bugsmith's recent activity

  1. Comment on Book recommendations, specifically in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Thank you. I've not come across that one. I really appreciate you not giving away any spoilers. I think your short description is plenty for me to know that I'll probably enjoy it.

    Thank you. I've not come across that one. I really appreciate you not giving away any spoilers. I think your short description is plenty for me to know that I'll probably enjoy it.

    1 vote

  2. Comment on Book recommendations, specifically in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link
    I would like recommendations for books that explore the idea of timeloops. Either people stuck in a daily timeloop (think Groundhog Day, Palm Springs) or a longer timeloop, such as constantly...

    I would like recommendations for books that explore the idea of timeloops. Either people stuck in a daily timeloop (think Groundhog Day, Palm Springs) or a longer timeloop, such as constantly being reborn into the the same loop on death.

    So far, I have really enjoyed these books:

    The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

    As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message." This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

    Replay by Ken Grimwood

    Jeff Winston was 43 and trapped in a tepid marriage and a dead-end job, waiting for that time when he could be truly happy, when he died.

    And when he woke and he was 18 again, with all his memories of the next 25 years intact. He could live his life again, avoiding the mistakes, making money from his knowledge of the future, seeking happiness.

    Until he dies at 43 and wakes up back in college again...

    3 votes

  3. Comment on What Is A Secure Note-Taking App? in ~comp

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    This is exactly what I do. One of my devices happens to be a VPS I run a few services on, and with that I get my "always-on, in the cloud" syncing service.

    This is exactly what I do. One of my devices happens to be a VPS I run a few services on, and with that I get my "always-on, in the cloud" syncing service.

  4. Comment on RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    No problem at all. Thanks for letting me know.

    No problem at all. Thanks for letting me know.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Which book is the best introduction to your field of expertise, for a lay person? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I can vouch for this one. Truly an excellent book, and shockingly so for it to be free. I'd recommend this to anyone picking up JavaScript.

    I can vouch for this one. Truly an excellent book, and shockingly so for it to be free. I'd recommend this to anyone picking up JavaScript.

    2 votes

  6. Comment on Which book is the best introduction to your field of expertise, for a lay person? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link
    "The Phoenix Project" by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford is a fantastic introduction for anyone curious about the field of DevOps and its impact on IT and business practices. While the...

    "The Phoenix Project" by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford is a fantastic introduction for anyone curious about the field of DevOps and its impact on IT and business practices. While the book is presented in a novel format, it provides a narrative that illustrates the principles of DevOps in an accessible and relatable way.

    It uses the story of an IT manager tasked with rescuing a critical project to bring DevOps concepts to life. The reader follows the protagonist as he encounters the challenges of traditional IT environments and learns through experience how the adoption of DevOps principles.

    While informative, it is not a technical manual. It simplifies some concepts in order to make the story more digestible to readers who may not have a deep background in tech. They did release a technical manual of sorts as a companion book (or rather, this is the companion book)

    Note that the book was published in 2013, the concept of DevOps has evolved, forked and warped in many ways since then.

    13 votes

  7. Comment on Which book is the best introduction to your field of expertise, for a lay person? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link
    Now, it is hardly my field of expertise, but certainly something in the spirit of this topic: Fermentation. It's something I became mildly obsessed with during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and...

    Now, it is hardly my field of expertise, but certainly something in the spirit of this topic: Fermentation. It's something I became mildly obsessed with during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and I've not shaken it off yet. I like experimenting with all kinds of fermentation, such as:

    • Ginger Beer
    • Yoghurt
    • Sourdough
    • All kinds of fermented vegetables and fruits
    • Sauerkraut
    • Kimchi
    • Hot sauce

    And without a doubt, the best introduction to this topic that I've ever come across (often known as the Fermentation bible in certain crowds) is "The Art of Fermentation" by Sandor Katz.

    It's a comprehensive guide to fermentation that covers concepts, processes and science behind how fermentation works. Anybody can pick up this book, and by the time they have finished it (assuming they fermented a thing or two along the way) they will have a solid foundation and be well-prepared to fall further down the rabbit hole.

    14 votes

  9. Comment on RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    That would be great. I have no intention of using it or trying to set it up. I am just ever-curious about how people write their personal projects.

    That would be great. I have no intention of using it or trying to set it up. I am just ever-curious about how people write their personal projects.

  10. Comment on RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    How do you set that up in FreshRSS? Do you just have Group 1 show in the main feed? (or perhaps Group 1 and Group 2 ?)

    How do you set that up in FreshRSS? Do you just have Group 1 show in the main feed? (or perhaps Group 1 and Group 2 ?)

  11. Comment on RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I'd love to see you're code, if you're happy to share!

    I'd love to see you're code, if you're happy to share!

  12. Comment on RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS? in ~tech

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Your approach using a Discord bot and dividing feeds between channels is one of the most novel ways I've come across.

    Your approach using a Discord bot and dividing feeds between channels is one of the most novel ways I've come across.

    8 votes

  13. RSS users - how do you use, organize and maximize your enjoyment of RSS?

    ~tech Ask (survey)
    It's not something I've thought about much until I had a conversation with someone who sets up their RSS reader, and uses it, completely differently to me. I self-host FreshRSS, and typically just...

    It's not something I've thought about much until I had a conversation with someone who sets up their RSS reader, and uses it, completely differently to me.

    I self-host FreshRSS, and typically just use the Web UI provided by that - sometimes I use Android RSS apps to consume from that, but I've never found one I like that much. But I just categorize my RSS feeds by broad theme, e.g. computing & tech, local news, programming, tech news, gaming, business and so on...

    For the most part, I just browse through my main feed a few times per day and see if anything catches my eye. The only exception to this is that I have a few feeds in the 'Important' feed. One example is the forum related to a university project, where I need to know about entries pretty quickly.

    The person I was discussing with never subscribes to anything noisy. No BBC, no Ars Technica, and really nothing that posts more than once per day. They split their feeds into "Important", "Casual", "Videos", "Podcasts" (I never thought to add Podcasts, as I use a separate map) and "Comics". They have it set up with the intention of reading everything that comes through.

    I respect the curation effort that it must take to have an RSS feed where everything is interesting enough that you'd want to read it all. But for me, RSS is a method of discovering content. I don't need it too clean or overly curated. For the most part, I'm just going to skim it for interesting titles and subjects. The most curation I do is removing feeds after a while, if I notice I'm never interested in their content.

    I'm very keen to hear how you use RSS.

    46 votes

  14. Comment on Most bingeable book series? in ~books

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I for the most part, do not feel the same way. However, that is exactly how I felt about the most recent Stormlight Archive novel. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I really did, and it was a very...

    I for the most part, do not feel the same way. However, that is exactly how I felt about the most recent Stormlight Archive novel. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I really did, and it was a very different style of story to the previous three books (I'll avoid spoilers). It's just that I felt very stressed the whole way through reading it, and only right at the end did the pay-off make all the stress feel worth it.

    But honestly, I loved it and can't remember the last time I powered through a book so fast.

    1 vote

  15. Comment on Any good Youtube channels on learning Data Structures and Algorithms, especially the math part? in ~comp

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I have to say, for a guy who comes across as rather unbearable (to me) on his YouTube channel, this guy is a really knowledgable Software Engineer (with FAANG experience, if that still means...

    I have to say, for a guy who comes across as rather unbearable (to me) on his YouTube channel, this guy is a really knowledgable Software Engineer (with FAANG experience, if that still means something) and from what I've seen of his courses, the man is able to teach in a really engaging way. I'd totally check this course out if I were learning today.

    5 votes

  16. Comment on What is your favourite episode of a podcast? in ~talk

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    The Case of The Missing Hit sounds fascinating. I've just downloaded it. Reply All is a podcast that just keeps giving - or, well, did up until last year or so I guess.

    The Case of The Missing Hit sounds fascinating. I've just downloaded it. Reply All is a podcast that just keeps giving - or, well, did up until last year or so I guess.

    3 votes

  17. What is your favourite episode of a podcast?

    ~talk Ask (survey)
    Please share why it's your favourite took, avoiding as many spoilers as you can. Mine is Episode 45 of Darknet Diaries, Xbox Underground (and also Part 02). It is about a group of hackers called...

    Please share why it's your favourite took, avoiding as many spoilers as you can.

    Mine is Episode 45 of Darknet Diaries, Xbox Underground (and also Part 02).

    It is about a group of hackers called the XBox Underground who infiltrated the networks of major video game companies. Their motives started out harmless, with members of the group enjoying playing early versions of games. However, things take a serious turn and there are many twists and turns as the story unfolds.

    It's so good that I have listened to it every year since it first came out.

    36 votes

  18. Comment on What advice can you share for a short February trip to Norway? in ~travel

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    I really wanted to do this, but have been told by several agencies that the season stops in January (on the 31st). They said it's possible to find some agencies that might continue out of the...

    I really wanted to do this, but have been told by several agencies that the season stops in January (on the 31st).

    They said it's possible to find some agencies that might continue out of the season but that this is overly disruptive for the animals.

    I think this will have to stay on the list for when we come back.

    Thanks for the suggestion.

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

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Unsolicited code review :D if parent_name == "a": if not args.skip_links: yield un_paragraph(descendant) Could be simplified to: if parent_name != "a" or not args.skip_links: yield...

    Unsolicited code review :D

    if parent_name == "a":
    if not args.skip_links:
        yield un_paragraph(descendant)

    Could be simplified to:

    if parent_name != "a" or not args.skip_links:
    yield un_paragraph(descendant)

    (Although there's really nothing wrong with the way you've done it.)

    1 vote

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

    bugsmith
    Link Parent
    Have you tried HTTPX? I much prefer it to aiohttp, and has a much more similar API to requests.

    Have you tried HTTPX? I much prefer it to aiohttp, and has a much more similar API to requests.