Does everything always come down to money ? I do not believe so. Yet, not only can money contribute to your happiness and well-being, it is also necessary to survive in our capitalist society. As I am giving my best to grow this blog and deliver quality content to you, I have decided that I want and will continue striving to earn a living writing online. I used to think ads could fix my problem, but that involved selling my soul. As my soul is priceless, I will keep it and you will not hear about ads ever again here. Instead, I will present you several ways to protect yourself from them and one of the many other ways I have chosen to earn a living with my blog.
Quick Disclaimer
If you were diagnosed an allergy to sarcasm or dark humor or if your doctor told you that you are suffering from a rare case of sensitive-soul syndrome, I am sorry but you should not proceed any farther.
Do Protect Yourself From Ads
If you want to consume less, you should first reduce your exposure to temptation. Ads incarnate temptation, so choose to remove them and defend your privacy and freedom at the same time!
Erase Your Cookies From Time To Time
Ideally, you should do this on a daily basis. Even each time you are done with a session. Let's not freak out however. Even I wouldn't do it every day, because it's just a pain (in all honesty, it really is). As a conclusion, just do it as often as possible. Once a week, once a month... erase it all, and get a clean slate. If that may be called so, in an era when everything is saved in some Google, Facebook or Amazon server, ready to back-stab you whenever you become a nuisance (be careful, this last sentence was explicitly paranoid).
If you are feeling motivated, press Ctrl+Shift+Del.
If you don't know where one of these keys is located on your keyboard, your best-friend Google has you covered. Wait... Did I really say best friend?
Remove Your Browser History
This one is a must, sorry to break it to you. It is a matter of survival, just as much as money. Yep, you see what I mean. If you don't want people sniffing around in your browser history to check what you have been watching... what better way than deleting it ? Now, the fact that you enjoy adult movies will still be a little secret you share with your internet provider but, at least, it will no longer involve a sudden break-up.
Again, you may press Ctrl+Shift+Del.
Use An Ad-Blocker
If you have never heard of ad-blockers, I believe the only thing I have left to do is announce your family that I did everything I could... Just install ad-blocks, okay ?
Use Another Search Engine
Let's stop using Google. I mean it. Instead, try out DuckDuckGo or SearX. Both of these will respect your privacy where Google will just spit on it and act as if it had never existed.
DuckDuckGo Search Engine SearX Search Engine
Browse The Web With Brave
I once wrote an article about curiosity, a quality I highly value. Online, curiosity not only is your best friend, it is an ally in this vicious war which we fight every single day to keep our freedom. Privacy has already become a myth because of social networks, but it does not mean it is the time to give in to mediocrity! Wake up and start looking for alternatives, instead of lazily clicking ! There are myriads of them. Opensource communities keep growing by the day. Aren't you tired of being lazy and assisted ? If you are, then change your mindset. Stop looking for easy and instantaneous, look for effortful but rewarding.
What is the brave browser, you ask ? Just click on the link and it will re-direct you to the official website. They are much better than me explaining their own business. In case you are wondering, I have been using brave for a while and I highly recommend it. Ditch old-sport Google Chrome and come aboard. Hey, and you know what ? Brave automatically blocks ads, isn't that awesome ?
Amazon Affiliate Program
I will not enable ads on my website. Not because it would be for pennies but my soul and I are good friends and I don't intend to break up with her just yet. Yep, my soul's a she, ya got a problem with that?
I am however partnering with amazon so... You may support my efforts by clinking on the links which are followed by an asterisk. I figured a partnership with Amazon would be the least obtrusive way of earning something with my blog. Anything that may endanger your experience as a user doesn't interest me. So, if you aren't interested in a product I recommend, do ignore the asterisks.
For my fellow bloggers who don't know that Amazon has an associate program, I encourage you to check it out. I'm not saying you'll earn much, since I haven't even started at the time I'm writing these words, but I do believe it is worth trying. As are all associate programs actually, but I won't speak another word of Facebook and the kind. I'm having a great day and I don't want to ruin it, if you don't mind.
Do you want to live from your passion?
If the answer is yes, do something about it.
Signing Off
I hope you had a good time reading this post and that you learned a thing or two. Perhaps you found out you have a critical mind ? If so, beware, some people don't like sarcasm before 8 in the morning.
Ahem! Thank you for reading this, it means a lot to me. Feel free to share this article if it's worth your friends' time. There are buttons somewhere on this page with social icons and all, I think. But you certainly know better than me, in this area. A like or a comment would come just as appreciated. You may also follow this blog and become part of our awesome gang. All you need is click, no ad-blockers to install (pinky swear) !
Je vous propose aujourd'hui un poème sur un thème très simple : la randonnée. Nul besoin de complexité pour se sentir connecté avec le monde qui nous entoure, ou pour simplement être bien...
Je me lève tôt,
contemple ce glorieux tableau :
des montagnes à perte de vue,
un paysage dont je ne me lasse plus.
J’admire ce ciel d’eau,
dont aucun nuage ne me tourne le dos.
Ce jour, je balbutie mes premiers mots
comme la veille, balayant mes derniers maux.
Je prends mon déjeuner,
composé d’un maigre café
que je bois à petites gorgées,
et d’une tranche de ce bon gâteau
qui un jour aura ma peau.
Pas une goutte de pluie
à l’horizon, alors je dis :
Il est temps de croquer la vie
à pleines dents mais aussi,
de profiter de cette sortie.
J’attrape les clés de la voiture,
et ainsi commence l’aventure.
À deux nous sommes sans peur,
j’appuie donc sur l’accélérateur.
Oubliant erreurs et rancoeurs,
on fait ronfler le moteur.
La route est courte,
comme vider un pot de yaourt.
Quelle bien bête comparaison !
Je me ferai une raison…
Une fois arrivés,
et aussitôt garés, on s’en est allé
sur de rocailleux sentiers.
De divers arbres, ils sont bordés,
et tendent parfois à tracer,
de hasardeux lacets.
Pas facile de se repérer,
au milieu de cette forêt mais,
le point topographie effectué,
la flèche est correctement réorientée.
On s’en retourne ainsi tout joyeux,
car pas besoin de plus pour être heureux.
Sans chanson, mais pleins de motivation,
on s’en est rempli les poumons,
du grand air dont nous rêvions.
On repasse le seuil de l’entrée,
vient le temps de se reposer
mais aussi de coucher sur le papier
ce qui n’était alors que des idées.
Vient le temps de partager
la belle expérience qu’était
cette superbe randonnée.
When I began my journey as a programmer, there was one question which always kept coming back. Which kept bothering me. I absolutely needed to pick a text editor. One that would be easy enough for me to be able to focus on coding, but also one which would be popular enough. It would have been a shame for me to invest time into an editor if it became obsolete a year later. So, here is our question : which text editor should you use ?
What Is A Text Editor
Not only does a text editor represent a serious investment in terms of time (some more than others), but it may also be seen as a religion depending on who you spend your time with. Let me offer you a word of advice : If you ever stop by a vim conference, keep a low profile if you aren't running vim or neovim on your machine. Otherwise, they will judge you.
The most common text editors are programmers' best friends, but most people tend to forget that powerful tools such as vim/neovim or Emacs are SO MUCHMORE than mere editors. I no longer program, yet I use neovim on a daily basis (just to give you an idea). Some people, such as Derek Taylor, run Emacs as their window managers. With Emacs, you could also play games, manage your emails, run a terminal emulator... and countless other things which you can also do with vim (although I will acknowledge that vim is less of an operating system than Emacs).
What Is a Modal Text Editor
Such text editors offer multiple modes which were all designed for a specific action from the user. Let's take the example of vim :
Visual Mode : Designed to select text, essentially.
Insert Mode : Press i and *poof*, you have just entered insert mode. Now you may write whatever you fancy. This is the easiest mode to wrap your head around.
Normal Mode : This is vim's default mode when you enter it. In this mode, your keys will have a different behavior than you are used to. You may press dd to delete a line of text, w to move forward to the next word, and so on...
Command Mode : Press ":" to enter command mode. Then you can do ":w" to save your document, or ":x" to save+exit, and countless other things. My examples only are the most basic possibilities.
Replace Mode : As the name suggests, you activate this mode to replace characters. Astonishing, init ?
My History With Text Editors
I remember writing my first programs in python's interpreter and having so much fun. Then, my brother sort of forced me to switch to vim. If you have ever heard of the steeplearning curve you have with that text editor, well... Let's say I had a hard time and decided to move to something much more casual. I used Pluma for a while, which is Mate's editor. Since my brother was disappointed in me when he figured out I wasn't using the pro-gamer tool he'd recommended, I "decided" to move back to vim. Once again, it did not really work out... So I installed Virtual Studio Code and had such a great time with its user-friendly interface and auto-completion and... and that's it, actually.
It took me months to go back to vim. Long months. Plus, I was determined to easy back into it the next time I was going to try. I wanted it work out. So it did. At first, I kept Virtual Studio Code on the side, just in case I would not be able to do something in vim, and then I got to the point that I did not need it anymore. That's when I uninstalled VS-Code.
You may believe it is the end of my story. You would be wrong. After using vim for many many months, I found out that there actually was something better. You guessed it, I am speaking about neovim. As some more experienced and knowledgeable people have written better and more detailed articles than me on the subject, I shall merely suggest you click on the links below and find out for yourselves how neovim is a huge improvement over vim.
I have been using neovim for a while, and I don't believe it is ever going to change. If you feel like it, do make the switch. You won't be disappointed. You also are free to do otherwise. I believe GNU/Linux & Open Source software are all about freedom.
Most Popular Text Editors
Down below is a list of trendy text editors. Notepad++ is more for Windows users, and I would recommend you choose a much better (and free) one.
Are you a writer, a programmer, a student ? If you are not a programmer, there's no need to pick up Virtual Studio Code, or Sublime. You should rather install vim/neovim or Emacs, or stick to something like LibreOffice if you are a what-you-see-is-what-you-get advocate (though it is a word-processing program, not an editor). As a writer (and casual programmer; I enjoy shell scripting much more than JavaScript), I would recommend neovim. It allows me to manage my emails (with NeoMutt, although it kind of still is a work in progress), edit my books (with LaTeX), take notes (in Markdown), and so many other things that I cannot list them all here (don't you get me started on plugins).
One article would never be enough...
Conclusion
I apologize if this article sounded too much like neovim propaganda. I only am passionate and desire what I consider the best tools to be as widely spread as possible. I need to share what makes my life easier, because it could make yours better too. Who would I be if I kept that gold mine for myself ?
Anyway... As you could read, there is a wide variety of tools for everyone out there, and picking the right toolbox can be a real struggle. If you should only retain one thing from this article, here it is : follow the wind. As a programmer, you cannot waste your time changing your editor every year. You need something which has stood and will stand the test of time.
From personal experience, I would either recommend Virtual Studio Code or (Neo)vim. Both are extremely popular and aren't going anywhere. If you are unafraid of steep learning curves & need something to brag at your next conference, then vim it is. If you are looking for something to learn faster (& unafraid of clicking around), VS-Code is great too!
Closing Statement
I hope you liked this article. If you did, do let me know by liking, commenting and/or following me (via email or WordPress). Feel free to share your opinion in the comments. I will approve anything, as long as it isn't too spirited or spiritual...
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in high school, bored by my teacher's rambling, and I began thinking about life and the cycles we get through as we age. That's when it dawned on me : There are seasons in our lives...
Tomorrow, life shall begin againYou will go back homeAnd turn your back on meYou may forget meSummer shall be overTomorrow, life shall keep goingI will think of youAnd look at our picturesI will rememberFall shall be overTomorrow, life shall become dullTaken over by lassitudeYou will tell your childAnd sleep under warm sheetsBut deep insideYou will be coldWinter shall be overTomorrow, life shall get back into youYou will rise back to lifeI will turn over a new leafLife will have begun againSpring shall be over
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If you liked this post, do comment &/or press the like button. You may also share it with your friends and follow this blog (if you aren't already). Please, do stay for more...
Once again, I have a dose of prose for you. This is one of my very first poems, so I figured it only makes sense I share it with you. What could be more poetic than a wolfcrying to the moon ?
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The lone wolf sings for the moon, which enlightens the night. She carefully listens to it, as well as its singing-along brothers. Thus they share this evermore-refined moment, as they sit far from each other. They are free, and this freedom defines their happiness and singularity. Yet, through the darkness of that night, one shadow’s song differs from all the others’. It is no praise, but a howl to death. That obscure shape implores her beloved moon which always has kept watch over her. Such a beautiful cry of despair, perfectly conveying its profound loneliness...
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If you liked it, feel free to share it or simply like and comment to show your appreciation and support. If you want to stick around for more, you are most welcome. I hope you are all having a great day!
