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unrealp

unrealp on Hacker News

Re:Friendship Begins at Home on Thursday October 23, 2025 @02:44AM (#45678900)
This one I found useful - "Stop trusting your thoughts. Why not? Havent they failed you over and over and over?" - Gangaji
Re:Ask HN: What are some (weird) ways you're using ChatGPT? on Monday January 06, 2025 @04:31AM (#42609069)
I used it for a while to understand mindfulness (vipassana) and problems I was facing in understanding the concepts and problems I was facing during the practice. It was pretty good, brainstormed well, knew references to original writings etc. Was useful.
Re:Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology (Douglas M. Burns 1994) on Thursday December 19, 2024 @05:10AM (#42460089)
Came across this rare article which looks at this topic in depth and breadth. The appendix also has lot of meta writing, which is quite useful. Very open and unbiased writing based on author's experiences.
Re:How to Work from Home Without Going Insane (Repost from 2011) on Thursday November 14, 2024 @03:26AM (#42134166)
2011 post. WFH wasnt a hot topic at that time, still insightful.

This is original post and discussion - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3219929

Re:Artist or AI Quiz on Boredpanda on Monday September 09, 2024 @05:16AM (#41486735)
I got 10/20 though I am not too familiar with most artists. I am wondering if it is just me or folk with more experience with the said artists do better.

Show HN: I converted my book to audiobook using Google text to speech

Posted by unrealp on Thursday July 18, 2024 @10:06AM
from the show-hn dept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnobuz-zPU4

I had some philosophy-of-life notes written during covid. I converted that to audiobook for youtube use.I didn't write a pipeline or anything complicated. I just used google console. I used a recent en-US-Journey-O voice as it seems better suitable for narratives. I used synthesize long audio APIs. These support upto 1 million characters (currently). I had to chunk the book into smaller parts...

( Read More... | no comments | on HN )
Re:Show HN: A beat composer by placing beans on paper [video] on Wednesday June 19, 2024 @12:37PM (#40729872)
I am planning to add more features. Say volume control - a volume square and place more beans there to increase volume. Or a pause button - currently while placing beans hand gets into camera view and gets interpreted as object and plays several odd notes haha. Things like that.

One plan is to try with people. Camera overhung and people walk below and compose music as a group!

Show HN: A beat composer by placing beans on paper [video]

Posted by unrealp on Tuesday June 18, 2024 @01:45AM
from the show-hn dept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9WNFpBFMP8

Bean beat sequencer allows you to make music by placing beans on a piece of paper. The bean placement is captured by a webcam and Processing and Sonic-Pi together render the audio.8 rows represent 8 instruments. 16 columns represent time slot. If a bean is placed in the time slot, the corresponding instrument for that row is played.

( Read More... | 2 comments | 3 points | on HN )
Re:Breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness on Monday May 13, 2024 @01:10AM (#40339986)
So the narrative was emotional/trauma release. When people get into altered state, the narrative said that their unresolved emotions would come to surface and be felt into their body and then they accept those things from the past and then the emotions would dissolve and there will be a 'release'. Its a common narrative, I wrote and organized the content so that a first timer would get impressed to expect a release. It worked for several people.
Re:Breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness on Thursday May 09, 2024 @06:42AM (#40306856)
The study that has been mentioned talks about Holotropic Breathwork and Consciously-Connected breathwork are. I have worked with CCB.
Re:Breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness on Thursday May 09, 2024 @01:50AM (#40305633)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperventilation - This leads to hypocapnia, a reduced concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocapnia - Acute hypocapnia causes hypocapnic alkalosis, which causes cerebral vasoconstriction leading to cerebral hypoxia

Though not acute, you can see the effects very easily. Within couple of minutes of deep breathing we could create peripheral numbing and tingling effect. (yoga folk say you are feeling energy moving though body and that kind of stuff haha)

Re:Breathwork supports emergence of altered states of consciousness on Thursday May 09, 2024 @12:37AM (#40305339)
Sounds counter intuitive but breathwork reduces o2 to brain. Basically due to reduced co2, blood vessels in the brain constrict.

Having said that, I worked with a breathwork teacher for a while, creating narrative for the session, for mental imagery and guidance. It also had music as a backdrop. Fun times. And it was definitely altered state for a lot of people.

Re:Ask HN: What rabbit hole(s) did you dive into recently? on Tuesday April 23, 2024 @05:34AM (#40130159)
How to improve one's speaking voice. Mine is tiny, no strength, no quality, monotone. Found something called "kharaj ka riyaz" and practiced it for a few weeks and voice quality and strength improved. Then quality went down and my voice is not irritable and scratchy. I hope it recovers.
Re:Ask HN: What rabbit hole(s) did you dive into recently? on Tuesday April 23, 2024 @04:49AM (#40129866)
I tried creative coding. Sonic Pi, Processing, p5js, there are so many frameworks built around creative coding that I didnt know even existed. It was really fun.
Re:'Mathematically perfect' star system being investigated for potenti... on Wednesday February 28, 2024 @11:29PM (#39546399)
Clickbait. Isnt this just orbital resonance?

My solution to fermi paradox is intelligent civilizations realize futility of life and get enlightened and just die out. Similar to moksha in hinduism.

Re:Did the ancient Greeks and Romans experience Alzheimer's? on Monday February 12, 2024 @12:34AM (#39341757)
I dont know why this was downvoted. cadaver-derived growth hormone supplementation correlation with alzheimer's is well established.
Re:Cannabis use linked to anxiety diagnoses, worsened anxiety disorders on Wednesday February 07, 2024 @12:33AM (#39284881)
+ 1 for propranolol. Its a beta blocker. It binds to receptor sites for adrenaline so adrenaline doesnt have effect. Usually anxiety attack is a loop where brain panics, triggers body reaction like increased heart rate etc and that causes brain to panic further and this loop escalates. Propranolol blocks this loop in the body, as in, heart rate wont increase.

Personally I found it useful.

Re:Ask HN: 9-yo son wants to build a game, I'm lost. What can I do? on Thursday January 18, 2024 @03:13AM (#39039276)
Seconding use of Processing. It was written for electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming in a visual context.

I have used it often, found it easy, has necessary functionality for graphics and interfacing.

Re:Diffusion-SDF: Conditional Generative Modeling of Signed Distance F... on Thursday October 12, 2023 @08:35AM (#37856324)
Diffusion-SDF: Conditional Generative Modeling of Signed Distance Functions
Re:Govt to Bring Resolution to Rename India as Bharat in Parliament Sp... on Wednesday September 06, 2023 @12:24AM (#37401329)
Please do not promote politics here.

Please see - https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, or celebrities, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic."

"Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. That tramples curiosity."

Re:Ask HN: My mother is slowly looking her eyesight, how to prepare? on Tuesday August 29, 2023 @01:57AM (#37303973)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vOICe.vOICe&hl...

This app converts visual scene as seen from phone's camera to audio. Soundscape of a kind. Not sure how useful this is but I have been hearing about this app for quite a number of years.

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