FAQ
- What does sua mean? Why does your username and website have so many of them?sữa means milk in vietnamese. Maybe I could shorten it to sua5 or s5.
- Where is everything? How come the website is so basic?I'm not a web developer by trade, so this is me branching out into another field of software engineering. I agree, it's not the flashiest website, but that's fine. The biggest learning experience for me has been acting as the project manager, creative director, primary software engineer, and devops engineer. Just look at the GitHub issues, pull requests, and deployments! I am learning about how to make free and open source (FOSS) projects by painstakingly documenting each and every commit and design choice. Maybe one day, someone will find my website useful or this will help me land a new job (unlikely lol). TLDR; The web design will get better! Just stick around!
- What's your favorite text editor?neovim and tmux duo goes undefeated. If I am in a pinch or some git diff looks too confusing, I'll use Visual Studio Code (goated don't get me wrong).
- What's your favorite programming language?Python by a long shot. No other languages come close to the time-value proposition that it offers.
- Should I study Computer Science?Take my answer with a grain of salt because I entered the job market at a very favorable time. I still do think that Computer Science (not software engineering, note the distinction) is still a worthwhile skill and ultimately a very intellectually rewarding career path. Take the leap, and brace for the dive.
- Why are you using macOS? Isn't it overpriced and worse than Windows and Linux?I firmly believe in my heart that macOS is the best operating system and that MacBooks are the best value proposition between battery life, screen quality, portability, compute capability, usability, and aesthetics. Sure, there aren't as many ports on it, but you can always buy a dongle (lol). I won't lie, it is expensive, but it is not overpriced by any means. About the comparison to Windows and Linux, my answer is that it depends on what you want to do. If you're not a developer or creative, then you will be fine with a Windows machine. If you're a gamer, then macOS and Linux probably isn't for you (keep an eye out on Asahi for macOS and Proton for Linux). I would advocate that we learn all the major operating systems and get out of this stupid culture war -- just use what works for you!
- Follow up question, why not Linux?I do use Linux at home (NixOS btw) and at work daily, but Linux is not anywhere close to the level of convenience and power that macOS and MacBooks offer. The harmony between the hardware and software take Macs to the next level. In my opinion, there isn't much more that Linux offers that macOS doesn't offer to a casual or low-to-mid tech enthusiast. Most of the time, your device that you put Linux onto will not work out of the box. You will have to do mind-boggling configuration for trackpads, audio, webcams, thunderbolt connections, etc. If you want to get into the rabbit hole of figuring out the hardware quirks and dotfile configuration, I encourage you to go ahead! Personally, I've realized that it's a big waste of time. Over the Summer I tried my hand at building the perfect Sway (tiling window manager) setup, but it was exhausting and frankly neverending. I was chasing a minimal setup to tell people that I had a minimal setup, not to actually work! Today, I'm fine with plain Gnome or KDE for the desktop experience because I'm trying to get things done.
- What's something that you've been obsessed with?Running, but I've been slacking lately tbh. I'm still undoing years of gamer-rotting in my bedroom playing League of Legends, so mile by mile is difficult and strenuous still. We're making slow progress since May 2024 though!
- What's your favorite food?Easy. My mom's phở has the most unique and flavorfull broth I've ever tasted. No other phở has come close, whether it be family, friends, or restaurants -- (my real answer is spicy chicken deluxe combo from chick-fil-a).
- What's your favorite drink?I've been loving this maple black tea that my girlfriend bought me when she visited Canada earlier in the year.
- What's your favorite video game?Hearthstone is the only game that I still play consistently. I still keep up with League of Legends but only through loltyler1's YouTube and Twitch. I've played lots of Elden Ring over Summer 2024, but I'm taking a break for my sanity.