Michael Dinh
Retirement Planning
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2025
Marginal rates. For tax year 2025, the top tax rate remains 37% for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $626,350 ($751,600 for married couples filing jointly). The other rates are:
35% for incomes over $250,525 ($501,050 for married couples filing jointly).
32% for incomes over $197,300 ($394,600 for married couples filing jointly).
24% for incomes over $103,350 ($206,700 for married couples filing jointly).
22% for incomes over $48,475 ($96,950 for married couples filing jointly).
12% for incomes over $11,925 ($23,850 for married couples filing jointly).
10% for incomes $11,925 or less ($23,850 or less for married couples filing jointly).
What is the percentage difference between 12% and 22%? Most get this wrong!
Goal is to pay little to zero tax.
The Ten Commandments of Mindfulness
Translated into English by Tam Lac Jessica A. Tran
1. Yearn not for a body free of disease and suffering, because without going through pain and illness, sundry desires are easily awakened.
2. Wish not for a life free of mishaps and obstacles, because without them one tends to become arrogant and egotistic.
3. Pray not for a quick shortcut regarding spiritual introspect, because without excruciating effort, one becomes short-learning.
4. Fear not the haunting disturbance of evil while accumulating spiritual strength, because without them one’s determination does not grow solid strong.
5. Hope not for easy success in one’s work, because without difficulties and failures, one tends to undervalue others and become overly proud.
6. Build not relationships on selfish gain, because a relationship based on profit has lost its genuine meaning.
7. Look not for a universal consensus regarding one’s personal opinion, because complete adoption to a single opinion will render narrow mindedness.
8. Expect not repayment or reward from others for one’s services, because calculation and expectation contradicts true service.
9. Engage not irrationally into profitable attractions, because jumping too quickly into temptation may well blind wisdom.
10. Stir not at being victim of injustice, because eagerness to clarify reputation belongs to an ego too attached to loose.
These are the Buddha’s teachings:
– Consider disease and suffering as medicines to the body
– Use mishaps as a means of self-liberation
– Treat obstacles as enjoyable challenges
– Greet haunting spirits as good companions
– Consider difficulties as life enjoyments
– Thank bad friends as helping you in self-adjustment
– View unpleasant dissidents as friendly entertainment
– See favors as merely unimportant sandals plentiful to dispose
– Take disinterest from temptation as an honourable achievement.
– Employ injustice as entry doors to spiritual perfection.
To accept obstacles will bring wisdom, but to pray for wisdom will inevitably bring obstacles. It was within all obstacles approaching that The Thus Comes One enlightened to the Ultimate Bodhi. He gladly instilled perfection to the Path of Enlightenment to all the people who wished to do harm to him, even the great ill seeker that was named Devadatta.
Thus, does not the difficulty faced in life bring beneficial results, and could not the destruction and damage of others bring support to one’s achievements?
Today Buddhist practitioner, because they firstly fear to throw themselves into all types of obstacle, so when true obstacles come their way, they are too helpless to fend for themselves. The Absolute Dharma of nobility and superior ambition thus diminishes because of this pity, how regretful, how resentful!?
Reference https://www.buddhismtoday.com/viet/phatphap/10dieutamniem.htm
Thank You And Good Bye Again
Fill your mind with thoughts of peace, courage, and hope. – Dale Carnegie’s Golden Book.
Don’t Cheat Yourself
There was a reason why I am not active on Linkedin and now I know why – Join 50,000+ engineers and learn how to crush technical interviews.
You may know about Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and not be a good swimmer.
I was bold back in the days. Had technical with Yahoo and every answers for the question asked was not correct.
Finally, I replied with, “If you put me on the database and if I cannot solve it, then don’t hire me.”
The interviewers replied with, “You are doing well Michael and we wanted to understand your thought and troubleshooting process.”
Yes! I did get the offer but had already accepted another “=)
Oracle Tutorials And References
There are 942 Oracle Tutorials
There are 622 References, Playbooks, etc…
If you learn something, then pay it forward.
Unstoppable
Love this song!
Patch Nomenclature for Oracle Products
Interim Patch:
A patch containing one or more fixes made available to customers who cannot wait until the next patch set or new product release to get a fix.
Bundle Patch (BP):
An iterative, cumulative patch that is issued between patch sets. Bundle patches usually include only fixes, but some may include minor enhancements.
Patch Set Update (PSU):
A quarterly patch that contains the most critical fixes for the applicable product, allowing customers to apply one patch to avoid many problems.
These will be documented in My Oracle Support documents and initially released from the Critical Patch Update program.
Security Patch Update (SPU):
An iterative, cumulative patch consisting of security fixes. Formerly known as Critical Patch Update.
Reference (Doc ID 1430923.1) retrieved on May 28, 2024
BEST
I have always said the best part of me is my spouse.
Always do your best because you do not know who is paying attention!
Don’t Know + Don’t Try = Don’t Care.
Remove the don’t and do your best!
EFFECTIVE vs EFFICIENT
What is the difference?
SRDC – Collect Data Guard Diagnostic Information (Doc ID 2219763.1)
Auto Collection Using TFA (Recommended)
Manual Collection Using Script for Unix
Note: Oracle support typically request TFA; however, some environment disable TFA due to resource.
This means manual collection is required.
Want To vs Have To
Of course, it’s better to have people act because they want to vs have to.
Like everything, it depends.
Going back to the team I led decades ago. When asked to perform a task, I would typically get the same set of volunteers. They are the ones I can always count on.
Unfortunately that’s not the case for my new team. It’s so quiet that one can hear a dog fart.
In a crisis situation, asking for volunteers is not ideal.
A lifeguard resuscitating a person would not shout, “Someone call 911!”
Instead, lifeguard will need to select a specific person.
You! What’s your name. Do you have a phone? If yes, call 911. This create accountability vs having everyone calling 911.
Know the situations!
CONFIDENCE
Cleaning emails from a decade ago to find what I used to have as part of signature.
Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong – Peter T Mcintyre
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people – Eleanor Roosevelt
BELIEVE
If I told you that I am timid, then would you believe me?
I was asked, “If you don’t believe in yourself, then who will?”
I was told by a dear departed friend, Jerry Roberts, to tell yourself, “Every day in every way, I get better and better.”
I was once complimented, “There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness and you walk that line well.”
Believe in yourself and the best you can be.
Leadership
Good leadership is when people do things because they want to versus have to.
Recently, I was given a position as team lead and it seems I have fallen in the second position (have vs want).
Wondering if I need to make someone cry? Here’s the story for that.
I was promoted to lead at a young age at Puritan Bennet.
The company had 2 strikes with FDA.
Current team lead has made me aware of my short fuse.
First day as a lead, a manager tells me “One of your team member is crying in the corner.”
CRAP! I went to see her and ask what I did wrong.
I was not scolding nor yelling but rather spoke in a calm voice. She then tells me, “I can see the anger in your eyes.”
Thank God for remote work.
They are the best!
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What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
I actually have this in my photo album from decades ago.