I have been doing well.

I learned a lot about life.

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I believed in God and since 2018 have been doing good.

I thank God for giving me a good life. Today is my birthday and things went good.

I realized life is accept people who understand life beyond what is in front of them too.

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If people constantly work and learn, any setback is minimized.

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So the thing is to just keep busy in a First World country to minimize any bad feeling or any health problem.

Just reading your daily local or national newspaper is fine.

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Just keep busy and drink inexpensive coffee.

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The post Growth to Today appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

To launch this review I am going to ask you a question.

What if I told you for $500 USD (~$700CAD) I could sell you a desktop PC that is incredible for **nearly** every task you could throw at it while using next to no power and had incredibly modularity while running shockingly silently. If you are in the realm of Mac you would likely tell me, Well yeah I got that computer years ago its the M1 Mac mini and while indeed many of the principals are still indeed in use with this machine but come the year 2024 you now get damn near what that maxed out variant was EXCEPT it’s now the base model. With 5 Thunderbolt (optionally TB5!!) ports and Native multi monitor support (Without the need for display link) 

Even for users of the OG M1 Macs this is still a rather compelling upgrade. 

For nearly any task that is not traditional AAA gaming it is my favourite computer it is much like my M2 Air laptop I bought nearly 2 years ago now in the sense any task I could throw at it it handles with ease but with the now 16GB of ram standard it basically is able to shrug any task off like its nothing even in the sense of multitasking. This desktop has been a breath of fresh air that I had not experienced since 2020 when I bought the OG fleet of M1 series machines (Base model Mac mini & M1 Air). 

In honesty the things this Mac has been able to handle 

Work done in FCPX, DaVinci Resolve, Blender 3D//Cura (3D Modeling), Photoshop with multiple documents with a min of 30 Layers and effects per document while still being able to render large effects ie: lens blur with relative ease, Virtualization (XP was certain it was running off an i7 6700 given this is software based CPU emulation remarkable as well as parallels running standard Win 11 ARM for the odd application that doesn’t yet exist on MacOS (IE ImgBurn which is amusing as I am mostly sure I am the only one using Optical media on an M4 Mac mini) 

In conclusion: Yes this is one of the greatest and arguably one of the most important computers Apple has ever made. In addition to this being one of the best values Apple has made. In a way also demonstrates a new leaf Apple has turned in the sense that this is the most modular Mac Apple has made in years. Shockingly something as frustrating as disassembly to clear the fan has since become a far easier endeavor. One of the toughest questions I was asked was “Is it finally time for M1 Mini owners to move over?” And as a shock even to myself I instinctively say No… At least not yet, As wonderful as this is, the M1 mini still does everything that I would ask of this machine to do.  That being said if you are still on an Intel Mac even the 2018 mini and you are after a new computer. Or are looking to make the jump from windows and need something to introduce you to Mac. This is currently my favourite Mac.

The post M4 Mac mini – This little machine Packs a Punch! appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

I am 41 years old.

1 year older than 40.

In this period of life for me, you reached the next stage of life where you are growing older.

This period for me requires a lot of thinking and reflecting.

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We kind of pivoted to what we used to develop.

We focus on software that customizes operating systems now.

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We entered a stage where we still have our old dynamic but more mature and old now …

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But we still are young? Young and old?

What we do now is ‘in the air’ and ‘in-progress’.

If we don’t do what we done before, then we would have now or it wouldn’t be us.

The post Growth … appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

Probably at the end of programming is web development.

It is hard and unlimited. So hard that you want to do something else or give up.

But that is the thing. You just have to accept that at the end of computing you are doing web development stuff that never ends and that you work on it for the rest of your life doing this and that.

You just have to accept that thinking life or modern life is this work??? and just live, just live with it.

The post Computing thus far? appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

From what I understand, possibly a lifetime at this point to get really good maybe.

It probably is the right thing to do nowadays still.

It is a good thing to do to build up your skills and get that satisfaction of growth and attainment. Feeling good most of the time.

…

For example, we develop Sophia Script Wrapper on BenchTweakGaming.com. A third-party tool to customize Microsoft Windows.

1. In the beginning it was just a radiobutton list that used text files.
2. Then it turned into a combobox and checkboxes list that still used text files.
3. Then it changed to use JSON files partially and introduced textbox input for new controls but still used text files data internally.
4. Then it recently changed to be dependent on JSON. No need to hardcode anything no more in the Wrapper.EXE.

But this took me 4 years to get this far in developing it. Personally, I feel it took me awhile.

I had to do the following:

1. I had to think in loops
2. I had to think in levels (local to global variables)
3. I had to think using functions
4. I had to think in files
5. The biggest change was using my own classes. I had to develop my brain to use my own objects. I could not grasp custom classes concept until year 4. I did not need classes until I tried to make the EXE dependent on JSON.

Each step getting more layers.

I guess that is progression and life.

After you done ‘general schooling’, then comes programming. A good long drawn out life of gradual learning and good health.

Did I take long? Did I take too long?

Well I am not sure. I tried my best to maintain my health and happiness.

…

In another direction there is web development.

Most people I think rather code backend or program just a project or an app.

Web development is an elephant.

I am not sure how to tackle developing elephants.

I think it takes a lot of time. Lots of stress and cursing and feeling defeated each and everyday doing it.

Don’t you do projects and apps and one day have enough skills and confidence then try web development???

Going all in trying web development is so … hard.

Tackle it timbit-by-timbit LOL! That is possibly the most sane approach.

The post Why is it taking so long? appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

I started coding way back in 2014.

A lot of experiences along the way until in 2025 I feel OK coding.

It wasn’t until 2025 with the support of Ben to keep trying coding until it became OK.

Ben Cybulski sets the path and tone of life for growth and work.

…

I dropped out of computer science in 2009 at university thinking it was hard and would take forever going slowly and slowly.

With the help of Ben Cybulski I did the unimaginable for me, I became a coder.

Thanks Ben!

The post Coding for years until … appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

I was surprised he did.

I never really thought of such a device before. I had a Raspberry Pi Zero W that did not get much use (Also Ben got me). I did not think I would use the Wyse.

It featured a low powered dual-core AMD CPU and all the normal ports with Bluetooth.

It had 4GB of DDR3 single channel.

It had a mPCIe connector, SATA port and a SATA DOM.

I installed a Kingston A400 240GB SATA SSD internals into the SATA DOM. I took apart the 2.5″ casing and slotted it in with no screw. It should hold LOL.

Ben recommended me FydeOS but I could not get it to work.

I installed ChromeOS Flex and got that to work. I wanted ChromeOS Flex because of my previous experience with it. It ran slow. Too slow. I streamed YouTube Music and it was OK.

After getting unsatisfied with ChromeOS Flex because it was too slow, I installed Lubuntu as Ben recommended it.

I could do everything like a normal Windows desktop really.

I streamed YouTube Music from FireFox. It ran better.

I hope to get another Wyse similar to this to build a DIY Photo Frame.

I still have my old 1979 to early 2000s printed photos to scan into computer to display. I am old now and would like to reminisce in the past sometimes.

I bought a mSATA 32GB drive to run Lubuntu and will use the Kingston 240GB drive to house jpegs and AVI files on the additional SATA port or USB 2.0 External.

I never thought these thin clients would be that useful but it does serve a purpose once you understand they only use like 10-20 watts. Great for small things. They seem stable and professional and good to stay on for hours as a streaming device or DIY photo frame computer.

Thanks Ben!

The post Streaming machine? appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

I am 40 years old.

After working with people in my field, I grew and grew.

Now time to do stuff and take the initiative.

I looked online reddit to see what is the pathway for programmers.

This link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/14w9qzn/careersalary_limitation_of_wordpress_development/

This link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/1dbpks8/wordpress_developer_good_career/

I am not a real programmer. I used to like it naturally 40% in 2017 but now like it 50 – 60% in 2024.

It is a nice challenge and kind of the only thing left to do.

But you can’t just code backend all day can you?

After reading the reddit posts I understand it takes a journey and is the feeling. Being a WordPress Developer is good but also growing up to be a full stack developer is the thing you want to ascend to and feel.

It is the abstract, lifting, and creating and creative feeling you want to elevate to.

Maybe you want to just stay perched on that all day … maybe for the rest of your life? Is there more after this?

Is life at this point just more challenges? And challenges that elevate your thinking?

The post What is work? appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

Does it make a difference?

Yes it does.

My main PC is this:

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6/12 Thread) CPU
• 32GB RAM
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super 4GB GPU
• Kingston A400 240GB SATA SSD in Hotswap Bay
• Windows 11 Pro

I use cheap SATA SSD based drives to swap out copies of Windows 11 clones. I want fresh copies to do my stuff. I have a few Kingston A400 240GB SATA SSDs to swap and clone from. I think this SSD is QLC and DRAMless.

2 weeks ago, family came to visit and I used my secondary PC which consisted of:

• AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (6/12 Thread) CPU
• 16GB RAM
• AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB GPU
• WD SN750 500GB PCIe3.0 NVME SSD
• Windows 10 Pro

I had a better experience using that daily. I used this for almost 2 weeks and remembered how fast daily tasks was on it using a TLC DRAM NVME at PCIe 3.0 speeds. I used to use PCIe 3.0 NVMEs before on my main PC before switching to SATA SSDs.

I built my dad a PC using:

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6/12 Thread) CPU
• 16GB RAM
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1030 2GB GPU
• WD SN850 500GB PCIe 4.0 NVME SSD
• Windows 11 Pro

This thing is fast. Boot up and even YouTubing seems faster on it.

I want to buy a front bay hotswap NVME PCIe or one that sticks in the PCIe back slots in the future. It is costly but I think I crave the speeds now after seeing the difference.

The post NVME vs SATA SSD Real World Performance appeared first on FreeTimeTech.

• I reflected about education in programming. I learned there is so much more to learn and that programming helps you grow in intelligence and maturity.
• I worked in web development. I learned that I don’t know enough WordPress to make a complete theme with all the do-dads. I need 2-3 years or even 5 years to be a WordPress expert. More if I intend to build my own custom stuff. This is the goal. I want to become a WordPress theme creator and then build on top of it too later.
• I figured out how to program for life. I watched my friends land jobs in high places and realized they just focus on coding entirely. They don’t worry about anything else. I guess to program as a life career you must be open minded completely and not have any worries. That is the only way to do it. You must have a complete open mind to solve without worrying about money or any other problems like spending, buying stuff, accumulating wealth, etc. You have to completely zone out. Programming is like the best activity I found to do. So I guess you should spend your life zoning out in it LOL. Also you are not supposed to have any worries to do programming I think. The only way to do programming is to not have worries I think.

The post 1-year After Finishing School in Programming … appeared first on FreeTimeTech.