hawt's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    hawt
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    I read all of the Cosmere books this summer/fall and while I tried to go back to Shannara series (Currently on Antrax) I had a hard time getting back into Terry Brooks writing (the plots are all...

    I read all of the Cosmere books this summer/fall and while I tried to go back to Shannara series (Currently on Antrax) I had a hard time getting back into Terry Brooks writing (the plots are all so similar) after Sanderson.

    I’m now reading his Skyward series, it was YA so initially I was just going to pass on it but I heard good things.

    The first book didn’t really grab me, but the. I read the Defending Elysium novella, which really sucked me into the world. Wrapping up Evershore and then going to dive into Defiant.

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

    hawt
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    Recently I got interested in PrivateGPT/ChatDocs and training it on my extensive library of coaching practice plans and drills so that I can say something like, “create an hour long practice plan...

    Recently I got interested in PrivateGPT/ChatDocs and training it on my extensive library of coaching practice plans and drills so that I can say something like, “create an hour long practice plan that has a 10 minute warm up, 10 minutes of footwork, 20 minutes of passing, 10 minutes of shooting, and a 10 minute cool down.”

    The downside is that it runs super slow on my laptop, so my next step is going to be modifying it so that I can deploy it to Heroku and let them handle the compute.

    Long term, if I want to commit to it, I could then turn around and sell access to it to other coaches.

    My sister is a teacher and I think it could be cool to use all of her teaching materials to create lesson plans.

  3. Comment on What online subscriptions do you pay for? in ~tech

    hawt
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    Aside from some of the common ones (Prime, Max, PSN, Apple One), some that I really like are: -YouNeedABudget (YNAB $100/yr) -Kagi Search ($108/yr) -Private Internet Access VPN ($75/3 years?)...

    Aside from some of the common ones (Prime, Max, PSN, Apple One), some that I really like are:

    -YouNeedABudget (YNAB $100/yr)
    -Kagi Search ($108/yr)
    -Private Internet Access VPN ($75/3 years?)
    -Fastmail ($50/yr)
    -Callsheet ($9/yr) slick looking movie database app
    -Short Circuit ($30 lifetime unlock) -chatbot that lets you use use your own OpenAI API key
    -Flighty ($45/year) flight tracking app

    I’m currently testing AdGuard DNS/NextDNS but not sure which one I’ll subscribe to.

  4. Comment on K.Flay - Hustler (2023) in ~music

    hawt
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    Been following K.Flay from the beginning, love the new album - thanks for sharing!

    Been following K.Flay from the beginning, love the new album - thanks for sharing!

    1 vote
  5. Comment on PlayStation’s first Remote Play dedicated device, PlayStation Portal remote player, to launch later this year at $199.99 USD in ~games

    hawt
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    I use a PS5 controller with my iPad and the Remote Play App when I travel and it has always impressed me with how well it works (after hours of trying different port settings on my Eero)....

    I use a PS5 controller with my iPad and the Remote Play App when I travel and it has always impressed me with how well it works (after hours of trying different port settings on my Eero).

    Honestly, this seems like a pretty good value for a standalone device with a bigger screen, DualSense controller.

    I see it being more popular with my nephews than me at this point. A lot easier for them to ask for this than a phone or iPad.

    1 vote
  6. Comment on What is your most annoying (minor) movie trope? in ~movies

    hawt
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    This is more in video games, but you see it in shows. There’s always some ancient civilization who mysterious disappeared and left behind some random technology that only the hero can utilize.

    This is more in video games, but you see it in shows. There’s always some ancient civilization who mysterious disappeared and left behind some random technology that only the hero can utilize.

    3 votes
  7. Comment on Titan Quest II | Announcement trailer in ~games

    hawt
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    I played a ton of Titan Quest back in the day, but never beat it as far as I can recall. Would definitely be interested in picking up this one for sure!

    I played a ton of Titan Quest back in the day, but never beat it as far as I can recall. Would definitely be interested in picking up this one for sure!

    2 votes
  8. Comment on Good book/TV/movie trackers à la Goodreads in ~hobbies

    hawt
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    I love StoryGraph as a replacement for GoodReads. If you’re looking for an app that can track just about anything, Sequel is great (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sequel-media-tracker/id1630746993)...

    I love StoryGraph as a replacement for GoodReads.

    If you’re looking for an app that can track just about anything, Sequel is great (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sequel-media-tracker/id1630746993)

    I don’t know anything that does it all with the community of a GoodReads though.

  9. Comment on Where is everyone hosting their email these days? in ~tech

    hawt
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    I switched from Gmail to Fastmail and couldn’t be happier. I thought about Proton mail, but I wanted to be able to use the iOS Mail app for autofilling codes and Fastmail works there. I spent a...

    I switched from Gmail to Fastmail and couldn’t be happier.

    I thought about Proton mail, but I wanted to be able to use the iOS Mail app for autofilling codes and Fastmail works there.

    I spent a week or so changing all of me emails to a variation of website@username.fastmail.com so that I can tell which website leaked my emails when spam comes and just block it and create like website2@username.fastmail.com.

    I also updated all my passwords with iCloud Keychain generated ones so I feel relatively secure on the web now.

    One thing that blew my mind is how hard some places make it to change your email. I had to call or email some companies, and others I found won’t let you change at all.

    Occasionally something comes through my Gmail inbox and I update it. Well worth the $50 a year.

    5 votes
  10. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    hawt
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    I’ve been playing Diablo 4 - Season 1. I rolled a necro who is much more powerful than my Eternal Realm Rogue. The most hated changes were rolled back by the time I started but it does feel a lot...

    I’ve been playing Diablo 4 - Season 1. I rolled a necro who is much more powerful than my Eternal Realm Rogue.

    The most hated changes were rolled back by the time I started but it does feel a lot more deserted now. It’s harder to find groups, LFG discords are pretty empty. I have a core group I play with but if they aren’t on I usually will just hop off. I’ll probably take next season off and rejoin in season 3 or 4.

    2 votes
  11. Comment on What upcoming books are you looking forward to? in ~books

    hawt
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    I just burned through all 5 of the previous books after seeing the Red Rising recommended. I finished Dark Age the day before Light bro get released and I should finish Light Bringer this evening....

    I just burned through all 5 of the previous books after seeing the Red Rising recommended.

    I finished Dark Age the day before Light bro get released and I should finish Light Bringer this evening.

    I’m already looking for Red God and I’m excited to see how he wraps up the series.

    1 vote
  12. Comment on What upcoming books are you looking forward to? in ~books

    hawt
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    This is great news! I devoured those books about a year ago. Can’t wait for Book 5

    This is great news! I devoured those books about a year ago. Can’t wait for Book 5

    1 vote
  13. Comment on A "low-risk" AMA thread for everyone in ~talk

    hawt
    Link Parent
    I have a few friends who still teach, mostly because they’ve been in it so long they’d lose out on retirement if they left. Most of them are miserable, they’ve moved out of the classroom if they...

    I have a few friends who still teach, mostly because they’ve been in it so long they’d lose out on retirement if they left. Most of them are miserable, they’ve moved out of the classroom if they can to other roles.

    How we fix it? No idea. I think it’s probably beyond saving at this point.

    2 votes
  14. Comment on Red Rising series made me start reading again (no spoilers) in ~books

    hawt
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    Always looking for new dystopian series to read. I’ll check this out - thanks!

    Always looking for new dystopian series to read. I’ll check this out - thanks!

  15. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    hawt
    Link Parent
    I think Sand is just as good, if not better than Silo. The pacing throughout the Silo books was a little uneven to me, but the Sand books had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn’t...

    I think Sand is just as good, if not better than Silo. The pacing throughout the Silo books was a little uneven to me, but the Sand books had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn’t want to put it down.

    1 vote
  16. Comment on Nostalgia -- what programs do you miss? in ~tech

    hawt
    Link Parent
    One thing I love about Apple Music/iTunes is that my personal library of songs is also synced. I believe the feature is called iTunes Match. I can listen to any song off the streaming platform and...

    One thing I love about Apple Music/iTunes is that my personal library of songs is also synced. I believe the feature is called iTunes Match.

    I can listen to any song off the streaming platform and it also has all my demos, live recordings and b-sides that I’ve collected available within the app as well.

    Sometimes I’ll share a playlist with my friends though and songs will be missing because I didn’t realize they were from my Matched Library but other than that it is seamless.

  17. Comment on First time homebuyer who just closed on a house, does anyone have any general advice? in ~life.home_improvement

    hawt
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    We live in Florida which had really high property insurance costs, so while they weren’t glamour, we really focused our first home projects on things that would pay off in the long run. Our...

    We live in Florida which had really high property insurance costs, so while they weren’t glamour, we really focused our first home projects on things that would pay off in the long run.

    Our property insurance was almost $3,500 and didn’t cover our roof or water damage because the roof and hot water heater were both 22 years old. So those were the first things off our list. Our renewal rate for insurance was $4,900, but we were able to get it down to $2,000 after those projects. It lowered our monthly payment and allows us to save more for future projects.

    4 votes
  18. Comment on First time homebuyer who just closed on a house, does anyone have any general advice? in ~life.home_improvement

    hawt
    Link Parent
    Exactly what we did as well. We got there a few days before our POD arrived. Had it cleaned that morning while we went out for brunch and then came back and started painting. We had enough clothes...

    Exactly what we did as well. We got there a few days before our POD arrived. Had it cleaned that morning while we went out for brunch and then came back and started painting. We had enough clothes for the first week and slept on an air mattress but we were able to paint the bulk of the house, baseboards, and doors in those first few days. It would have been a nightmare if all our stuff had been moved in.

    3 votes
  19. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    hawt
    Link
    I just recently started re-reading the Shannara series. I started the books in middle school and once I caught up with everything published I would get the newest book every year for Christmas. I...

    I just recently started re-reading the Shannara series.

    I started the books in middle school and once I caught up with everything published I would get the newest book every year for Christmas. I only read up to Morgawr before I just kind of fell off.

    I saw he finally concluded the series a few years ago and decided to pick it back up after 15 or so years away, in the order Terry Brooks recommends with Word & Void included.

    I’ve gotten through the Elf Queen of Shannara (and the prequel, First King of Shannara), and started the Talismans of Shannara last night.

    I’m really into it and excited to re-read the Word & Void series next, since I loved those when I read them, but never realized they were in the same universe.

    Such great memories of these books and they still hold up for me after all these years.

    I’ve heard the TV series, while different, was actually pretty good before it was cancelled so I’ll have to check that out as well.

    3 votes
  20. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    hawt
    Link Parent
    After starting the show I plowed through Silo and thought it was fantastic. I also read his Sand series as well, I hope it gets picked up for a show!

    After starting the show I plowed through Silo and thought it was fantastic. I also read his Sand series as well, I hope it gets picked up for a show!

    3 votes