Category Archives: Education

Git Notes

I have recently taken the plunge into learning Git. These are my notes thus far. I know there are plenty of git write-ups out there on the web. I started this one mostly for myself as a quick cheat sheet. I figure it may be useful to someone so I am sharing it.

My typical git workflow

– git init (or clone)
– work on files on main branch
– git branch [newbranchname] (create a new branch for a new feature)
– git checkout branch (switch to that new branch)
– git merge [newbranchname] (merge new feature into main branch)
– git add . (or git add path/to/file(s))
– git commit (leave good notes)
– git pull [remote] [branch] (to sync with other devs)
– git push [remote] [branch] (send my local commits to other devs or repo server)

Some descriptions of other git commands

git init (initializes a directory as a new Git repository)
git clone [url] (copies an existing Git repository)
git status
git remote (list local "remote" aliases)
git remote add/rm [url] (creates a new alias)
git add (add changes; those could be in files or directory structure)
git add -u (adds unstaged changes including deletes not done with git rm)
git add -p (add changes per chunk in a file!)
gif diff (--cached for staged changes)
git commit (records a snapshot of the staging area)
git commit -m (specify a commit message on the command line)
git commit -a (skip the add step and do it automatically -a will not add new files)
git rm (delete a file, can be used to actually delete the file or after the fact to inform git of the action)
git rm --cached
(aka un-add/un-track)
git reset
(unstage changes that you have staged, opposite of git add)
git checkout --
..." to discard changes in working directory (???)
git update-index --assume-unchanged (ignore uncommitted changes in a file that is already tracked)
git pull/push (eg git push memoryties master)

My main source of information so far has been Git Reference.

Other resources
– http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/
– http://progit.org/book/
– git reset: http://progit.org/2011/07/11/reset.html

AWS Free Tier Micro Instance 101

I recently decided to hop on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Free Tier, and see what it was all about. I use regular AWS services at work quite a bit so I am not a newcomer to the AWS world. However, this was my first foray in to the Free Tier offering. I created this little tutorial based on my own experience as well as some other helpful pages I found about the web.
Continue reading AWS Free Tier Micro Instance 101

HTML Signatures in Gmail

Last month, Google released rich text signatures for their Gmail product.

When I read this I was excited that I may be able to get rid of the plug-in I had been using for this same purpose. While the plugin worked, most of the time, there were times when it did not. I also personally prefer to use built-in features whenever possible.

I checked out the new Rich Text Signature setting. Quickly I found that it allowed you to add images and links, yet still lacked the ability to do HTML editing. Not yet ready to give up I Googled to see if anyone else had found a way to do HTML in the new Rich Text Signature setting. Finding none I set to figuring out my own solution.

As I thought I remembered that this same feature could be found in Google Sites (and perhaps elsewhere). So I logged into one of my Google Sites and sure enough, the editor was almost identical, except that in the Google Sites editor there is an “HTML” button, which is lacking on the Gmail editor.

I had the idea that perhaps I could use the Google Sites editor to get an HTML signature into Gmail. It worked. Here is how I did it.

I created a new page on my Google Site. I clicked on the “HTML” button to “Edit HTML Source”. I pasted in the HTML I had been using with the plugin. I clicked “Update”. Now my signature showed up in the new Google Site page as rich text. I then highlighted the rich text version, copied it, went to my Gmail settings and pasted it into the Rich Text Signature editor. I saved and the click on Compose. Lo, and behold, there it was. Like magic.

I hope this helps you out until Gmail adds that HTML button to the Gmail editor.

Killing Sacred Cows

I just started reading this book and already I have found it to be amazing. I am only in chapter two, but if that is all I read of the book it would still be amazing and worth the price. I would suggest this book to everyone. It will change your thoughts about money, wealth, abundance, and prosperity is a very positive way.

The book is “Killing Sacred Cows” by Garrett Gunderson.

You can learn more about it on the Live on Purpose Radio podcasts:

Thanks to Dr. Paul, Leslie Householder and Garrett Gunderson for introducing it to me.

How to Wake up at 0500 Every Day

I love waking up early. Early for me is 0500. I do that every day. It feels great! Has it always been like this? No. My name is Jonathan, and I am an addict. I am addicted to sleep. Given the choice my body will always choose sleep over waking up. My body is naturally lazy.

The problem with having a lazy body that is addicted to sleep is that there are so many things I want to do every day. If I am sleeping in I am wasting precious time. There is so much to do and so little time. Sure my body needs to sleep, but not longer than is needful. God did not put me on this planet to sleep. Sleep is only necessary because this mortal body gets tired and needs to rejuvenate.

Continue reading How to Wake up at 0500 Every Day

I read twice as fast!

I have had some people ask me what I thought of the speed reading class I took last week. So I thought I would post my progress here.

The quick result is that I can now read twice as fast as I could before I took the one day course. That in itself is amazing to me. However, it is not enough and I am not yet satisfied with my reading speed.

The one day class was very worth my while, but just like anything, speed reading cannot be fully learned in one day. I have a lot of practice ahead of me. There are some extended classes that I am going to take to help me stick to the practicing that I need to do in order to reach the point I want to be at. At this point, reading is still a chore and does take a lot of concentration. But that is because I have to “unlearn what I have learned”. In other words, I have bad habits that hinder my ability to read with this new method. I need to forget about reading and comprehending the old way so that I can train my brain to learn how to read the new way.

In a way, it is like going back to Elementary School and learning how to read again. However, in my opinion, it is very worth it. The resulting speed at which I will be able to read will be hindered only by how long it takes me to turn a page.

I fully expect this process to be hard and uncomfortable. Learning is like that. Yet, because I understand the learning process, I am alright with the difficulty ahead of me. Just like any learning process, the more we practice the better we get and the easier the task becomes. In a couple months and even in a year from now, if I have been diligent in my practice of this new skill, I know that I can expect it to be as easy as reading the old way has become for me.

I will post more results in a month or so when I am done with the other classes.

If you are interested in taking the classes and would like to know more, take a look at the web site of Abundant Reading Systems. I highly recommend them.