Hacker News: danthewireman

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: Could you share your personal blog here?"

danthewireman — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 17:34:52 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "SpaceX rocket launches Euclid space telescope to map the 'dark universe'"

danthewireman — Sun, 02 Jul 2023 16:29:02 +0000

Please write more science articles/summaries. This is really well done—great combination of info-heavy while being interesting and readable.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What are you going to learn in 2023?"

danthewireman — Sun, 01 Jan 2023 16:20:07 +0000

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.

0: https://www.dreamingspanish.com

New comment by danthewireman in "SelfControl – Free Mac app to help avoid distracting websites"

danthewireman — Tue, 31 May 2022 23:40:24 +0000

Love this app. Turning it on in the morning for 10 hours really does help my productivity.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: Developers who switched careers, what are you doing now?"

danthewireman — Sun, 20 Mar 2022 16:27:18 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?"

danthewireman — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 23:35:41 +0000

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

New comment by danthewireman in "Brain.fm: Music to improve focus, meditation and sleep"

danthewireman — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 00:11:45 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?"

danthewireman — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 15:04:06 +0000

You can also double click a word, keep the mouse button down, and drag. This will select whole words. I use this a lot.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: If you could start your career all over again, what would you change?"

danthewireman — Sat, 18 Jul 2020 20:50:47 +0000

Choosing the wrong career. Finally moved from programming to writing fiction.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: How can I learn how to paint?"

danthewireman — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 17:51:44 +0000

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.

[0]https://evolveartist.com/

New comment by danthewireman in "Learning by Doing"

danthewireman — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:05:49 +0000

Fake it 'till you make it.

New comment by danthewireman in "Show HN: Poets Know It – A literature network for poets to share and collaborate"

danthewireman — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 21:10:45 +0000

New comment by danthewireman in "Science Fiction by Scientists"

danthewireman — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 21:49:08 +0000

You might enjoy "Echopraxia", his sequel to "Blindsight."

New comment by danthewireman in "How the food lobby fights sugar regulation in the EU [pdf]"

danthewireman — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 14:10:24 +0000

Have you tried cutting out more carbs? Dropping bread, pasta, rice, and white potatoes helped me a lot.

New comment by danthewireman in "Who Pays Writers?"

danthewireman — Fri, 13 May 2016 13:45:37 +0000

Accelerando is currently blowing my mind. Very cool stuff.

New comment by danthewireman in "World on cusp of 'post-antibiotic era'"

danthewireman — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 16:38:19 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What project are you working on?"

danthewireman — Fri, 22 May 2015 17:04:31 +0000

Writing a chapter book starring lots of semi-functioning robots.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?"

danthewireman — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 15:38:07 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: What are you doing to improve your health?"

danthewireman — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 15:14:53 +0000

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.

New comment by danthewireman in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (July 2014)"

danthewireman — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 14:24:29 +0000

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