The best things and stuff of 2025
blog.fogus.me
blog.fogus.me
https://www.costco.com/p/-/berkshire-life-heated-throw/40001...
I was very skeptical until my partner plugged it in, turned it on and put it on me and was like holy cow this is amazing.
My best book of 2025 was Dungeon Crawler Carl, the entire serious.
While trying to find the actual power consumption of the Costco model, I found this very useful comment on the Costco site: "The power consumption is not listed anywhere - product packaging, website, or included manual. I went ahead and made the purchase and hooked it up to my battery unit once I got home. I can confirm, the blanket uses an average 99W regardless of which mode it's in. I left it in each mode for about 5 minutes. There's no difference to the touch of the blanket and there's no difference with the power consumption. In other words this blanket has one heat setting and it's not very warm."
So disappointing.
Can't speak to the power usage, but levels 1-3 are warm-ish, but level 4 gets nice and toasty.
Otherwise I guess it'll be the seven seas for me which I really don't want to have to do
For sleeping, I have the opposite problem. I always overheat.
> our Tree Napper is the perfect choice for those that sleep hotter than most. It’s made from Tencel
I find that sticking one leg (and sometimes one arm) out from under the blanket helps to solve that issue.
Also, that video is really making me want to get an OP-1 haha.
From experience, I get you. There are many videos on the internet that do the same.
I bought one and found it... a little constraining for my taste. My observation was that most of the music creation was 'live' (i.e. you had to play something perfectly, to time, and record that) and for what is fundamentally a computer, it has very limited 'sequencing' ability. Also, a lot of the cutesy interface ideas that are so charming on someone else's video grate over time. Luckily I bought mine second-hand and the residuals on these things are insane, so I made a marginal profit reselling it.
All I'd say is that before pulling the trigger, do some research (YouTube reviews especially) on the term "groove box" - there are many, that come with different abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. The OP-1 is cool but limited, and comes with the Teenage Engineering price tag.
Then there's the OP-XY which is even more powerful but unfortunately costs like 4-5x as much so I've not tried it.
The chart on page 24 gives the very first division of the US phone into area codes, many of which have of course remained unchanged today.
From page 82, when discussing automated in-band signaling on the phone lines:
> The signal component is a band about 100 cycles [Hz] wide centering on the signal frequency [2600 Hz]. [...] In the talking condition (tone off in both directions) the guard detector sensitivity is such that almost a pure tone is required to operate the receiver since other than signal frequencies will produce a voltage opposing its operation. The guard feature prevents false operation of the receiver from speech signals.
Of course in hindsight, the flaw in this is obvious. The guard band prevents accidental triggering of the signal mechanism by ordinary speech. It does nothing to stop someone from intentionally playing a pure 2600 Hz tone into the telephone handset, using e.g. a whistle from a cereal box.
* Nationwide Operator Toll Dialing, 1945: https://explodingthephone.com/hoppdocs/nootd1945.pdf
* General Switching Plan for Telephone Toll Service, 1930: https://explodingthephone.com/hoppdocs/gspts1930.pdf
* (Book) Engineering and Operations in the Bell System, 1984: https://bitsavers.org/communications/westernElectric/books/E...
* (Shameless plug) My book on the history of phone phreaking, Exploding the Phone, which has a lot of stuff on Engressia in it: https://explodingthephone.com/
Also, there is a documentary film coming up at Sundance about Engressia! https://festival.sundance.org/program/film/6932fad21a5535277... Very excited to see it!
Shameless plug: my favorite calculator "app" is wxMaxima. It uses similar techniques[1] as those described in the fantastic article at the top of this 2025 list. Implemented in Lisp[2].
[0] https://chadnauseam.com/coding/random/calculator-app
[1] https://feb.kuleuven.be/public/u0003131/WBT23/wxMaxima/wxM_i...
The link between gluten and my 2 decade long bad insomnia, on edge mind, and restlessness.
Simply cutting gluten changed many things. Now I sleep so deeply I sometimes need a brief reality check to know what year it is, where I am, and how long I've been asleep.
Probably not for everyone, but if you have similar problems, definitely go gluten free for a few days and check the impact.
Would you say it was actually noticeable in just a few days?
Thank you for posting this, btw. I've been feeling pretty hopeless about it and even if it ultimately doesn't work, at least I have a new avenue to try.
My mind wanted to jump to the wall, bounce off it to the ceiling, then the other wall, like a scene from a cartoon. Then I remembered this image from childhood.
I had to play beatsaber for half an hour to calm that down.
BTW, I'm not a native English speaker, and heard about "bouncing off the walls" after I told my friends about this mental image.
Pro tip for web designers out there: if someone wants a narrow layout they can always make their browser window smaller, but if you force it to be narrow that screws over the users who find that unpleasant. A wider layout can thus work for both types of reader, while a narrow layout only works for one.
https://www.thinoptics.com/products/readers-black-keychain-c...
I wonder, does the author really find deep life satisfaction in all this? Presumably the answer is yes, but that doesn’t match my intuition which intrigues me somewhat. Is the satisfaction gained, at least in part, from the performance of making this sort of list and getting external approval from HN, conference audiences, etc? Is the production of this list and the stated desire to speak at conferences a statement that all the journaled activity is not enough, that it cannot be done privately? That if done privately, anonymously, it really is just not that great a way to live your life?
I am happy that I don’t live alone diving so deep into various hobbies that I ultimately start hitting the firmament underneath. What my life would look like had I not gotten married and had children is not so hard to imagine when I read these sorts of blogs, and I smugly think I am better off.
Reflective or not, it seems really personal and unfair to swing at a stranger like that. For all he knows, @fogus has the same number of partners and kids as he does, or is just as happy with whatever way their life is organized. I don’t think it’s fair to come at @fogus as “insecure” for reacting to derogatory assumptions.
Maybe everyone else here knows stuff I don’t about @fogus’ life, but I just read somebody being generous enough to share their internal thinking in public and, in exchange, getting shit on for no reason.
And as to gp—I agree the intention seems thoughtful and self-reflective; thank you for sharing those sentiments. I’m glad you’ve found happiness and fulfillment, and I think your point would stand just as strong without swinging at a stranger.
As if every alternative road has to be imagined as a less satisfying road to validate their own chosen path.
As if the diversity and multiplication of "search paths" through "reality space" is somehow sad or worse or less moral or less virtuous.
Which is absurd of course.
As for me, sometimes I take bad paths just for fun because I'm more curious than cautious.
"This is probably terrible, let's check it out."
And boy is it fun for those of use who like to explore the edges, and I like to imagine that all those taking more traveled paths are also enjoying themselves and the life they have!
Nobody writes like this just for themselves. It's for the show. It's their mansion of words and it's there to wow bystanders. Mind you, I'm not condemning, just merely stating why the post somewhat irks me. However, I respect the intellectual depth of the author; I might even have a beer with them (though it couldn't be a standard lager, I guess). The Internet would be a better place if it'd be full of content like this post.
Edit: I'm commenting on the post, not on the author. I don't know them. I'd love to.
By the way. I don't like beer.
From the root comment that speculates about your existential happiness (he chose a partner and kids instead, and is happier that way than whatever he assumes your life is like!), to the gp comment that passes judgment on your intentions in writing at all.
I’m not really sure what to make of that, but that kind of behavior is the reason I keep my writing to myself (and specific people I email directly) and never share it. I don’t have the patience to deal with the uninvited judgment, and I worry that I’d respond to the unjustified demands by internalizing them.
My life is richer as a result of you being able and willing to deal with all this, and sharing what stimulated you this year. If I didn’t like it, I’d go read something else and politely abstain from judgment. As it happens, I liked it very much, and I did not go read something else. Thank you.
Thank you for that, thank you for not letting various ancillary grumps dissuade you, and a healthy and stimulating and prosperous new year to you!
Things like this are also a way of expressing and sharing gratitude, which is a cathartic exercise to engage in periodically. Putting into words "these are things I enjoyed" is worthwhile, in my experience, and sharing it is a small extra step. Additionally, sharing it can be a gift to the future. I can't tell you how much I appreciate effort my parents took to document parts of my childhood (vacations, accomplishments, daily life, etc.) and I know other children feel the same. It's the kind of window to the past that is only open through efforts like this.
Wow. I hate that. I was doing diary when I was like 10 years old and when I was actually reading that after few weeks it was terrible. Pure cringe and whinings. With music it is not that visible but there are still few bands I cannot stand anymore, and I was litnening to them extensively few years back, like Neurosis.
But as a pure informational referrence... Sure!
I personally think poetry is at its best as a medium for writing and feeling and not consuming or sharing. I think everyone should write poetry and only a small number should probably share it, I certainly don't like being surprised by a poetry reading.
Journaling and poetry is what our future selves stand on and not really for your future self to look back on, it's a meditation where you let your internal self flow out instead of getting stuck in loops or living an unexamined life, it helps give shape to the internal nebulous.
I personally prefer poetry over journaling, it's simultaneously terrible poetry and my best, highest utility writing.
For every person that feels better off in that situation, there’s another person who feels trapped and tied down and unable to pursue their passions.
Different things make different people happy. And that’s okay.
Most of the parents I'm close to are in the "wow, this actually kind of sucks" category.
Against what I hear about parenting, I'm mostly left feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled, but what am I going to do? Maybe it'll come later.
That doesn't mean it's impossible to be happy without a million dollars.
Thank you for sharing with us how you are happy that you have a wife and kids.
I have no way of knowing (unless they comment yes/no here). If they do, good for them! But also, I don't think that's the claim in the article, it's literally called The best things and stuff in 2025, not The essential meaning of my life in 2025.
(I am a big fan of egg punk and a true devo-tee)
Last year they came to Australia, which I didn't know about, and it's the first time I've ever felt like I missed out on a musical event.
Then they released a new album this year, " infants under the bulb" which has been growing on me.
I also started Warhammer this year, and one of my frigates is driven by a small grey man
Fogus: Things and Stuff of 2024 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42495077 - Dec 2024 (44 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2022 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33969300 - Dec 2022 (47 comments)
The Best Things and Stuff of 2021 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29702698 - Dec 2021 (23 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2020 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25593828 - Dec 2020 (37 comments)
Things and Stuff of 2019 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21932647 - Jan 2020 (11 comments)
Great things and people that I discovered, learned, read, met, etc in 2017 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16075626 - Jan 2018 (24 comments)
Best things and stuff of 2015 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10807501 - Dec 2015 (85 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2014 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8809710 - Dec 2014 (26 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2013 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6971351 - Dec 2013 (29 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2012 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4969569 - Dec 2012 (13 comments)
The best things and stuff of 2011 by Fogus - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3410990 - Dec 2011 (20 comments)
Highly recommended.
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The Dream Factory was a great book this year on Shakespeare.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=%2810%5...