Gazook89's recent activity

  1. Comment on China is dealing with its own manosphere in ~life.men

    Gazook89
    (edited )
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    I suspect you throw them into a war somewhere.

    I suspect you throw them into a war somewhere.

    7 votes

  2. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Gazook89
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    Yes, anything where you collecting and sharing images is fraught with potential moderation issues. I contribute to a FOSS app where it'd be really excellent to have some image hosting for users,...

    Yes, anything where you collecting and sharing images is fraught with potential moderation issues. I contribute to a FOSS app where it'd be really excellent to have some image hosting for users, and I frequently actually create the very start of something like that, but within 30 minutes I just think "not worth it". CSAM, abuse, copyright, etc etc. Yikes.

    Unfortunately, one day Imgur is going to tell us to stop hotlinking to images hosted by them, and then we'll have to figure out something and lock it down to some degree to approved users or something.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Give me your culture clash stories in ~travel

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    Common in MN too. Probably opposite reason. Drive thru liquor stores too (mostly northern end of state, and I speak less authoritatively of that in terms of numbers but I have seen some).

    Common in MN too. Probably opposite reason. Drive thru liquor stores too (mostly northern end of state, and I speak less authoritatively of that in terms of numbers but I have seen some).

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Modern, abstract art makes me angry in ~arts

    Gazook89
    (edited )
    Link Parent
    Your example I think is much more than what I very commonly see at modern art museums. I've seen a piece of gray clay squished in a hand, and then left to dry. It was "Untitled", no artist...

    Your example I think is much more than what I very commonly see at modern art museums.

    I've seen a piece of gray clay squished in a hand, and then left to dry. It was "Untitled", no artist statement. A canvas painted red, called "Red" (and given a number, so like "Red #14" or something). Just recently there was an all white photograph, about 4'x4', with a very faint smudge of black. It was "Untitled" as well, but fortunately it had some description written by the museum-- it was a photo in a blizzard of ice fishing huts on a lake, which is pretty much akin to the classic drawing of a polar bear blinking in a blizzard.

    So much of what I see at modern art museums are "untitled", with no statement, or description from the museum. In particular, I'm thinking of the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is better about adding some context whenever the artist has given nothing themselves. I completely agree with the OP, going to the modern art museum raises my blood pressure. A lot of that is on the artist, and surely some of it is on the museums themselves.

    Edit: here is one on display now: untitled

    11 votes

  5. Comment on Current Rothko: A site that picks the closest Rothko for how the weather feels outside your window in ~arts

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    For me it was defaulting to NYC and I had to switch it to my city.

    For me it was defaulting to NYC and I had to switch it to my city.

  6. Comment on Cargobike recommendations and advice in ~hobbies

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    Careful of radwagon though, they went through bankruptcy after a big recall due to batteries catching fire. Happened to an old college friend of mine. Just a quick web search now tells me they...

    Careful of radwagon though, they went through bankruptcy after a big recall due to batteries catching fire. Happened to an old college friend of mine.

    Just a quick web search now tells me they were acquired and are maybe back to making bikes again, so maybe newer models will be better....but you may find older ones heavily discounted online with potential issues.

    5 votes

  7. Comment on Cargobike recommendations and advice in ~hobbies

    Gazook89
    (edited )
    Link
    Hi! I saw the title of your post while on my phone on the couch, read the first paragraph or so and jumped up and ran to the computer. I love talking about my bike! I have an Urban Arrow Family,...
    • Exemplary

    Hi! I saw the title of your post while on my phone on the couch, read the first paragraph or so and jumped up and ran to the computer. I love talking about my bike!

    I have an Urban Arrow Family, circa 2024 (not the newer model that seems sleek as hell). For me, a new bike was just always going to be better than the old 1990s steel frame road bike I had from college, pulling an old burley trailer. I used that bike, with a front/handlebar mount, for my first kid through babyhood before getting the trailer when they were old enough for it. The new Urban Arrow was purchased the week our second kid was born. We only have one small car, and bought the bike instead of another car. I waited until she was about 2.5 months old to put her in a NUNA car seat, with the car seat adapter. She's 16 months now, and today I hit 2,000 miles on the bike. The other kid is 5 years old right now.

    We bike year round, in Minneapolis Minnesota. I have snow tires with the spikes, and getting those swapped in the fall and spring is my twice annual visit to the bike shop where they just check things over. I bike about every day, through the winter as well, though this last winter I took a month long break during our federal occupation. The bike does well in the snow on the streets, though you definitely move a bit slower out of caution. It's nice not having a chain or exposed derailleur, instead just a belt drive with internal shimano hub. But, the belt did break on one winter day. Both shops I engaged with (one was closer to me, the other was where I bought the bike) were flabbergasted, and the belt manufacturer called me for details, because apparently that very rarely happens so they wanted the details. It was under warranty and everything was fixed up once the new belt arrived.

    We also have the rain cover for the bucket, so I've strung up little battery powered fairy lights inside to give some extra light during the winter. Then I bundle the kids up and pile a puffy blanket on them. I've never heard complaints about cold. The baby, about 9-12 months old at this point, frequently got her naps done in the bike and frequently was left outside in the bike in front of a coffee shop to finish up a nap while I got some hot brew. The "cafe lock" on the back wheel is excellent for this purpose.

    I'm going to switch to bullet points otherwise this will be a novel. These are the points I bring up when talking to people about it, which happens several times a week-- people ask and I'm chatty about it:

    Urban Arrow points

    • When I'm doing preschool pickup and the kids are all muddy from playing in puddles, a lot of parents agonize over filthy kids in the back seat of their car....I don't. I just put them in the bike, muddy shoes and all, and by the time we are home the mud has dried, flaked off, and fallen out the bottom of the bike onto the road. Same goes for wet kids at the pool- let them air dry.
    • At preschool pickup, the parents call my bike the "mobile playground". I've had 7-8 kids playing on my bike at once, hanging off the bucket, sitting on the seat, standing on each peddle....they love it. The little siblings (2 year olds) love to sit in it, too, and play with the buckles, the bell, the light.
    • At preschool pickup, I pull right up to the door or bring it to the sidewalk near the play area, and don't have to worry about parking spots. In fact, you'll rarely think about parking at all, anywhere (sometimes you will, though). With my bike right there, I have my bluetooth speaker, snacks, easy drop-off of school crafts into my panniers.
    • My kids love riding in it. I'm not sure if that's partly because they just expect it, or they actually like it. But my 16mth kid points at the backdoor in the morning until she is in it. She happily seats herself. When we are parked somewhere, she has no qualms just sitting in it either buckled or unbuckled. She has taken more naps in it than outside of it. It's easier to talk to my older kid, and point at things.

    General points about e-bikes:

    • It's so nice to be able to bike as far as I want without having to worry about the return trip. The assurance that comes from "I can just use some assist on the way back" means less mental overhead when planning or wondering if you should turn back mid-trip.
    • I used to volunteer at a place, and on my old bike I was guaranteed to be sweating bullets in the summer months when I arrived. With the e-bike, I could more casually pedal and arrive with a dry shirt.
    • I hear a lot of people say "but ebikes mean you aren't getting the exercise of a normal bike". But if e-assist means you are going to be on the bike much more often, you are still exercising more. And, any reasonable ebike will be pedal assist, and you can increase or decrease the level of assist on the fly with a button. 60-70% of my trips are "no assist", and the other 30-40% is split between the lowest and second lowest level of assist....very rarely do i touch the top two levels ("sport" and "turbo"), and almost always on accident. You can keep exercising as much as you want to, but you can go further than you normally would and be confident you'll be able to get back home.
    • Don't worry so much about range, is the impression I've got. When buying an electric car, range is very important for many people. If it runs out of juice, you are boned. But with a pedal assist bike you can always just pedal home. It might suck, but you can do it. And, if you know you have a long trip ahead of you, you can wisely manage your power and really extend it. I think my highest mileage in a single day was about 38 miles, and I believe I came home with ~30% of battery remaining. A few times a week I do 12-16 miles a day and I don't even bother starting with a full charge or charging it when I get home. What I tell people is "you (or your kids) will get bored of the ride before you run out of battery". Edit: I just remembered that I talked to someone who took their 5 year old on an UA from La Crosse, WI to Wisconsin Dells, WI, a 100 mile trip, and had no issues.
    • The assist is most useful for hills, and for "getting off the line" at a stoplight where you are with traffic. Doing the little "wobble" from stopped to going isn't a good idea when you've got cars around you, so having some power to maintain a straight line helps. But once you've got some inertia behind your 112lb bike (before kids/gear), it rolls nice.

    Extra Bits

    • We had the car seat adapter which worked well with a Nuna car seat. Keep the springs greased up, though, they can get squeeky which stinks if you have a sleeping baby. The car seat faces you from the front of the bucket. The older kid, 4 at the time, easily slipped her legs under the car seat. This was great because we could also have a third kid in there on the bench seat, too.
    • We've moved to a "toddler" seat that straps to the normal bench seat, side by side with the now 5 year old. Unfortunately, this means we can't bring a friend with us. They do sell a "front bench" too, but we just aren't going to spring for it.
    • I have two big pannier bags on the back. These are just nice for the extra storage but also organization. Keeps stuff safe for when muddy shoes are coming into the bucket, and I stored the puffy blanket and big-ass chain lock in it. Sidenote: I don't use that chain lock much, but keep it with me in case I feel it's needed.
    • I recently bought a Schleptastic Tow Monster, for pulling a 20in kid bike. I haven't had much experience with it yet (I got it last week), but I had an unsupported rear rack but through emails with the owner of Schleptastic we figured it out. Jonah there was fantastically communicative and supportive.
    • I have a Wonderboom bluetooth speaker that just fits inside my expandable water bottle holder, and I basically can't ride a bike without it.

    closing

    I recommend bikes. I recommend e-bikes. I recommend cargo ebikes. I recommend a bakfiets (front bucket). Our urban arrow has been good, but I'm sure they all are nice. One knock against it is that it is big. For us, in a single stall garage, it barely fits with our small car. But it does fit, and if we had bought another car we definitely would not have had enough room for both cars. We don't pay for gas. Or car repairs. We do pay for bike insurance to cover theft, but that's <$200 year.

    The tagline I always tell people who ask about cost: "It's a very expensive bike, but a very cheap car".

    Happy to answer questions!

    9 votes

  9. Comment on Reddit will require you to be logged in to use old.reddit.com in ~tech

  10. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    Actually yeah, it has that. You basically say “I will be at this location at about this time”, with a free form message field as well so you can tell people you biked there, or you have enough...

    Actually yeah, it has that. You basically say “I will be at this location at about this time”, with a free form message field as well so you can tell people you biked there, or you have enough snacks to share, or you brought swim suits, etc.

    The part I’m stuck on is making an explainer page (a home page with screenshots), just motivation wise.

    Oh, and it can be installed as a PWA and used like an app on mobile.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Gazook89
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    I mentioned in a prior thread but only after the thread had been posted for a few days, so I'm mostly just reposting to ride the wave a bit more... My 5 year old lives by play dates, and basically...

    I mentioned in a prior thread but only after the thread had been posted for a few days, so I'm mostly just reposting to ride the wave a bit more...

    My 5 year old lives by play dates, and basically asks "what are we doing today" from the moment she wakes to the moment she falls asleep. And nothing is better than playing with a friend.

    I have long wanted the ability to throw a "bat signal" up when I'm at a playground that just tells people "we are here, come play if you want". I don't always want to coordinate ahead of time, or choose specific people to reach out to, wait for replies, etc. But I'd like to just broadcast out my location and see if anyone comes, but without any pressure to come.

    So I made an app that I originally called (and themed as) "Bat Signal", but quickly switched to "Kid Collider" and am thinking about renaming to just "Kollider". With an account (just email and password) you can create oft-used locations or single-use locations and then indicate your ETA to that place, and how long you want the signal to be up. That expiration time doesn't have to be your expected amount of time there, just how long you want to broadcast. The location doesn't have to be an address, it's just a freeform field.

    The signal is only visible to those that have "friended" you (must be accepted both ways), and only one signal can be broadcast by each user at a time. There is no scheduling, no messaging, no profile or kid information stored. Really, nothing about it is actually kid-specific, its just my use case.

    I don't really know why I'm sharing it here, I mostly just want the other parents in my life to use it, but I guess any eyes are helpful. It is largely vibe coded, otherwise I just wouldn't have the time to do it.

    Anyway, here it is: https://gazook89.github.io/kid-collider. If anyone is inclined to check it out, I think there is something goofy about the email confirmation where it doesn't redirect to the correct place, but clicking the confirmation link does confirm it, you just have to navigate back to the original site and sign in.

    5 votes

  12. Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    Can you describe your app a little more? Does it contribute to OSM or something?

    Can you describe your app a little more? Does it contribute to OSM or something?

    1 vote

  13. Comment on Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines in ~society

  14. Comment on Celebrating 30th wedding anniversary - AMA in ~life

    Gazook89
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    What is something that someone wished they could change about the other, but had to give up on?

    What is something that someone wished they could change about the other, but had to give up on?

    5 votes

  15. Comment on The global fertility crisis is worse than you think in ~society

    Gazook89
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    I am at a vacation rental and one of the books left here that I picked up today is The Children Of Men. I’m only ~20 pages in. It is set in Britain 2021 and there is a global fertility crisis: no...

    I am at a vacation rental and one of the books left here that I picked up today is The Children Of Men. I’m only ~20 pages in. It is set in Britain 2021 and there is a global fertility crisis: no new children have been born since 1995, globally.

    No reason is really given (at least so far) for this calamity. But these types of reports as in the posted article are mentioned as a sort of early warning, not understood at the point they at published but only a small piece of a larger puzzle.

    Anyway, not saying this is the case here, but just an interesting note.

    9 votes

  16. Comment on Major League Baseball decries use of personal writings on Pride Night hats in ~lgbt

  17. Comment on USA TODAY Play expands digital comics library with Marvel Comics in ~comics

    Gazook89
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    I visited a library in an unfamiliar city today while on a trip, and noticed the Daily Bugle as the first thing on a periodicals shelf. The shelf wasn’t labeled in a way I could see the USA Today...

    I visited a library in an unfamiliar city today while on a trip, and noticed the Daily Bugle as the first thing on a periodicals shelf. The shelf wasn’t labeled in a way I could see the USA Today label before picking it up.

    I thought “wow, is this some weird independent publication like a zine?”

    Took me a minute to notice the USA Today marks, and immediately lost interest.

    Didn’t expect to see it linked here, but even now I am surprised how little interest i have in following to the article to read what it is all about (besides marketing).

    3 votes

  18. Comment on Leak exposes members of Peter Thiel’s secretive ‘dialog’ society in ~society

    Gazook89
    Link Parent
    Atul Gawande stood out to me the most.

    Atul Gawande stood out to me the most.

    4 votes

  19. Comment on Tildes Survey #9: How optimistic are you about the future? (Results) in ~talk

    Gazook89
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    Is it possible to add a link back to the originating Tildes post on the survey site after you've completed it, or a redirect directly back to page?

    Is it possible to add a link back to the originating Tildes post on the survey site after you've completed it, or a redirect directly back to page?

    1 vote

  20. Comment on Where The Wild Things Are - by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen in ~books

    Gazook89
    Link
    Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen discussing Where the Wild Things Are. Very good. I only just heard of this blog, cowritten by them, reviewing picture books. This is first one I've read, from 2024, but...

    Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen discussing Where the Wild Things Are. Very good. I only just heard of this blog, cowritten by them, reviewing picture books. This is first one I've read, from 2024, but it's 100% up my alley.

    I often think that more adults should take the often small amount of time to read picture books occasionally, there are so many gems that express in a few pages what novels take hundreds of pages to say.

    Mac Barnett got some heat recently due to a comment about the number of bad children’s books out there, but he’s totally right— except it’s every genre. But there is plenty of good, too, and we just need to take the time to identify those and really look at them.

    4 votes