Ehpy's recent activity
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Comment on How to stink less at piano in ~music
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Comment on Reddit releases their new content policy along with banning hundreds of subreddits, including /r/The_Donald and /r/ChapoTrapHouse in ~tech
Ehpy Link ParentThank you for the reality check, I hadn't even considered that aspect of ambiguity. I tend to forget just how hard it is to manage large communities (especially online ones). I was mostly thinking...Thank you for the reality check, I hadn't even considered that aspect of ambiguity. I tend to forget just how hard it is to manage large communities (especially online ones).
I was mostly thinking of the "majority" clause when I wrote my comment, which I would still say is 'confusing,' regardless of how ambiguous it is.
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Comment on Reddit releases their new content policy along with banning hundreds of subreddits, including /r/The_Donald and /r/ChapoTrapHouse in ~tech
Ehpy LinkThis is disappointing. Not the bans/crackdowns -- it's the ambiguity I don't like. The wording in the new content policy is vague and confusing, and currently /u/spez has only half-answered four...This is disappointing. Not the bans/crackdowns -- it's the ambiguity I don't like.
The wording in the new content policy is vague and confusing, and currently /u/spez has only half-answered four of the hundreds of questions in the announcement thread. Nobody is sure exactly what the new rules imply, and administration is leaving its users to fuddle over the semantics and speculated intent of the short-form doctrine they've contracted.
The murkiness of this situation is already enabling the construction of agenda-laden narratives 'explaining' the policy, which Reddit's sects will adopt and use as conflict fuel in their flame wars. In sum, this looks like another decision that will exacerbate the widespread polarization of online communities.
Reddit could mitigate the impact of these events by engaging with its user base and defining a few of the terms the policy uses. There's a chance they want to perpetuate the conflict so right-wing users leave the site, though. I've seen Ruqqus and other alt-Reddits popping up in the comments, which will probably be hit with yet another wave of conservative refugees. The echo chambers are getting louder.
Also: I saw someone mention (unfortunately I lost the link) that this could be prep work for Reddit going public -- I doubt it, but I don't know enough to say more. Anyone know anything about this?
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Comment on The EPA is weakening controls on mercury in ~enviro
Ehpy LinkShoot, if Venus is next, the interplanetary sulfur tycoons are going to have a field day. </s> In all seriousness, though, this seems pretty bad. Apparently this policy was in the workshop for 20...Shoot, if Venus is next, the interplanetary sulfur tycoons are going to have a field day. </s>
In all seriousness, though, this seems pretty bad. Apparently this policy was in the workshop for 20 years before its announcement in 2011. I imagine its original creators are annoyed. However, if the upcoming election is a loss for Trump and the EPA reinstates the rule (I think this can happen?), it would cause a major headache for all affected companies.
Does anyone know the details about how these emission scrubbers work? The article says the equipment has a net ~10bn USD annual upkeep cost, so coal companies certainly won't be maintaining it without a very good (financial) reason. But with the election in mind, will it make sense for them to completely remove the systems they've installed?
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp
Ehpy LinkYour son sounds like me from a decade ago, if I'd had realistic ambitions and more talent. In addition to the resources posted so far, allow me to recommend Processing. A few reasons why I'm...Your son sounds like me from a decade ago, if I'd had realistic ambitions and more talent.
In addition to the resources posted so far, allow me to recommend Processing. A few reasons why I'm suggesting it:
- You get results fast. In most languages, it can take a considerable amount of head-banging to get anything to display on your computer screen. In Processing I can do it in one line. The reason why this is so important, especially for beginners, is that it actually feels like you're making progress when you're writing code. It's a lot easier to get frustrated when you've been working for five hours and have nothing to show for it except a lack of error messages.
- It's easy to learn. The language was designed to teach people how to code.
- It feels 'real'. There's nothing wrong with drag-and-drop programming languages, but that level of abstraction can make a beginner feel like they're just getting the 'kiddie' version of a programming language. That logic seems silly to me now, but twelve year-old me always wanted to be using the big boy programming languages.
- It's powerful. Processing (the desktop version) is literally just Java with some extra padding to make graphics easier, and can do all the fancy OOP stuff that Java can do.
- People use it! Check out OpenProcessing and the forums.
Is it good for making games?
Sure! Simple ones, at least. Pygame is good, too. Pygame might be better for your son, I haven't had much experience with it. Buildbox, Scratch, Flowlab, and GameMaker, are also good, to name a few.
The real reason I'm recommending Processing is because it made me love programming. Whenever I learned something new, it would look like something new, and I could show that new thing to my parents and my friends.If your son ever gets to the point where he wants to make bigger games, look into Unity, Godot, or Unreal. Tell him to learn C++, familiarize himself with Blender, and sign him up for some real CS classes.
There's lots of ways to go about this -- everyone has their own interests and learning styles. Best to just surround him with resources and let him do his thing.
Best of luck to you two! :]
I'm not sure exactly where you're at; I mostly do improv, so I'll just infodump some advice on that. Here are a few things that really helped me (follow at your own risk; my piano experience has been very unorthodox):
'Figuring out' songs. I.e. 'arranging by ear' -- Do it yourself! This will be hard, but it lays the foundations for eventually playing by ear. Start with simple songs like Twinkle Twinkle: find the key signature, work out the melody (replay the song 'till you get it), and then begin trying to see what chords match the melody (start by trying chords in your key signature, e.g. if you're in C major, then try C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim). Replay bits of the song, stumble over those chords, realize something's off, try to figure out what it is. Write it all down if you want. This can make learning less grind-y and more project-based, if you're into that.
Play. Many burn out from excessive practice. Give yourself the space to play (it's called "playing", after all :) -- to start, drone out simple progressions (or even just root notes) in your left hand, and fiddle on the pentatonic scale with your right hand. Mess around! Try raising/lowering notes in a chord by a half step. See how your progression sounds if you replace that F major with F minor. See what that song sounds like if you play the melody starting on A instead of C. Forget about the 'rules' and try to accidentally stumble on something that sounds good. Most of what you try will sound bad, but only at first. Practice alone is not sufficient!
Learn to love extensions. Add 7ths to your chords. Add 9ths. 4ths, 6ths, whatever -- throw down a few more fingers and see what sticks. Even if you aren't a jazz fan (I am not a jazz fan), its open-ended approach to voicing chords is essential to modern music. Almost every good song uses something more than basic major / minor triads.
Some random tricks, when you get there: