In my Music collection project, you'll find an evolving catalog of CDs and vinyl records, each of which includes the following details:

The following screenshot shows the details that I include with each album entry:

How I update my music collection​

This project requires a few steps, some of which are automated. The process is as follows:

1. In the music-collection repository, I:
   1. Create a branch.
   2. Add, update, or remove albums or album information.
   3. Create a PR that targets the main branch.
   4. Confirm the changes in the PR.
   5. Merge the PR.
2. The syncing workflow automatically syncs the updates as a branch to my website repository.
3. The auto-PR workflow for my music collection automatically creates a PR.
4. If the checks in that PR run successfully, I merge the PR.
5. GitHub Pages builds and deploys my site by using a workflow for Docusaurus.

In addition, the Markdown files in music-collection also sync to my personal notes in Obsidian. By having the same Markdown files available in Obsidian as well, I can browse my music collection in my private, note-taking environment and link to albums from my other notes.

Wrap-up​

Take a look at my music collection and let me know what you think! I'm sure I'll update it as time goes on, so I look forward to any feedback or ideas. Above all, I hope this post inspires you to set up something similar for your own hobbies or projects.

Initial implementation​

The first PR (#118) was straightforward: Add a bell as a notification icon in the navbar on my Docusaurus-based personal site. This icon, with the number of notifications shown in a red circle, signals whenever notable content has been added. To specify when notable content is available, I add a new message to the custom notifications component, which I add in my Docusaurus configuration file, docusaurus.config.js.

The first attempt required the user to update the notifications in the JavaScript file for the custom notification component. However, I was able to modify the code to allow users to update the notification messages in docusaurus.config.js. This way of updating notification messages is more in line with how other features, like the announcement bar, work in Docusaurus.

After doing some quick QA on desktop and mobile, I merged the PR. However, I soon noticed some issues on the mobile version of the site.

Issues on mobile devices​

After merging PR #118, I noticed the following issues on my iPhone:

• In the navbar, the notification icon appeared behind the search icon in the navbar at the top of the screen, causing a visual glitch.

  

• In the sidebar nav, the notification count was misaligned with the notification bell icon.

  

To prevent disruption on mobile, I reverted the initial PR with a follow-up PR (#120) and dug into troubleshooting. After identifying the issue, I moved forward with a refined approach to ensure everything displayed correctly on both desktop and mobile.

Issues resolved and improvements implemented​

The PR (#121) restored the notification functionality, with the issues on mobile fixed, and introduced additional improvements:

• Notifications update dynamically: Once opened, the notification count decreases automatically.
• Links open contextually: Internal links open in the same tab, while external links open in a new tab.
• Configuration considerations: To ensure a smooth experience with updating notifications, each new notification must have a unique, incremented id in docusaurus.config.js. Otherwise, they won't display as new notifications.

The following shows the results of the implemented notifications feature:

How the notifications feature looks in the navbar on desktop:

How the notifications feature looks in the sidebar nav on mobile:

Wrap-up​

The new notification feature is now live on this site, ready to keep visitors informed of noteworthy content. Working through the challenges was a valuable experience, especially needing to consider the mobile aspect, which can vary across devices.

Although the existing announcement bar is great in making single announcements at the top of the page, I think this notification feature could increase visitor interaction on a documentation site.

Why I took part in the 2024 Step Up Challenge​

In 2023, 21,837 people lost their lives to suicide compared to 21,881 people in 2022. I believe we can significantly reduce how many people lose their lives to suicide by promoting services like TELL and by simply listening and checking in on each other.

For the past two years, I've participated in this event. Although I didn't write a post about participating in last year's event, you can read a recap about the first time that I participated at Recap of my participation in the 2022 TELL 21,007 Step Up Challenge.

How I participated in the 2024 Step Up Challenge​

To honor those who lost their lives to suicide in 2023, I went on a 12.0 km hike in Mt. Ohira in Kamakura with my wife and a few friends. On that day, I walked a total of 26,124 steps.

Unfortunately, I had some things blocking me from achieving 21,837 steps again, like rainy weather and not feeling well. However, that gave me time to meditate, write detailed notes in my daily journal, and do other things to reflect on and consider my own mental well-being.

Wrap-up​

As in previous years, participating in the TELL Step Up Challenge gives me extra motivation to exercise and to think about mental health. I do regret not being able to get to 21,837 steps more than once between September 10 and October 10, but nothing's stopping me from hitting that a few more times before the end of the year🚶🏻‍♂️‍➡️

Why make changes to the original Go-ChatGPT client?​

I wanted to take advantage of the recently released models, but the original Go-ChatGPT client, ayush6624/go-chatgpt, hadn't been updated in more than a year. Because of this:

• Recently released GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, and GPT-4-Turbo weren't listed in the client, so they couldn't be used in Go-based applications.
• Date-versioned models from GPT-3.5 Turbo and GPT-4 that OpenAI had deprecated existed in the client.

To implement my changes, I decided to fork the original repository to josh-wong/go-chatgpt and release a new version to use with my chatbot application.

A dachshund working on AI-related code (AI image generated by Microsoft Copilot)

Adding models and removing deprecated models​

To simplify the list of available models, I decided to add the foundation models for GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini, and GPT-4-Turbo as constants rather than date-versioned models. In addition, to reduce maintenance, I removed the deprecated models.

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I also needed to update the allowedModels to match the models that I had added as constants.

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Testing and validating the new models​

After making these changes, I installed the new version, v0.4.1, in my local environment. Since I'll be using my version of the Go-ChatGPT client moving forward, I needed to update the Go files in my chatbot application to refer to my repository and version.

Then, I tested my application with this new version and confirmed that I could still query the models and receive responses.

Wrap-up​

By updating the Go-ChatGPT client, I can now use the latest releases of each ChatGPT model by specifying the foundation model and removing date-versioned models that have a short life cycle. This approach somewhat future-proofs the code, since I won't need to update it every time OpenAI releases or deprecates a date-versioned model.

Why I decided to switch​

Let's be real here: The primary reason for switching was cost.

I needed to decide if paying $59.88 (about ¥9,500 at the current USD to JPY exchange rate) for the Families plan for another year at the current price was worth the cost. Because of this, I started researching other password manager solutions.

I decided to switch to Bitwarden primarily because of the following:

• Cost. Bitwarden offers a free version, which I imagine is enough for most users. Among the plans available, I decided on the Premium plan since I wanted to use some of the features available in that offering.
• Open source. I liked how Bitwarden's core password management solution is open source. In addition, Bitwarden offers a self-hosted solution that I might consider setting up in the future.

Migrating my data​

The first step was to export my data from 1Password in the .1pux format, and then import the data into Bitwarden. This was where I hit a few snags.

When importing my data into Bitwarden, I encountered a few issues:

• "Sign in with" isn't supported in Bitwarden. All login credentials that use Sign in with Google, for example, show my email address with no indication that those credentials are tied to my Google account. Instead, the entry in Bitwarden looks like I have a username without a password saved.
• Created and modified dates for entries weren't migrated. The date of all login entries have a timestamp of when I imported the entries, not when those entries were actually created and modified.
• Archived login entries were mixed with unarchived entries. Login entries that I had labeled as archived and placed in a folder away from the active entries were mixed with active login entries. Fortunately, I had made notes of when I'd archived entries in the Notes field, but having entries for both valid and invalid login credentials was frustrating.
• Loss of Markdown formatting in login entry notes. Bitwarden doesn't support Markdown in the Notes field of entries, so some of my notes are a little hard to understand at first glance.

None of these issues were showstopping. In fact, they probably did more to highlight how much I was relying on certain functionality that I didn't really need to use.

In fact, I reduced the number of entries that I'd previously archived and would probably never look at again. Some spring cleaning of unnecessary data decluttered the entries I'd saved and contributed to a fresh start.

A cute yet malicious dachshund (AI image generated by Microsoft Copilot)

Getting used to Bitwarden​

Naturally, especially after using 1Password for more than 10 years, the UIs across Bitwarden for desktop, mobile, and browser felt quite a bit different from the UIs for 1Password. However, after a few days, I was used to the layouts, features, and how to configure settings across platforms. Simply put, Bitwarden offered all the essential functions I needed, just organized and presented a little differently compared to 1Password.

In addition, usability across platforms has been just as easy as my experience with 1Password.

Wrap-up​

While 1Password served me well for more than 10 years, I've been happy with my switch to Bitwarden. I've been able to meet all my password management needs at a lower cost while supporting an open-source solution, without sacrificing usability.

Again, I think 1Password is excellent for organizations. However, if you're looking for a password management solution for yourself or for your family, Bitwarden is definitely worth a look.

Remember that the most important thing is to use a password manager, regardless of which one you choose🔐

I wrote this post because the official Signal TLS proxy server repository lacks instructions for setting up a domain, which is necessary to run a proxy server. However, keep in mind that the steps to set up a proxy server may vary depending on your OS environment and domain name service provider.

Why run a proxy server?​

Government officials are known to occasionally block access to apps in their countries, especially during times of social unrest and when they don't want information widely shared.

By running a Signal proxy server, you can enable people in other countries to connect to Signal and stay in contact with friends and family.

For reference, you can see which countries have temporarily or permanently blocked connections to Signal in 2023, courtesy of the Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI): OONI Explorer

Set up your domain​

Before setting up your proxy server, you'll need to have a domain name so that others can connect to your proxy server from that domain name and modify the hostname of your OS.

Configure a domain name in your domain name service provider account by setting up a DNS record (A record) to point the domain to your public IP address. For details on how to set up an A record, please check your domain name service provider's documentation.

After you've set up an A record in your domain name service provider account, you'll need to change the hostname of your OS. To do this, open Terminal and then open /etc/hosts by running the following command:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Below the default hostname, add the following line, replacing <SUBDOMAIN>.<DOMAIN_NAME>.<TOP_LEVEL_DOMAIN> with the address that you'll be using as your proxy server:

192.168.1.101 <SUBDOMAIN>.<DOMAIN_NAME>.<TOP_LEVEL_DOMAIN>

Save your changes, and close the file.

Set up DDNS and ddclient​

Next, you'll need to set up dynamic DNS (DDNS) to make sure that the IP address of your OS changes automatically. Without DDNS, you'd need to manually update the IP address in your domain name service provider account, which would require constant oversight.

Most domain name service providers offer a DDNS service, which periodically checks for changes to an IP address and then automatically updates the DDNS database when a new IP address is discovered. For details on how to enable DDNS for your domain name, please check your domain name service provider's documentation.

After enabling DDNS for your domain name, you need to set up a DDNS client in your OS environment. In this tutorial, you will be installing ddclient. This client will automatically send updates to your domain name service provider when your IP address changes.

To install ddclient, open Terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt-get install ddclient

During setup, a wizard will be displayed. When prompted, enter the following configurations:

• Dynamic DNS service provider: Select other and enter dynamicdns.park-your-domain.com.
• Dynamic DNS update protocol: Press Enter. You'll need to manually change this later.
• Username for dynamic DNS service: Enter your domain name.
• Password for dynamic DNS service: Enter the password you received after enabling DDNS in your domain name service provider account.
• Network interface used for dynamic DNS service: Enter dynamicdns.park-your-domain.com/getip. You'll need to modify the network interface later.
• DyDNS fully qualified domain names: Enter the subdomain that you specified when setting up. If you'll be running your proxy server without using subdomain, enter @.

Now, you'll need to further modify the DDNS configuration file. In Terminal, open the ddclient configuration file by running the following command:

sudo nano /etc/ddclient.conf

To configure how often ddclient will update the DNS, add the following line to the top of the configurations in the file:

...
daemon=3600
...

Then, set protocol to your domain name service provider (as specified in your domain name service provider's documentation) and set use to web. The configuration file should then look as follows:

# Configuration file for ddclient generated by debconf
#
# /etc/ddclient.conf
daemon=3600
protocol=<DOMAIN_NAME_SERVICE_PROVIDER>
use=web, web=dynamicdns.park-your-domain.com/getip
server=dynamicdns.park-your-domain.com
login=<DOMAIN_NAME>.<TOP_LEVEL_DOMAIN>
password=<DDNS_PASSWORD>
<SUBDOMAIN>

Save your changes, and close the file. You can check if the configuration is working by running the following command:

sudo ddclient -daemon=0 -debug -verbose -noquiet

To confirm that ddclient is running in daemon mode, run the following command to open the ddclient system file:

sudo nano /etc/default/ddclient

Confirm that run_daemon is set to true, then close the file.

To start the ddclient daemon, run the following command:

sudo service ddclient start

To check the status of ddclient, run the following command:

sudo service ddclient status

Set up and connect to your Signal TLS proxy server​

After setting up the DNS record for your domain name in your domain name service provider account, changing the hostname of your OS, and configuring ddclient on your OS, you can set up the Signal TLS proxy server.

Set up the Signal TLS proxy server​

In Terminal, clone Signal-TLS-Proxy by running the following command and go to that folder:

git clone https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-TLS-Proxy
cd Signal-TLS-Proxy

Run init-certificate.sh by running the following command:

./init-certificate.sh

After running the bash script, follow the certificate setup instructions shown in Terminal.

After setting up the certificate, start the Docker container to run your proxy server by running the following command:

docker-compose up

docker-compose up --detach

Your Signal TLS proxy server should now be running. If you encounter issues, see Troubleshooting

Connect to your proxy server​

To connect to your proxy server, open a web browser on your mobile device and enter https://signal.tube/#<SUBDOMAIN>.<DOMAIN_NAME>.<TOP_LEVEL_DOMAIN> into a mobile web browser, replacing <SUBDOMAIN>.<DOMAIN_NAME>.<TOP_LEVEL_DOMAIN> with the details of the domain name you previously set up.

The following are the different shield statuses in the Signal app:

• Green shield: Indicates that you're connected to the Signal TLS proxy server.
• Gray shield: Indicates that you're trying to connect to the proxy server.
• Red shield: Indicates that you're no longer connected, which could mean the proxy server is down or otherwise no longer available.

After confirming that your proxy server is working, be sure to monitor your setup periodically.

Shut down your proxy server​

To stop the Docker container that your proxy server is running on, run the following command:

docker-compose down

Troubleshooting​

If you're unable to start your Signal TLS proxy server after shutting it down, open Terminal and run the following group of commands:

cd Signal-TLS-Proxy # Goes to the Signal-TLS-Proxy folder.
./init-certificate.sh # Runs the certificate script.
git pull # Pings the Signal-TLS-Proxy repository for any changes.
docker-compose down # Stops the Docker container.
docker-compose up # Starts the Docker container.

This issue is a bit strange. The Obsidian for iPad app opens and syncs my notes as expected, so I don't think the Obsidian app is causing the issue. My iPhone is configured to install iOS beta builds, so that might be the issue.

Anyway, on to fixing the issue!

Resolve iCloud sync issues with Obsidian​

To get iCloud to sync your Obsidian vault again, perform the following steps from your iPhone:

1. Confirm that you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
2. In the Settings app, select [your name] and choose iCloud. Then, select iCloud Drive and disable Sync this iPhone.
3. Restart your iPhone.
4. In the Settings app, select [your name] and choose iCloud. Then, select iCloud Drive and enable Sync this iPhone. Wait for the contents in iCloud to sync.
5. Open the Files app. If you do not see any folders in the Files app, make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi.
6. Go to your Obsidian folder.
7. Long-press the folder with the name of the Obsidian vault that you want to access, then select Download Now. Wait a while for the contents to download. Repeat this step for any other vaults that you want to access.
8. Open the Obsidian app. After waiting a few seconds for the configuration files and your notes to sync, you should be able to access Obsidian on your iPhone.

Previous set of troubleshooting methods​

The following troubleshooting method requires using your iPhone and accessing iCloud from your desktop.

1. On your iPhone, Open the Files app.
2. Go to the folder that contains your Obsidian vaults.
3. If any of the folders in your vaults have a cloud icon with an arrow pointing down, long-press the folder and select Download Now. Depending on the folder size, downloading the files may take some time.
4. After the files have finished downloading (you can check the sync status if you scroll to the bottom of the Files app), open the Obsidian app.

Were you able to open the Obsidian app on your iPhone and confirm that your notes are accessible? Great! You're done!

Did the troubleshooting steps above not work? Let's proceed to the next set of troubleshooting steps.

1. On your computer, rename the problematic folder that has the cloud icon with an arrow pointing down. For example, if the original folder name was test, change the folder name to test1.
2. Create a new folder named test.
3. Copy the items from the problematic folder (test1) into the new folder (test).
4. Delete the problematic folder (test1).
5. On your iPhone, open the Obsidian app on your iPhone.

Were you able to open the Obsidian app on your iPhone and confirm that your notes are accessible? Great! You're done!

Did the troubleshooting steps above not work? Let's proceed to the next set of troubleshooting steps.

1. On your computer, go to the problematic folder. This problematic folder should be the one on your iPhone that has a cloud icon with an arrow pointing down in the Files app.
2. Copy your notes to a folder on your desktop, outside of iCloud. We are doing this to ensure we have a backup of our notes.
3. On your iPhone, delete the problematic folder that has the cloud icon with an arrow pointing down.
4. Open the Obsidian app. If the app opens as expected, check that the notes in the previously problematic folder are displayed.
5. After confirming that your notes are accessible again in the Obsidian app, delete the backup notes you saved to the folder on your computer desktop.

Wrap-up​

These are the steps I took to troubleshoot and resolve the issue with Obsidian not opening and syncing my notes on my iPhone. If you have any troubleshooting methods that have worked for you, please share what steps you took to resolve the issue!

Previously, my Raspberry Pi 4 was primarily used to run Bitcoin Cash Node, which is software that helps power the Bitcoin Cash blockchain network and its transactions. I wanted to get back to contributing to the health of Bitcoin Cash and eventually use the device to run some other Linux-only programs.

The following is what I did to get my Raspberry Pi 4 running again and some of the programs I've set it up to run.

Removed the problematic fan​

The easy solution was to simply unplug the fan from the GPIO pins and remove it from the case. Now I just hope the heat sinks are enough to keep the device cool. So far, so good!

At some point, I'll dig out a spare fan from my box of miscellaneous gadgets.

Upgraded Ubuntu to 22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)​

Next up on the to-do list: check for an operating system upgrade.

When I booted up my Raspberry Pi 4 and tried updating Ubuntu, I was greeted with an error message that my version of Ubuntu, v21.10 (Impish Indri), was no longer eligible for updates. To get around this issue, I followed the troubleshooting workaround at EOLUpgrades | Ubuntu Documentation to enable upgrading to a newer version of Ubuntu.

After modifying the sources.list file as stated in the instructions, I ran the update and upgrade commands in Terminal. The workaround worked, and I was able to upgrade Ubuntu from 21.10 (Impish Indri) to Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) on my Raspberry Pi 4.

No noticeable surprises with this upgrade since I'm not an Ubuntu power user. The squid background is pretty cool though.

Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) squid background

Started running a Bitcoin Cash Node again​

After getting my Raspberry Pi 4 running again, I also decided to operate a Bitcoin Cash Node again.

On the Bitcoin Cash Node site, I saw that an upgrade to the Bitcoin Cash network would occur on May 15, 2023. To continue contributing to the health of the network after that date, I would need to upgrade the node software from v24.0.0 to v25.0.0.

Bitcoin Cash Node "About" window showing v25.0.0

When upgrading the Bitcoin Cash Node software to v25.0.0, I referred to the tutorial that I'd created when I upgraded from v23.0.0 to v24.0.0. The instructions worked as expected, and I was able to improve the documentation by adding some knowledge that I'd gained while performing this upgrade.

You can see the tutorial I created for upgrading a Bitcoin Cash Node on Ubuntu at How to upgrade Bitcoin Cash Node on a Raspberry Pi 4 running Ubuntu Desktop.

Installed Foremost for recovering data from drives​

After confirming that my Bitcoin Cash Node was running, I wanted to check off another item that's been on my to-do list for a while: recover data by using Foremost, a popular data recovery tool.

At first, I tried installing Foremost in a Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) environment. However, I couldn't access the USB ports on my desktop running Windows, even after following the instructions in Connecting USB devices to WSL.

Because of this issue, I switched to using my Raspberry Pi 4 and followed the instructions at Recovering deleted files using Foremost. After setting up the software, I was immediately able to run the program on an empty USB drive and external hard drive.

• 8 GB USB drive: After 9 minutes, Foremost recovered 170 deleted files.
  • Four of the files were old PDF and JPEG files that I had recently printed out at a nearby convenience store.
  • The remaining 166 files were part of the USB drive software.
• 1 TB external hard drive: After 14 hours, Foremost recovered only 4 deleted files. I expected this outcome because I have a habit of reformatting unused drives multiple times.
  • Two of the files were corrupt.
  • The other two files were blank GIFs.

Although the types of files that Foremost can recover is limited, understanding how to use and having hands-on experience with data recovery tools is a nice-to-have skill.

Wrap-up​

My Raspberry Pi 4 has been running perfectly for about two weeks. Even without a fan, the device runs at a fairly low temperature.

I have some other projects I want to run on Ubuntu in the future. Hopefully I can find time to work on them before the 2024 New Year holiday break!

• Wrote a post for the Mercari Engineering Blog
• Bought a washer and dryer machine
• Tried resurrecting a problematic hard drive

Wrote a post for the Mercari Engineering Blog​

As part of the annual Advent Calendar series of posts on the Mercari Engineering Blog, I wrote about personal knowledge management (PKM):

• Capturing and applying knowledge through a personal knowledge management practice

Let me know what you think!

Bought a washer and dryer machine​

Hang clothes outside or inside to dry is pretty common Japan. But sometimes, we need to wait a full day (or two!) for clothing like jeans and hooded sweatshirts to completely dry.

After researching machines and confirming that one would fit, my wife and I decided to buy a Panasonic NA-LX127BL-W (Japanese). This front-loading, drum-type machine uses a heat-pump system for drying, which dries clothes pretty darn quick. The machine has a smartphone function that is convenient for:

• Scheduling a washing and drying cycle.
• Checking the soap and softener tanks.
• Confirming details about errors that occur during a washing cycle.

Panasonic NA-LX127BL-W washer and dryer machine after installation

Overall, we're very happy with the Panasonic NA-LX127BL-W washer and dryer machine. We've reduced how much time we spend hanging clothes out to dry and saved a lot of time waiting for those clothes to dry. Our clothes also smell much more pleasant and feel a lot softer!

Tried resurrecting a problematic hard drive​

A friend told me that his computer refused to recognize his external hard drive. On top of that, the hard drive made a clicking sound. I offered to troubleshoot the issue on my computer.

I tried the following methods to salvage the problematic hard drive:

Friend's disassembled Western Digital Elements external hard drive

Unfortunately, I was out of ideas to resolve the connection to the faulty hard drive. At this point, the only way to copy the data on the hard drive is to contact a professional who could remove the disk from its enclosure and further troubleshoot the issue.

• Aunt and uncle visited Tokyo
• Configured a custom domain

Aunt and uncle visited Tokyo​

For the first time since December 2019, I saw family in person! Coincidentally, my aunt and uncle who visited this November were the last relatives I saw in person in December 2019.

We had a heckuva two weeks, going to various places and trying out some new food spots. To get away from Tokyo for a bit, we went to a couple spots: Nikko and Kamakura.

Short trip to Nikko​

Nikko is an amazing spot to check out in the fall when the leaves change color. We got the about a week after peak leaf-changing season, but the sights of the foliage was still perfect.

A gate inside of Toshogu

As we strolled around the area, which is serene yet a two-hour ride from Tokyo, I could envision myself living there when I want some peace and quiet.

Mid-color foliage changing

Day trip to Kamakura​

I forget how close Kamakura is to Tokyo. My aunt wanted to visit Kamakura, so I happily obliged and took another day off work to show her and my uncle around.

I hadn't been to the giant Buddha statue in at least 16 years, so visiting the area again was a nice stroll down memory lane.

Giant Buddha statue (daibutsu) in Kamakura

Configured a custom domain​

I bought a domain and am actually using it! Below is my reason for choosing this particular domain, which is also currently on my About page:

I like the hex color #080f53, which is dark blue-violet.

Also, finding unique domain names is hard😅

After I configured GitHub Pages to use 080f53.com, I restructured the site to focus on my blog. I've got some more tweaking to do, but I'll apply those minor changes as time permits.

I wish I'd read this book years ago. As a technical writer and knowledge management specialist, the first part focuses on knowledge management and best practices for documentation within code. I found those topics interesting, especially since coding is only a hobby of mine and not a daily work activity.

What I enjoyed about the book​

The beginning of "The Art of Readable Code" describes what I've found to be the laborious and unclear part of writing code in my free time: describing what's happening but only where necessary. The first half of the book guides the reader on how to best write code and leave comments for future reference or for others to reference.

Cartoon strip from "The Art of Readable Code"

Key takeaways​

The kind of tacit knowledge that often comes with coding is difficult to share in an easily digestible format, whether written or verbally. However, I think the authors did a great job of explaining how to document that knowledge to help others gain from and build on that code, and address ideas and concerns.

Make our code easy to read​

Making code easy to read can be subjective, and leaving comments can add time to finalizing code. But keep this in mind: We may need to refer to our own documentation in three weeks, three months, or three years. We can't guarantee knowledge retention amongst ourselves or our peers, so clearly documenting ideas or concerns is vital for saving time in the future.

The goal with comments or streamlined, self-explanatory code is to help our future selves and others to sufficiently understand code that may:

• be difficult to understand,
• affect other parts of the code, or
• be improved on in the future.

"We may need to refer to our own documentation in three weeks, three months, or three years. We can't guarantee knowledge retention amongst ourselves or our peers, so clearly documenting ideas or concerns is vital for saving time in the future."

By sharing our knowledge in code, we can quickly remember why our code works a certain way and describe to others how they can improve that code later on. And again, we can help ourselves and others save time—for example, on retrying fixes, understanding what a function is, or explaining how a function can be improved upon later.

Consider our audience​

When sharing knowledge in code, we should consider our current target audience and our future self and future colleagues who may need to refer to that code.

Some examples of why we need to consider our audience include:

• Organizations hire new employees who aren't familiar with the its products or culture.
• People take on new roles.
• Organizations shrink and need others to take on additional responsibilities.
• We naturally forget knowledge over time if we don't actively use it.

In both of these cases, people will need to read and understand our code. Imagine how much time we could save for ourselves and others by leaving a well-documented thought or streamlining code to be self-explanatory without needing comments to explain what the code does.

"Sharing our knowledge empowers others to use their unique skills and experiences to further build on or improve on that code.

Another positive effect of considering our audience and sharing our knowledge in code is that people will be more likely to contribute. Think of the old adage "strength in numbers." Sharing our knowledge empowers others to use their unique skills and experiences to further build on or improve on that code.

If we can get more people contributing, whether it's inside the code or in a knowledge base, we can foster a strong culture of documentation and knowledge sharing.

Exhibit humility in code comments​

Another part of the book that I found interesting was the authors' suggestion to document where parts of the code could be improved.

This honest approach and self-critiquing of one's code takes quite a bit of humility and psychological safety within an organization to be effective. With this approach, an entire organization or a small team can foster a culture of learning that engineers—both current and future—can benefit from.

Wrap-up​

Since I'm not skilled at writing code, the last half of the book was a little difficult to completely understand. However, I still found value in the content and could imagine re-reading parts to gradually gain a better understanding of the best practices that the author describes.

If you write code for work or for fun, I highly recommend reading The Art of Readable Code: Simple and Practical Techniques for Writing Better Code. The content was enlightening and I could imagine revisiting certain chapters to better understand how to write better code.

• Finished reading "The Art of Letting Go"
• passGen v3.x updates

Finished reading "The Art of Letting Go"​

Early in the month, I finished reading The Art of Letting Go. As someone who continuously thinks about events and "what if" situations that I don't have control over, this book helped me think about how to move past those times.

The real value was not so much in reading the book, but highlighting parts that resonated with me. I've already referred to some of my highlights, and a month has barely passed since I finished reading the book.

passGen v3.x updates​

In 2017, I developed passGen, which is a Windows app for creating randomly generated, 14-character passwords. At a previous job, I was helping some engineers design the UI of a Windows app, and I wanted to get familiar with C#. I ended up changing jobs soon after and shelved this project.

I revived this old project because I wanted to learn a little about how automatic updates work. Although the automatic-update function isn't pretty or customizable since I used the built-in "Publish" function in Visual Studio, I enjoyed the challenge and learning some basics about the architecture an app uses to check for updates.

Some notable changes include:

• passGen v3.0.0.0: Added an automatic-update function and improved the UI a bit.
• passGen v3.1.0.0: Changed the password length from 10 characters to 14 characters.

If you're interested in how passGen works, visit passGen documentation.

• Those units are not energy efficient, which causes environmental waste and a higher electricity bill.
• The air becomes dry, which causes dry mouth, dry nostrils, and dry eyes.
• My spouse and I have different thresholds for bedroom temperature.

To address these concerns, I decided to buy a heated blanket and make it "smart."

Hopping on the heated-blanket bandwagon​

To avoid having to use the HVAC units or space heaters, I purchased a heated throw blanket. I chose a heated throw blanket, which is thinner than a standard blanket, because:

• I wanted a blanket that I could either lie on as a bed mat or drape over me while I sleep.
• I planned to used another, slightly thicker blanket while I slept.
• I wanted a blanket to use in the living room or home office.

Making my heated blanket smart​

Never to miss a chance to automate even the most basic tasks, I purchased a TP-Link Tapo smart plug to create a smart heated blanket. The Tapo smart plug is an IoT device that enables you to control devices remotely. In this case, I can control the smart plug from the TP-Link Tapo app.

After connecting the Tapo smart plug to my Wi-Fi network, I configured the Tapo app to:

• Turn on the plug before I go to sleep, and turn it off after 30 minutes.
• Turn on the plug 10 minutes before my alarm goes off, and turn it off 10 minutes after my alarm goes off.

By setting these schedules, I accomplish the following:

• Getting into a warm bed without the feeling of cold bed sheets
• Holding myself accountable for going to bed on time
• Waking up in a warm bed
• Holding myself accountable for not lounging around in bed

Screenshot of my schedule in the TP Link Tapo app

In the future, I might consider adding on/off intervals to ensure I stay warm throughout the night.

I also configured the Tapo smart plug through the Shortcuts app in iOS. This allows me to press a button in the Shortcuts widget to turn my blanket on or off. In the future, I'll look in to being able to turn my heated blanket on or off by using Alexa or Siri.

Screenshot of my Shortcut widgets screen

Ready for winter!​

So far, my smart heated throw blanket has been a great addition to my cold-weather arsenal. Aside from using the blanket when sleeping, I underestimated draping the blanket over my lap while working in my home office. Overall, I highly recommend getting a heated blanket and making it smart to make sleeping during autumn and winter a bit more relaxing.

I have one more Tapo smart plug left, so I might use it to automate the lights for my Christmas tree.🎄

By registering for the event, you may be eligible to receive event goodies (while supplies last!). This year's goodie bag included a nice tote bag, which was perfect for holding my water bottle, phone, wallet, keys, and any groceries I bought during my walks.

2022 TELL Step Up Challenge swag: tote bag and sticker

For details about the Step Up Challenge and other events, see TELL Japan events.

Why I'm taking part in the 2022 Step Up Challenge​

I heard about TELL on Twitter a few years ago, but I didn't know about this event until I read about it on the "TELL 21,081 Steps" blog post on nanikore.net.

Living in Japan can get rough for nonnative residents. I had heard about how many foreigners struggle with how to proceed after around five years because of being homesick, wanting a better job, or other factors. I experienced a similar situation around my five-year anniversary mark. If I knew about TELL at that time, I believe I would have gotten the support that I needed and potentially saved quite a lot of yen on questionably helpful self-help books.

Simply put: I believe in TELL's services and want to support their mission.

How I participated in the 2022 Step Up Challenge​

To honor the 21,007 people who lost their lives to suicide in 2021, I walked 21,007+ steps around Tokyo on the following dates.

Next year, I want to have some other activities lined up besides walking, like:

• Writing blog posts that total X number of words,
• Reading for X seconds of yoga within the event period, and/or
• Creating a playlist that includes X seconds of easy-listening music to relax to.

Wrap-up​

View of the Asahi Beer Hall and Tokyo SkyTree from my walk on October 10, 2022

I'll definitely participate in this event in the future and continue to promote TELL's support services to English speakers. Now that I know a bit more about how the event works, I'll also consider participating with a small group next time.

For English speakers living in Japan who are struggling and need someone to talk to, I recommend contacting TELL through their Lifeline service. The organization's website also regularly posts on their blog and offers a plethora of resources if you prefer to get help at your own pace our outside of their support hours.

Many of us struggle at some point, so I highly recommend keeping TELL top of mind if you find yourself going through a difficult time.

Centralized versus decentralized storage​

In a traditional, centralized cloud storage architecture, a file is uploaded to a server (likely redundant servers in most cases) and stored in a database. The issue with this is security. If a cloud storage account is compromised through phishing or other types of account hijacking, a hacker would have access to the account and files uploaded to the server.

In a blockchain-based, decentralized cloud storage architecture, a file is uploaded to an ecosystem of servers that host the blockchain and its nodes, which are essentially databases. A node stores only a fraction of the encrypted data, known as a shard, that makes up the file, and therefore, no single node contains a complete file. However, in a process called "mirroring," multiple servers store the same shard, which ensures high availability for the file uploaded. For example, if a server storing a shard within the blockchain goes down, another node within the blockchain network will automatically activate its mirrored shard.

The following diagram shows the process of uploading a file in a decentralized cloud storage architecture:

The following diagram shows the process of downloading a file in a decentralized cloud storage architecture:

Considerations​

Currently, one of the primary drawbacks when using a blockchain-based, decentralized cloud storage architecture is speed. Retrieving data from a standard cloud storage server is fast because of the direct, and thus speedy, connection to the server and a single location where the file is stored.

However, in a decentralized cloud storage architecture, users need to connect to the blockchain-based ecosystem to retrieve data from disparate nodes. These nodes are located on servers in various locations with varying connection speeds and processing power. This is fine for uploading and downloading small files to and from a decentralized cloud storage architecture, but the bottleneck occurs when using large files.