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Lecturer in Cybersecurity. I started to believe in God in my late teens, 40 years ago. I was at a party and a friend told me he had become a Christian. As I slept on a sofa in the party house I prayed, “Jesus, if you are out there, will you come into my life”.

Christian belief tends to follow by being told about God through colleagues, friends and family. Becoming a follower follows study of the Scriptures and disciplines such as prayer.

Some HNers may see belief as less intelligent. At 54 I can guarantee there are men and woman out there more intelligent than yourself who believe in God. My most intelligent, unbelieving Professor friend, would agree with me on this point.

My son had a little toy called Charlie when he was a baby which he loved deeply. AI no more has feelings than the idea Charlie came to life and played with the other toys when we left the room.

Leaf by Niggle, Tolkien. If you worry about your life being a disappointment, or you are often distracted / lack focus, read this :-)

Solving a problem in my area and timing is my experience. My sideline is 18 years old and paid for a lot of my family life.

Loving a migration from Dropbox to Nextcloud and client tls certificates through Cloudflare to work around my very tied down workplace :-)

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on thinking and rumination. I fall prey to circular thinking myself. This can unsettle my wife at times as she is not this way inclined. I can incite worry, while I move on and probably forget about the very concerns I have been raising.

I have been learning to quieten my ruminations by keeping a journal. This stops all the meanderings escaping. A kind of triage so to speak, where important thoughts get revisited and the rest stay in a journal no one will read.

I made the mistake of promoting my sideline on online groups 20 years ago. Some nasty responses. One random guy however told me to keep going and ignore the criticism. Groups are full of critics who couldn't make porridge let alone a product.

What got me started was sending out letters to clients, in my case schools. Old school I know. I have always worked full time. The sideline has made several hundred thousand dollars over the last 20 years.

Think about how companies advertise and copy with what you can afford.

Well said...I have discovered the same in my own marriage of thirty years. I would add that even bringing a good solution in a relationship can go unheard, especially if the motivation is to be the fixer, and to be honest make your own life easier by silencing the other's point of frustration.

I think a better question may be, how do I make the world a better place? This means anyone, doing any work, can make a contribution and find value in their work (assuming their work is not illegal or toxic).

The Bible. Through it, I see the connection from the fall of man, the redemption of the cross and the future return of the King to restore all things. I also see connection from wisdom shared 2-3 thousand years ago through the Psalms and Proverbs. This has rewired my understanding of how ancient men and women were pretty awesome and got me over chronological snobbery.

I am in my 50s and have learned that learning how to deal with unknowns is often more important than knowing.

For example, I do know what triggers some of the negative thoughts that come into my head which used to cause me stress. I now have my own way to respond to these thoughts and they do not cause me stress. Through time the response becomes automatic.

I recommend picking a healthy response and letting this be the solution.

I appreciate your insight. I have done this and that and am also most pleased with my shed.

I am a christian and do believe in heaven. I'm going to say a prayer now in my little office and ask that you find your way there, whether today or another day. God bless.

I have been running a one-man sideline Saas for 18 years. I have found that most customers have no concept of what the company looks like behind a Saas product.

The only time I had the, "What happens if you get knocked down by a bus?" comment, was for a big bespoke contract, which I got.

I have never aimed to hoodwink anyone. I have just been surprised to learn in the average person's mind Saas = company of many people. One client of 10 years was shocked when I told him by email that I was in my 50s and a company of one.

To love God and love your neighbour as yourself.

Life is not a formula. There is a squirrel climbing a tree in my garden as I look out the window. I could dedicate the rest of my life to squirrel study and still not know everything about squirrels.

Life is spiritual and physical. I trust in the ancient wisdom of the Bible which will be here after you and I, to understand life's meaning. I teach Tech and love learning. I find meaning through my faith and knowledge through my learning.

I am 53 and have had a sideline for 18 years which makes about a 1/4 of an average salary.

I believe people are meant to have one job, unless poverty or circumstance is driving their financial needs.

If your sideline is not making money consider dropping it.

When you enjoy something like programming, and people giving you positive feedback, you don't sometimes consider the bigger questions. Am I happy? What am I doing with my life and relationships?

A sideline worked for me as it has made hundreds of thousands and changed my family's life.

If yours is a hobby, consider stopping it, and see if it comes back to you down the line.

Thank you, maybe I will stop dropping real data into any old online tool now.

This is not a book recommend, but what an average day looks like in my life, having lost about 40kg over a several year period and maintained the same weight for five years.

I walk at least 2-3 miles everyday.

* Breakfast: 60g porridge oats - 240g with skimmed milk, cut up pear and honey, coffee * Mid morning: flavoured Greek yoghurt, coffee * Lunch: Wrap with cut up chicken breast, cottage cheese, celery, then roughly 100 calories of chocolate, coffee * Mid afternoon: egg, coffee * Dinner: Anything really. Just learn what average portions look like. Diluted juice, coffee * I don't eat after dinner until breakfast * I eat a lot of ice cream at the weekend

My advice, make a time machine and travel back 20 years and take your side projects with you. I made a thing 18 years ago that has been making money ever since. If I made it now I would be like an apple in a barrel of apples.

If it's a business you are looking to build then learn to do business. This was my problem and why I made a 6 figure sum over 18 years and not 7.

I am a lecturer, despite having being a very immature teen who left school with practically no qualifications. I was able to go back and fix what I had broken. Therefore, I understand the privilege university provides to those who can afford it or live in wealthy enough countries who provide it for free.

There are useless programmers, most are ok, and some great. This is true of students and lecturers. A job or education provides a platform for a person. What a person does with this opportunity is up to every individual.

I remember a friend at a conference in the 80s being emberassed when postively answering a question at the conference about an event which took place in the Old Testament book of Hezekiah. We just didn't call them hallucinations back then :-)

These matters often come down to personal preference. One of the most unplesant board meetings I ever experienced involved expletives over a M365/Google fight.

I suggest you keep to the facts as you understand them and also know you may have to bite the bullet if someone higher up the foodchain decides to run with the change.

Agreed. I have discovered at 53 that teenage fiction is my happy reading place. Impossible Creatures was my favourite read last year and currently reading the Eragon series. 30;years in IT has resulted in me scanning rather than reading.

I am 53. All my life you stuck a fuel pipe in a hole and pressed. One of the differences is how you choose/can pay.

And for those of you thinking EV, someone else is sticking fuel in a hole and pressing.

When I did launch some of the first feedback I got that was the product was rubbish and served no purpose. The product has been making money for 20 years now. Most of the world are critics and not creators. As we say in the UK, keep calm and carry on :-)

My kids are hitting 30 now and I am adjusting to the change between being more of a coach than a teacher. They ask me questions about their work but mostly how to fix boilers and practical issues. I have pizza and walk with my son every week. It is in this place concerns are aired and discussed.

My wife and I most definitely guided them through their childhood and youth. You wouldn't give a child a car with no training. We all learn from someone or some media. My family provided for me but were not very close and they taught me very little. The fact you are asking this question Michael shows me you will be a big help to your children.

There are certainties only adults need to understand, such as we will die. However, my close friend's three little girls understand this following his early death.

The certainty that kids require is to know know they are loved and provided for.

As humans we all have to chose at some stage a worldview that believes we are material objects or there is a God. I have chosen the latter and brought my children up with the knowledge of the Bible. I am certain God is with me, this life will have challenges, and I will go to a better place when I die.

I am a walker and walk around most of my city, Belfast. The affluence I encounter does not seem to match the news narrative. I am concerned that I have become hard-hearted. Alternatively, I wonder if I just see the world differently to others. I have not determined how to come to a conclusion on the matter.I have lived and worked in some of the poorest regions and housing estates of the UK. If anyone has insight I would love to hear it.

I have been using rclone for years, it's great. https://rclone.org/iclouddrive/

I am in a similar position to yourself but more concerned about remaining current, than looking for paid work.

Working with a colleague/friend in my last job for ten years gave me the edge to stay ahead. I have not figured out how fill that gap.

This is exactly why I started to blog 20 years ago. To remind myself how to do things and help those who stumbled across the posts. It was a way of saying thank you other people's posts who had helped me.