Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible

 Linux Command Line and Shell Scripting Bible, 4th Edition, by Richard Blum and Christine Bresnahan is a complete guide for software professionals to master Linux. It deals with commonly used Linux commands and shell scripting programming techniques. It has chapters on sed, awk and regular expressions. Other topic covered are accessing command line, basic commands on file handling, monitoring programs, monitoring disk space, sub-shells, environment variables, dealing with file permissions, various filesystems, installing packages, working with editors, basic shell programming, using structured shell commands, handling user inputs, presenting data, handling signals, running script in background, cron jobs, creating functions, writing scripts for graphical desktops and version controlling using GIT.

 Detailed notes:  https://shine-notes.blogspot.com/2023/08/bash-notes-expanded.html

U.S History for dummies by Steve Wiegand

I am better informed of American history after reading this book than before. This book covers breadth, but examines certain topics deep enough to make it interesting. This book covers Native Americans and Explorers; Pilgrims; American Revolution; Yankee Doodlin; American Independence; Early wars; pulling country together; issue of slavery; war with Mexico; gold rush; civil war and assassination of Abraham Lincoln; freed slave and sharecroppers; heading west in quest of wealth; cramming into cities; building rail roads; colonizing Spanish lands; gin and jazz; Great Depression and new deal; World War II; rock n roll and Elvis; communism in America; Kennedy; Vietnam war; civil rights movement; ousting of Nixon; Cold War; Reaganomics; Gulf War; Bill Clinton and sex scandal; homegrown terrorism; AIDS; dealing with drugs; internet; Al Qaeda and 9/11; U.S. invasion on Afghanistan and Iraq; hurricanes; 2008 recession; reforming healthcare or Obamacare; Trumped; new America.

It’s disheartening to read the plight of native Americans and later the state of African Americans. It’s very encouraging to read the resolution of early Americans under adverse conditions. It’s interesting to read about the the evolution of life of African Americans after slavery - started with sharecropping and then moved to cities. Also took part in WW-II jobs and enrolled in military. Another topic is role of technology in shaping the culture - role of radio, movies, television, fast food and internet.

Mathematics From Algebra to Algorithms: Adventures in Numbers by Michael Willers

 A fun mathematics book to refresh Algebra concepts in the context of its origin. It covered Algebra basics; ancient Greece; Egypt, India and Persia; Italian Connection; Post Renaissance Europe; and modern application in Money and Privacy. Each Topic is covered with its famous personality and a brief historical context. It is then accompanied by a set of sample problems. Each subtopic is covered in 2 pages. Overall its super fun to read and lot of good information.

Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber

This is the story about Penguins who adapted to the imminent change and moved onto a new way of life.  The characters in the story—Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Professor, and NoNo. These are the main points in the book.

SET THE STAGE

1. Create a sense of Urgency

* Do we have a strong "why" for our change ?

2. Pull Together the Guiding Team.

* Bring powerful group guiding the change.

DECIDE WHAT TO DO

3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy

* Clarify how future will be different from past.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-In

5. Empower Others to Act

* Remove barriers and make the innovation happen.

6. Produce Short-term Wins

* Create some visible success ASAP

 7. Don't Let Up

* Press harder and faster after the first success

MAKE IT STICK

8. Create a new Culture

* Continue new behaviour until replace the old traditions.

Who moved my cheese?

Another great book to read. It’s the story of 2 mice and 2 little people. They always had their cheese in one place. One fine day, someone moved their cheese. It’s story of them adapting to the change.

Some key points:

Don’t blame the change and get annoyed. Rather anticipate the change, monitor the change and adapt to the change quickly. Change and enjoy the change!!

The One Minute Manager

 This is the about the book “ The One Minute Manager” by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson. The one minute manager starts with setting goals, praise & reprimand behaviors. It is all driven by care for people. This is the making of the one minute manager 😊

- Set one minute goals

- give one minute praisings

- give one minute reprimands

Zero to One Book by Blake Masters and Peter Thiel

 A very good read!!

Globalization brings in more competition in the market. Cut throat competition is actually bad for business, because it will eat into the profit margin. Creative monopoly is good. Patents will help business, and take the competition away by producing 10x better product compared to its nearest competitor. Also producing a business that will be around for a decade to come.