That story really makes me wonder if my understanding of computers would be deeper, or more complete in some way, if I'd had that sort of background/experience...
Seconded! Also play with assembly language for a small CPU, even in an emulator. Doing assembly in the 68k and Z80 really helped me grok computers. Even the old assembly makes super CPUs of today more understandable.
Isn't it insanely complex and difficult to get some music sounding professional, refined and diminished? Not to mention the cost of equipment... Only from watching friends trying to get their music published, and even after paying big names in the industry it was still rubbish..
Not that I have mastered it, but what I have found richly rewarding, and in a similar vein, is learning about MIDI and beatmaking. I bought a MIDIFighter 3D from DJ Tech Tools, and just started messing around. I'm still a novice, but expanding out from there and purchasing a Roland TR-8 (rebooted TR-808) and learning how to program beats into it has been a blast. And I have learned a ton in process. You naturally move into how to get better sounds for your recording, and learn what you need to know to try to get the sound in your head into the recording. You get to experiment. You get exposed to new types of music, and whole subcultures of enthusiasts and professionals that you probably never knew existed.
I've mostly tried to practice "controllerism" or "finger drumming". There's tons of different soundpacks for Ableton (Lite is free, but limited), Traktor, and other software. It's really relaxing sometimes to just sit and tap out beats and clear your mind by concentrating on it. It's like an adult version of Simon where you get to set the pattern. It's really fun, and you can get a capable USB MIDI controller for a hundred bucks, even better deals on Craigslist. There's a lot of tutorials on Youtube to get you started, if you decide to give it a try.
Here's a good example of what controllerism is, if you are curious: https://youtu.be/mUUbbaBkZHw?t=28 (skipped ahead of some cursing at the beginning of the video).
What do you mean by 'visualization of sports and other areas'?
Are you talking about the projection of images for mass consumption which leads to emulation, or realisation of said images?
Interesting stuff. I know myself that my biggest limit is my ability to imagine my own future, and how that vision is constantly cropped by my peers, and culture.
What are you doing on hn may I ask? Sounds like an interesting life.
I mean that in certain areas we've recognized and pay tribute to the importance of visualization. But then we fail to make the connection and realize that the same mechanics apply to everything.
It's mainly the projection of fear, really. Fear of not fitting in, not having a roof over your head or food on the table, of war, disease, terrorists and so on.
It's tricky business to snap out of the collective psychosis, it took me 35 years and I still probably wouldn't have if life hadn't thrown me a banana peel in form of a serious accident.
Somewhere deep inside I'm sure almost everyone knows what they would really want to do. But it's too painful, the contrast hurts and it's emotionally tangled up with all the other things that we're not supposed to think about. So we "forget", to fit in.
Oh, mostly nostalgia at this point :) I was in the startup circle for a while, and I've been writing code for more than 32 years. But the only kind of coding that feels worthwhile to me these days is exploring better ways of writing code [0].
Agreed. I think a better comparison is with modern author's like Hemingway.. Forget which story, but there is a Murakami short that is directly influenced by a Hemingway short.
> Enabling the path for a true convergence device, capable to work as a phone, making video and audio calls, encrypted messaging, email, web browser, that can also become a full desktop computer with an option for a compatible keyboard, mouse, and monitor. It can be a desktop computer and phone all-in-one.
Binging with Babish/Basics with Babish
This guys shtick is that he recreates dishes from film/tv. He used to be a video editor iirc so the production quality is great and it’s very focused on the food itself (as you can tell by you very rarely seeing his face). As he got more popular he made the Basics series. Can’t recommend them both enough
Binging: https://youtu.be/bJUiWdM__Qw
Basics: https://youtu.be/Upqp21Dm5vg
Food Wishes
This is done by a guy called Chef John. Similarly to Babish he’s very focused on the food/process, and is very good at explaining some principles and encouraging you to think for yourself (he’ll often not give precise amounts and encourage you to add some, taste, add more if needed). His voice/inflections can be grating when you first watch his videos but you grow to love it. He’s got an endless supply of all sorts of dishes so he’s a great resource
https://youtu.be/ifWWRZSWS18
It’s Alive with Brad/Bon Appetit
This is a series from a channel about making pickled/fermented food. A lot more specific but it’s hilarious and I’ve made some of the stuff from the series and really enjoyed it. Even if you’re not gonna make any of this stuff I’d still recommend these for pure entertainment value.
There’s also a bunch of content on Bon Appetit (the channel), some of Claire’s vids are very good, mostly baking-related.
Brad: https://youtu.be/UGjCeAbWKPo
Claire: https://youtu.be/yxGczEE3NSw
Other channels I’ll look at include Alex French Guy Cooking and J Kenji Lopez Alt. Alex does a lot of cool stuff on Ramen, and is quite experimental, exploring different techniques for doing things etc. Kenji is very scientific with how he cooks things and explains the reasoning behind, say, why you should shake your boiled potatoes before you put them in the oven to roast them.
Alex: https://youtu.be/HzIdk8UHHUU
Kenji: https://youtu.be/argKpeiKFfo
My wife likes watching cooking shows but it is more about the competition and elimination/personalities than the technical side of the cooking etc.
I like to cook, she doesn't really - she bakes so it works out okay as a team - and I kind of watch along but these links are way more relevant to me personally.
Fantastic recommendations! This hits my favorites out of my wife's cooking viewing and they've both entertained and improved our cooking and the enjoyment of creating memorable dishes.
+1 for Alex French Guy Cooking (mentioned in sibling comment). I like his method of chopping onions; most of the onions I chop don't need to look particularly pretty, so it's great.
Also, You Suck At Cooking https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekQr9znsk2vWxBo3YiLq2w is one of my guilty pleasures. I think he's hilarious and figured it was purely a spoof channel, but then I actually watched a couple and if you don't mind and/or enjoy his fooling around (and have a moderately well-tuned BS detector to tell when he's fooling around) the recipes are pretty good. I particularly like how he doesn't spend a whole lot of time measuring things out. It's a great counter to the precision generally present in recipe books, which used to be a big hangup for me (pipettes broth into Pyrex measuring cup "gotta get EXACTLY 1 C broth in this soup!" => dumps broth into drinking glass "Eh, close enough!") I'm still adjusting to that style but it has already saved me both time and unnecessary tension. (Seriously. The error margins in most cooking seem ridiculously large to me!)
