all_summer_beauty's recent activity
-
Comment on Nvidia-backed Starcloud trains first AI model in space in ~space
-
Comment on Rosalía's LUX is NPR Music's No. 1 album of 2025 in ~music
all_summer_beauty Link ParentYeah, it's certainly not for everyone, but no art is. What I really appreciate about it is that it's so new and different, while still being really beautiful and engaging (at least to me). There's...Yeah, it's certainly not for everyone, but no art is. What I really appreciate about it is that it's so new and different, while still being really beautiful and engaging (at least to me). There's nothing wrong with applying your artistry to create more things in established paradigms, but, IMO, where art/creativity shines the most is in doing things that no one's done before and nailing it.
-
Comment on Rosalía's LUX is NPR Music's No. 1 album of 2025 in ~music
all_summer_beauty Link ParentEl Mal Querer is definitely on my list! Sounds very cool, I love a good concept album. Thanks for the rec!El Mal Querer is definitely on my list! Sounds very cool, I love a good concept album. Thanks for the rec!
-
Comment on Rosalía's LUX is NPR Music's No. 1 album of 2025 in ~music
all_summer_beauty (edited )LinkI just listened to this for the first time yesterday and it kind of blew my mind. I unfortunately don't speak Spanish (or Italian, or German, or . . .) well enough to fully appreciate it but it's...At the moment this fall when NPR Music's staff began discussing our picks for the best albums of 2025, the mere existence of the record we'd eventually name our No. 1 – in a landslide, it must be said – was not known to anyone on our team. But as soon as we heard Rosalía's magnificent, head-spinning LUX in early November, one spot on our list was instantly confirmed.
For most of the year, consensus felt hard to come by. We all found plenty of music to love, but we weren't always drawn toward the same signals. LUX was different. Of the dozen critics and hosts who submitted lists, more than half included it in their top 10. Four of us said it was the best thing we heard all year. Below, each of them makes the argument for why it deserves that crown.
I just listened to this for the first time yesterday and it kind of blew my mind. I unfortunately don't speak Spanish (or Italian, or German, or . . .) well enough to fully appreciate it but it's still wildly impressive and beautiful. I also know basically nothing about Rosalía so I can't provide any additional context, but I can tell you that her voice is incredible and that creating this is an astounding feat of musicianship. I drove several hours yesterday and started my trip with LUX. I'm running that drive back today and I think I'll be starting with it again.
-
Rosalía's LUX is NPR Music's No. 1 album of 2025
12 votes -
Comment on USGS V1cam livestream of erupting Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii (west Halemaʻumaʻu crater) in ~enviro
all_summer_beauty Link ParentI fully missed everything exciting, but it was still cool! Thanks for sharing!I fully missed everything exciting, but it was still cool! Thanks for sharing!
-
Comment on You’re probably using the wrong dictionary in ~books
all_summer_beauty (edited )LinkContext: I am a native American English speaker. This is great. I didn't find it condescending or pretentious, but earnest and eager to share something the author is fascinated by. I'll...- Exemplary
Context: I am a native American English speaker.
This is great. I didn't find it condescending or pretentious, but earnest and eager to share something the author is fascinated by. I'll acknowledge that Webster may have had a different idea of a dictionary than we do today, for sure. But maybe we should separate his understanding of it from our own. I find his dictionary so incredibly valuable, for entirely different reasons than I do a modern dictionary.
Functional definitions that supply working knowledge are crucial, but there's a reason we revere great writers: they do things with language that most of us would never conceive of, yet they do so in a way that seems so obvious that it's like "well, yeah, of course that's how you should say that! There's no better way." Technical writing is great for conveying mechanical information, but it's terrible for evoking feeling, helping the reader imagine the world differently. Webster's intention (as I see it) was similar to that of the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". He wasn't just providing textual explanations of meanings, he was making paintings with language. It's not about capturing meaning in efficient packages of specificity, it's about freeing the reader's mind by being less specific and helping them come to a deeper understanding as a result. A lot of things in life can't be put neatly into boxes, so Webster didn't try. There's something vital lost when we reduce all knowledge to its practical function.
The problem is that art, arguably by definition, is not practical. Art can change my life, but it can't feed my body when I'm hungry. If I go visit Germany and need to prioritize finding my way around the country, Goethe isn't going to help me. We need both art and practicality. Gotta feed the mind and the body.
There's also the fact that because artistic experiences are so heavily influenced by our unique life circumstances, they're incredibly subjective. Webster's definitions are evocative to me because I have context that has primed me to be affected by them in this way. This includes the good fortune to be able to spare the time and mental bandwidth to sit with art that speaks to me and really take it in. Not everyone has that. And even if they do, they're still completely different people than me. A turn of phrase that I find profound might feel mundane to someone else. It's as much about what we bring to the table as what's on it.
-
Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
all_summer_beauty Link ParentThank you for this, without it I never would have discovered bacongod.org just east of Pittsburgh.Thank you for this, without it I never would have discovered bacongod.org just east of Pittsburgh.
-
Power Composer - Music-making software, MIDI editor, soundfont synth - free early access on Windows
https://www.powercomposer.net/ I am not affiliated with this project, I just think it's awesome and deserves more publicity. Power Composer is a piano-reel-style MIDI editor built in the Godot...
https://www.powercomposer.net/
I am not affiliated with this project, I just think it's awesome and deserves more publicity.
Power Composer is a piano-reel-style MIDI editor built in the Godot game engine (though it is a tool, not a game). It's intended to be lighter and more accessible than a DAW, but still quite powerful. The dev has been quietly working on it for a while now and just recently made a free early-access Windows build available!
I've been keeping an eye on it ever since it was featured in the Godot 2024 showreel, as I've wanted something like it for a while. Several years ago, I was playing around with Chrome Music Lab's "Song Maker" so I could use it in my classroom. I ended up having such a great time that I got incredibly sidetracked and spent a while just writing stuff. I know the grid-based sequencer isn't a novel concept, but something about that particular configuration just clicked with me.
Ever since then, I've been searching for something similar but more capable that still clicks in the same way. I tried Bosca Ceoil, LMMS, and a couple DAWs' MIDI editors, but nothing quite did it. Then I saw Power Composer. Now that I can actually try it, it's just as comfortable as I hoped! I'm a classically-trained music teacher and have been writing/arranging with software like Dorico for years, but something about sequencers (and Power Composer in particular) just feels more freeing to me than traditional notation.
It is not open-source nor is it planned to be, which is a bummer because I'd love to contribute, but I get it - being paid for your work is nice. No word on the release price or timeline yet.
The dev seems like a good guy. In addition to the website above, Power Composer has a Youtube channel and a Discord server, and he is actively taking feature requests and bug reports on the latter.
I've been exploring it a bit and I'd be happy to answer any questions people have about it! Really enjoying it so far.
11 votes -
Comment on How do you design your campaigns? in ~games.tabletop
all_summer_beauty Link ParentWould you be willing to share the questionnaire (or a generalized version if it's heavily customized to the campaign)? I do something similar but I'm curious what others do and if I can improve.Would you be willing to share the questionnaire (or a generalized version if it's heavily customized to the campaign)? I do something similar but I'm curious what others do and if I can improve.
-
Comment on Fairy tales contain useful lessons for navigating our interactions with the internet in ~life
all_summer_beauty LinkThat's . . . actually really compelling. I like this piece a lot. Thanks for sharing it.The German philosopher Hans Blumenberg argued that myth first emerged to help people cope with what he called “the absolutism of reality” — the overwhelming scale of the world and its fundamental indifference to human concerns. Myth made the incomprehensible bearable. Building on Blumenberg’s work, the Belgian philosopher Mark Coeckelbergh suggests that we now face a new absolutism. The terror we once felt from nature — floods and droughts, sickness and death — now comes from the technology we’ve built and no longer fully understand.
Once again, we encounter forces that exceed our comprehension. And once again, we [can] turn to stories to keep our footing, maintain our humanity and emerge from the encounter whole.
That's . . . actually really compelling. I like this piece a lot. Thanks for sharing it.
-
Comment on Madison “Peg Leg” Blagden just became the first woman to hike 8,000 miles in a year — and she’s still going in ~hobbies
all_summer_beauty LinkHere's a map for anyone else unfamiliar with the calendar-year triple crown and having trouble visualizing the route (like me). It sounds like she got rides in between trails since they don't...Here's a map for anyone else unfamiliar with the calendar-year triple crown and having trouble visualizing the route (like me).
It sounds like she got rides in between trails since they don't connect? Also note that she added several hundred miles to the ends of the Appalachian Trail that is shown on that map (in order to make it border-to-border). The article says her average was about 26.6mi/day, but it also mentions there were many stretches of 30-40+ mile days.
Fucking incredible.
-
Comment on Madison “Peg Leg” Blagden just became the first woman to hike 8,000 miles in a year — and she’s still going in ~hobbies
all_summer_beauty Link ParentOne complaint I often see on hikers’ blogs is the perception that those hiking long miles must be trust-fund kids who are able to hike instead of working. “Must be nice to spend daddy’s money”, “imagine being this rich”, and “get a job”, are three comments pulled directly from Peg Leg’s blogs and comments, and these commenters couldn’t be further from the truth.
Since 2022, Peg Leg has been hiking consistently. She jokes that it took her three years to finish the Triple Crown of thru-hiking (the AT, PCT, and CDT), but only took her the fourth year to Triple Crown again. For her first long hike, the PCT, Peg Leg gathered her savings from years of work, sold her vehicle and all of her belongings, and used the money for both the PCT and ECT the following year. Leading up to her 2024 thru-hike of the CDT, she worked 60-70 hours a week bartending in Philadelphia.
Now, she credits gear sponsorships and social media with allowing a full year of hiking. The “Tip the Author” button at the bottom of Trek blogs and articles, she calls out specifically, has been “significant in an immensely meaningful way.”
-
Comment on The worlds on fire. So lets just make AI porn. in ~tech
all_summer_beauty Link ParentSeconding this, it pretty effectively sums up my thoughts. Pretty high typo rate, lots of disconnected or unclear statements, no real sense of direction or continuity. It was an interesting read...Seconding this, it pretty effectively sums up my thoughts. Pretty high typo rate, lots of disconnected or unclear statements, no real sense of direction or continuity. It was an interesting read but tbh it didn't really feel like it brought anything new to the table. It's possible there's something there that could be brought out with a lot of work though.
-
Comment on How investors 10x each dollar, before they even invest in ~finance
all_summer_beauty (edited )Link ParentCollapsible quote because it's longish So, she took the full 36k / year remaining as a commitment and proposed a 7-year fund of €9M, to which she would contribute a total of €180k EUR over the...Collapsible quote because it's longish
So, she took the full 36k / year remaining as a commitment and proposed a 7-year fund of €9M, to which she would contribute a total of €180k EUR over the first five years. This fund actively invests in climate projects, and because it's a philanthropic fund, it doesn't operate VC style and doesn't chase massive multiples. With this, she was since able to find two other partners (each bringing similar contributions), then raise €3M from a private bank, €1M from various family offices, and that amount was all doubled by the Belgian sovereign wealth fund, bringing the total to 9M.
The difference in commitment of course is that she's actively participating in the fund and dedicating some time to it every week.
But the difference is clear: Instead of donating some amount every year and losing the rest to taxes, she gets to be very active on a topic she cares a lot about, which helps continue to build her career, she has a MUCH more significant impact, and she gets to see returns on the money as it's actively invested. (Furthermore, she takes some small salary on the active management, which she … donates to the organizations she was going to donate to in the first place).
I guess I know basically nothing about using my money for anything besides buying necessities and the occasional present for others/myself and saving for retirement, so I have so many questions.
- So she essentially got together with her friends and some deep-pockets people to pool money in a way that's more legally efficient than everyone donating by themselves?
- Who manages this fund? It sounds like it's her? Do all the contributors get votes on how to allocate it or something? Is there some professional financial entity involved (beyond just a bank to hold it all)?
- Where is the salary you mention coming from? Is it a percentage of the fund (i.e. the contributors are paying her to manage their contributions for them)? Or is it from the interest the fund earns or something? I guess those are technically the same thing?
-
Comment on US Federal Government oversight of K - 12 education moved out of Department of Education to Department of Labor in ~society
all_summer_beauty LinkI agree, if we accept the premise. Given that it's a bullshit premise, I do not agree. Absolute clown shit. I'm aware that one of this administration's goals is to take agencies that benefit the...“If we consider K-12 education as really preparation for adult life, preparation to enter the workforce, nowhere is it better housed than at the Department of Labor that thinks about this night and day,” a senior department official said. [emphasis added]
I agree, if we accept the premise. Given that it's a bullshit premise, I do not agree.
On Tuesday morning, the agency’s official X account posted a video that opened with “The clock is ticking.”
Absolute clown shit. I'm aware that one of this administration's goals is to take agencies that benefit the people and staff them with officials as hostile to those agencies' missions as possible, in order to eventually destroy them, but it's still just so fucking stupid to watch.
Sorry for the less-than-Tildes-quality comment.
-
Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
all_summer_beauty Link ParentYeah I remembered about link previews, but I think I still like Zen's glance a bit better. Link previews feel a bit slow (though I am aware you can disable the summary if desired), and I usually...Yeah I remembered about link previews, but I think I still like Zen's glance a bit better. Link previews feel a bit slow (though I am aware you can disable the summary if desired), and I usually wish I could see more of the page than it shows you. In Zen, glance basically opens an ephemeral tab on top of your current one. So you can poke around for a few seconds and see what all's there, then quickly return to what you were doing when you're finished. I'm not sure I can articulate why that feels different than just opening a new tab, but it does. 🤷
That's awesome that split tabs are at least on the to-do list, though! I use that all the time in Zen.
-
Comment on Zen browser / chrome alternatives in ~tech
all_summer_beauty Link ParentWell that's disappointing (the response to it too). The overall organization of Zen really vibes with me, and I love some of the unique features like split tabs, glance, and workspaces. Guess I...Firefox isn’t going to accidentally ship a backdoor either.
Well that's disappointing (the response to it too).
The overall organization of Zen really vibes with me, and I love some of the unique features like split tabs, glance, and workspaces. Guess I should start trying to work up a solution for those in vanilla Firefox.
-
Comment on The spy who came in from the WiFi: Beware of radio network surveillance! in ~comp
all_summer_beauty LinkI'm so tiredIf you pass by a café that operates a WiFi network, you can be identified – even if you do not carry a smart phone with you. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have found out that it is possible to identify people solely through WiFi signals. They point out that this constitutes a significant risk to privacy. To infer the identity of persons, it is no longer necessary that they carry a smart phone or tablet on them. It takes nothing but WiFi devices communicating with each other in the person’s surroundings. This creates an image comparable to a camera shot, but based on radio waves. The research team calls for adequate privacy safeguards.
I'm so tired
-
Comment on An AI-generated country song is topping a Billboard chart, and that should infuriate us all in ~music
all_summer_beauty Link ParentIt's very much both. Music created by someone for themselves alone has just as much of a point as music created for millions. And in some cases, like educational ensemble settings, it's almost...Is the point of music the production process or that it is being enjoyed by the listeners?
It's very much both. Music created by someone for themselves alone has just as much of a point as music created for millions. And in some cases, like educational ensemble settings, it's almost entirely about the process. Art-making is just as core to the human experience as art-appreciating. People get together and make music because they enjoy it, not necessarily because anyone else cares that they're doing it.
Christopher Small talks about how "musicking" is an activity, one that involves not just the listeners or performers or writers/composers, but all of them together. He strongly argues against the popular convention of conceiving of music as discrete objects (songs or pieces) and firmly believes it should be understood as an event. That event may unfold in stages (writing, production, listening) rather than happening all at the same time, but it's still an event. It's about the doing of the thing, and that necessarily includes the creators.
Part of his book Musicking: The Meanings of Performance and Listening is online if anyone wants to explore. The prelude is enough to get the gist, don't feel intimidated by the idea of diving into a whole book. It's good stuff.
For anyone else who was (like me) wondering "Why...?":