A motorboat is a silly example that most people don't want anyway. Minimalism is, like consumerism, still obsessed with things. Hop onto r/minimalism and you'll quickly find many people who stress over not having fewer material possessions, and who force themselves to forgo essentials like clothing and hygiene products. It's not the final answer.
Well that's upsetting. My local paper has been owned by Advance Publications since the 40s, but it doesn't seem to suffer the same quality issues. It's even won several major awards, both for individual journalism and for the publication as a whole :)
I almost wish they would pick up a template website though, because theirs is super buggy (I'd likely get the print version anyway).
Using this thread to yet again pound the drum of local news. I don't work in media; I've just found my local newspaper subscription to be extremely valuable.
Your local news organizations will be biased in some ways, yes, but it's easier to keep track of the writers who lean one way or another (smaller journalist teams). Since they're regional they can't skew too far on either end of the political spectrum or they'll anger the residents and lose subscribers. Their accountability is higher, because people in the community generally know what's going on around them and will call the bluff in op-eds or the paper's social media group. And, of course, the reporting is actually relevant to you! They don't need to rage-bait you for clicks because most of the reporting has tangible bearing on your life.
Subscribing to my local paper has kept me both informed and grounded, so I'm very nervous about the prospect of the medium being abandoned for declining profitability. I've yet to find a more valuable source of news.
> Exhaling along with mental visualization of purging the mind
This one amazes me; taking deep breaths to calm myself just makes me feel weird and sometimes even more anxious, but taking deep breaths and imagining releasing a cloud of (deep purple) smoke on the exhale noticeably relaxes me. I wonder if it's the imagination component that makes it better, i.e. giving the mind something to focus on? Or maybe the timing of the exhale changes with the visualization. Either way, a great hack imo.
As a fellow introvert, this sounds insurmountably painful. How did you have something to talk about every night? How did you even find that many people to fit into a rotation like that without feeling like you were annoying them? I have so many questions. If you do write that blog post, I'd love to read it. Especially the "how."
How do you find the time/energy to get the example sentence on the back of each card? Do you have a process/method to make it easier?
When I encounter new words in real life, it tends to be all at once (i.e. watching a show while making dinner). I scribble the word quickly on a nearby notepad and don't have time to look at it again until I'm bulk-uploading new words later. It bothers me that I'm maybe not getting the full benefit of Anki, because I'm missing the context and/or example sentences.
I would love to hear ideas about how to resolve that timing issue.
I seem to retain more from those 20k word decks you mentioned than my personal decks, likely because they come with example sentences and context that my personal decks are missing.
Truly, tastes vary. I also think the "chaotic" buildings are much more beautiful than their Vegas counterparts. This is maybe due to my hobby of plein air/urban sketching; if I were to pick a subject to draw on-site, I would immediately be drawn to the Hong Kong buildings. There's not much visual interest to the Vegas buildings.
That jealousy goes both ways. I often wish I was one of those people who can share stories about their adventures into many interests, or who can relate to a wide range of people because of their variety of experiences. Going deep can be very isolating. Unless my conversation partner happens to have some overlap with my limited interests, I'm at a loss. Too many conversations end with the other person staring at me like I came from another planet :(
Opposite to the author, I've fixated on just a few hobbies which have captured my interest for many years (drawing and Japanese-English translation being the big two). In regards to my hobbies, this assessment is extremely accurate! Had never thought of things in terms of "minigames," but when I do make appreciable progress, it's because I've given myself a new minigame to crush. Unfortunately, I haven't cracked the mentor puzzle either, though I'm sure it would help enormously.
Impractical as it may be, the imaginary world where people are paid a living wage to stand on the sidewalk reciting poetry sounds lovely. Imagine being able to sit on a public bench with your neighbors any given day and listen to someone's creative writing! And if this also implies that more people are paid for other artistic endeavors... sign me up :)
Rather than trying to one-up the last great breather (writer), imo it's enough to breathe (write) because it's an enjoyable pursuit that sparks your imagination and connects you to other humans.
I've already been using AI art to help brainstorm/conceptualize my own artworks. It's a great tool to use alongside others, but you're right that most of it is extremely derivative. It's easy to end up with something that looks hackneyed (and reminiscent of hotel art) if you're not careful. That said, I do feel it allows me to push past my previous limits of composition, because it helps me to single out what creates interest in a piece and "rapid prototype" concepts.
I'd love for this to be the case, but often the most(/only) important part of a tech doc is the "why," i.e. the background knowledge about the business itself, or the conceptual framework that underlies the code. Even more so for writing requirements. How would AI be able to help with that? Maybe by parsing through all related meeting transcripts as well?
I've been using AI image generators to help me brainstorm compositions/colors/themes for traditional artworks. Your note about lack of "coherent viewpoint" very much rings true for AI-generated visual arts. The AI will get many patterns/images "right" in a given piece but has no sense of how far to take those patterns or how different components attach or relate to each other.
Even so, it's a fun and interesting tool to use alongside traditional media, so I'm excited to see it improve.
Once upon a time I could drink a full pot of coffee every morning and feel fine. Now a single caffeinated (sugar-free) soda makes me feel terrible: racing heart, anxiety, shakiness. I've tried exposing myself to more caffeine to get used to it again. No dice. Bodies are weird.
I rely heavily on an Apple Shortcut that I made which saves an offline copy of a webpage (just the text and images) and stashes it in Notes. Great for refreshing myself on a topic I read about months ago but hasn't become relevant until the current moment.
As a hiker I find paper maps absolutely essential and far easier to use than anything digital. Maybe it's because of that familiarity that I print or buy paper maps whenever I'm going on a trip more than a few hours' drive from home. I also rely heavily on printed maps and guidebooks for any extended travel and for trip planning, which are excruciating if you're relying solely on the internet. Can't say I've ever used a map for art.
It depends on the dish. With burgers, for example, I much prefer an Impossible Burger patty to any meat-based burger for the flavor alone. I also love vegetable-based dishes, but I seek out Impossible meat in addition to those. I also enjoy mostly non-prepackaged, unprocessed food, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing. You can enjoy both.
I interpreted this as the author saying that a senior dev will have "found an issue with something [they] love, or a useful aspect in something [they] hate..." "in a myriad of ways." I.e. I think the author agrees with you.