Category: Ashes of Time

One Book At A Time – 2024

In 2024, information overload was a constant companion. AI tools could now summarize anything from websites to audiobooks, but it lacked the depth and nuance of truly engaging with a story. Still, finding a good reason for long-from reading felt like a big challenge nowadays.

Yet, I carved out precious moments for some reading escapes. Here are a few of my favorite books from this year:

  • ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—œ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ: ๐—–๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†, ๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ฎ๐˜„๐—ป of AI by Fei-Fei Li (Kindle link: https://amzn.to/3PcxNVI) explores the exciting intersection of AI and human understanding.
  • ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ช๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ข๐˜„๐—ป: ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜ ๐—˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜ by Chris Dixon (Kindle Link: https://amzn.to/3VZHrPj) dives into the future of the internet, shaped by Web3 technologies.
  • ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ: ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐˜€, ๐——๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€, ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ by Nick Bostrom (Kindle link: https://amzn.to/3BKBTBq) examines the potential risks and rewards of superintelligent AI.
  • ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—”๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜€ ๐—จ๐—ป๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ: ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ข๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—•๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ธ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป by Adrian Niculescu (Kindle Link: https://amzn.to/3ZYd9O2) explores the world of tokenized assets and blockchain investing.

Reading in the age of AI comes with its own set of challenges, so here are some tips to help you squeeze in reading time:

  • ๐—˜๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—˜-๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ: I carry my Kindle Colorsoft (my 6th Kindle! – https://amzn.to/4gVnNvT) with me everywhere. Unlike tablets, e-readers minimize distractions from emails, notifications, and social media.
  • ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฑ ๐— ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€: Even short bursts of dedicated reading can make a big difference. Utilize commutes, waiting times, or short breaks for focused reading. In my case, I also enjoy a dedicated reading session after lunch.
  • ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐˜ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜†: Designate a quiet, comfortable space in your home and office to signal to your brain that it’s time to focus on reading.
  • ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—๐—ผ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: Discuss books with friends, join a book club, or connect with online reading communities to enrich your reading experience.

Ultimately, reading remains a source of deep satisfaction and intellectual growth. It allows us to escape the noise, explore new ideas, and connect with the power of human imagination.

What were your reading highlights of 2024? ๐—ฆ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€!

Reflecting on 40 Years in Tech: A Career Journey of Transformation and Gratitude

My career journey in the ever-evolving world of information technology started back in September 1984. At that time, the 8-inch floppy disk was considered cutting-edge technology! Fresh out of university, I embarked on my career at a local software development company, where I maintained a system for a British bank on an IBM System/34 using RPG II. This was a significant leap forward from the punch cards, teletypes, and dumb terminals I had used during my university days.

Four decades on, the technological advancements I’ve witnessed still leave me in awe. We’ve moved from the physical constraints of punch cards and magnetic tapes to the limitless potential of the cloud. My personal computing journey mirrors this progress, starting with my trusty Commodore 64 and Apple II, then transitioning through PCs and MacBooks, and now embracing the efficiency of Chromebooks.

The programming languages Iโ€™ve learned and utilized over the years paint a vivid picture of the industryโ€™s evolution: Assembly Language, Fortran, APL, LISP, PL/1, COBOL, Pascal, Basics, Prolog, RPG, 3GL, C, C++, JAVA, HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Objective C, Swift, and currently, Flutter. And who could forget the revolution in mobile communication, from the humble pager to the Personal Digital Assistant and feature-rich smartphones of today โ€“ Psion, Nokia, Sony, iPaq, Dopod, iPhone, and Android.

What about databases ? IDMSX, Informix, Ingres, Sybase, Oracle, MySQL, and of course, dBase, Clipper, Foxbase, FoxPro, Filemaker โ€ฆ

My career path has zigzagged through diverse sectors, including banking, freight forwarding, supermarkets, container terminals, computer vendors, management consulting, e-government, e-commerce, tourism, media, airlines, and now, cloud service provider – Google Cloud.

I also have had the privilege of holding a variety of roles in these 40 years, starting as a Programmer and progressing to Analyst Programmer, Systems Analyst, Project Manager, Database Consultant, Managing Consultant, System Architect, Project Director, General Manager, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Information Officer, Head of Digital and currently, Strategic Advisor.

As I reflect on my journey, I’m humbled by the remarkable strides technology has made and deeply grateful for the experiences I’ve gained along the way. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had a career that has allowed me to continuously learn, grow, and contribute to the fascinating field of information technology.

As I prepare for the next 40 years ๐Ÿคช, I’m filled with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude. I’m excited to see what the future holds for technology and the generations to come. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey. Your contributions will continue to shape the world for years to come.

As the saying goes, itโ€™s not about the destination, itโ€™s not about the journey either โ€ฆ itโ€™s about the person you become on the journey.

Onward and upward!

Favourite PC database software

About 35 years ago, when everyone got their “copies” of dBase and Clipper in Hong Kong’s Golden Arcade, I purchased the Foxbase. The package came with foam can coolers to thank the supporters.

Thatโ€™s the path I went thru to earn some extra cash in the good old days. What about yours ?

dBase II > dBase III > Clipper > dBase IV > FoxBase > FoxPro > Visual FoxPro > FileMaker > FileMaker Pro

“Nothing runs like the fox.”

One Book At A Time – 2022

I told myself earlier this year I needed to read more SciFi, Blockchain and AI books. However, it’s a year with a lot less time to read …

It’s also year with a new Kindle – the big brother Kindle Scribe. Look forward to have better reading and note-jotting experiences with this great new device.

Anyway, here are my favorites this year :

  1. Winning the Right Game : How to Disrupt, Defend, and Deliver in a Changing World – A great strategy book about ecosystem innovation / disruption. Don’t miss it if you want to learn more on top of industrial disruption.
  2. ๆ‰€่ฌ‚ใ€Œๆˆ‘ไธๆŠ•่ณ‡ใ€๏ผŒๅฐฑๆ˜ฏ all in ๅœจๆณ•ๅฎš่ฒจๅนฃ – Probably the best crypto foundation and investment book in Chinese, period.
  3. Proof of Stake: The Making of Ethereum and the Philosophy of Blockchains – The ideas behind Ethereum in the words of its founder, Vitalik Buterin. You will find that every crypto idea has been brewed for years.
  4. The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything – To me, it’s the best book of the year, for IT professionals. Lesson learned – the Metaverse is not what you think.
  5. Exhalation: Stories – Nine excellent SciFi short stories, from Time machine, to Robot, Metaverse, Video Artificial Memory and Quantum Machine. Some of the best SciFi short stories I ever read.
  6. Children of the new world – If you are fans of SciFi short stories and Black Mirror, and if you love the movie “After Yang”, don’t miss this book. Not as good as Exhalation and Stories of Your Life though.
  7. Stories of Your Life and Others – Another eight short SciFi stories from Ted Chiang (Exhalation, above) and great read. Note that some of the stories are Science Fictions, some are Fictions about Science.
  8. The Blockchain Innovator’s Handbook : A leaderโ€™s guide to understanding, adopting and succeeding with this disruptive technology – Post-COVID information about Blockchain, with 3 parts (This time it’s different, The journey, Making it happen). Good for business professional to understand and to promote the technology within your organization.
  9. The Bomber Mafia : A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War – I learned a lot about Second World War and Bombers from this book … bombing is not as easy as what you see from war movies.
  10. Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy – Will the search engine giant survive after AI and Machine Learning ?
  11. Scary Smart : The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World – The book that tells you why Ethical AI is important … “The course of action we take at any given time is also the result of a value system that guides us and sometimes restricts us from making decisions that contradict our values.”
  12. Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control – One of the most important AI books ever written, everybody should read it.

Previous years’ book list: