dv35z

Thanks Nico -

Yes, I experienced the same on PeerTube (MakerTube.net is the instance I used). Recently I experimented with TwitchTV - but wow, I everything about the interface & experience shouted "this is not for me!". I don't have a Google account, so (currently) streaming through YouTube is out - got any suggestions?

Agreed - some automation would be good. It was insightful reading the posts and doing the manual research, but I'd love to be able to query the page more.

I really like the idea of doing a live HN code jam - what are some things you would be interested in for the next session, that would make it a total win?

// JRO

Hey everyone - We are reviewing the HN Who's Hiring post, discussing & documenting tech trends, and overall talkin' shop and gettin to know each other.

HN Who's Hiring post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44434576

Join the video collaboration room: https://pop.com/j/531-840-214

Watch the live stream (PeerTube / MakerTube): https://makertube.net/w/cAL1cRuHCCvvvJW43EDtyu

This can be helpful for job search, and also to to give guideance on what technologies & tools to invest your time in learning.

If this is fun & valuable, we'll do some more code jam sessions.

// JRO

Have you ever come across an "inverted" abridged dictionary? A dictionary of the words which are most commonly abridged (removed) from a core dictionary.

What voices do you recommend? The ones I had checked out (about a year ago) - the voices were mostly european-sounding, and flat, and not so natural-sounding. Is Piper the best open-source text-to-speech engine out there?

I'm wondering if someone can help me brainstorm my setup -

How to handle images & video content, when using git to track files? I'll explain my setup...

My vision is a somewhat "lo-fi" and 10+ year durable system - so even my "CI/CD" is more local, in the form of shell scripts, rather than remotely (like GitHub Actions)

I have a folder, that's basically my-website.com, and it has a folder `docs` for content (that's `mkdocs` default content folder). The top level directory is a git repository, which is pushed to Codeberg (code repository, similar to GitHub).

As a content editor, I currently use VSCodium (open-source VSCode) + FOAM (clone of ROAM, similar to Obsidian, which lets you cross-link Markdown files with Obsidian-style links [[MyLink]]. To be specific here, on MacOS, I created a shortcut to the website folder on Finder, and I drag that onto the VSCodium app icon, when I want to write. It's a pretty easy workflow on my computer (not practical on mobile)

I use MkDocs to generate the HTML site. I use a simple deploy script to run `mkdocs build` and `aws s3 sync` to copy the files to an AWS S3 bucket.

This all works pretty well, but I'm now trying to figure out how to handle photos & videos.

To give an example, I would have something like `~/_Websites/my-website.com/docs` and inside of that I would have `journal/2025/04/2025-04-23.md` as a journal entry. Related photos and videos, I use `journal/2025/04/media` - so its sort of a catch-all for all the media files for the month.

Recently, I added some large videos (unrelated: but I'm recording video of my CNC router doing cool stuff), and quickly realized

(1) Git is not the right spot for large media (I knew this, but just hadn't hit the problem yet - seeing how long `git pushes` take).

(1.1) I actually have a broken repo right now, as I committed video files into it, and can't `git push` without the network connection being cut. I think it may be on the Codeberg side, because they have a limit of 1 GB per repo.... So I'm also trying to figure out how to back out the change, get the video file out of there, and arrive to a better solution.

(2) After reading `git-lfs` (Git Large File Storage) website several times, I can't quite figure out how to integrate it - or IF I should integrate it.

(3) Now, I'm noodling on having something like a `MEDIA.my-website.com` directory, which is basically a non-git-tracked folder structure of photos/videos, which I would then rsync to a separate S3 bucket - and then website content could reference it. However - I'm fearful that over time, the markdown content and the media site would be out of "sync" - I frequently re-organize content as needed. For example, I might start with a `python` folder, and a `java` folder, but then later create a top-level `programming` folder. I could see doing the same with the media folder too. `padel` and `squash` folder (containing video clips of games, how-to's) might be grouped under a `sports` folder, and so on. Dragging these folders around while the media content is inside the folder usually doesn't cause problems, because of relative links. However when the content & media are in different file structures, broken links would happen - and this reduces the "fluidity" / increases friction in naturally re-organizing the site with time.

To conclude: - How to handle video media with git tracked markdown content?

Anyway! I appreciate your patience in reading this, and hope you get the idea of the setup - curious what folks who have been down this route can recommend.

(1) 3D wood-craft! - I recently got a CNC router (it's a drill on a motorized arm, that can carve 3D shapes out of wood), and I've been challenging myself to build operate it completely from an open-source stack.

- Computer: Used Dell Optiplex, bought on the streets of Medellin Colombia

- Operating system: Debian Linux / XFCE

- 2D design: Inkscape

- 3D design: Kiri:Moto (https://grid.space/kiri/), soon FreeCAD

- CNC controller: Universal G-Code Sender (UGS) --> GRBL

I am passionate about "maker-space entrepreneurship" (it's the dream job), so I'm meeting potential clients in my city to understand their ambitions and challenges, so we can work together to make useful prototypes to solve them.

Useful forums:

- https://forum.makerforums.info/ - This is my "new Hackernews"

(2) Affirmator - I'm building a system where you provide your goals as affirmations (example: "I feel healthy, fit and strong", "Today's the day to make it happen"). The system then uses Text-to-speech to generate voice audio files. Next Affirmator uses `mpv` (media player - similar to VLC) and `cron` to automatically shuffle-play these affirmations every day in the morning & evening. I recently used Python and FFMPEG to add "vocalization pauses" at the end of the affirmation audio, so that you have time to say the affirmation out loud.

Some of the driver & inspiration for this program is Earl Nightingale's "The Strangest Secret", Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich", James Clear's "Atomic Habits" and other personal development programs. These books always have these "every day, you should X" (meditate, write your goals, etc) - and I became frustated - Just how many "things" are you "supposed" to do per day, and how do they fit together, and how can you create helpful reminders & to turn these into habits? So far, I've been testing the system on myself, and it's been a HUGE help towards giving purpose to my life and day, and reducing feelings of depression & insecurity.

The solution is completely open-source (useable as web app, local docker container, and installable on a stand-alone computer - which I recommend), and I'll also soon offer it as a for-pay service.

If anyone is interested in these projects, I welcome contributors!

// JRO

Hey Rick! I visited Fox.build a few years back - your maker-maker space is truly an inspiration, and I'm looking forward to visiting again soon. Thank you.

// JRO from Cambria Labs

I build high-quality product prototypes - digital & physical - for entrepreneurs & investors - through my company Cambria Labs.

Location: Medellin Colombia / Austin Texas

Remote & Local

[ Technologies ]

• Web applications: Python, Django, React, SQLite, Docker, Render & AWS

• Specialty tech: Video & audio conversion (ffmpeg, sox), voice synthesis (ElevenLabs, Piper), document conversion, ebooks, interactive knowledge-bases (pandoc, mkdocs)

• Physical prototypes, using sustainable materials: 3D wood products (CNC routers), laser-etched metal (galvo fiber laser), 3D ceramics (3D ceramics printer), custom tech (example: new musical instruments)

[ Services ]

• Idea to Prototype / Agile product innovation

• Training & coaching - level up your team.

[ Practices ]

Pivotal Labs-style Pair-programming, test-driven development, "ship daily" & close client collaboration

Passionate about open-source.

Website: https://Cambria-Labs.com

Email: ASK@Cambria-Labs.com

Let's build your dream idea.

Product Designer Playbook - This is one of the best guides I have seen. This originated from Pivotal Labs, their product design and development practice was honed through 20+ years of weekly retrospectives. I suggest archiving a copy of it.

https://www.vmware.com/docs/design-guide-tanzu-labs

I also suggest downloading a copy of the Product Manager playbook. https://www.vmware.com/docs/vmware-tanzu-labs-product-manage...

Just found a great approach to making friends - it's always been a struggle for me, so sharing this out in case it helps someone.

Language Exchanges.

Many cities have a regular (Language)/English meetup. Spanish/English, Italian/English, etc. You might have to search a bit, but check Meet-up.com

Basically, you go to a bar/cafe, there are tables with flags like "Basic English", "Advanced Spanish". You sit down, introduce yourself, and chit chat! Since I am a native english speaker, I usually start by sitting with English Basic, so I can help people really in need :) then I go find Spanish basic, and will later move go a higher level table when my brain is warmed up.

What's great is that (1) everyone wants to learn another language, (2) travel is fun to talk about, (3) This format "fixes the glitch" about going to a bar/cafe solo, and finding it socially challenging to approach new people - having lots of conversations here is the point!

The demographic is diverse! Locals, travelers, young & old, a great mix of girls and guys.

I'll share my past 2 month journey - because it's actually shocking to me to go from 2'ish years of loneliness-vibes, to within a couple months - meeting some amazing people and getting into a social groove.

Language exchange visit #1: Met lots of interesting people. Later the event had a club/dance vibe, ended up dancing with some of the new people I met. That was cool! Since this was in another city and I was traveling, I wasn't able to follow up and hang with the new people I met.

Language exchange visit #2: Found on Meet-up. At a loud bar, hard to converse. A regular there told me about another weekly language meetup, in a nearby area. Basically, its a latin dance school which hosts 3 languages exchanges a week.

Language exchange visit #3: I found the language learning part great (well structured, rotate tables each 5-10 minutes), the dancing was frustrating. Couldn't understand the dance instructions, felt lost and clumsy in the group setting, I left discouraged a few times - and did't want to go back. Bummed.

Met a neighbor of mine, told her about the recent experience. She told me about another regular language exchange, in a farther part of town - and suggested I go.

Language exchange visit #4: Great meet up - calm coffee shop / wine bar vibe. I met several people, exchanged contacts. One guy mentioned he's hosting an upcoming holiday party and invited me. I went to it, and it was fun! Some other people from the language exchange were there, so I had a couple of people to talk with at the party. "See you at the language exchange?" - "I'll be there!"

Language exchange visit #5. Returned to the previous bar/cafe, greeted by familiar faces (several people remembered my name). I've been trying to get group sports going - and there are padel courts near me (a game similar to pickleball, squash, tennis). The guy partner from a nice couple I met expressed interest in playing padel - so I thought it would be a good way to expand the friendship vibes, and lean into social / fitness / fun activity, rather than "let's get a drink"

Me and the guy booked a padel court, and had a ton of fun playing. Near the end of the game, he mentioned - Man, we should do this weekly!

The following week, we scheduled another padel session. My new padel buddy asked if he could invite a few friends to join us play (with padel, you can do 1v1 or 2v2 people). Sure!

That padel game was so much fun! 4 dudes on a court, with no ideas the rules of the game, just having a blast keeping the ball going back and forth. Felt like teenagers again!

While taking break between games, I got an invite to a small-gathering holiday dinner party. I had been planning to have a solo night with the dogs, but wanted to actually spend time with good people too. The holiday party was last night, and tons of fun!

Work-wise, got an immediate benefit.

At the padel game, when doing the "what do you do for work" convo, I mentioned I'm a software developer / entrepreneur, and help people build their dream thing. One of the guys asked if we could meet up for coffee and talk through his business idea, which is happening this weekend...

Since I'm on entrepreneur mode - and that's been challenging - this was validation that the group sports / work pathway seems pretty good. Healthy active people with good ideas / important problems - hoping it will lead to some great clients/projects/opportunities.

I hope this inspires someone to give language exchange meet-ups a try, and also to lean into fun social group sports.

This year, I have been re-igniting my passion for open-source. Earlier this year, I migrated projects from GitHub to GitLab - I tried my best to like it, but I found the user interface extremely frustrating. I also spoke with some GitLab folks - I was hoping to use GitLab "agile" projects on several open-source projects (I am in Latin America, and teaching kids Python, pair-programming, test-driven development, etc). The GitLab team said they are focusing less in start-ups and entrepreneurs, and more towards large enterprise. Since I am actually focused on entrepreneurs and small agile teams - I concluded GitLab's goals were not aligned with mine. From several HN threads, I kept on hearing about Forejo and Codeberg. On a whim, I signed up for Codeberg and started a repository. While clicking around, I found the Codeberg interface very solid-feeling, and the color-scheme calming.

If you are passionate about open-source, give Codeberg a try. I linked to their Donate campaign - it would be good for our community for this organization and others to succeed.

Buena suerte!

Learn more about Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/

Thanks for sharing that link! My brothers and I used to play Command & Conquer, so I'm interested in trying OpenRA (https://www.openra.net/). Maybe you've got ideas on this - I'd love to find a space game that's sort of a mix of Elite Dangerous & X4.

Thanks for bearing with the whiplash - my usual approach with open-source is that I try to figure out what the absolute best commercially-available tool is to solve a problem, then I go find out the best open-source equivalent and invest in that for the long term. Recent example (in speech synthesis): I'm prototyping with ElevenLabs (commercial/proprietary), and then investing in PiperTTS (open-source).

The other day, I wanted something to hack on (wanting to use Linux to automatically play useful & fun playlists on a cron - but don't want it dependent on my MacBook). Looked through the closet, and realized I had given my Raspberry Pi to a friend - what else could I program on? Then I had a thought - I wonder how powerful the computers used for "POS" (point of sale / cashiers) are? I went to a local tech-oriented mall, and found many vendors selling small form-factor computers. I found a Dell computer, small case, with 8-16 GB of memory, Intell Core i5 processor, 256-512 GB solid state storage - price range was $150-250 USD.

I bought one! When I got home, I was thinking - wow, it's been awhile since making a bootable linux USB drive. After figuring that out, the computer booted nicely into Debian, install was easy, but it brought back all these memories from college (at that time, I was using Mandrake and Gentoo - also on a Dell!).

My mind - full of ideas & possibilities, have been plugging random things into it to see what works - Logitech 3D Extreme flight stick: Yes! Yamaha keyboard - let's see!

I'm now on a journey to figure out how to get the sound system to work at root-level (so that 'cron' can play audio when a user's not logged in)

The whole point of the comment is that (1) this is so much fun, (2) Feels surprisingly good to be in open-source labd and not in MacOS world, (3) Debian Linux feels like a sturdy workhorse tool (4) Exploring the creative possibilities of open source tooling (and having patience for their user interfaces). For example, Inkscape, Blender 3D, music production.

Note: Even Steam worked, and the first game I installed (Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime) worked on the first try (!).

If you're in end-of-year tinker mode, consider picking up a used "mini computer" ("mini" is relative!) - slapping Linux on it, and making something cool.

This looks interesting - thank you!

Check out the Ploopy trackball. It's open-source. - https://ploopy.co/classic-trackball/

Have you found a decent bare bones starter theme? I've been using MkDocs Material, and I find the theme too complicated (HTML etc) - hoping to find a super simple one that looks decent - plain - and is a good base for theming / styling. Thanks & take care.

Check to see if there is a community maker-space in your area - including libraries & universities. One of the benefits of using those machines are that they are well-maintained and frequently used & tuned. Also, you can meet other 3D printing experts who can help you with any project - its a good vibe, and a great way to get back into making without a large investment...

Please do! Announce his arrival using his favorite time zone, and see if we can figure it out...

For those curious about the Pivotal Labs product innovation process, check out this guide. In my opinion, it's the best end-to-end guide on how it all works together.

It's a product of 20+ years of iteration & weekly retrospectives - and was used to coach clients on how to collaborate as a team and build high quality products. Definitely download it, and review from time to time - many gold nuggets.

https://tanzu.vmware.com/content/white-papers/vmware-tanzu-l...

(Used to work at Pivotal)

Affirmator.app - Given a list of affirmations, wisdom & goals (sourced from life-success programs like Earl Nightingale's Strangest Secret, and books like Think and Grow Rich), use text-to-speech to generate voice audio files, leave spaces for you to vocalize the phrases, and then automatically play 20-phrase playlists every morning & day. The phrases can range from high-level "I feel strong and confident" to specific to personal goals "I can confidently play and sing 3 songs on the piano.", "I do 25 push-ups every morning"

The idea is that mindset is important in the morning, and that we all want to do these healthy habits - meditation and yoga - and yet when life get's stressful, it's easy to fall out of a healthy rhythm.

I've been doing deep study about affirmations, our sub-conscious mind, and how to use repetition to change yourself - absolutely fascinating and effective. This Affirmatpr tool can help reduce the effects of depression & anxiety, help you set & internalize goals and habits for your dream life.

If anyone is interested in trying it out - I've got a prototype which can create customized affirmation sessions, and layer it on top of a calm music backing track)

Tech stack: Python / Django (soon) / Text to speech: ElevenLabs & Piper TTS. The automation currently runs with 'cron' on MacOS and Shortcuts.app/Music.app on iPhone.

Everything is open-source (Codeberg) and can run locally instead of cloud hosted, so maximum people can benefit (and so you can set private goals/affirmations that perhaps you don't want everyone to hear about).

I would love to meet others who would be interested in contributing / collaborating, as there is huge potential here. My contact is in my profile.

Two things to check out: (1) find out the best university in your area, and see if they have a business incubator. Check out their events page - there's usually something interesting happening in the next couple of weeks - go to it with an open mind! Creators, investors, students, entrepreneurs all in one spot. Meet the organizer, and find out what kind of workshops would be valuable, and consider running one! They will help promote you! Usually, they'll have a busy group chat (WhatsApp) - get in there and see what services people need / offer...

(2) Find out if there is a community maker-space in your area, and take a tour. You'll meet some of the most creative, entrepreneurial people there, and you'll see up-close, what's possible with product prototyping these days - 3D printed ceramics, robotics, CNC wood carving bots, metal carving, etc - and computer/code labs!

I ran a "Get your product on Shopify" workshop in a maker-space. It was tons of fun and high value - got people booted up with a custom domain name, photo of their product online, Buy it Now button, make a business card with a QR code. For software experts this kind of thing is easy (a couple of hours etc), but for most people - it can feel like an extremely complicated mission (managing DNS records, or adjusting a theme's CSS - super tricky!). Not that you need to go be a Shopify installer! But the point is that you can help turn someones dream into reality, and its satisfying for all involved.

Best of luck in the next chapter of your journey!

I suggest do a search for "makerspace" in your area - They can help you build the project & you can learn how to do it, and you might meet some great friends in the process.

What's the best book on CBT technique that you would recommend?

I got Piper TTS running in a Docker container (I found that the issue is related to Python version and "phenomenize" library). If you're curious / interested in getting this to work, happy to help out & share the code. My contact is in my profile.

Check out Piper TTS: https://github.com/rhasspy/piper

Note: I tried to run it on MacOS and had an issue with Python compatibility - ended up running it in a Docker container, got it working fine. If you experience the same issue, let me know - happy to share the code.

The one that keeps popping up for me is "fosters"...

We have reservations about plugging students directly into a relationship with Google & Microsoft. We do our best to partner with 5-star, excellent organizations, who prioritize quality, integrity & excellent customer service.

Putting principles into practice, we are exploring Codeberg for source code repository.

We evaluated GitLab - found the product confusing. Spoke to the organization, their priority is "enterprise" rather than open-source / entrepreneurship, so bounced out.

Hey, if you're interested in pairing on the project together, I'm interested and available (especially if it's open-source). I'm a "full stack" web app developer, and "coach" other developers (a common situation is a senior developer who got promoted into a team lead / architecture role, and haven't coded for awhile, got laid off, and - oh shoot - code skills are dusty & rusty), and get code skills and project back on track.

For the past couple months, I've been pair-jamming with friends & colleagues on side projects. We'll often order in pizza, build a backlog of features we can ship in the next week or two, and work on it together (alternating who's coding using pomodoro timers). It's a lot of fun.

For what it's worth - I get the same feeling about my own projects, and frankly - helping someone else with their project can often unblock your own. Team work makes the dream work.

If that's something you're interested in, my contact details are in my HN profile. I do it for fun (& pizza!).

If you're interested in further text to speech missions, I just got Piper (open-source text-to-speech engine) running happily in a Docker container on my Mac. Effectively "free", high quality, fast-generating text-to-speech.

Check out their voice samples: https://rhasspy.github.io/piper-samples/ (or make your own).

Happy to help you set it up locally...

https://github.com/rhasspy/piper

If you're interested in an open-source, free equivalent, check out VSCodium (open-source version of VSCode), and FOAM (VSCode plugin - https://foambubble.github.io/foam/). In a new project, create a `docs/` folder, and start with `docs/notes.md`. When you want to branch out to other files & links, you can type [[MyTopic]] and FOAM will automatically create MyTopic.md, and will allow you to click on the link and navigate to it. Later, if you want to publish your notes as an HTML site, you can run `mkdocs` on the `docs/` folder, and it'll create a website from your notes. This MkDocs plugin enables the crosslinks in HTML: https://github.com/Jackiexiao/mkdocs-roamlinks-plugin. Good luck!