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mattalbie

59 karma · joined July 29, 2014

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mattalbie··on Facebook Indefinitely Suspends Trump
Newspapers feel they have an obligation to report what our representatives say, good or bad, but they also have editorials that comment on that reporting. In some cases (like The Economist) reporting and commentary are mixed together. Most newspapers believe their editorials, and how they report the news are critical to holding government accountable, and one of their missions.

I see flagging messages and banning as Twitter (and really all online platforms) version of an editorial.

mattalbie··on Using GNU Stow to manage your dotfiles (2012)
That’s a good idea. Thanks!
mattalbie··on Using GNU Stow to manage your dotfiles (2012)
I do this but include the symlink command in the document. That way all the links become one copy and paste.
mattalbie··on Why the aspect ratio change from 4:3 to 16:9 to even wider formats?
The answer on StackExhange is very good, but misses the history of why 4:3 exists in the first place, which had a great deal to do with mechanical reasons. This is well explained on Wikipedia's entry on the Academy ratio[1].

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_ratio

The evolution of aspect ratios---4:3, Cinemascope, Anamorphic, 70mm, etc.---is fascinating. There's a constant trade-off between aesthetic and technical requirements with a lot of really cool innovations for the time.

For my money the most interesting format is anamorphic[2].

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphic_format

mattalbie··on Ask HN: Best books you've read in 2020?
I read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for the first time this year. Highly recommend.
mattalbie··on How I Manage My Random Daily Notes
It was worth it for me.

I spend lots of time learning the tools I use for work (database systems, departmental protocols, client interactions) and having a better personal productivity tool is at the center of everything I do. It's worth months of heavy investment in the long run.

mattalbie··on How I Manage My Random Daily Notes
This is also what org-mode[0] does.

My files are 'logbook', 'life', 'project-1', 'project-2', etc. At any time I can hit a key and capture an idea/meeting to any of those places, and as I'm taking notes I can mark anything as a todo and schedule/deadline them. In the 'agenda' I can see a single overview of all my todo items, and my schedule, from all my notes.

I've tried a lot of systems (paper, apps, cli notes, etc) and org-mode clicks in a way nothing else has for me.

[0]: https://orgmode.org

mattalbie··on Ask HN: How do you save your bookmarks?
Fantastic. Very useful and I have a lot of trust in the company sticking around.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: How do you save your bookmarks?
If you're a subscriber they do full-text search and archiving.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What fast software would you recommend?
Lots of terminal based stuff but particularly fzf.

Also Mimestream, a Gmail client.

mattalbie··on Ask HN: Who is reading? (December 2020)
A History of the Crusades by Steven Runcimen.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: Who is reading? (December 2020)
Fantastic book! But yes, Incredibly dense, but easy to read. Feels like 5 years of research is packed into each chapter (which I suppose is true).

But so worth it. I think about a concept from that book at least every week.

mattalbie··on Rotary Snowplow
As someone who lives in California, I can't imagine there being that much snow on the ground.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: How do you make time?
The best piece of advice I ever heard was "all you need is less".

For me, simply doing less stuff, but being more "intentional" or "mindful" or whatever you want to call it, is the key. For example, I used to have magazine subscriptions, RSS feeds, piles of books, hobbies and side projects, and tons of stuff I wanted to do or places I wanted to travel. Those things, which were entirely elective, added to the overall burden of feeling like I couldn't keep up.

As I've aged I've also switched from "this is what I want to accomplish" to "this is how I want to spend my time". I do a lot more reading, staring into the distance, joking around, etc.

mattalbie··on I recently turned 33. What's your best advice for a 33 yr old?
33 is a great age to have a kid (if you want them, and if you're in a position to do so). I had to wait (long story) until 37 and there's part of me that regrets it a little bit. There's a real benefit that comes from upending your whole life (there are, of course, other ways to do this) and having your priorities radically realigned (obviously, though, not for everyone).

If you have money to put away, get a financial planner and start saving money. The end of your career is coming up sooner than you think.

Take care of your body. In my late 30s I started to notice little things with my joints, muscles, etc. that made me think "oh, I guess I'm getting old now".

More generally, if you're not on the path you want to be on, change it. Over the last few years I'd had a strange feeling come over me: "Whatever person I want to become, if I don't become them in the next few years then I never will." Which, if the thought hadn't arrived uninvited into my mind I don't know I would have ever agreed with. The simpler version is "When are you going to become the person you want to be?" (or, "get right with yourself"). I hope the answer isn't "in my 50s or 60s".

Read more books, spend less time on computers/internet/TV.

mattalbie··on Ask HN: How do I get a word in edgeways?
As a manager, I would say tell your manager about your struggles. Or tell someone who is in a position to ask you what you think in those meetings.
mattalbie··on Amazon reportedly has Pinkerton agents surveil workers who try to form unions
Are you reading the book? Do you like it?
mattalbie··on Amazon reportedly has Pinkerton agents surveil workers who try to form unions
It’s a very minor point but this article makes it sound like the generic term for a union buster is Pinkerton agent. Pinkerton is a private company who does security work these days, but has a long history of doing exactly this. Fascinating Wikipedia read if you’re curious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_(detective_agency)

mattalbie··on The psychology behind ‘revenge bedtime procrastination’
Totally in the same boat. I’ve taken to sometimes doing a fake commute walking around the block before I start work.
mattalbie··on macOS has checked app signatures online for over 2 years
People tire of politics when (they feel) the conversation becomes unconvincing, pedantic, or monotonus. That doesn't mean those people have the wrong attitude, it means the argument is not compelling.
mattalbie··on Get real, you don't need GitHub
Came here to say this. I mean, just trying to figure out how to use a particular Emacs function, I can search GitHub for that function and find hundreds of examples of people using it. So incredibly useful.
mattalbie··on Halide Mark II
Even someone like me, a VFX professional who does a lot of RAW processing, dealing with RAW is sometimes such a chore. There are plenty of times where I want to use Halide and I want to shoot RAW but I also want to easily share a photo (without going through the laborious processing thing). So I'm really looking forward to that.

I'm curious in what way you believe your processing pipeline for "getting to jpg" (RAW -> Instant Raw Processing -> JPEG) is superior to Apple's (capture -> Apple's Processing -> JPEG). Does it just come down to different aesthetic preferences and one-frame-per-image? Or is there something else to it?

Also, love the XDR Analysis. So cool.

mattalbie··on Microsoft Excel’s 35th birthday
That video is required viewing for my team.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
I didn't see this one anywhere. You can use modifier keys in combination with Hot Corners.

Go to [System Preferences > Mission Control > Hot Corners] and when you make your selection just press the modifier you'd like to use.

I've always found hot corners too easily triggered, for me this strikes the right balance.

mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
Nice!
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
Right-clicking worked for me. Also works with YouTube. Lovely tip.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
You can also do this by opening a new window, resizing/positioning it how you'd like, then immediately closing it. Next time you create a new window it will be exactly the same.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
It's not just limited to dragging windows around. The mouse-clicks get passed to the background app. You can use it with anything. It's called click-through and has been around for a long time.

I first learned about it here: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=click-through+site%3Adaringfirebal...

mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
Command + R also does this.
mattalbie··on Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
My goodness, I could kiss you. I never wanted to run a separate app just for this but have always loved it. Had no idea it was available system-wide.
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