cyrialize

This is a good point, but I do want to mention that I feel like in the past 5 years we've had lots of extremely popular packages that hook into Emacs internals instead of rolling out their own architecture.

For example, corfu [0] versus company [1]. Company works with capf, but you can also write your own backends for it (specific to company). Corfu also works with capf, but all backends are capf functions instead of a corfu specific backend.

Another good example is eglot [2] versus lsp-mode [3]. Eglot is actually packaged with Emacs now.

There's also other stuff, like vertico [4] (and others that are recommended to download) versus helm/ivy.

I also want to mention that packages that hook into Emacs more don't necessarily mean that they're better. From my POV it's more like you get a lot more things for free and the documentation you dive into will be Emacs specific instead of package specific. It all comes down to preference.

Vertico/Counsel/Orderless is very nice, but Helm and Ivy are fully featured (I always forget how much Helm has for you).

I use corfu, eglot, and vertico now. I have thought about going back to helm and company, especially since I was very familiar with company's backends for a long time.

[0]: https://github.com/minad/corfu

[1]: https://github.com/company-mode/company-mode

[2]: https://github.com/joaotavora/eglot

[3]: https://github.com/emacs-lsp/lsp-mode

[4]: https://github.com/minad/vertico

About 10+ years ago I found a guide on Helm [0] and a guide on Org-mode [1] when I was just getting into Emacs. This helped me move on from using Spacemacs to making my own configuration.

I no longer use Helm (I'm doing Vertico/Orderless/Consult), but I've stuck with Org-mode since then. I sometimes venture out to other apps (like Joplin, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, etc), but Org-mode just works best for me.

I don't even use it's most advanced features. The most complicated thing I do is maybe recurring schedules and using the agenda. I don't even have agenda view defined (although I really should at this point, it would be really helpful).

I use it every day at work with a daily log.org file keeping track of what I did each day, a habits.org file for recurring tasks I want to make sure I do (check my email, find a PR to review, etc).

I have various files to help organize my personal life - I heavily rely on Beorg [2] for that.

Looking back on my years with Org-mode, I feel like the primary reason I use it is for the ease of use with keybindings and dealing with plain text. I don't need to dig through menus or swipe around. I just go in and type, write, and delete.

[0]: https://tuhdo.github.io/helm-intro.html

[1]: https://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html

[2]: https://www.beorgapp.com/

I've just been using LLMs (specifically DuckDuckGo's chat) to help find research and articles to dive into.

I don't really see the point of asking LLMs to summarize something for me when I can just read about it myself.

I will do chats back and forth about specific topics, but then always ask for follow up resources I could dive into.

This isn't fool proof - I'll sometimes get resources that aren't really what I'm looking for - but it feels better than searching the web.

Especially when I don't have a clear idea of what search terms to look for.

I haven't tried things like the Socratic method though or having LLMs teach me something! I've really just been focused on reading lately.

My last laptop was a used 2012 T530.

My current is a used M1 MBP Pro with 16GB of ram.

I thought this was all I was ever going to need, but wanting to run really nice models locally has me thinking about upgrading.

Although, part of me wants to see how far I could get with my trusty laptop.

Oh hi! I'm a huge fan of your work! I've watched so many videos breaking down Doki Doki Literature Club.

Thank you for all that you do.

The Wii is very moddable. I've modded my Wii in the past just for playing modded versions of Super Smash Brother Melee (mainly training packs, like flashing a red light when I miss an L-cancel).

I'm a fan of ambient and instrumental hip hop for programming.

My personal favorites are pretty much anything by Nujabes (including the soundtracks for Samurai Champloo), Fat Jon, and DJ Okawari.

I also like some classic albums in the genre like Donuts by J Dilla, Dr. No's Oxperiment by Oh No, and Endtroducing by DJ Shadow.

I will sometimes go through essential charts I find to dive into new genres, and other times I'll pick a random artist and go through their entire discography start to finish.

I highly recommend doing that with Talk Talk, their transition from 80s pop to experimental is phenomenal.

Thank you for mentioning this, it was the first thing I thought of in this conversation thread!

Another way to frame trade deficit (sometimes) is using the phrase "investment surplus".

Many top economies have trade deficits. China is a unique example that goes against that, although I believe China is trying to have their population spend more rather than save.

If you drive a truck because you like trucks, then a Cybertruck works.

If you drive a truck because you need a truck, then Cybertrucks don't really work.

That being said, I think a lot of people are in the first category.

The second category people have things that can be fit in a normal truck, but not a Cybertruck.

Fastmail is awesome! I've been a happy user for a long time. Everything just works. The UI is great, nothing gets in my way.

I'm a fan of the randomly generated emails as well. That service integrates with 1Password too.

Dang, and I felt like I wrote up a good response lol

I'm sorry that you are going through this.

I haven't gone through something similar, but I think something that helped me out the 2nd time I looked for a job was how valued work experience is.

As a new grad, personal projects are useful because it adds to the pile of things for an employer to look at (along with internships). After that though, personal projects matter less and less compared to real world experience.

(There are exceptions to this though. Personal projects matter less because you don't face real world problems with them. If you have a personal project that gets users, that is definitely something worth talking about).

I recommend just applying to smaller, lesser-known companies just to get some experience. My 1st job was at a small financial tech company that no one ever heard of, and they hired in a lower-cost, non-competitive area. We used a very old tech stack, and had custom everything - that didn't stop me from getting hired at other places.

You should check out: universities, banks, insurance companies, and marketing firms. Applying to companies that are tech companies is pretty rough right now, but you can find non-tech companies that are hiring.

(There's no such thing as a "non-tech" company, but I really just mean companies that don't advertise themselves as tech).

You could also do something like use Indeed, pick a smaller town, and then minimize the miles.

Oh wow this looks really awesome! I'll have to check it out.

I unfortunately primarily use Firefox, but still this is great. I've manually tried to keep track of bookmarks via org, but of course I'll always forget to update it.

I highly recommend just trying out org-mode and seeing what works best for you.

There are so many things built into org-mode and so many tools built around org-mode that you'll be able to find something that feels comfortable.

My other comment describes what I currently use, but I only really got there after trying out a bunch of different things after a while.

I also have a bunch of different org files for work and personal use.

For example, I have a file called tracker.org that is just for recurring habits/tasks that I set up with org-schedule.

I've thought about writing up a blog post about how I use org-mode, since I've been using every day for at least 8 years.

My daily log file basically looks like this:

* Year

* Month

** Day

For example: * 2025

* January

** Saturday 01/10/26

In each day heading I'll have either a short note (like saying what meeting happened), or a link to a separate org file.

I keep an org file for each JIRA ticket I'm working on, so I'll link it out there. The presence of a link indicates that I've worked on that ticket that day.

Then in each individual ticket file I'll just keep top level day headings with notes of what I've done on the ticket, as well as other headings.

For example, an org file for a ticket would look something like:

* PR 1

#+BEGIN_SRC markdown

I like to pre-write up my PRs in a doc block in markdown in org mode just to use my keybindings. I copy-paste when I create a PR.

#+END

* Monday 01/01/26

- Started work on this today, figuring out where in the codebase to touch

- Straightforward, got a PR out

When I need to find something, I use something like consult-org-heading or consult-outline or consult-line.

I've been using Org Mode for organizing my life in plain text for the past 10 years now.

Beorg on iOS [0] makes it great. I've also started using things like org-ql [1] and org-super-agenda [2] to make me even more productive.

I also have a daily log org file I use at work. It helps me keep track of what I need to do and what I've done. It makes yearly reviews easier as well!

[0]: https://www.beorgapp.com/

[1]: https://github.com/alphapapa/org-ql

[2]: https://github.com/alphapapa/org-super-agenda

When I start working on a ticket I actually start writing up a PR early on.

As I figure out my manual testing, I'll write out the steps that I took in my PR.

I've found that writing it out as I go does two things: 1) It makes it easier to have a detailed PR and 2) it acts as a form of rubber-ducking. As I'm updating my PR I'll realize steps I've missed in my testing.

Something that also helped out with my manual testing skill was working in a place that had ZERO automated testing. Every PR required a detailed testing plan that you did and that your reviewer could re-create.

I still use Last.fm! I've had it since 2008. It's really cool seeing how my music taste has changed, and seeing what I've come back to over and over again.

When I used to be much more active in online music communities I would post a 9x9 of my most listened to albums of the past week and discuss them.

I'm a huge fan of Majuular, these videos are amazing. I like that he dives deeply into the history behind each game as well - like the company, Richard Garriott (Lord British), etc.

His other videos on other games are great as well!

I was just about to make the same comment! I never remembered the name of this software. Thank you so much for posting it!

My apologies, I should've been more clear!

The scam was that this service is actually free provided by AOL. The grandparents shouldn't have ever been charged, they just ended up finding scammers that actually knew how to fix the issue.

My apologies, I should've been clear!

AOL doesn't charge for any helpdesk service at all. It explicitly says on their website that all helpdesk services are free and they'll never charge you.

The scam was that the scammers had a fake helpdesk service that showed up that my wife's grandparents ended up paying for.

The scammers did actually fix the issue, but the scam was that the grandparents should have never been charged!

My wife's grandparents use and pay for AOL. I think they pay for a premium package? All I know is that it handles their internet, web browsing, and email.

One day they had issues setting it up, so they call a help line. They ended up being scammed, and paid this person ~$200 to fix their issue. After it happened, they immediately called me up and asked if they were scammed.

I told them that unfortunately, they were. Surprisingly though, the scammer did actually fix their issue.

I haven't tried uv yet, but I did use it's precursor - rye.

I had to update some messy python code and I was looking for a tool that could handle python versions, package updates, etc. with the least amount of documentation needing be read and troubleshooting.

Rye was that for me! Next time I write python I'm definitely going to use uv.

It sounds to me you're describing the feeling of being content, rather than having the least taste.

I prefer to look at things that way rather than not having taste. Some people really enjoy $600 headphones, while others don't really care.

I think everyone has some "taste" though, you don't really realize it until you compare experiences.

For me personally, having taste doesn't ruin my experience for anything - it just add more to things. And I still like the things I like, even if there is "less".

Using more expensive headphones and hearing instruments I've never heard before makes it fun and using $20 headphones is still fun because I'm still listening to music I like.

I absolutely agree.

If you look at my github, you might think I don't program all that much.

If you look at my ~/Code folder on my PC, you might think I program too much.

Tinkering with fun little projects has made me a better programmer and understand my language (Ruby) much better.

I'm reading a blog because I'm interested in the voice a writer has.

If I'm finding that voice boring, I'll stop reading - whether or not AI was used.

The generic AI voice, and by that I mean very little prompting to add any "flavor", is boring.

Of course I've used AI to summarize things and give me information, like when I'm looking for a specific answer.

In the case of blogs though, I'm not always trying to find an "answer", I'm just interested in what you have to say and I'm reading for pleasure.

Yes, but in this case the blazers head office said they were going to search for a coach, and they also took input from Dame on what coaches he thought would be good for the team.

They didn't do any search at all, and just went straight to hiring Chauncey.

This partially contributed to Dame leaving - it also didn't help that Chauncey and Dame didn't quite get along (and also deciding to bench him in the last 10 games of the season to tank).

I'm honestly fine with players being hired as head coaches. Before looking into it I thought it was totally fine with Chauncey, especially given his track record as a leader on the Pistons and being a phenomenal classic point guard.

The main issue for me is just telling people you're going to do a search... and then not doing it.