Ask HN: What interesting stuff are you browsing?
117 comments
I've been trawling subreddits to get a ground-level view of common narratives that we hold on to but have never thought to collect data on.
For instance, there's a common and oft-repeated notion that food delivery apps are screwing over drivers, not just restaurants. So I've been reading the Couriersofreddit sub to get the story from the horses' mouths:
https://www.reddit.com/r/couriersofreddit/
It turns you can make quite a bit driving for GH/UE (well in some geographies), so much so that a $15/hr job with benefits is unattractive.
https://www.reddit.com/r/couriersofreddit/comments/gkmuc4/wo...
I want to work towards a just world, but I believe the first step is to really understand the system of incentives and what is actually happening on the ground, as opposed to simply taking in oversimplified media narratives.
Subreddits are watering holes for folks in the field. I think their unvarnished perspectives are interesting data points (albeit skewed towards a Reddit-centric demographic).
For instance, there's a common and oft-repeated notion that food delivery apps are screwing over drivers, not just restaurants. So I've been reading the Couriersofreddit sub to get the story from the horses' mouths:
https://www.reddit.com/r/couriersofreddit/
It turns you can make quite a bit driving for GH/UE (well in some geographies), so much so that a $15/hr job with benefits is unattractive.
https://www.reddit.com/r/couriersofreddit/comments/gkmuc4/wo...
I want to work towards a just world, but I believe the first step is to really understand the system of incentives and what is actually happening on the ground, as opposed to simply taking in oversimplified media narratives.
Subreddits are watering holes for folks in the field. I think their unvarnished perspectives are interesting data points (albeit skewed towards a Reddit-centric demographic).
I'm very weary of resistor self-reported "data points". They don't often reflect real life for most people, or worse, don't even reflect really even for the commentor. I seriously doubt the person saying he makes $35-$40 an hour doing uber eats is any sort of real average even for him. On top of that a thread like that is more motivating to respond to for people who want to give a "fuck you" to Amazon or who want to brag about their profits than it is for the average driver.
I'm with you about not drawing firm conclusions from potentially biased anecdata from that one post. Also we don't know if that number is gross or net.
That said, I have been reading this sub daily for the past 2 months now and yes there's variability but in general, most agree the work is paying (check out the sub's history in the last 2 months).
It sounds like customers are tipping better, traffic is reduced so trips are shorter, gas is cheaper, parking is more abundant, and order volumes are up. These conditions are temporary and are not sustainable in the long term of course, but it's worth seeing the situation for what it is right now. It sounds like it is possible to do well in these times.
The sub is a window into what folks (admittedly a biased sample) are actually experiencing, as opposed to theoretical conjecture based on our (sometimes disconnected to reality or outdated) priors, etc.
In my line of work, I often overhear stuff from field service people, and it's always fascinating to me how different reality is from what say, software engineers are thinking. The discrepancy between "systems as found" and "systems as imagined" is interesting to me is all.
That's just one subreddit. There are other watering holes.
That said, I have been reading this sub daily for the past 2 months now and yes there's variability but in general, most agree the work is paying (check out the sub's history in the last 2 months).
It sounds like customers are tipping better, traffic is reduced so trips are shorter, gas is cheaper, parking is more abundant, and order volumes are up. These conditions are temporary and are not sustainable in the long term of course, but it's worth seeing the situation for what it is right now. It sounds like it is possible to do well in these times.
The sub is a window into what folks (admittedly a biased sample) are actually experiencing, as opposed to theoretical conjecture based on our (sometimes disconnected to reality or outdated) priors, etc.
In my line of work, I often overhear stuff from field service people, and it's always fascinating to me how different reality is from what say, software engineers are thinking. The discrepancy between "systems as found" and "systems as imagined" is interesting to me is all.
That's just one subreddit. There are other watering holes.
Software engineers should know what they are trying to achieve but don't pigeonhole their common sense. Having many channels of input, not to mention interviews and sometimes interrogations in subreddits, creates more signal from the noise and order from the chaos.
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In the rare occasions I take an Uber I always ask about the economics of it. From my anecdata it seems like most have never done any modeling of depreciation or maintenance cost forecasting, even extremely basic like miles until major service required and how much it would cost. At most they factor in the monthly oil change, if they even do that.
Maybe some enterprising person on here could make a slick web app to help people estimate depreciation and maintenance costs, with a user interface that people with a high school diploma could understand.
Maybe some enterprising person on here could make a slick web app to help people estimate depreciation and maintenance costs, with a user interface that people with a high school diploma could understand.
Our local motoring association (RACV in Victoria, Australia) provides a car running cost calculator, including precomputed values for common models organised by category. Their methodology seems pretty solid.
https://www.racv.com.au/on-the-road/buying-a-car/car-running...
https://www.racv.com.au/on-the-road/buying-a-car/car-running...
Mmm said “if you wanted to build a business model around people not understanding depreciation, Uber would be it. “
Well that's the thing. They just want to drive people and earn money. Uber made that super super easy.
I'm not going to drop in here and say, "I did that kind of delivery gigging for two and a half years, AMA", but I did, in fact do that kind of delivery gigging for two and a half years and can vouch for those numbers. I made thousands of deliveries. I quit my desk job (making >$15/hr, but still not great) with the plan being specifically for the delivery gigging to be my main (and as it turned out, only) source of income. I'm no longer doing it, but I don't regret the decision in the least, and would relive it all gladly.
- Tips had very little to do with it, and I reported all my tips as taxable income, even cash tips. It was not unheard of to go a week or so without receiving any tips. When asked (e.g. by a friend who used the service) whether people should be tipping the drivers, I always said, "Don't." Having said that, tips were welcome and rarely refused—only on a few occasions when some wanted me to "hang on a sec" so they could get me something, where the running calculus suggested that it would be better for me to leave instead so I could move on ASAP.
- The gigging companies have always insisted that drivers are contractors and not employees, and I made out by embracing that. Every delivery was treated as a job offer to be decided based on estimated cost and return. I made judicious use of my ability to not accept orders, keep blacklists of businesses when they or their customers were known to be high cost/low reward, and even walking out of many businesses empty handed after having accepted an order and arriving only to find that they didn't have their act together, usually in regard to having the food ready in a reasonable about of time; eating the sunk costs was usually the favorable option compared to holding out for an answer to see if this program halts.
- My rating was usually around 97% at any given time, but sometimes it would go as low as 94% (92%?). Bending myself out of shape just to make sure the last few percent don't slip away and trying to satisfy everyone wasn't worth it (and likely futile). I told businesses and customers on more than one occasion to go fuck themselves while letting them know that the deal is off. I should have done it more.
- I got a fair bit of free food, but not as much an ordinary pizza delivery driver would. Someone once butt-dialed a $150 to $200 order from a (so-so) Mediterranean restaurant while stoned, and when I showed up with their order they said they'd already contacted the service/restaurant and requested that it be sent back and the order be canceled. I ate leftover Mediterranean takeout for the next week. When people don't show up or answer the door to receive their order, it's yours to dispose of after 5 to 10 minutes (depending on whatever the service's A/B testing says they should set the timer to, I guess). Generally, I didn't feel that it was worth it and would have preferred to make the delivery as quickly as possible.
As with everything, details matter. I can't claim that any given person would be able to repeat my success. Sturgeon's Law applies. 90% of the labor efforts of working adults seems to be not very good. That ratio at least jibes with what I've observed of rideshare drivers when I've been in the backseat. When I've talked to my rideshare drivers, I thought it was strange that almost no one was also doing deliveries or interested in it in the least. People, generally, aren't very good or thoughtful and wouldn't do well, and nobody really wants to work hard.
I worked hard. Everything that I did while I was online was focused on maximizing my returns. I know my city well and how to get around it. I know which areas to hang out in so I can get the offers from the good businesses. I know when to call it a night instead of holding out "until I make X hundred dollars" or "put in X hours", as I've heard some of my rideshare drivers explain. I know what the mind of a developer working in an environment rooted on a the SV startup mindset and how analytics might be used against me.
It's okay to be skeptical if you find it hard to believe, but this is all really just another case of "selling onions on the internet".
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132
Caveats are that I always worked nights, usually 7 nights a week, and the total hours were less than a full work week you'd get from scheduled shifts at the office. A typical week involved 7 days of me waking up sometime between 6:00 to 9:00 AM, putting in 30 to 50 hours sitting behind my desk at home working on personal projects or reading HN or papers or something else that I found intellectually gratifying, stopping mid-day for lunch with no definite bounds, jumping in the shower around 6:00 to 6:30 PM (right after or during my period of highest productivity for the day that popped up around 5:00 PM for some reason), and then shooting to be out the door around 6:45 or 7:15 PM. There was no commute. Work was the commute. I'd stop for groceries most days while out before wrapping up deliveries and come home 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM and have half a bottle of wine and dinner and cookies and watch a movie or two, and then knock off and go to bed. Having no family and a car that I owned and that I did all the maintenance on and was a reliable workhorse are a big part of what made it possible.
- Tips had very little to do with it, and I reported all my tips as taxable income, even cash tips. It was not unheard of to go a week or so without receiving any tips. When asked (e.g. by a friend who used the service) whether people should be tipping the drivers, I always said, "Don't." Having said that, tips were welcome and rarely refused—only on a few occasions when some wanted me to "hang on a sec" so they could get me something, where the running calculus suggested that it would be better for me to leave instead so I could move on ASAP.
- The gigging companies have always insisted that drivers are contractors and not employees, and I made out by embracing that. Every delivery was treated as a job offer to be decided based on estimated cost and return. I made judicious use of my ability to not accept orders, keep blacklists of businesses when they or their customers were known to be high cost/low reward, and even walking out of many businesses empty handed after having accepted an order and arriving only to find that they didn't have their act together, usually in regard to having the food ready in a reasonable about of time; eating the sunk costs was usually the favorable option compared to holding out for an answer to see if this program halts.
- My rating was usually around 97% at any given time, but sometimes it would go as low as 94% (92%?). Bending myself out of shape just to make sure the last few percent don't slip away and trying to satisfy everyone wasn't worth it (and likely futile). I told businesses and customers on more than one occasion to go fuck themselves while letting them know that the deal is off. I should have done it more.
- I got a fair bit of free food, but not as much an ordinary pizza delivery driver would. Someone once butt-dialed a $150 to $200 order from a (so-so) Mediterranean restaurant while stoned, and when I showed up with their order they said they'd already contacted the service/restaurant and requested that it be sent back and the order be canceled. I ate leftover Mediterranean takeout for the next week. When people don't show up or answer the door to receive their order, it's yours to dispose of after 5 to 10 minutes (depending on whatever the service's A/B testing says they should set the timer to, I guess). Generally, I didn't feel that it was worth it and would have preferred to make the delivery as quickly as possible.
As with everything, details matter. I can't claim that any given person would be able to repeat my success. Sturgeon's Law applies. 90% of the labor efforts of working adults seems to be not very good. That ratio at least jibes with what I've observed of rideshare drivers when I've been in the backseat. When I've talked to my rideshare drivers, I thought it was strange that almost no one was also doing deliveries or interested in it in the least. People, generally, aren't very good or thoughtful and wouldn't do well, and nobody really wants to work hard.
I worked hard. Everything that I did while I was online was focused on maximizing my returns. I know my city well and how to get around it. I know which areas to hang out in so I can get the offers from the good businesses. I know when to call it a night instead of holding out "until I make X hundred dollars" or "put in X hours", as I've heard some of my rideshare drivers explain. I know what the mind of a developer working in an environment rooted on a the SV startup mindset and how analytics might be used against me.
It's okay to be skeptical if you find it hard to believe, but this is all really just another case of "selling onions on the internet".
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132
Caveats are that I always worked nights, usually 7 nights a week, and the total hours were less than a full work week you'd get from scheduled shifts at the office. A typical week involved 7 days of me waking up sometime between 6:00 to 9:00 AM, putting in 30 to 50 hours sitting behind my desk at home working on personal projects or reading HN or papers or something else that I found intellectually gratifying, stopping mid-day for lunch with no definite bounds, jumping in the shower around 6:00 to 6:30 PM (right after or during my period of highest productivity for the day that popped up around 5:00 PM for some reason), and then shooting to be out the door around 6:45 or 7:15 PM. There was no commute. Work was the commute. I'd stop for groceries most days while out before wrapping up deliveries and come home 9:30 PM to 1:00 AM and have half a bottle of wine and dinner and cookies and watch a movie or two, and then knock off and go to bed. Having no family and a car that I owned and that I did all the maintenance on and was a reliable workhorse are a big part of what made it possible.
Thanks for this! So... How much did you make on average? :-)
The last week that I worked a "full-ish" week (over a year ago, before it stopped being my main source of income) was just under $750 for 21 hours of online time. I worked 6 days that week. >$30/hr was typical around that time. When I started doing it, <$20/hr was a bad day and $25 to $27/hr was a good day. AFAIK I didn't break $30/hr (even once) until over two years into it, but it then became a regular thing.
I agree, though on the other hand reddit posters are notorious for being angry haters of anybody that has more than them, especially corporations, and greatly over-represent perceived negative aspects of them.
You have to understand that gig economy has huge outliers on both sides of the curve. Some people work 12h shifts on this, and rack up all kinds of bonuses.
I can verify that driving for Uber can be very profitable if you find the right niche and only work during busy hours. My city has a huge restaurant & bar scene and when you hit the right times $20-30 profit is not very difficult. That's after maintenance, fuel, and depreciation costs. You can make even more if you are an entertaining driver and tell great stories (tips!!).
Restaurant delivery driving is a less than minimum wage endeavor in my city the last time I tried it. A lot of that has to do with growing pains: the restaurants don't have the order ready in time, and you usually have to drive across the city to do a pickup because volume is low. Regular Uber was also like this in the early days until volume picked up.
Of course, with COVID, both Uber and Uber Eats is barely worth doing. I hear grocery delivery is where it's at now.
Restaurant delivery driving is a less than minimum wage endeavor in my city the last time I tried it. A lot of that has to do with growing pains: the restaurants don't have the order ready in time, and you usually have to drive across the city to do a pickup because volume is low. Regular Uber was also like this in the early days until volume picked up.
Of course, with COVID, both Uber and Uber Eats is barely worth doing. I hear grocery delivery is where it's at now.
I wonder about people who say things like "I average between $35-40 an hour" doing food-delivery gigs. How many hours per day is that level of work available?
I was delivering food via DoorDash before COVID-19 (using $5k 300cc motorcycle, so my gas expenses and depreciation were low), and it wasn't hard to hit $40/h during lunch or dinner delivering food in San Mateo, CA. Sometimes, when restaurants were slow I made about $20/h (I stopped taking orders from Mendocino Farms and Sweet Basil for that reason).
I also tried to deliver food in Palo Alto, but most of the orders were coming from Stanford Shopping Center were it was hard to find parking, and then it was hard to find the restaurant, and on top of that the restaurants were pretty slow to prepare the orders.
The factors that may contribute to higher income through delivery apps during COVID-19:
- without regular visitors, restaurants are probably faster to prepare food for delivery
- with more customers there are more chances for delivery app to batch orders
- with less traffic and cheaper gas, the expenses per delivery are lower
I also tried to deliver food in Palo Alto, but most of the orders were coming from Stanford Shopping Center were it was hard to find parking, and then it was hard to find the restaurant, and on top of that the restaurants were pretty slow to prepare the orders.
The factors that may contribute to higher income through delivery apps during COVID-19:
- without regular visitors, restaurants are probably faster to prepare food for delivery
- with more customers there are more chances for delivery app to batch orders
- with less traffic and cheaper gas, the expenses per delivery are lower
It's the paradox that has been in popular debate since "Uber can't make profit" narrative got started 5 years ago.
It's absolutely bonkers, and even smart people join in on this fallacy. A consumer complaining about Uber not paying their drivers well is usually the same one that's choosing their ride based on what's cheapest.
It's absolutely bonkers, and even smart people join in on this fallacy. A consumer complaining about Uber not paying their drivers well is usually the same one that's choosing their ride based on what's cheapest.
My problem with Uber is not the absolute amount that drivers get paid, but the percentage of my money that ends up in their pocket. While I think Uber provides a valuable service, it does not provide a service that is 25% or more of the ride. Uber also locks a lot of potential income in the form of bonuses (do X rides in 1 week), to force a lot of drivers to work ungodly hours in order to meet those targets.
25% is just their standard, it can change alot. And it does not account for those bonuses you mention.
I'm not sure why you you're saying bonuses are a bad thing? People get paid extra to fulfill metrics?
I'm not sure why you you're saying bonuses are a bad thing? People get paid extra to fulfill metrics?
So talking to drivers, this is my understanding. When Uber started in my country/city a few years ago, drivers could earn X/month if they drove for 8-9 hours a day. Moreover, it was a smooth gradient, so some weeks they could work less and their take home would only go down linearly.
Over the years, the bonus system was implemented. Now, if they drive for 8-9 hours their take home is like half of X/2. Instead they have to drive 12 hours a day and do at least Y rides in the week, to be eligible for roughly a X/2 bonus so their total take home is X.
So, I meet so many drivers who seem super stressed and tired. When asked they say, it is the end of the week for them and they need to complete another 3 rides for the bonus, but they have already been driving for 15 hours, and only have 2 hours to complete the remaining 3 rides.
Its exploitation at its finest.
Over the years, the bonus system was implemented. Now, if they drive for 8-9 hours their take home is like half of X/2. Instead they have to drive 12 hours a day and do at least Y rides in the week, to be eligible for roughly a X/2 bonus so their total take home is X.
So, I meet so many drivers who seem super stressed and tired. When asked they say, it is the end of the week for them and they need to complete another 3 rides for the bonus, but they have already been driving for 15 hours, and only have 2 hours to complete the remaining 3 rides.
Its exploitation at its finest.
You mean that at the start they paid drivers a lot, because there weren't that many, and now that there are lots of drivers available, they reduced the pay?
Sounds like supply and demand working as it should to me.
If you want a job where you can work when you want, this is what happens. You don't have a "off" switch. This is not unique to Uber.
Sounds like supply and demand working as it should to me.
If you want a job where you can work when you want, this is what happens. You don't have a "off" switch. This is not unique to Uber.
> well in some geographies
That's the thing about service based income. You can't institute any protections in place, because the answer to everything is 'it depends'.
Instituting a minimum wage requirement for waiters shouldn't be stopped because some waiters make a whole lot more than minimum wage.
Same applies to delivery services. The culture, frequency and bills of each locality vary massively.
That's the thing about service based income. You can't institute any protections in place, because the answer to everything is 'it depends'.
Instituting a minimum wage requirement for waiters shouldn't be stopped because some waiters make a whole lot more than minimum wage.
Same applies to delivery services. The culture, frequency and bills of each locality vary massively.
Really cool idea! Any more gems you can share? Maybe this is a good way to get ideas for a saas too?
Not sure about SaaS ideas, but maybe hang out at water holes on topics you're interested in? There's usually a subreddit for even very esoteric interests. There's one called r/onebag where people discuss how to pack efficiently for travel -- I was interested in this pre-shutdown when I did a lot of business travel. Now, not so much.
I'd love to hear about a few more of these "watering holes", if you're so inclined.
[deleted]
temporama1(3)
> It seems all these sites are updating very slowly; or am I checking too frequently?
Congratulations, friend. You have arrived at a kind of limbo that in all likelihood you will end up at again in the future. I congratulate you, because you have arrived at the point where you have "synced" -- that is to say, you have processed material from your desired channels from the post to the present moment such that this feeling you are experiencing, an almost emptiness or that of negative space, encapsulates and closes in upon the definition of "present moment".
Give it a day, and new content will arrive in your familiar channels. You'll consume it, and return to this familiar, interstitial area.
Perhaps now is as good a time as any to consider directionality. Is it a good time to go back on material you've previously processed and re-process it for refinement? It will only deepen your intuition and the firmness of your intellectual grip. Is it time for you to seek out a new channel, as you're doing here? That too, is a new adventure. Is it maybe time to begin forming your own channel? So too could that be a new adventure.
And if none of those sound appealing? Well, perhaps that is even more appealing. Perhaps you, like many other folks, have finally come to that point where you ask "what's next?" to a deafeningly loud internal silence. This is good. This is where the interesting stuff happens.
If I can give you a word of advice -- don't feel so inclined to have to come up with an answer immediately. It's possible that you may need to keep your internal eyes and ears open for when the answer finds /you/.
And to answer your question in a more literal manner -- take a look at what you've liked, commented on, and favorited on Hacker News. You can probably identify some areas that you tend to enjoy exploring. Try and find folks/communal spaces on Twitter and Reddit (maybe YouTube too, if possible) that also explore those areas. From there, you can branch out, whether it's talking directly with those folks to get a sense of what they think is interesting that you might not know about (this is the best way, IMO) or following new paths out further.
But, I will stress: try and soak in the feeling and fully absorb it. To run away from it could be to waste it, and it's something that you may one day look back upon as more rare and valuable than it originally felt.
Congratulations, friend. You have arrived at a kind of limbo that in all likelihood you will end up at again in the future. I congratulate you, because you have arrived at the point where you have "synced" -- that is to say, you have processed material from your desired channels from the post to the present moment such that this feeling you are experiencing, an almost emptiness or that of negative space, encapsulates and closes in upon the definition of "present moment".
Give it a day, and new content will arrive in your familiar channels. You'll consume it, and return to this familiar, interstitial area.
Perhaps now is as good a time as any to consider directionality. Is it a good time to go back on material you've previously processed and re-process it for refinement? It will only deepen your intuition and the firmness of your intellectual grip. Is it time for you to seek out a new channel, as you're doing here? That too, is a new adventure. Is it maybe time to begin forming your own channel? So too could that be a new adventure.
And if none of those sound appealing? Well, perhaps that is even more appealing. Perhaps you, like many other folks, have finally come to that point where you ask "what's next?" to a deafeningly loud internal silence. This is good. This is where the interesting stuff happens.
If I can give you a word of advice -- don't feel so inclined to have to come up with an answer immediately. It's possible that you may need to keep your internal eyes and ears open for when the answer finds /you/.
And to answer your question in a more literal manner -- take a look at what you've liked, commented on, and favorited on Hacker News. You can probably identify some areas that you tend to enjoy exploring. Try and find folks/communal spaces on Twitter and Reddit (maybe YouTube too, if possible) that also explore those areas. From there, you can branch out, whether it's talking directly with those folks to get a sense of what they think is interesting that you might not know about (this is the best way, IMO) or following new paths out further.
But, I will stress: try and soak in the feeling and fully absorb it. To run away from it could be to waste it, and it's something that you may one day look back upon as more rare and valuable than it originally felt.
> an almost emptiness or that of negative space, encapsulates and closes in upon the definition of "present moment".
It definitely feels like that more and more for me recently. Sometimes it feels like "I've watched these videos before" on YouTube or I find the memes on Reddit repetitive or unfunny. It gets to the point where I don't mind rewatching videos..
It definitely feels like that more and more for me recently. Sometimes it feels like "I've watched these videos before" on YouTube or I find the memes on Reddit repetitive or unfunny. It gets to the point where I don't mind rewatching videos..
I've taken these feelings as cues to get off the internet and focus my energy toward the "real world", as cheesy as it may sound.
I feel more joy and direct benefit through improving interacting with the physical environment like cleaning the house, learning the science of baking and cooking and giving the results to friends and family.
It feels more like I'm living real life than having my life disappear into the ether of the web.
I feel more joy and direct benefit through improving interacting with the physical environment like cleaning the house, learning the science of baking and cooking and giving the results to friends and family.
It feels more like I'm living real life than having my life disappear into the ether of the web.
I can't help but reading this marvellous comment with the voice of Octavio Coleman from dispatches from elsewhere AMC series...
This is beautiful in a weird way.
To go further, when you've browsed so much the website you're reading is giving you a recaptcha prompt....you've hit a Buddhist like Nirvana.
To go further, when you've browsed so much the website you're reading is giving you a recaptcha prompt....you've hit a Buddhist like Nirvana.
The famous realization of reaching the 400th post on reddit for the day...
Most professional sites I see are cranking at maximum pace while smaller sites and blogs are very slow. Need to keep up with lowered at spend.
In support of my offline diversion from working too much. Been researching Hugel Kultur. Another approach to raised beds. Most of the research is around what organics in the area I live make sense.
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelk...
https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelk...
As a German that name sounds suspiciously German, in which case it should be “Hügelkultur” (hill culture). I don’t know why the article gives a completely fantastical pronunciation. If it’s a loan word you can pronounce it however you want, if the article wants to make it look like a foreign word whose pronunciation needs to be explained, I feel like it should do it right.
The English wikipedia article has some PIE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCgelkultur
Unlike ö (pretty much the i in girl) and ä (pretty much any English a), it’s hard to find an example of the ü sound in English. I guess it’s somewhere on the gradient between the “ee” and “oo” in “new”.
Usually the most familiar ü-word English speakers are familiar with is “über” (over, about, above, also fig. in the sense of superior). I believe this is the fault of “Übermensch”…
The English wikipedia article has some PIE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%BCgelkultur
Unlike ö (pretty much the i in girl) and ä (pretty much any English a), it’s hard to find an example of the ü sound in English. I guess it’s somewhere on the gradient between the “ee” and “oo” in “new”.
Usually the most familiar ü-word English speakers are familiar with is “über” (over, about, above, also fig. in the sense of superior). I believe this is the fault of “Übermensch”…
I was taught to make the sound as (1) make a long “e” (as in leek) shape with your mouth, (2) pronounce the “e”, (3) leaving the tongue and rear part of the mouth in place, change the position of the lips to make the shape of “o” as in “oh”.
This configuration doesn’t exist in normal English, but it’s not too far away! Once you know what it’s supposed to sound like, the next trick is combining it with consonants.
This configuration doesn’t exist in normal English, but it’s not too far away! Once you know what it’s supposed to sound like, the next trick is combining it with consonants.
The first wovel in "deuce" is the closest English comes to that sound.
Great link, thank you!
I've been browsing the likes of people on Twitter. It works like this: find one person you think is interesting or does interesting work, and go to the 'likes' section of their profile. Scroll through their likes until you find something else that's interesting. Click through to that person's profile, and repeat. You can find some really cool stuff doing this, especially if you happen upon someone with similar taste. It's a great way to surface content without waiting for the algorithm to serve it up to you.
This general concept of going back to the source of the information can be applied to many other social networks to find higher-quality/interesting content. I started browsing hackernews because I realized a lot of the content posted on reddit on /r/programming and tech-related subreddits was often posted here first.
It all starts by taking the time to examine the content you consume & why you enjoy consuming it.
It all starts by taking the time to examine the content you consume & why you enjoy consuming it.
I always rep Wikipedia's "random page" function [1]. Random page is especially useful if you are cooped up at home and can't access normal sources of randomness like close conversation with other people, the rustle of leaves in trees, sunlight filtering through passing clouds, etc.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Reminds me of the Wikipedia vital articles. I've been trying to learn German, so I've been picking one mostly at random and reading the German translation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vital_articles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vital_articles
Brilliant idea. I will use it to improve my polish!
Had (a Turkish language, my then target language) random wikipedia page as my home page for a while, a year maybe.
I loved the idea of Wikipedia's random page but I realized I needed something like this for the topics that I was interested in (instead of everything in the world because it ended up being too random for my interest). I ended up creating a Twitter bot that tweets random articles from a custom list of topics I was interested in at regular intervals
Twitter bot: http://twitter.com/randomwikibotch/ Source code if anyone is interested at creating their own: https://github.com/chirag64/Random-Wiki-Page-Twitter-Bot
Twitter bot: http://twitter.com/randomwikibotch/ Source code if anyone is interested at creating their own: https://github.com/chirag64/Random-Wiki-Page-Twitter-Bot
These aren't signs that you're not finding the right feeds. They are signs that you need to unplug a bit and go do something in meat space. The Internet will still be there when you get back ;-)
"Two Minute Papers"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu56xVlZ40M
GTC 2020 Part 2 was pretty good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeScfkCm3b4
Mostly I'm in a rut as well
GTC 2020 Part 2 was pretty good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeScfkCm3b4
Mostly I'm in a rut as well
Probably the least interesting, esoteric, and useless topic but it's a rabbit hole none the less: the taxonomy of ancestors of modern-day elephants such as the Deinotherium (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinotherium). A lot of them look wild and they're interesting to read up on.
Not browsing per se but I've been reading https://datadass.dev/ and reading source code of various storage engines and their documentation. SQLite and Postgres have a very good documentation with implementation details. The plan is to write my own storage engine. I'm creating a spec for my own implementation for now. This has been keeping me busy while I'm not doing my regular work.
typo in the link: https://www.databass.dev/
For mindless browsing when you’re trying to fill a few minutes, I’m quite a fan of Mix [1]. I believe this used to be stumbleupon. You simply enter your interests and it keeps suggesting related content.
[1] https://community.mix.com/blog/2019/2/27/introducing-the-mix...
[1] https://community.mix.com/blog/2019/2/27/introducing-the-mix...
I was just going to ask if anyone knew of a modernized version of Stumbleupon. Thanks, had no idea this existed.
Took a break and have been thinking and researching idealized/better/pure ways of doing things. E.g. exploring alternative:
- number systems. Base 12 would be nice.
- systems of measurement. Adjusting the SI base unit to be even powers of Plank Units seems ideal.
- calendar systems. 12 month years, 5 week months, 6 day weeks (with an extra 5 or 6 day week at the end of the year) seems nice.
- time system. A new time system based off 12. Sub-units are 2 hours, 10 minutes, 50 seconds, 4.16 seconds, and .3472 seconds. Time can be a normal number then like A63.B8
- languages. Lojban seems awesome!
- coding. Replacing C and C++ with D and Rust, and Python/R/Matlab with Julia.
- taxes. Land value taxes really do seem awesome.
Probably over half this has been via Wikipedia.
- number systems. Base 12 would be nice.
- systems of measurement. Adjusting the SI base unit to be even powers of Plank Units seems ideal.
- calendar systems. 12 month years, 5 week months, 6 day weeks (with an extra 5 or 6 day week at the end of the year) seems nice.
- time system. A new time system based off 12. Sub-units are 2 hours, 10 minutes, 50 seconds, 4.16 seconds, and .3472 seconds. Time can be a normal number then like A63.B8
- languages. Lojban seems awesome!
- coding. Replacing C and C++ with D and Rust, and Python/R/Matlab with Julia.
- taxes. Land value taxes really do seem awesome.
Probably over half this has been via Wikipedia.
Why not the 13 month calendar? e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Fixed_Calendar
Obviously 12 is nice for divisibility (easy quarters and halves), but are there any other key reasons?
Obviously 12 is nice for divisibility (easy quarters and halves), but are there any other key reasons?
OMG. There's a dedicated calendar wiki, https://calendars.wikia.org/wiki/Main_Page
I don't know why I'm surprised, but this brightened by day!
I don't know why I'm surprised, but this brightened by day!
> - systems of measurement. Adjusting the SI base unit to be even powers of Plank Units seems ideal.
Do we know Planck Units accurately enough to work with such units in the many-orders-of-magnitude-different world of people-sized things?
Do we know Planck Units accurately enough to work with such units in the many-orders-of-magnitude-different world of people-sized things?
I think so. As of 2019, 4 of the 7 SI base units were redefined by setting exact numerical values for several of the units (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_redefinition_of_the_SI_ba...), so scientists must be confident we can reasonably recreate the base units from measuring various fundamental phenomena.
seximal ftw
I haven't looked into it much, but it looks at least better than base 10.
Applied Science videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/bkraz333/videos
Sign up for newsletters from interesting people, they'll send you down more rabbit holes than you'll need. Corey Doctorow, Robert Sloan, Tim Ferriss, Kneeling Bus, Jeremy Singer-Vine, The Convivial Society, Eric Weinhoffer and Peter Attia are a few to check out.
After that and Hacker News, I suggest setting up a decentralized media account such as Scuttlebutt, Beaker Browser, or Mastodon.
After that and Hacker News, I suggest setting up a decentralized media account such as Scuttlebutt, Beaker Browser, or Mastodon.
Always Wikipedia. Click a link. Any link. Click a link inside that article. Repeat 3-5x and you will be at something fascinating and obscure.
I discovered wiby.me the other day and found this site called neocities and there I was able to find a large amount of blogs/personal sites with cool designs that reminded me of the old days on the internet.
I suggest using an RSS reader so you never have to consider a feed item more than once in your life.
Indeed. As a long time paying user of NewsBlur (not otherwise affiliated) I highly recommend it.
Can be self hosted, but I’m too lazy; price is acceptable and Sam Clay just makes this laziness feel justified :)
Can be self hosted, but I’m too lazy; price is acceptable and Sam Clay just makes this laziness feel justified :)
Project Gutenberg top 100: https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top
I'm kind of feeling like I reached the end of the internet the past few days. I'm sure I'll find another rabbit hole soon enough, and I really need to get outside more right now anyway so it's not a bad thing. Might have to do more with having a pretty long spell of rainy days.
Hey, can you email me? (Email on profile.) I also get to that "saturated" place a lot and am not satisfied. I know there is more interesting content out there. I'm trying to solve the problem, so would love to chat to you/see if you eventually want to beta test.
Yeah... that's something that's been on my mind so I'd be interested in that.
A friend and I are curating a list of finance articles - http://topstonks.com
Trying to keep it funny, edgy, and informative.
If anyone knows of a place to find interesting articles on High frequency and algorithmic trading, let me know!
Trying to keep it funny, edgy, and informative.
If anyone knows of a place to find interesting articles on High frequency and algorithmic trading, let me know!
If you are looking to try something new I launched https://taaalk.co.
It's a platform for longform online discussions between two or more people. You can read other people's or make your own.
It's a platform for longform online discussions between two or more people. You can read other people's or make your own.
My recent links are shared here https://pegao.co/@zakokor
Mostly experimental drugs and their histories. Given the pandemic, I'm reading a bit about drugs like Remsdevir. Bloomberg put out this great longform article [1] on how Gilead had the foresight to actually ramp up Remsdevir production when the inital reports broke out of Wuhan.
Also, historically how drugs went through clinical trials, experimentation, production etc. The anti-HIV drug AZT is well documented, and there's a great article here [2] by TIME if you're interested.
[1] - https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-gilead-remdesivir-co...
[2] - https://time.com/4705809/first-aids-drug-azt/
Also, historically how drugs went through clinical trials, experimentation, production etc. The anti-HIV drug AZT is well documented, and there's a great article here [2] by TIME if you're interested.
[1] - https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-gilead-remdesivir-co...
[2] - https://time.com/4705809/first-aids-drug-azt/
It has been like that for quite some time for me too. I try to avoid tempting to add more to it. No news for me. If it is important/interesting enough, I will hear it on Twitter or from my wife.
So, for me, it is;
- (Desktop): HackerNews, Twitter, Email mostly
- (Mobile): Photography / Videography. Text mostly. Phones calls are rare.
If you want to fill in, try starting a reading habit or even better, writing. I've 2 stickies right in front of me on the wall just above the monitor that says "Read anything today?" and "Wrote anything today?" I'm failing on the writing part and struggling to make it happen.
So, for me, it is;
- (Desktop): HackerNews, Twitter, Email mostly
- (Mobile): Photography / Videography. Text mostly. Phones calls are rare.
If you want to fill in, try starting a reading habit or even better, writing. I've 2 stickies right in front of me on the wall just above the monitor that says "Read anything today?" and "Wrote anything today?" I'm failing on the writing part and struggling to make it happen.
Learning System Design
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn1XnDWhsLS5URXTi5wtFTA
Arts and Letters Daily.
No commenting, but kinda like a HNs for the Arts:
https://www.aldaily.com/alt/
No commenting, but kinda like a HNs for the Arts:
https://www.aldaily.com/alt/
It is a good site with 2 caveats. It is center-right (this is not bad per se, but just be aware of the bias). With a high frequency, the summaries are terrible and misleading.
It's also highly opposed to the concept of artificial intelligence or anything resembling computational theories of mind.
I don't think they've ever posted anything that puts computers and modern tech in a good light.
I don't think they've ever posted anything that puts computers and modern tech in a good light.
Synchronizing my walking desk pace with the GBP/USD exchange rate chart on
https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/data/currencies/gbp-pairs/...
1 min, 30 min, 1 day, candles, kagi, baseline, heikin ashi, zoom in, zoom out, both axes.
https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/data/currencies/gbp-pairs/...
1 min, 30 min, 1 day, candles, kagi, baseline, heikin ashi, zoom in, zoom out, both axes.
Recently I browsed http://www.indieretronews.com/. This is a site with information about new games for old computers like Commodore 64, Amiga and so on, and also for retro styled indie games for modern systems. I even posted it to HN.
The most interesting things I view online are from hackernews, reddit, etsy, advance.lexis, researchgate, medscape, sanctionedsuicide, and occasional youtube videos. Usually topics & areas of interested related to programming, law, medical, and homestyle activities like cooking & DIY projects.
Plug for a website I built to combat against this very 'loop' I too was experiencing.
It's a site for collaborative fiction through writing prompts, if you like reading or writing: https://www.storylocks.com
It's a site for collaborative fiction through writing prompts, if you like reading or writing: https://www.storylocks.com
I’ve been researching and looking high and low for some kettlebells! It’s crazy how hard it is to find some hunks of cast iron right now.
Stuff like: https://helpatmyhome.com/best-kettlebells/
Stuff like: https://helpatmyhome.com/best-kettlebells/
Hey, can you email me? (Email on profile.) I also get to that "saturated" place a lot and am not satisfied. I know there is more interesting content out there. I'm trying to solve the problem, so would love to chat to you/see if you eventually want to beta test.
Hey, I'm currently writing a newsletter on reframing ideas from pop culture using first principles, would appreciate if you could take a look: https://reframing.substack.com/.
I've been getting back into pro starcraft watching the TSL, which is an ongoing tourney that just finished airing the first round today. Very interesting and challenging game. There is a ton of data out there in the form of past games to watch.
I’d say that the most satisfying reading are articles and documentation regarding things that I’m trying to get better at.
It’s good to be as well informed as possible on what’s going on in the world but there’s diminishing returns after a hour or so of news in a day.
It’s good to be as well informed as possible on what’s going on in the world but there’s diminishing returns after a hour or so of news in a day.
Mostly CoVID19 related stuff for work and my ongoing blog series: https://github.com/DataForScience/Epidemiology101
Http://marginalrevolution.com - lots of interesting links and commentary.
and now I know I can buy tear gas flavoured ice cream, thanks for that ;)
[deleted]
I was on a bunch of coronavirus stuff - subreddits, twitter etc. Dunno how healthy that is. Also the news has slowed a little. Also some self development related things eg. Naval on Rogan which I liked.
> or am I checking too frequently?
Your unit tests are running too slowly, otherwise you wouldn't be checking so frequently.
Oh, wait. That's me.
Your unit tests are running too slowly, otherwise you wouldn't be checking so frequently.
Oh, wait. That's me.
Armslist.com
Didn't even know it existed a month ago. It's a fascinating window into a very popular hobby.
Didn't even know it existed a month ago. It's a fascinating window into a very popular hobby.
https://usedone.today - Thinking of how to make it better
RSS and a few hundred quality blogs should give you enough content. And there's always, you know, books.
Obligatory plug for my subreddit, where I collect interesting links: https://www.reddit.com/r/sonyasupposedly/
There's some crossover with HN, but plenty that you won't have seen.
Less obligatory plug for gwern's subreddit, which is great: https://www.reddit.com/r/gwern/
There's some crossover with HN, but plenty that you won't have seen.
Less obligatory plug for gwern's subreddit, which is great: https://www.reddit.com/r/gwern/
If everyone's online activity and browsing patterns were made public it would destroy the profitability of Facebook, Google, and other companies conducting web surveillance as a means to generate revenue.
It would also obviate the need to ask a question like this. We could just search through user histories and discover new things that way.
It would also obviate the need to ask a question like this. We could just search through user histories and discover new things that way.
Hear, hear!
Yes, very likely you are checking too frequently.
my90stv
Tv from the 90s.
https://my90stv.com/
Tv from the 90s.
https://my90stv.com/
Longform.org is a good resource for longer reads, if you get paywalled just pass them through Instapaper first.
Also Arts And Letters Daily
Naked Capitalism daily linkdumps (morning + water cooler at 2pm) have plenty of auxiliary reading material in them
Slate Star Codex comment section is always popping off, some discussions are more interesting than others depending on what you're into
Also Arts And Letters Daily
Naked Capitalism daily linkdumps (morning + water cooler at 2pm) have plenty of auxiliary reading material in them
Slate Star Codex comment section is always popping off, some discussions are more interesting than others depending on what you're into
Hacker News, Reddit, and lobste.rs are my regular loop. Comments often send me to a deep dive somewhere. Yesterday it was rereading stuff from Yudkowsky: https://www.readthesequences.com/
https://tildes.net
Similar to HN but contains non-tech stuff.
Similar to HN but contains non-tech stuff.
What interesting stuff are you browsing recently?