HN user
https://ghoulschool.education/
I've done some math tutoring, and word problems are really boring, so I decided to spice them up a bit with monsters and mayhem. Scroll down on the home page to see all the problems (this site is new and a little unorganized right now).
The hope is to eventually write enough problems that they could be part of a real curriculum.
Please write more science articles/summaries. This is really well done—great combination of info-heavy while being interesting and readable.
I've been learning Spanish using Comprehensible Input and it's been a complete game-changer for me. Oversimplified, it's learning a language by watching videos where you understand about 80% of what's going on without trying to analyze the vocabulary or grammar. No studying, no memorization. Your subconscious does the heavy lifting. Part of the goal is take conscious translation out of the picture. For example, if you hear "manzana," the ideal is that word directly connects to your image of what an apple is, not to the English world "apple."
It takes hundreds of hours, but for me, it's working, and I'm enjoying it. I'm using Dreaming Spanish [0] which is free for a while, and then pretty cheap if you want to keep going. Strongly recommended.
Love this app. Turning it on in the morning for 10 hours really does help my productivity.
I did web development and graphic design for a couple decades, and wrote a few technology books (one of them was on DHTML, so this was a while ago). I'm now writing fiction, mostly fantasy. The $$ isn't quite where I'd like it to be, but it's getting better, and I'm 100x happier. My brain works with stories much more easily than it does with programming, in a much more satisfying way, and it took a long time to learn this. It's crazy to make this switch in my 50s, but it'd be crazier not to.
Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
This Book is Full of Spiders::: Seriously Dude, Don't Touch It by David Wong
I've actually found this to be useful, especially in the evenings when I'm tired. It's helped me stay focused (I haven't used the meditation much and the sleep not at all). It feels like gentle assistance, not a adrenaline shot to the heart.
You can also double click a word, keep the mouse button down, and drag. This will select whole words. I use this a lot.
Choosing the wrong career. Finally moved from programming to writing fiction.
After looking at a ton of youtube videos, taking art classes, and even an in-person atelier (drawing in a studio while being guided by a "master"), by far the best art teaching I've come across is Evolve Artist[0]. It focuses on taking small steps to get the fundamentals down solid. I expect it'll take me a few years to get through the whole course, but I can already tell my ability to draw from life and handle brushes and paint has improved dramatically. There's a lot of personal feedback based on what you do, and I've found that to be a really effective way to improve with art.
I'll put my pom-poms down now. I'm not affiliated with Evolve other than being a student. And my goal after 20 years of web dev work is to be a professional writer/illustrator, so I'm taking this art thing pretty seriously.
Fake it 'till you make it.
Terms of service page is a 404 error. https://www.poetsknowit.com/terms-of-service/
You might enjoy "Echopraxia", his sequel to "Blindsight."
Have you tried cutting out more carbs? Dropping bread, pasta, rice, and white potatoes helped me a lot.
Accelerando is currently blowing my mind. Very cool stuff.
I agree with you. I can't imagine anyone sacrificing their child so antibiotics would still work. I'd murder the universe to keep my family safe.
Writing a chapter book starring lots of semi-functioning robots.
16/8 is eating as much as you usually would, but cramming it into an 8-hour period. I generally do all my eating from 11am - 7pm. It helps a little, and I'll take all the help I can get.
As for the sleeping, I'm usually zonked out by 9:30-10.
I'm 45 and have tried a number of different things. Here's what's made the most difference for me:
- Sitting desk but use TimeOut to remind myself to stand every 30 minutes. I tried standing and treadmill desks but they didn't work for me.
- Paleo/keto diet. I have much more energy and my bloodwork's improved.
- 5x5 Strong Lifts
- 16/8 intermittent fasting
- Get enough sleep. This and diet are ridiculously important.
- Fun hobby! I get up at 4:30am to write and I love it (most mornings).
Try things and see what works for you. Experiment. It always sucks in the beginning, but it's hugely worth the effort.
SEEKING WORK - Portland, OR area or remote
I'm a technical writer with ten published books and almost twenty years in the tech industry as a developer and designer.
More details: http://zombiekoala.com/
Email: dan@zombiekoala.com
A big first professional failure is like breaking up with your first girl/boyfriend - it feels like the entire world is ending. After you find out that it didn't, it can be wildly liberating because you won't really be scared of failure any more. I recommend a few massive fuckups in any career.
5am - 7am
That all said, my 40s have been the best creative period of my life, by far.
Agreed. Wrote my first novel in my 40s.
Check out Scrivener. I've written a number of books on it, and it's the best way I've found to contain and organize a gazillion different ideas.
Well, you've certainly convinced me to sign up for the book. I'm always up for new ideas, and as long as they're not all Kite-surfing Naked Through Cannibal Country, I'll happily keep an open mind.
Not at all - Hell, every day with a wife and kid is an adventure. I meant more that the big, exotic stuff can be really tricky or expensive with a family. Last year all of us went to Costa Rica with my parents for 10 days, and it was completely awesome, but damn expensive, and we were in cheap hotels in the rain forest, not resorts on the beach.
I think what Clark's writing about is great and inspiring and everyone should do more of it. However, for me to be interested in a how-to book, it has to be something that actually applies to me, and skiing from the North Pole isn't something I can do with a kid.
If you've got something that I can do with a wife, a 6-year-old, and that won't make me lose my job or blow through my savings, I'm interested. Otherwise, I'd just be reading fantasy.
This looks fantastic if it'd work, but I wonder if it'd be more useful to build in space, and then use it to launch little probes. No atmospheric drag.
I realize building it in space would be a good bit harder than on the ground. I'm just in wouldn't-it-be-cool land.
Building a popular solution seems to be even harder than building a right one, and that seems to be the real goal, in terms of financial success.
I used bookdesigners.com and was totally thrilled with them. I used to be a graphic designer, and discovered what you mentioned: good web design is not the same as good book cover design. They were pricey: $1500, but I figured an excellent cover was the best place to put marketing $$. I haven't made that money back in sales yet, but I still think I got good value for what I paid.