bugsmith's recent activity

  1. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

  2. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

  3. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link
    What an excellent thread. I've been a pro subscriber for over seven months now, and I'm extremely satisfied with the service Kagi offers. I'm always hesitant to come across too keen for any...

    What an excellent thread. I've been a pro subscriber for over seven months now, and I'm extremely satisfied with the service Kagi offers. I'm always hesitant to come across too keen for any company, as only time will tell whether I later regret it (I'm sure we've all been burned many times before). But in it's current state, Kagi is an excellent search engine and it's nice to have at least one option that clearly makes the offer of "pay us and we will provide a product, you don't need to pay by being the product".

    I've just sent all my trial codes out to three users in this thread requesting them. Enjoy.

    3 votes
  4. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

  5. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

  6. Comment on Anyone interested in trying out Kagi? (trial giveaway: round #2) in ~tech

  7. Comment on Fearing toxic waste, Greenland ended uranium mining. Now, they could be forced to restart - or pay $11billion investor-state dispute settlement. in ~enviro

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I don't read the reply as antagonistic at all, just a well-structured response where your points have been responded to individually. As someone reading this discussion, I very much appreciate...

    I don't read the reply as antagonistic at all, just a well-structured response where your points have been responded to individually. As someone reading this discussion, I very much appreciate having the specific context of the point that's being responded to.

    2 votes
  8. Comment on What is a book that every 13-year-old boy should read? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I disagree. I think this thirteen is quite late to be teaching that. I've taught my son that reading is fun from birth by reading to him his entire life and by ensuring he has protected reading...

    I disagree. I think this thirteen is quite late to be teaching that.
    I've taught my son that reading is fun from birth by reading to him his entire life and by ensuring he has protected reading time every evening before bed. He loves reading and has completed most of the popular fiction series that are recommended for his age and several aimed at older audiences.

    The reason I am searching for books with the kinds of topics I mentioned are that he has requested books of this nature, as he finished a confidence and self-esteem self-help book and wanted more along the lines of that.

    (The book he finished is You Are Awesome by Matthew Syed).

    9 votes
  9. What is a book that every 13-year-old boy should read?

    Thirteen is a difficult age for most. It's a time of transition from childhood into early adulthood. I'm keen for book recommendations you think a 13-year-old should read. Specific topics I'm keen...

    Thirteen is a difficult age for most. It's a time of transition from childhood into early adulthood.
    I'm keen for book recommendations you think a 13-year-old should read. Specific topics I'm keen to be covered, either directly or through metaphor, are:

    • Confidence
    • Development
    • Fitness / Nutrition / Physical Health
    • Mental Health
    • Finance
    • Ethics

    But really, anything you think one could tackle at that age and benefit from having read the content.

    I've specified boy, because it is a boy who I wish to pass these recommendations on to, and I think that perhaps the advice would be different for a girl.

    38 votes
  10. Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I've recently got into using Sidebery. I love it for the side bar alone, especially now I've adjusted the Firefox CSS to get rid of the top bar (and thus no tabs show at the top). I'd be keen to...

    I've recently got into using Sidebery. I love it for the side bar alone, especially now I've adjusted the Firefox CSS to get rid of the top bar (and thus no tabs show at the top).

    I'd be keen to hear how you go about organising your tabs.

    So far, I've set up three panels:

    • Comms: Email, Instant Messaging, and I keep whichever LLM interface I'm into here as well (currently LibreChat).
    • Social: Just a collection of the various forums and the like that I visit regularly: Tildes, HN, Lemmy, BlueSky, Mastodon mostly
    • Work: Any of my work production and development domains, work HR site, work Google stuff, etc. I also have anything that opens in this panel open in a work container. Big fan of this for separation of concerns.

    And then I have a general tab that my random browsing holds. Although that stuff naturally splills into the other panels from clicking links too.

    1 vote
  11. Comment on What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games? in ~talk

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I'm glad you enjoyed it. Funnily enough, I watched it on a whim after having recalled someone recommending it in a forum thread somewhere.

    I'm glad you enjoyed it. Funnily enough, I watched it on a whim after having recalled someone recommending it in a forum thread somewhere.

    1 vote
  12. Comment on What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games? in ~talk

    bugsmith
    Link
    I have another entry for movies: ARQ. It's a very self-contained movie, effectively taking place within three or so rooms. It's a sci-fi, but arguable the sci isn't so important as it's highly...

    I have another entry for movies: ARQ.

    It's a very self-contained movie, effectively taking place within three or so rooms. It's a sci-fi, but arguable the sci isn't so important as it's highly character driven.

    1 vote
  13. Comment on What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games? in ~talk

    bugsmith
    Link
    Movies Groundhog Day with Bill Murray is, of course, a classic and one of my all-time favourite films. A wonderful premise, excellently cast and executed. Despite not being a Christmas movie, it's...

    Movies
    Groundhog Day with Bill Murray is, of course, a classic and one of my all-time favourite films. A wonderful premise, excellently cast and executed. Despite not being a Christmas movie, it's one I find myself rewatching annually around that time.

    Palm Springs is a movie I discovered far too late. Really quite a different Andy Samberg to anything else I've seen him in. A fantastic blend of comedy with dark and serious undertones.

    Edge of Tomorrow. Unlike the previous two, this is not a cosy tale of learning about oneself over a period of life iterations. This is a bloody action thriller with superstar casting and a brilliant premise. The plot is often criticized, but make no mistake, this is a phenomenally executed high-octane take on the theme.

    Books
    The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Clare North. This is a regular re-read for me. Very much a "longer time-loop", and conflict inducing "shared time-loop" plot. It's very well thought out and we get plenty of loops to discover different aspects of many characters.

    Replay by Ken Grimwood. This is a regular re-read for me. Very much a "fixed period" time-loop, and an emotionally charged "shared time-loop" plot. It's very well thought out and we get plenty of replays to discover different approaches to life, from wealth-seeking paths to deep emotional journeys. The start of this book, in particular, evokes in me that strong sense of fantasy about reliving youth with future knowledge.

    20 votes
  14. What are your favourite time-loop based books, movies and video games?

    Warning: this post may contain spoilers

    I absolutely love the premise of a time-loop. I find them fascinating, and there are so many variations to explore. Inevitably, I find myself fantasizing about waking up in my own younger body and the shenanigans I would get up to with so much future knowledge (before existential dread of meeting the same people and creating the same family kick in).

    • Short time-loops where someone relives the same day, or an even shorter period.
    • Medium time-loops where someone can live days, weeks, months or even years before resetting - often when they die.
    • Longer time-loops where someone effectively relives an entire human lifespan on repeat.
    • Shared time-loops where other people are independently looping - a great source of conflict.

    And plenty more besides.

    I'll share some of my favourite examples in a comment, but please share your favourites and tell us why you love them.

    43 votes
  15. Comment on What are some traditional internet forums that you still use? in ~tech

  16. Comment on a/s/l? Tildes user survey question. in ~tildes

  17. Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Yes, that's exactly how I feel. I search more and more tools that are great out of the box. And I've gotten into the mindset of configuring myself rather than configuring the tool, so to speak.

    Yes, that's exactly how I feel. I search more and more tools that are great out of the box. And I've gotten into the mindset of configuring myself rather than configuring the tool, so to speak.

    4 votes
  18. Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I live by Todoist currently. What is it you prefer about TickTick's work flow? I'm really fussy with my productivity apps and Todoist just feels right. I'm not actually entirely sure what it is I...

    I live by Todoist currently. What is it you prefer about TickTick's work flow?
    I'm really fussy with my productivity apps and Todoist just feels right. I'm not actually entirely sure what it is I love about it compared to others. But there are some things I wish it had, such as the ability to differentiate between the date something is due by and the date I wish to do something.

    3 votes
  19. Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Have you also tried Raycast?

    Have you also tried Raycast?

    1 vote
  20. Comment on Single most useful program you daily use? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link
    For me, it's my favourite text editor, Helix. It's a modal text editor, similar to Vim, but it's superfast and has incredible defaults. I've found very little I've wanted to configure as it's...

    For me, it's my favourite text editor, Helix. It's a modal text editor, similar to Vim, but it's superfast and has incredible defaults. I've found very little I've wanted to configure as it's amazing out of the box, and it makes typing (writing, programming, whatever) an absolute joy for me.

    28 votes