hypertexthero

Try circles instead of a square.

Not 1 and 0, but infinity.

You matter more than you think.

Very good book:

https://www.youmattermorethanyouthink.com/

Ditto!

Love reading and writing on paper, but do read and write quite a bit on computer screens, too. Phone screens are too small and uncomfortable for me.

No TV at home, either. And even videogames, which I love, have held less and less interest unless they have good coop modes, an unusual mechanic, or excellent sound and story.

Leaning more and more towards playing music, which has felt like a present from the gods.

Having read McLuhan — https://archive.org/details/bwb_P8-ASW-848 — and Lanier (You Are Not A Gadget), I worry about the future, but am hopeful young people will indeed rebel.

Making a strict hour and a half of no-interruption a day has worked well for me. Learned this from John Cleese (feel free to ignore the word “management” in the title of the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5oIIPO62g

Still occasionally get interrupted because of life, of course, but marking off an hour and a half and closing a door and putting all chores/calls on silent during that time is very helpful. And I understand that for many it is simply not possible. Private space is a luxury in much of the world.

A sense of play and no obligation also helps. For more on this I recommend Rubin’s The Creative Act.

Ditto.

I use Macs for work and PC for games, and this little box seems a good opportunity to play The Legend of Linux on a desktop or a couch, and make it true.

These tests blew me away.

Made me laugh : )

Guitars certainly have a more intimate connection between the touch of fingers and the sound, including the bending of the tone, one of Hendrix’s virtuosities.

Keyboards can approach that with polyphonic touch keys like the Hydrasynth (lean into keys, pressing them harder, for bending the tone in a configured patch), sustain pedals, and pitch bend/modulation controls, but not the nuanced touch of skin on a vibrating string.

I think synth guitars exist, too, but don’t know anything about them. The pedalboards are enough, maybe :)

Hmmm, I disagree, having played electric and acoustic guitars for over two decades and begun learning piano and synths for the first time in 2025.

For one, you can’t easily play two melodies simultaneously across several octaves, using both of your hands, with an electric guitar.

Stringed electronic instruments do have their advantages, but so do the others. Each music making thing has its place in the spectrum.

Two books that have helped me greatly in my musical life, in case people haven’t heard of them, are The Listening Book, and Bridge of Waves, by W.A. Mathieu.

This brings to mind this question:

Should HN allow links to sites that break the back button, like all Meta sites (Ig, Fb, etc)?

My favorite part of the video is when Stéphane “makes a mistake” and shows it, like enlightened people, such as Cliff Stoll — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yUZTTLpDtk — do :)

Potentially unrelated tangent thought:

The Man Who Listens to Horses (1997) is an excellent book by Monty Roberts about learning the language of horses and observing and listening to animals: https://www.biblio.com/search.php?stage=1&title=The+Man+Who+...

Video demonstration of the above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYtTz9GtAT4

The F-15C (and the F-16), yes.

The F-15E was a different story, which I remember from flamewars at flightsim forums over how slow of a climber it was :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_tools

Yes, but Wacom recently discontinued macOS driver support for older versions of the Intuos, and I had to downgrade to an older driver to make it work.

When it doesn’t anymore I’ll need to get something else, probably an iPad so I can also use it as a 2nd screen.

Brought REM’s ÜBerlin to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZITh-XIikgI

Vinyl record covers are nicely-sized artworks for displaying in a room.

Listening to an album you love, while taking the time to flip the record or tape, or taking the time listen to an entire album in your streaming service of choice, helps you to notice things and be present.

Recommended film: Perfect Days by Wim Wenders - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_Days

Recommended book: Bridge of Waves by W.A. Mathieu - https://www.shambhala.com/bridge-of-waves-288.html

In 02026: Slow down, and fix things.

Slow is smooth.

Smooth is fast.

I think 2026 will bring many to Linux because of Steam Machine: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steammachine

I watched a performance by Donnie Rankin on a classic Wurlitzer organ at Grand Rapids Public Museum in Michigan this past November.

https://tickets.grpm.org/events/01998223-5b9a-deac-f45e-f0d7...

My favorite pieces he played were the themes for Princess Leia and Star Trek TNG.

It’s an amazing instrument.

It took me a long time to notice that the word in the title is “massage”, and not “message”, in Marshall McLuhan’s and Quentin Fiore’s The Medium is the Massage (An inventory of effects): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Medium_Is_the_Massage

Links to various editions: https://www.biblio.com/the-medium-is-the-massage-by-marshall...

Also of interest, notes about the observer being the observed in Jiddu Krishnamurti’s Think on These Things — https://www.biblio.com/9780060916091 — and The First and Last Freedom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_and_Last_Freedom

Merry Xmas!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjMNtEKHURU

The following from clicking on the i on the top-right after starting the show:

Created by Neal Agarwal

Illustrations by Julius Csotonyi

Production by Liz Ryan

Music & SFX by Aleix Ramon

Cello performance by Iratxe Ibaibarriaga

Beautiful work.

I just saw a ship that looks like some of those pictures earlier today: The Beckett-Class science vessel in the Cygnus point of interest by the current Elite Dangerous community goal station at HIP 87621.

Graphic and web designer and general problem solver looking for part-time work in a relaxed place. I like nature, music, art, education, writing, typography, general aviation, and video games. 1–3 days per week would be ideal. I speak English, Portuguese, Italian, and a bit of French.

  Location: West Michigan.

  Remote: Yes please.

  Willing to relocate: Possibly. Interested in spending time in Sweden.

  Technologies: HTML, CSS, creative suite, static site generators. Able to ask LLMs the right questions to help make things work.

  Résumé/CV: https://www.simongriffee.com/Simon-Griffee-Resume.pdf

  Email: simon@hypertexthero.com

If someone at Yamaha is reading this, could you please release a firmware update for the Yamaha Reface CP so that the toy piano setting plays the hidden grand piano sound instead?

To get the hidden piano sound:

1. Turn Reface CP off.

2. Turn piano sound knob so it rests in between any two settings.

3. Turn Reface CP on.

The Reface CP is one of my favorite small keys piano instruments, and I got one specifically for the hidden piano sound, but it’s annoying to have to go through the above steps and I’m not experienced enough to mod the circuitry.

In case it’s useful, some healthy recipes by two people who’ve traveled around the world in a small boat:

https://grimgrains.com/site/home.html

Thanks for the heads up. I never noticed before, but now I see it.

Doesn’t bother me enough to change the technique at this time, but I’ve put it in the things to do list.

I like the idea of having it automated by the system-set user preference in addition to having an option to set it manually with a link.

Thanks, I didn’t realize that.

Here’s what I use, with localStorage instead of cookies to remember user setting: https://hypertexthero.com/dark-mode-website-theme-switcher-l...

Anyone reading at Kodak, please consider making a camera that has:

1. 35mm-equivalent basic plastic lens, 6 megapixel sensor with big pixels, autofocus, center-weighted metering.

2. No screen to see photos. Only a tiny LCD for basic settings like remaining pictures and remaining battery power.

3. Pictures saved to replaceable built-in SD card, downloadable to computers via USB-C to USB-C connector.

4. Long battery life (one whole day of shooting). Powered by rechargeable AA batteries.

5. Splash proof.

6. Photo sensor that adds grain to blown highlights and lost shadows.

7. Less than $100.

8. Bonus: Open source firmware.

Basically a competitor to the Camp Snap, but better.

Thank you!

A tuner, either built-in or stuck to the guitar is also very helpful.

Recommended to anyone starting to play.

If you stick with it eventually you learn to tune the instrument by ear.

When playing guitar, instead of gripping the neck tightly as if your hand was a vise, grip it lightly and pull the neck toward your body instead. Make sure the action of your guitar is not too high; if it is, get it adjusted.

Listening is more important than talking, but don’t automatically believe what you hear. Find out for yourself.

Observing animals and plants can teach one about humans and living in harmony with nature’s cycles.

Some people are not capable of feeling empathy. Learn to recognize them.

Your initial intuition is often wrong about numbers and statistics and many things, even if you are an expert. Double check. Triple check. Discuss with others you trust.

A little at a time goes a long way (understanding compound interest).

Certainty leads to insanity (regarding the “trade” of life).

References:

- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

- The Listening Book: Discovering Your Own Music by W. A. Mathieu

- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

- The First and Last Freedom by Jiddu Krishnamurti

- The Psychopath Code by Peter Hintjens

- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

- Fingers Pointing to the Moon by Jane English