cstby's recent activity
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Comment on How do you go about learning a new language? in ~humanities.languages
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Comment on Private school - worthwhile/good idea for not rich people? in ~life
cstby LinkHigh quality schools (either private or public) can make a big difference in your child's life, but they aren't a panacea. Whether to send your kids to private school should depend on your values...High quality schools (either private or public) can make a big difference in your child's life, but they aren't a panacea. Whether to send your kids to private school should depend on your values and financial situation.
Ihmo, if you're going to spend $$$ on a high quality education, then pay for elementary school. By the time kids hit highschool, their learning habits are hard to change. The kinds of kids who get the most from a fancy secondary education are the same ones who would succeed at a good mid-tier school.
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Comment on The iPhones 16 in ~tech
cstby Link ParentI want an E-ink phone. It's not exactly revolutionary, but I think it would be a big deal for me personally.I want an E-ink phone. It's not exactly revolutionary, but I think it would be a big deal for me personally.
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Comment on Do you use an RSS reader? in ~tech
cstby LinkI self host Miniflux, and I use Read You as an android client. I'm under the impression that most websites have RSS built in by default. It might be because so many sites use Wordpress. Even when...I self host Miniflux, and I use Read You as an android client.
I'm under the impression that most websites have RSS built in by default. It might be because so many sites use Wordpress. Even when it's not advertised, you can usually find the RSS URL. Also, YouTube channels all have their own RSS feed.
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Comment on Why AI isn't going to make art in ~arts
cstby Link ParentThat tweet's author seems to have missed the point. Chiang clearly believes that AI can be used in the artistic process.That tweet's author seems to have missed the point. Chiang clearly believes that AI can be used in the artistic process.
We can imagine a text-to-image generator that, over the course of many sessions, lets you enter tens of thousands of words into its text box to enable extremely fine-grained control over the image you’re producing; this would be something analogous to Photoshop with a purely textual interface. I’d say that a person could use such a program and still deserve to be called an artist.
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Comment on Forgejo is now copyleft, just like Git in ~comp
cstby Link ParentI self-host Forgejo. It's pretty easy to set up and has been completely stable. I don't do anything fancy with it, but I like it a lot so far.I self-host Forgejo. It's pretty easy to set up and has been completely stable. I don't do anything fancy with it, but I like it a lot so far.
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Comment on GitLab is reportedly up for sale in ~tech
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Comment on California’s largest wildfire explodes in size as fires rage across US West in ~enviro
cstby Link ParentI understand you're being somewhat facetious, but it's not a funny joke. Someone might read this and think you're being serious. Arson is NOT a part of American culture.I understand you're being somewhat facetious, but it's not a funny joke. Someone might read this and think you're being serious. Arson is NOT a part of American culture.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp
cstby Link ParentI had some programming experience, but just as a hobbyist. I'd say that book is fine for an absolute beginner. It has no math, no hard syntax, and assumes no prior knowledge whatsoever. However,...I had some programming experience, but just as a hobbyist.
I'd say that book is fine for an absolute beginner. It has no math, no hard syntax, and assumes no prior knowledge whatsoever. However, I'd say the author is right to say the book is peculiar. You can't just skim through it and absorb the knowledge. It demands a lot from its reader.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~comp
cstby LinkCounter perspective: I worked through The Little Schemer and got a lot out of it. I covered the answers with a piece of paper and tried to answer them myself one by one. I wrote the code by hand...Counter perspective:
I worked through The Little Schemer and got a lot out of it. I covered the answers with a piece of paper and tried to answer them myself one by one. I wrote the code by hand and didn't use an editor. When I got an answer wrong, I asked why and made sure I could answer before moving on. The book is short and this did not take long.
There are many skimmable programming books that just serve up information. This book is more of a journey for someone who wants to really think through programming problems from first principles.
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Comment on Does emacs or vim have better support for PHP parameter hinting and intellisense? in ~comp
cstby Link ParentOn emacs, intellisense is often achieved with LSP, and it looks like there's a well-supported LSP sever for PHP.On emacs, intellisense is often achieved with LSP, and it looks like there's a well-supported LSP sever for PHP.
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Comment on I'm looking for a suggestion on how best to organize my ideas for my weekly RPG in ~games.tabletop
cstby LinkFleeting Notes is built for your use case. It assumes you use Obsidian, which I would definitely recommend even if it's just a capture area before moving things over to your wiki.Fleeting Notes is built for your use case. It assumes you use Obsidian, which I would definitely recommend even if it's just a capture area before moving things over to your wiki.
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Comment on Advice for hosting (and building) a personal website in ~comp
cstby LinkIf you want to build a personal webpage, check out al-folio, a Jekyll theme. You can deploy it on GitHub pages, but Cloudflare pages is also a great free option. I'd recommend separating out your...If you want to build a personal webpage, check out al-folio, a Jekyll theme. You can deploy it on GitHub pages, but Cloudflare pages is also a great free option.
I'd recommend separating out your goals of building a personal website and learning front-end dev. Franky, you aren't going to learn much about frontend engineering by building a personal static site.
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Comment on Getting over that game making hump? in ~games
cstby LinkMaybe check out Love2d and Lua? I have no direct experience, but folks are very positive about it. From what I can tell, it's fast to go from an idea to a prototype.Maybe check out Love2d and Lua?
I have no direct experience, but folks are very positive about it. From what I can tell, it's fast to go from an idea to a prototype.
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Comment on Don’t fix it just because it’s technical debt in ~tech
cstby LinkI'm sorry, what? Engineers cost money. If tech debt causes them to take 2x the time to build a value-producing feature, then you are losing money because of it. Overall, I agree with the author...Reducing wasted effort may feel like an obvious good, but reducing wasted effort isn’t the goal of a company. Making money is.
I'm sorry, what? Engineers cost money. If tech debt causes them to take 2x the time to build a value-producing feature, then you are losing money because of it.
Overall, I agree with the author though. Imho, the mark of a great engineer is being able to work with an imperfect code base without feeling that they need to change everything. (And the same can actually be said for business roles as well.)
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Comment on AMD officially confirms no more Windows 10 chipset driver and support for next gen Ryzen in ~tech
cstby Link ParentLinux is great. You should definitely give it a shot.Linux is great. You should definitely give it a shot.
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Comment on On DM’ing for the first time in ~games.tabletop
cstby LinkGreat writeup. I've DM'ed a game weekly for the last four years, and much of your experience as a first time DM resonates with me. Fwiw, I'm moving away from 5e as a system. I've discovered that...Great writeup. I've DM'ed a game weekly for the last four years, and much of your experience as a first time DM resonates with me.
Fwiw, I'm moving away from 5e as a system. I've discovered that my players like "emergent" gameplay, and that it's actually easier to prep for me as well. At the table, I've found that the 5e system takes more than it gives.
It's worth checking out Old School Essentials or other OSR games if you haven't already. They play a little differently, but they'll help you avoid many of the challenges you ran into here.
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Comment on Stardew Valley 1.6 update released on PC in ~games
cstby Link ParentIt's so much fun though. I'd really recommend giving it a shot. Fector's challenge is an epic achievement if you like the Prairie King game.It's so much fun though. I'd really recommend giving it a shot. Fector's challenge is an epic achievement if you like the Prairie King game.
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Comment on A mistake in a Tesla and a panicked final call: The death of Angela Chao in ~transport
cstby Link ParentWater pressure makes opening the door of a submerged vehicle impossible regardless.Water pressure makes opening the door of a submerged vehicle impossible regardless.
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Comment on What are some cheaper alternatives to Grammarly that are equally as good? in ~tech
cstby LinkMaybe Language Tool?Maybe Language Tool?
Learning languages has been a hobby of mine for almost 15 years. I've studied Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, Esperanto, Toki Pona, and I'm currently working on Korean. Here's the method that works, based on my experience.
Short : Drill the basics, then consume tons of content, then put yourself in situations where you need to use the language.
Long verison:
The most important thing to remember is that your brain is hardwired to learn languages. When you hear or see a phrase AND you understand the meaning, your brain will automatically and subconsciously connect the two. Boiled down to its core, repeating this process is how we all learn languages.
Phase 1: Prepping for content consumption
Phase 2: Content Consumption
As early as possible, start consuming as much as you can. You're aiming for interesting content where you can understand at least 80%. If the content isn't engaging to you, it's not going to help. At this stage, most content targeted at native speakers will still be too advanced. Podcasts aimed at non-native speakers will help a lot. Watching a long-running TV show can help because the vocab and themes will repeat throughout. Graphic novels and vlogs are easier to understand because they provide visual context. Sometimes, children's books are interesting enough to hold your attention. Anything specifically made to be comprehensible input is pure gold.
At this stage, quantity is king. With repeated exposure, your brain will effortlessly acquire the most frequently used aspects the language. It'll use what you understand to contextually guess the meaning of unknown words and phrases. Through more exposure, it'll acquire those as well. You might find yourself "babbling" in your target language as your usage becomes less intellectual and more instinctual.
Phase 3: Put the language to use
You don't need to move to a new country, but you'll need to find situations where you use the language for real communication. There are plenty of options here. Find a place online where your target language is used. Jump into a language learning community and volunteer to exchange will someone who wants to learn your target language. You can pay for a tutor and talk to them about anything your want.
The key here is to convince your mind that the language isn't just a toy but something useful. Let yourself make embarrassing mistakes. Let yourself feel the joys and frustration that come from genuine human connection. This is what language is for! If you've reached this stage, congratulations!
Phase 4 (bonus) : Study the language like a native speaker
Breaking into the advanced level will require deliberate study. What you do in this phase will depend on your goals. Reading "literary" works in your target language is a good way to expand your vocab. Using a monolingual dictionary is also a good idea. At this point, you could try to acquire a near-native accent (with lots of time and effort). You can replace your normal activities with ones in your target language, but quantity of exposure alone won't be enough. You'll need to deliberately engage will material targeted at educated adult native speakers of your target language.