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mauritson Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?

I self-host my blog on a VPS, because I like having my own little corner on the internet.

Way way back when, I also did it to learn a bit more about daily *nix craft.

mauritson The great blogging collapse: What happened to 100 successful blogs?

I have a blog because I like having a blog. It has made me neither rich nor famous.

Most prolific visitor is probably my mom and some bot out of Singapore.

mauritson The great blogging collapse: What happened to 100 successful blogs?

This isn't about blogging per se. Its about commercial product-to-market fit. That market now favors short centralized video content.

mauritson Dirty Little Zine – a tool for making an 8 page printable Zine

Does anybody know a tool for making a 32 page A5 zine like Bumb books [1] for people with little to no layout tool knowledge?

[1] https://bumpbooks.com/

mauritson If you are asking for human attention, demonstrate human effort

I have publicly stated that if you can't be bothered to write, I can't be bothered to read.

mauritson Jury told that Meta, Google 'engineered addiction' at landmark US trial

"the bliss curve" [1]

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_point_(food)

mauritson After two years of vibecoding, I'm back to writing by hand

I tell my students that they can watch sports on tv, but it will not make them fit.

On a personal note, vibe coding leaves me with that same empty hollow sort of tiredness, as a day filled with meetings.

mauritson Ask HN: Share your personal website

https://www.maurits.ch

Photo-blog, everyday slice of life pictures, walking about on the street, since 2006.

mauritson Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options

"We, and our 226 partners use cookies and similar methods to recognize visitors"

mauritson Blogging in 2025: Screaming into the Void

I like this a lot, simple, elegant, unpretentious, walking down memory lane.

mauritson Meta Segment Anything Model 3

I would try to take DINO v3 [1] for a spin, for that specific use-case. Or, don't laugh, the Nano Banana [2]

[1]: https://github.com/facebookresearch/dinov3 [2]: https://imgeditor.co/

mauritson Roc Camera

I'm cynical and don't fear a world in which people can't verify photos for their authenticity.

I fear (channeling a brave new world) that they simply will not care.

mauritson Failing to Understand the Exponential, Again

>I'm sure people were saying that about commercial airline speeds in the 1970's too.

Also elegantly formulated by: https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

mauritson Ultrathin business card runs a fluid simulation

For statistical mechanics, I really liked [1]. Comes with loads of python programs.

To see what might peak you interest, the videos in [2] could be a good starting point.

[1]: https://www.coursera.org/learn/statistical-mechanics

[2]: https://matthias-research.github.io/pages/tenMinutePhysics/i...

mauritson AI overviews cause massive drop in search clicks

(forgot what type of flour you need for bread in supermarket)

innocently googles 'flour bread'

half the screen, CONTINUE WITH GOOGLE - stay in browser, click

COOKIES We and our 917 partners CARE ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY, click, click,

NEWSLETTER, NEWSLETTER, click, rotate screen because the overlay is to big, click Im sad person who's doesn't want daily bread in his mailbox.

APP APP APP, install APP, click click, can't hit the x, let it be

5 pages with autoplay video and SEO slop

I'm enjoying AI, while it lasts.

mauritson How to post when no one is reading

I've had a self-hosted blog with slice of life pictures, for almost 20 years. Its my own little corner of the internet, not beholden to any social app or company. Something to look through when i'am 80.

mauritson Bending Spacetime in the Basement (1997)

Reminds me a bit of Greg Egans' Incandescence [1]

[1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescence_(novel)

mauritson MacBook Air M4

uhm, hold down option-shift for smaller steps. Same for audio.

mauritson Softmax forever, or why I like softmax

For people interested in the softmax, log sum exp and energy models, have a look at "Your Classifier is Secretly an Energy Based Model and You Should Treat it Like One" [1]

[1]: https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.03263

mauritson The year I didn't survive

This vividly remembers me of "The Year of Magical Thinking" [1] It hit hard, and I didn't finish the book.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_of_Magical_Thinking

mauritson Why hasn't commercial air travel gotten any faster since the 1960s? (2009)

Slightly tangent: "Web Design: The First 100 Years" [1]

[1]: https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

mauritson Why blog if nobody reads it?

"And there’s another thing. My other passion is street photography. Which is a bit like blogging."

That's me. I've made everyday slice of life pictures, walking about, since 2006. Biggest source of traffic is probably my mom. I don't care, its my own little corner of the internet.

mauritson Alcohol-free booze is becoming big business

I'd wager that marketing figured out that people are willing to pay a premium for the added feature of not having alcohol.

Maybe the same segment that also pays more for premium (healthy, biological etc ) food.

mauritson Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 winners

"We and our 912 partners process your personal data"

A museum. Just why??

mauritson Vintage digicams are an artistic statement

> It’s not just aesthetic. The mountains feel more like massive objects on these older cameras than they do on modern iPhone cameras.

Might be due to a combination of sensor size, focal length on the older camera, and the distance to the subject.

mauritson James Gleick's Chaos: The Software

For those who like this domain, the complexity explorer [1] is also a wonderful resource.

[1] https://www.complexityexplorer.org/

mauritson WordPress Alternatives

Any recommendations for a self hosted back-end that is images, photography only? Instagram seems to have taken over this space.

mauritson Why I still blog after 15 years

"I keep this blog for me to write, not necessarily for others to read."

That's me. I started in 2006, except I just post photos.

mauritson Swimmable Cities

Swiss river swimming is one of the highlights of my year.

mauritson I wish I didn't miss the '90s-00s internet

I think I just miss being 14-ish when technology felt mesmerizing, and world seemed infinite because I was learning Pascal.

Now I just want to wake up, have my coffee, and not read about some new machine learning framework.