danthewireman
Re:Ask HN: Could you share your personal blog here?
on Tuesday July 04, 2023 @01:34PM (#36589930)
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.
Re:SpaceX rocket launches Euclid space telescope to map the 'dark univ...
on Sunday July 02, 2023 @12:29PM (#36562989)
Please write more science articles/summaries. This is really well done—great combination of info-heavy while being interesting and readable.
Re:Ask HN: What are you going to learn in 2023
on Sunday January 01, 2023 @11:20AM (#34207586)
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.
Re:SelfControl – Free Mac app to help avoid distracting websites
on Tuesday May 31, 2022 @07:40PM (#31576259)
Love this app. Turning it on in the morning for 10 hours really does help my productivity.
Re:Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?
on Sunday March 20, 2022 @12:27PM (#30744040)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?
on Saturday February 19, 2022 @06:35PM (#30401599)
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
Re:Brain.fm: Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep
on Monday November 16, 2020 @07:11PM (#25118822)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?
on Saturday August 08, 2020 @11:04AM (#24092129)
You can also double click a word, keep the mouse button down, and drag. This will select whole words. I use this a lot.
Re:Ask HN: If you could start your career all over again, what would y...
on Saturday July 18, 2020 @04:50PM (#23884733)
Choosing the wrong career. Finally moved from programming to writing fiction.
Re:Ask HN: How can I learn how to paint?
on Wednesday March 13, 2019 @01:51PM (#19381415)
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.
Re:Learning by Doing
on Tuesday April 18, 2017 @12:05PM (#14139969)
Fake it 'till you make it.
Re:Show HN: Poets Know It – A literature network for poets to share an...
on Wednesday December 07, 2016 @04:10PM (#13126249)
Terms of service page is a 404 error.
https://www.poetsknowit.com/terms-of-service/
Re:Science Fiction by Scientists
on Wednesday September 14, 2016 @05:49PM (#12501491)
You might enjoy "Echopraxia", his sequel to "Blindsight."
Re:How the food lobby fights sugar regulation in the EU [pdf]
on Saturday July 30, 2016 @10:10AM (#12193032)
Have you tried cutting out more carbs? Dropping bread, pasta, rice, and white potatoes helped me a lot.
Re:Who Pays Writers?
on Friday May 13, 2016 @09:45AM (#11690364)
Accelerando is currently blowing my mind. Very cool stuff.
Re:World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era'
on Thursday November 19, 2015 @11:38AM (#10595719)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What project are you working on?
on Friday May 22, 2015 @01:04PM (#9589607)
Writing a chapter book starring lots of semi-functioning robots.
Re:Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
on Friday April 10, 2015 @11:38AM (#9355032)
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.
Re:Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?
on Friday April 10, 2015 @11:14AM (#9354869)
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.
Re:Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (July 2014)
on Tuesday July 01, 2014 @10:24AM (#7970833)
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: [email protected]
Re:We're Shutting Down and I'm Scared
on Tuesday January 28, 2014 @06:51PM (#7140709)
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.
Re:Where do you find the time for side projects?
on Friday January 24, 2014 @03:34PM (#7117790)
5am - 7am
Re:Does life end after 35?
on Wednesday October 30, 2013 @05:17PM (#6643473)
> That all said, my 40s have been the best creative period of my life, by far.
Agreed. Wrote my first novel in my 40s.
Re:Show HN: I'm writing an ebook about adventure and giving it away fo...
on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @04:23PM (#6168905)
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.
Re:Show HN: I'm writing an ebook about adventure and giving it away fo...
on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @04:16PM (#6168880)
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.
Re:Show HN: I'm writing an ebook about adventure and giving it away fo...
on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @04:01PM (#6168792)
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.
Re:Show HN: I'm writing an ebook about adventure and giving it away fo...
on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @12:01PM (#6167339)
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.
Re:The Slingatron: Building a Railroad to Space
on Monday July 29, 2013 @08:38PM (#6124779)
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.
Re:Lean Startups fail for these 3 reasons, but they didn’t tell you in...
on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @01:14PM (#6097449)
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.
Re:Ask HN: Has anyone here self-published a book? Any advice?
on Tuesday July 16, 2013 @01:18PM (#6053238)
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.