Night Hour

First step...

A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step
千里之行始于足下 , Lao Tzu ( 老子 )


10 Feb 2017

Every website, every blog must have a genesis, a first post or a first article that signals the beginning of the site or blog. This website is no exception. People in information technology are generally used to the concept of "late nights" , "wee hours of morning". Projects and tasks often come with tight deadlines and a backlog of demands from customers, bosses and other stake holders. There are last minute "fires" to fight and put out, urgent requests from internal or external customers to attend to. Technology advances rapidly, there are always new things to learn, new techniques to master and new research to read up on. Technology professionals struggle to keep above the chaos and din of this hectic pace.

Many technology professionals actually enjoy the work despite the pace. Whether you are a software developer, a DevOps engineer, a system or network administrator, a cybersecurity engineer, a data scientist etc..., all share the same passion for technology work. There is immense satisfaction from building something new, from solving a problem, from troubleshooting and resolving a complex issue, or completing and delivering a well done piece of technical work or project. It is the core of what all technies and geeks share.

Technology pioneers and veterans in the industry come up with frameworks, best practices, methodologies and common body of knowledge to help tame the chaos and din. The opensource movement provides many great building blocks, software and code that can be used, shared, and modified; subjected to the respective opensource license. Online forums, user groups and community websites often provide answers quickly to questions and technical problems. Massive open online courses (MOCC) enable an easy pathway to refresh our skillsets. Academic, industry institutions and major technology companies frequently publish new research papers online, organizes conferences and webinars, allowing practitioners to keep up with some of the cutting edge technology. Productivity for the technology professional improves and we are drawn deeper into this relentless digital and increasingly competitive world.

Yet at times, we need to slow down and take a break, stepping back, revisiting our roots and core beliefs. To remember the human side of technology, that ultimately technology needs to serve a human purpose and bring actual benefits to the real world. It is also about reflecting on ourselves, on life and living, on our own imperfections and humanity. It is through such reflection that we can attain greater personal growth, separating the really important and meaningful things in life from the transient, egoistic and materialistic wants. To rejuvenate ourselves, rekindle the passions for technology, and to remind ourselves of our roots, our core values and beliefs.

On this website, I hope to share articles on technical topics, on the human side of technology and resources that technies and geeks may like and find useful. Occassionally I may also share some articles on living. After all we are all human beings sharing this earth briefly, regardless of whether we are geeks, technies or not. I am a native Singaporean, some of the things I share may have a Singapore context.

Night hours, the time when the hectic rush of the day is over, when we can engage in some contemplative thinking, reading, reflections or getting work done without the distractions of the day... 宁静沉思的夜晚 ...

P.S. The evenings and nights can also be a time for physical exercises where one can go for a run, a workout, yoga and mindfulness meditation. The author believes in work/life balance. A person needs to find what are the best routines that suit him or her.