honzabe's recent activity
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Comment on Cyclist falls down 130-foot ravine in France, survives three days by drinking wine he had in shopping bag in ~life
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
honzabe (edited )Link ParentIf you are into allegories, you might enjoy his "Wite book" (and I know with certainty that this one has been translated). This one I find really funny, although I am not sure how that kind of...If you are into allegories, you might enjoy his "Wite book" (and I know with certainty that this one has been translated). This one I find really funny, although I am not sure how that kind of humor translates. It is about a man who learns to use his willpower to overcome gravity. This book is also about repressive regimes and their fundamentally anti-progress nature - it is basically about a man who freaks out the establishment by discovering something fundamentally new, so they prosecute him for "breaking the laws of nature".
Also, thank you, "How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed" looks really interesting.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
honzabe (edited )Link ParentIf you are interested in a novel about this topic and like really dark and absurd humor, I would recommend "The Hangwoman" by Pavel Kohout. The book mocks the torturers of totalitarian regimes,...If you are interested in a novel about this topic and like really dark and absurd humor, I would recommend "The Hangwoman" by Pavel Kohout. The book mocks the torturers of totalitarian regimes, who revel in their power and the supposed nobility of their mission, but deep down are nothing more than pathetic and ridiculous mental cripples.
I don't usually recommend this kind of book to people from the West, because I feel that to truly understand them (and laugh at them), one must have experienced a repressive regime. Unfortunately, it seems that Americans are now rapidly gaining this understanding.
I would recommend another book by this author, "Kde je zakopán pes" (Where the dog is buried), but although I quickly found Spanish and German translations, I can't find the English one. This book is his description of real events he personally experienced (he himself was a dissident). It reads like a thriller with a bit of dark humor sprinkled in. It is also strangely uplifting, because a lot of it is about strong friendships formed by people who were "screwed together". Some of these friends were really colorful characters - like "Lanďák", a famous Czech actor, a rowdy drunkard, philanderer, and a loyal friend with balls. One of the "lessons" I got from the book is that if you resist the regime, you might end up in prison, but you make interesting friends.
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Comment on 'This is definitely my last TwitchCon': High-profile streamer Emiru was assaulted at the event, even as streamers have been sounding the alarm about stalkers and harassment in ~games
honzabe Link ParentI know you are joking. Blast-resistant trash cans are a thing, though. They are used in crowded places (like subway stations). I wouldn't be too surprised if they used them for conventions. Just a...Ah yes, trashcans, a bomb's greatest weakness. I'm sure a bomb won't go off once it's inside a trash can, potential crisis averted!
I know you are joking. Blast-resistant trash cans are a thing, though. They are used in crowded places (like subway stations). I wouldn't be too surprised if they used them for conventions. Just a fun fact.
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Comment on What programming/technical projects have you been working on? in ~comp
honzabe LinkI needed to sell about a thousand old books, and did not like any of the local sites for selling books (I live in a small country Amazon did not bother conquering), so I knocked together my own...I needed to sell about a thousand old books, and did not like any of the local sites for selling books (I live in a small country Amazon did not bother conquering), so I knocked together my own second-hand bookstore. I used the Hugo static site generator because I love it and I am really familiar with it - I could have the site up and running in no time, for free on Cloudflare pages.
This was supposed to be just an MVP to be replaced by a classic webstore with a database and all that stuff. To my surprise, Hugo seems to be a really nice platform for a small, minimalist webshop. Simple client-side search with Fuse.js, form submission via Web3Forms with fallback to email, shopping cart functionality using JavaScript and localStorage...
Hugo keeps pleasantly surprising me. Every time I need something, there is a simple solution. I need an XML data feed for a price comparison engine - bam, slightly modified Atom feed, and I am done. Accompanied by a simple Flask app I keep locally (scan ISBN -> grab the data from Google Book API -> generate markdown -> add the book to my .csv file I use to do "accounting"), it turned into a fun hobby project, and I keep working on it just because I enjoy it.
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Comment on What are some interesting landmarks in your neck of the woods? in ~talk
honzabe LinkI live within walking distance of the garden where Gregor Mendel was growing his famous pea plants. BTW, they still grow pea plants there. Villa Tugendhat by Mies Van Der Rohe is another...I live within walking distance of the garden where Gregor Mendel was growing his famous pea plants. BTW, they still grow pea plants there.
Villa Tugendhat by Mies Van Der Rohe is another interesting place nearby. Architecture buffs keep telling me it is a big deal - I am not entirely sure why, but I like sitting in that beautiful garden.
I love visiting the ruins of the Templar castle, Templštejn (we used to go there with dad). Unlike other castles, which are usually touristy, this one has been abandoned for a long time, and it's a bit of a forgotten place. Pretty often, there is nobody there. Ideal place for introverts.
Another place I like is the 12th-century Romanesque church of St. Peter and Paul. I often cycle past it - there's a beautiful road along the river - and I always stop there. The place radiates tranquility.
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Comment on Drones seen over Danish military bases in latest air disruption in ~society
honzabe (edited )Link ParentI am not accusing you of anything. I specifically said I just think that your claims which they honestly do to me (and I explained why). That does not mean you need to be offended. My best guess...I am not accusing you of anything. I specifically said
I assume you are not spreading Russian talking points intentionally
I just think that your claims
sound like something straight out of Russian TV
which they honestly do to me (and I explained why). That does not mean you need to be offended. My best guess was that you were matching Russian talking points unintentionally, as can happen to the best of us. Information warfare works, and Russians often succeed in injecting their narratives into our discourse. I was trying to make you consider whether that happened to you. Clearly, I just made you defensive. Let me emphasize - I think it can easily happen to good and smart people that they unwittingly spread false narratives beneficial to Russia. Whether you choose to consider it or rather emit bad karma my way is up to you.
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Comment on Drones seen over Danish military bases in latest air disruption in ~society
honzabe Link ParentBut this is not what you were saying. You are moving goalposts and muddying the waters. Let me repeat what you said and what I was reacting to: You present not seeking an Article 4 consultation as...I don't think it's 'far-reaching' or 'unwarranted' to wish NATO countries had have collaborated on a unified counter UAS strategy and responses in 2022, when the need was obvious. But, as the adage goes, the second best time is now.
leveling very mild criticism at NATO member states' inaction (until now) around a collective response to Russian hybrid tactics is not 'spreading Russian talking points'
But this is not what you were saying. You are moving goalposts and muddying the waters. Let me repeat what you said and what I was reacting to:
The fact that it's not seeking an Article 4 consultation makes it seem out of step with Poland at the time NATO needs to be presenting a united front.
This is very strange, and seems to be handing Putin an easy win on the eastern flank. What the larger strategy is I couldn't guess at, but showing NATO as dithering and fractured was a preventable own-goal.
You present not seeking an Article 4 consultation as a signal of disunity, an easy win for Putin, and showing NATO as dithering and fractured. This is simply untrue. It does not follow. Not seeking one specific action (an Article 4 consultation) does not mean inaction, it does not mean disunity, it does not mean NATO dithering and fractured. By implying it does, you are entering the field of unreality so common in Russian propaganda.
I am not a bot - nor have I been influenced by them.
I think we are all influenced by them. Those who think they are not are the most vulnerable, because influence that is assumed nonexistent is not reflected upon.
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Comment on Drones seen over Danish military bases in latest air disruption in ~society
honzabe (edited )Link ParentWhat? Please don't take this the wrong way, but way too far-reaching and unwarranted claims like this sound like something straight out of Russian TV. I assume you are not spreading Russian...This is very strange, and seems to be handing Putin an easy win on the eastern flank. What the larger strategy is I couldn't guess at, but showing NATO as dithering and fractured was a preventable own-goal.
What?
Please don't take this the wrong way, but way too far-reaching and unwarranted claims like this sound like something straight out of Russian TV. I assume you are not spreading Russian talking points intentionally (many Russian bots pretend to be on the Ukrainian side to spread fear and sow disunity); I hope you don't mind that I am going to post the advice of the Finnish president here, the advice I am (imperfectly) trying to follow myself: in times like these, it is important to stay "calm and collected".
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Comment on No evidence of disease in ~health
honzabe LinkI post this here because I find it fascinating, even though I am not sure what to think of it.I post this here because I find it fascinating, even though I am not sure what to think of it.
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No evidence of disease
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Comment on The sunscreen scandal shocking Australia in ~health
honzabe Link ParentThe article says Earth's path around the Sun is slightly egg-shaped. Not Earth itself. Correcting this so the people who read just your comment and not the article do not leave with an incorrect...Apparently it's because the Earth is slightly egg shaped!
The article says Earth's path around the Sun is slightly egg-shaped. Not Earth itself. Correcting this so the people who read just your comment and not the article do not leave with an incorrect mental model. Thanks for providing an interesting source.
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Comment on The sunscreen scandal shocking Australia in ~health
honzabe LinkThis seems shockingly high.The country has the highest incidence of skin cancers in the world and it is estimated that two out of three Australians will have at least one cut out in their lifetime.
This seems shockingly high.
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Comment on Do you share your location with your friends? in ~tech
honzabe LinkWhen I was in college, I went on a student exchange to the US. This was before everyone had cell phones, Skype didn't exist, and the only way to stay in touch was to go to an internet café...When I was in college, I went on a student exchange to the US. This was before everyone had cell phones, Skype didn't exist, and the only way to stay in touch was to go to an internet café (remember those?) once a week to write and read emails. I was completely unreachable and uncontrollable for anyone - parents, friends, everybody I knew before that trip, they were all on the other side of the planet with no way to find out what I was doing. I could never have imagined how incredibly liberating it was.
That's when I realized how much pressure comes from the expectations of those around you. And that pressure is so ubiquitous that you don't even notice it under normal circumstances. I still miss that freedom. And I think that many young people today will never experience it.
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Comment on How social media shortens your life in ~tech
honzabe Link ParentBut books feel different, don't they? After spending a few hours scrolling through YouTube shorts, I feel drained and numb. Yet, I do it every day. It's like a drug to me - it makes me feel bad,...But books feel different, don't they? After spending a few hours scrolling through YouTube shorts, I feel drained and numb. Yet, I do it every day. It's like a drug to me - it makes me feel bad, but I can't resist it. It is not "a good way to pass the time" for me (you might be different, I am not judging). I don't want to do this with my life.
Books never made me feel that way. I was a voracious reader when I was a kid and all the way through college - that was before the internet was widely accessible. I loved books. It feels like they made my life richer.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I got back to reading when we had to move my parents to a wheelchair-accessible apartment that is a lot smaller than the apartment where we grew up. I moved a lot of the books from there to my apartment and started re-reading some of my old books, mostly out of nostalgia. Then, some of my parents' books I have not read before. I still use my phone a lot. But now I can see the difference. There are true gems on YouTube - things like this channel - exactly my kind of humor, and it feels like something fun and original, done with love, artistic even. But the experience of YouTube as a whole is net negative. It really is like gaming for me - sometimes I win, and that keeps me playing, but when you zoom out and see the whole picture, I am just a gambler. The casino comparison in the article I linked does ring true to me.
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How social media shortens your life
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Comment on US President Donald Trump vetoed Israeli plan to kill Iran’s supreme leader in ~society
honzabe (edited )LinkI see two possible explanations for the claim that Trump vetoed the plan to kill the ayatollah: Trump was the adult in the room and stabilized the world for a change. Trump, being the narcissist...Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri later called reports about the Israeli plan to kill Khamenei “fake.”
I see two possible explanations for the claim that Trump vetoed the plan to kill the ayatollah:
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Trump was the adult in the room and stabilized the world for a change.
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Trump, being the narcissist with the mental maturity of a twelve-year-old, did what he always does - made something up to get attention, consequences be damned.
I am heavily leaning towards #2.
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Comment on Software engineer lost his $150K-a-year job to AI—he’s been rejected from 800 jobs and forced to DoorDash and live in a trailer to make ends meet in ~tech
honzabe Link ParentWell... that's what's red-flaggy about it, isn't it? Does that explanation not sound weird to you? Maybe it's just me. As I said, it's subjective. I might be totally wrong.Well... that's what's red-flaggy about it, isn't it? Does that explanation not sound weird to you? Maybe it's just me. As I said, it's subjective. I might be totally wrong.
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Comment on Software engineer lost his $150K-a-year job to AI—he’s been rejected from 800 jobs and forced to DoorDash and live in a trailer to make ends meet in ~tech
honzabe (edited )Link ParentYeah, the name that he himself had chosen... I didn't mention it elsewhere because it is so highly subjective, but it would be a huge red flag for me. It might be a coincidence, but the most toxic...Yeah, the name that he himself had chosen... I didn't mention it elsewhere because it is so highly subjective, but it would be a huge red flag for me. It might be a coincidence, but the most toxic (and I am talking actual personality disorder level of toxic) people I met in my life had unusual attention-grabbing names or nicknames that were not given to them; they themselves 'renamed' themselves.
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Comment on Not sure where to start or how to approach massage tools in relationship in ~life
honzabe Link ParentKnuckles? I don't know, maybe pros use knuckles, but I think that for the amateurish massages we are talking about here, you should probably use palms, kind of like applying sunscreen, but...easier on my knuckles
Knuckles? I don't know, maybe pros use knuckles, but I think that for the amateurish massages we are talking about here, you should probably use palms, kind of like applying sunscreen, but slightly harder. Perhaps use your thumbs to knead her muscles a bit (like trapezius)... The thing is... this is not supposed to be an actual massage, just a relaxation technique between partners. I do not try to attempt the "hard" techniques a physio uses on me - that could indeed be unsafe.
Also, it seems that women enjoy foot massages, and you can easily practice that on your own feet. I got a professional foot massage once and I simply try to mimic the basis of that... I can't do it as well as the pro, but 50% as good still feels pretty good. And perhaps surprisingly, even an amateurish version can bring relief after a hike (or even after a day of shopping).
Wow, his age makes it even more interesting. That is one tough old man.