eswat

Glad to see more treading into using games to reinforce beneficial behaviours.

If only the resources we were pumping into making lootbox games could start being diverted into projects like this.

To piggy-back on the personal trainer analogies earlier, alternatives like CBT tools, podcasts, books, etc. are good augmentations once you’ve learned “good form” on how to work with your depression through a therapist.

The alternatives aren’t going to really push you to unpack thoughts that might be holding you back or know to switch things up if your situation becomes very dire.

> In animal world, losing a battle has long lasting detrimental effects on self confidence and accepting subordinate status is often the end result. It probably applies to humans as well in some measure.

We were in the same boat for a long time. But many of us have been long in an era where making mistakes is far less costly. But it’s also very difficult for the animalistic part of our brains to realize this and the threshold of failure seems far lower because of this.

They’re starting to acquire more titles now though, so a good chunk of Epic titles will have some quality to them than the ones they were producing themselves since the UT days.

The two books mentioned already are good source material. If you want a modern – some would argue watered-down – take then A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine is good reading.

> Not a fan of stoicism either. I think people should express how they feel. Bottling it up only makes it worse later.

Being stoic doesn’t mean not expressing your feelings.

Issues that someone would have to bottle up because it introduces entropy in their feelings about life might be a non-issue/non-existent to a stoic. i.e. why get angry and express my feelings if someone that cuts me off on the highway, when I’ve learned not to care about such events? There’s plenty of other things a stoic can express their feeling about.

I created a new IG account when I went to Singapore & Japan this year to chronicle my journey through photos that my friends & family can see.

But between a few of them giving me “I get to live vicariously through you now” vibes, the societal pressure to follow them back even if I don’t find their feeds interesting, and the ads, it felt like the whole thing was a net-negative for me and people close to me.

I’ve gone back to just sharing my travel photos in-person.

When I talk to others about this their justification is that it helps them be aware of local and world news. But ironically we seem to have more TVs at a time where we have more agency to check the news whenever, wherever anyway.

You’re right in that it’s pretty much is visual/auditory littering at this point.

An office building nearby renovated their ground floor with a new food court. Great idea but they also added a semi-circle of TVs all tuned on CBC News that pretty much looks over most of the seating and the food stalls. It’s hard to avoid.

Easy enough to modify the environment on our phones and desktops but it’s more inconvenient to avoid IRL distractions.

Could go either way; distraction is the result but attention is the unit of value (now the meaning behind Basic Attention Token is clearer to me).

SEEKING WORK | Product Designer & Front-End Developer | Remote or Toronto/Ottawa/Montréal

Dual-wielding designer/developer that has been predominantly working on React-based web apps for startups for the last while (but with 10+ years of XP under my belt). I’m wrapping up a large project and looking for startups outside my local circle to work with.

I’ve worked with many companies from YC and Canadian incubators as their main UI designer or assisting in front-end development (UI integration, creating design systems and component libraries).

Tech Skills: React, Redux, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby on Rails, Ruby, HTML & CSS

Website: https://eswat.ca

GitHub: https://github.com/eswat

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/infilexfil

At first I thought it was a good thing that I started seeing condo buildings create FB groups to create at least some sense of community.

But the ones I’ve seen just end up being an disorganized mess of negative comments that should be directed to condo boards and security themselves. If there is useful information it shouldn’t be locked into a platform like FB either…

Not if they’re not well-off in a country that has Free Basics. Hard to say no to free when not just your friends and family, but pretty much your culture, uses Facebook as it’s the de facto standard.

Maybe not but Facebook could be looked at as a resource to fulfill or strengthen a basic human need: human connection (like electricity can fulfill or strengthen climate control so we can survive harsher weather).

> I regularly see fast food or other low income workers wearing $1000 worth of designer clothing while carrying a brand new iPhone or something, while taking the bus.

I always found it interesting that I see more younger people wearing Canada Goose (not during winter), Comme des Garćon, Y-3, etc. in Toronto. Yet this is the city I hear the most from in terms of indebtedness, rising cost of living, being priced out of the city, tough for millennials, etc.

It’s on Dropbox so I just use whatever apps can access it, specifically I use 1Writer for iOS on mobile.

I’ve been maintaining a simple text file with project ideas for the last 3+ years. It’s accessible from all devices I use. Each idea has a headline and three bullet points describing what it is.

I just went through this circus for a 1.5-hour layover. Salt in the wound was CBP having just 1 agent serving Non-US travellers for a 737 that just came from Japan…

Not sure about unpopular US departure cities but if one is flexible and waits for deals then it’s doable to find cheap fare even outside of a flight hub.

I used to pay ~$1500 CAD from Ottawa, Canada to Manila, Philippines. Now that I’m aware of deals and have a flexible schedule/remote-work-policy I scoff at any trip with the same itinerary that’s > $800.

I’ve found banks - at least Canadian ones - don’t even provide you with an option with backup codes.

The Collective: interviews with creatives, mostly in motion graphics, UI and music

The Knowledge Project (Farnam Street): interviews about critical thinking and mental models

CANADALAND: to understand how batshit crazy our socitey and politics can be up here as well

That’s a cool example. In terms of UI redesigns though, changing things up is definitely more costly in this realm.

I probably don’t mind a new skit because I’m just looking to be entertained. But I’m mostly looking to get shit done with something that had an actual UI to it, so freshness can be more hit-or-miss.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this. But I think you’re conflating your contempt for negative workplace politics and the aftermath of decisions you’ve experienced, with the intentions of these companies that do these redesigns.

Some of these redesigns that don’t work out well could have been worked on by brilliant people that were very cautious about what kind of work they take on. But you don’t always hit it out of the park.

I can see why many would dislike this book vs. the sources, but it definitely makes the overall idea more palatable. Reading the Meditations isn't for everyone.

> Why would someone post this other than to gather feedback?

A good amount of these unsolicited redesigns are to generate interest in what the designer can offer and provide a sample of work.

Other than posting the HN link the OP goes straight to "If you know someone at Github, send them a link to this article.”, so they probably don't necessarily care for feedback (huge assumption based on my experience with past unsolicited redsigns).

> Yes, this redesign idea upsets me. However, that doesn't make the points I raise (from the point of view of a daily GitHub user! and one that uses it professionally!) any less valid.

Your points are definitely valid. But ironically, like the OP, you end your post on a sour note.

By ending with “Stop fucking around with things for no good reason.”, for what is just a harmless redesign by someone that has little-to-no power to affect GitHub's UX, you painted the rest of your comment as unnecessarily critical. I think this is what the parent comment was addressing.

Workout after IF isn't an issue for me anymore. But I definitely felt some nausea when I first started while doing some of heavier lifts like squats and deadlifts. I think it's just about giving your body time to adapt.

When I use the case I'm protecting the body, not the screen. The screen is never obscured by the cases I buy and I care far-more about the durability and functionality anyway (I find the iPhone 6/6s/7s/8s body is awkward to hold without a case due to the thin body).

I plan on getting 4+ years out of my phone too, especially since Apple replaced the battery for free a few months ago. My 6s is close to the 4-year mark.

Another thing is to add the DF Tube (or Distraction Free YouTube) extension which lets you hide most of the annoying parts of the UI like recommendations, comments, trending videos, etc.

After the initial corporation, legal and accounting setup there’s actually little paperwork that really needs to be done and can actually be quicker than the 9-5 equivalent.

ie: if I need a new computer I just buy it and attach the receipt to the bank statement tracked by my accounting software and my accountant takes care of the rest, versus having togo through some procurement process involving making a business case for my purchase, filling in the expense report, getting that report signed by a manager, etc.

> Email is definitely not ideal, but it is: decentralized, reliable, and not going anywhere – and more and more, those feel like quasi-magical properties.

But wouldn’t a website hosted on a platform you control also serve this purpose? Even with the services mentioned in the essay you have a third-party looking over where you data is and have to rely on them if you ever want to retrieve your data back.

I guess you’d also have to add a method for facilitating contact though (uh… email?)