I like the book as well. But I think it suffers a bit too much from technooptimism for answering the question "how to avoid a climate disaster". I appreciate Bill Gates's optimism, but it's a dangerous gamble to only talk about technical solutions and leave societal and cultural aspects off the table. With that in mind: It's still a very good book.
If you have the slightest interest in rockets, you should read this funny and informative book. You don't need to be a chemist to follow. I have a hardcopy at home and recommend to read it this way, as the contents are sometimes densely explained and you want to look up some additional information on the Internet in parallel.
I know it sounds cliche, but maybe you should look at the bigger picture from time to time:
"A man came across three stonecutters and asked them what they were doing. The first replied, “I am making a living.” The second kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire county.” The third looked up with a visionary gleam in his eye and said, “I am building a cathedral.”" https://www.harvardmagazine.com/breaking-news/three-stonecut...
Of course, IT applications in larger corporations tend to be boring and uninspiring by themselves, but they are there for a reason and they probably make someone's life easier and help other people to their job. For example, I am working on an IT system that connects individual dealerships to the corporate IT databases. My company uses this system to sell its products and communicate with its customers, so this system is really helping people.
Maybe try to look beyond the daily and mundane tasks of your job and see the purpose of your role.
> 2) The cathedral anecdote sounds pithy, until you hear “sorry, no raise for you. But do you really need it? After all - you’re building a cathedral!”
Well then find something you're really passionate about but convey the impression to your boss that you're mainly doing it for the money;)
I understand that you feel frustrated; your role does not match your expectations. So maybe you should find out the meaning and the purpose of your role. In the end, you are paid for adding value in the corporate environment; your contribution can happen in many ways, e.g. by hosting more effective meetings or by improving decision frequency and speed etc. Adding value in a corporation is not always about technical achievements, but also about improving the team and the game (as a social process).
If this is not your cup of tea, you might be better served by a technical role in some specialized consulting company.
I received a warning messages from Google a couple of days ago.
GMail is no longer supporting password-based login or special privileges for third-party apps. If your email client wants to access your GMail account, it must support OAuth2, so that it can use Google's own authentication service. For example, Mozilla Thunderbird works just fine (I tested it); I read that the latest versions of MS Outlook are also fine.
For me, this is a high motivation to get rid of my GMail accounts, and move to some real, privacy-friendly email provider.
Thank you. Does OAuth2 have any privacy implications itself, allowing Google to know more about your machine, or are you moving because of the trend in general?
And it seems that iPhones already defaulted to OAuth2 for new connections?
Honestly, I can relate to your situation - been there, done that. I think I am a step further now, I kind of found a fitting lifestyle for myself.
The absolutely first thing that you really need to do, is finding a girlfriend.
Don't worry about being nerdy - there is someone out there waiting for you! You are an attractive man. Finding a spouse will dramatically improve your quality of life.
There are enough options to reach this goal. Online dating comes to mind, but it might take a while to find the right match, so hang in there!
I can pretty much relate - I cannot wrap my mind around Web3 /cryptocurrency / NFTs either. Fortunately, they have no bearing on my life whatsoever, so I tend to ignore them.
I think I get your feeling: there are giant Internet-based monopolies out there (e.g. Facebook, Amazon, Google...) which seem to be driven entirely by greed and power. Google's "Don't be evil" disappeared long ago. Those monopolies are no longer a force for the good and their technological allure has faded over the years.
If you are looking for exiting technology, you need to look outside the Web. I find autonomous driving and robotics really fascinating. I mean , the SpaceX rocket boosters return to Earth in a powered landing - how cool is that?
Finally a book that approaches climate change from an engineering perspective and focuses on possible, constructive solutions.