My dearest gentlest readers,

I have been swimming in the sands of time and relishing everything that was but looking forward to what will be, and I have missed you all terribly; every passing week without having a few minutes with you left my heart feeling a little heavier, but as with all good things, they take time. I am happy to see you here, pumped up and ready to hit the ground running. I also come bearing news about the schedule for this newsletter. I will be bringing you a new issue every fortnight, so keep an eye out for the dawn of each edition, no matter where I am in the world.

What a trip! I loved every moment of it apart from the cold weather. And I finally got to make the Italian hot chocolate I liked, and for real, Ireland never leaves me.

I went to so many places; the GPO Museum, Epic Immigration Museum, and the Guinness Distillery are way up on my list, including listening to traditional Irish music played in one of the pubs my friends took me to. Shoutout to my favorite person, Lais, who made my experience worthwhile. You’re the best!

I like the fact that everyone I talked to about the history of Ireland, both the Republic and Northern Ireland, was so eager to tell me about it, from the Viking settlement to the Good Friday Agreement, including the role of religion, for example, the Catholic nationalists, who wanted Northern Ireland to join the Republic of Ireland, and Protestant unionists, who wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom. Ireland's history, marked by centuries of British colonization, shares parallels with other colonized nations, yet possesses distinct characteristics shaped by its unique cultural and political landscape.

Dublin seamlessly blends its rich historical tapestry with a dynamic, modern identity, attracting global giants like Google while carefully preserving its unique cultural heritage. Highly recommend!

With the start of the new year, motivation is at an all-time high, but remember it's the boring days that try us the most, and in those days you will need to show up and keep moving forward, so gather your strength, because this year has the potential to be one of the most wild and beautiful yet.

Setting goals is part of the shtick, these five models show a layout you can use to set your 2025 goals and see them through.

This collection features visually appealing cheatsheets covering Git, System Design, and distributed systems concepts.

Emails are tedious. Here are templates you can use to ease your load.

Wondering what tests to add to your test suite? Here is an API testing playbook.

We often ask why we need to learn certain algorithms, yet we do not use them on an everyday basis. Here is a diagram showing the algorithms we use in our daily lives. A couple that are missing are like:

• Search Algorithms: that power web search, GPS, recommendations, and efficient database queries.

• Fast Fourier Transform (FFT): Breaks down signals into frequencies, used in music players, image compression, and medical imaging.

• AST (Abstract Syntax Tree): Represents code structure, essential for compilers and code analysis.

• Gradient Descent: Optimizes machine learning models, used in self-driving cars, recommendations, and AI applications.

Sharpen your data structures and algorithms by learning these patterns.

If you tend to think about difficult conversations that could have been made better, these reframes are just for you. Use them, and maybe the next conversation may not be as difficult.

25 Articles to Learn Low-Level System Design

The word of the day is Zeitgeist. Zeitgeist refers to the general beliefs, ideas, and spirit of a time and place. Example in a sentence: The artist's work perfectly captured the zeitgeist of the 1920s, reflecting the era's fascination with jazz, flappers, and the roaring twenties.

I am making my grand departure into the unknown.

Until the next issue, my treasured reader, go forth, and may the odds ever be in your favour in this beautiful year!