Category: Emerald Dreams

  • Bill Shock: The Real Cost of Tesla Model 3 After 1 Year

    Bill Shock: The Real Cost of Tesla Model 3 After 1 Year

    VicRoads timely reminded me that it’s time to renew my Tesla Model 3’s registration(rego), so it’s been a year already. I think it might be interesting to calculate the real cost of owning a (Tesla) EV. I also put imaginary figures of my previous diesel BMW there for an unfair comparison. Tesla Model 3 Previous…

  • Some Tips for CKA Exams

    I’ve passed my CKA exam on my first attempt, it’s not hard because it’s the entry level certificate for Kubernetes but still a good preparation is necessary even for someone already experienced in Kubernetes. First of all, the exam is fully hands-on: every question requires a set of commands done in a terminal provided in…

  • A Few Things I’m Grateful about Microsoft Windows

    TL;DR. this is my story with Microsoft Windows, from 3.1 to 7. Many years after my mom bought me my first PC, I realized the Windows 3.1 installed by the vendor was a cracked copy, or pirate copy if you will. But Windows 3.1 was really amazing, and I liked it a lot. There were…

  • 1-Step Away From Fossil Fuel: Sanden Heat Pump

    After weeks of waiting, thanks to lock downs in Victoria, I finally have a 315L Sanden Heat Pump installed, replacing my who-knows-how old gas instantaneous water heater. The job has been done professionally by SolarFlow, kudos to the team! I can label myself an environmentalist who keeps trying to minimize my own carbon footprint but…

  • Real Life Cost of a Tesla Model 3

    It’s been a bit more than 2 weeks since I got my Model 3 as a result of my impulse-buying, so as an end user I think I’m qualified to do some cost analysis and projection based on the first 1000km I’ve done with the car. Disclaimer: The following analysis is based on my calculation…

  • Never Buy a Tesla

    I just got my Tesla Model 3 delivered last week and I’ve added a few hundreds of KMs to its odometer. Frankly it’s largely a disappointment and I’ll state my reasons here. First, it doesn’t have a ‘start engine’ or ‘ignition’ button at all! More to that, it doesn’t have an engine either, only electric…

  • 不再舒适的2019

    2020 新年快乐!!我不得不重复的说,时间过的太快了。其中的一个原因大概是我离开我舒适的环境去接受新的挑战。 2019年初我从 AFL 离职后加入了云计算顾问公司 Contino,想给自己找点挑战,结果还真是很挑战。我从来没做过顾问,因为我性格内向而且英语交流也仅仅达到及格的水平,我想一定是之前的技术经验为我赢得了这份工作。 入职后不久我就被派到一家4万多人的大企业做云迁移项目,就是将原本运行在 IBM 硬件上的业务系统搬迁到 AWS 上继续运行。这回算是体验到了 IBM 的傲慢,知道大客户要投奔 AWS 了也并不在意,但也不是很大方的提供技术上的支持就是了。在大企业里很多事情靠的不是技术而是人际关系和政治头脑,而我在这些方面基本属于幼稚园毕业。好在同事们非常有团队精神,帮我度过了最初几个月。后来我有幸参加了公司的软技能培训,收获非常大,瞬间意识到自己以前说话的方式有多么简陋。 另外一大收获就是我从一个“肉食动物”走上了素食之路,这简直是不可思议的。 在猫本的第一份工作期间我的一个同事 G 就是素食者。当时我们几个“正常人”总是开他的玩笑,例如:素汉堡不算汉堡。但至少我从此有了一个素食朋友。最近几年老婆将后院菜园种的有声有色,各种蔬菜直接从菜园进厨房,真正的新鲜蔬菜。我当然还是爱吃肉的,但老婆收获的蔬菜是必须吃的,所以我吃蔬菜的比例有了很大提高。令我感到意外的是,吃蔬菜的感觉还真不错。 与此同时,肉食产品的负面新闻接踵而来:禽流感,猪瘟,过度放牧,抗生素饲料等等。这些让我对吃肉的兴趣有所减弱。直到我看了 NetFlix 上的纪录片 The Game Changers ,我了解到了很多最强的人,例如运动员,铁人五项冠军等等都不吃肉:“很多人问我,你如何只吃素却像牛一样强壮?我反问,你见过牛吃肉吗?” 没错,就像“钻石恒久远 一颗永流传”一样,让人们喜欢吃肉也是市场运作的结果。 目前我已经不再吃猪牛羊肉了,希望在新的一年里能停吃鸡肉,仅偶尔吃些鱼肉。

  • Working with a Big Corporation

    So it’s been a while since I started this job in a big corporation. I always enjoy new challenges, now my wish got granted. Not in a very good way. The things work in a quite different manner here. There are big silos and layers between teams and departments, so the challenges here are not…