npras1
Joined 2 years ago
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Sep 15
Recent submissions
Comment · 2 months ago
Comment · 3 months ago
Big no for retyping llm generated code by hand.
But a big yes for still typing code by hand, and not leaving it to the llm. Except it has to be the code generated by your brain.
That is what will create new neurons and new connections, which is what will keep away the cognitive decline.
And the constraint of not having to use llms will enhance creativity.
Actually, the constraints llms add to your code are more in number than the former. llms code in only the specific ways they've been trained on. So you won't ever come across of other ways.
Off the top of my head.. here's RubyQuiz.com [0] which I came across when I was learning ruby more than a decade ago. Looking at the many user-submitted solutions (you have to download the zip file!) you'll see completely different ways the problems were solved.
Sure, many won't be deemed efficient or standard by today's llm or rubocop checks, but looking at their code.. and retyping them and seeing them work.. was crucial in how I was able to think in Ruby for solving coding problems.
I did the same with Go too, with the "learn go with tests" guide [1].
[0] - http://rubyquiz.com/
Comment · 3 months ago
Nothing has changed wrt learning new things since LLM. We are the ones who still have to do the learning.
And the speed of learning is still limited by the individual's constraints: ability to focus for an extended time and chance to apply the new knowledge so the learning is reinforced.
Even before LLM's there was no shortage of knowledge and also the organization of them.
So I resort to same method I've been using ever since: reading books, writing code by hand, and sometimes, writing a blog post so I could refer things later.
Actually, I've added a further constraint on myself once I realised the above: to never learn anything from videos. Youtube is simply too distracting. Books are great, and coding by hand the stuff I'm trying to learn... I feel I need that experience to imprint things in my brain.
Comment · 3 months ago
> created a job opening, announced the responsibilities to a list of his paying customers,
No. he didn't know he needed those tasks done. Once I started, it was mostly me defining my own role and doing the work needed for that role.
And he didn't have to make it seem like it's my idea. He's the type to ask things directly. Has done so many times in his tweets, group and emails.
You'll see such examples of cold emailing in this own hn thread, where the job/role "didn't even exist" until that email.
And yes this is networking. But so is all communication in the context of cold emailing.
Comment · 3 months ago
As to what to write as a "starting point" in a cold email:
It's nice to write nice things about the things that person has done. nice tweet, nice post etc.
But it's nicer to write about things they've created and you paid money for. a book, a course, a software etc.
('nice' in this context means the chance of getting a reply.)
My own cold email story:
I was in a paid telegram group of a fitness guru I followed on Twitter. He once complained about how he's having a hard time managing his many info products, emails, having to write promotional content etc.
I then spent the night collecting all the things he's could do better: dusting off his unused wordpress site to keep as source of content rather than just tweeting bangers and let them be forgotten due to the algorthm after some time, writing better sales copy for his copy instead of just trying to list its merits in every tweet and email, new ebook ideas based on stuff that people in his telegram group are already complaining about (how do I recover better?!) etc.
I didn't expect much out of this. It just felt nice to come up with ideas honestly. but he replied with with 2 sentences: "How can I pay you" and "When can you start?".
That started a 2 year sidegig as a copywriter, a profession I didn't know I was interested in at all before this, lol.
Hmm.. thinking back.. have I learned this lesson myself? I can't think of any other instances where I replied to people's stuff that I purchased. But maybe I forgot. I'm going to think about it though, and write hot cold emails!
And thanks Zach for this. The one thing I remember about you from your early blogging days. That "glue technologies" blog post - where you said about how things like bash, sql, server management etc.. are all not main character skills, but are glue skills that are still important. That term stuck with me, and I do see their importance.
Comment · 3 months ago
sivers does posse efficiently. https://sive.rs/socials
Comment · 3 months ago
In this case, I think we should learn from the direct marketing guys (wait, here me out.)
The problems mentioned several times in this thread can all be addressed by their ways, although it requires work, and not treating this "getting paid to write" thing as merely a hobby.
- how not to rely on a central authority for your work - how to solve the problem of getting paid - how not to get banned by the publishing site and also the payment processor for saying things they might deem controversial - and even how to keep your subscribers and also prevent your paid content from leaking to the LLMs
This is how people like Ben Settle (considered as one of the greatest email marketers), Dan Kennedy (Ben looks up to him) and Matt Furey (Ben and Dan both revere him) earned their way into wealth.
* they paywall their premium newsletters. but you can't access them via a website by logging in with a username/password, or a forgotten password flow. No. It's delivered to your home as printed booklets via courier [1].
* Ben has a rule: if you subscribe to his paid newsletter ($97/mo) and then unsub, you won't even be able to join back [2].
* Dan Kennedy has no email. You'll have to fax him to get his attention.
* Ben often talks about the perils of having your entire business at the mercy of platforms and payment processors. His solution is to have multiple merchant accounts [3].
* By keeping their premium content away from the internet, they're able to keep off piracy, and that same playbook is now protecting their content from LLM bots. And by charging big numbers ($97/mo vs $5/mo) they're able to deinsentivise the subscribers from uploading them to the internet. They have proud long-time subscribers who are loyal to them and don't want to harm their business.
One of the main discussion points in this thread is the importance of owning your list. And nobody takes that job seriously than these direct marketers. To them, it's all about controlling as many different parts of the machinery as they could.
And finally, if they're doing offline business, what do they keep their websites for? To build the list of course. And then sell their paid stuff to that list via email.
Yes, it seems like a chicken and egg problem, but then I believe you only need a few fans to keep the ball rolling (kelly 1000 true fans etc).
[1] - https://emailplayers.com/ [2] - https://bensettle.com/blog/why-i-banned-you/ [3] - https://bensettle.com/blog/merchant-account-kicks-my-app/ - matt furey's $97/mo digital newsletter https://knockoutmarketing.com/zen-mastery-newsletter/
Comment · 1 year ago
RubyExamples.com [1]
Got inspired by Go by Example [1] while learning Go. Realised there's nothing for Ruby like that and decided to build.
Goal is to have simple urls for one-click navigation for each topic where the page covers a single topic briefly with examples, with relevant links and historic artifacts (for example, it links to the "Programming with Nothing" talk in procs/lamdba page [3]).
It's still a work in progress and I'm not rushing it.
The examples are all my own. It's easy to do with AI, but I'm not going that way. I'm explaining things based on my own 12+ years of ruby experience.
Like GoByExample, this is also desktop only, but mobile-friendly is on the roadmap. The CSS also will change to be someting like RailsGuides. Might also add a video for each topic explaining the code.
[1] - https://rubyexamples.com/ [2] - https://gobyexample.com/ [3] - https://rubyexamples.com/p_and_l
Comment · 2 years ago
Why do nothing?
Because it gives you a chance to think about what you _really_ must be doing instead of what you were doing that led to wanting to calm the mind by doing nothing.
And what were you doing that made the mind "empty calorie"-style busy?
Usually getting lost in youtube videos or social media doomscrolling.
Comment · 2 years ago
agree.
This "8 hours of sleep" is just a made up number.
Most adults (with responsibilities) don't sleep for 8 hours daily. They sleep far less.
And sleeping less than that is enough to live a very healthy life. If you feel your body/mind didn't rest well because you didn't get your 8 hour sleep, it's likely because you've been exposed to, and came to believe all these articles saying you do need 8 hrs min sleep. It's simply not the case. You can function very well on 6.5/7 hrs of sleep. I'm nearing 40 and I do.
2 worthy links:
https://guzey.com/books/why-we-sleep/ - debunks the popular "why we sleep" book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqlzQMB1fN8 - this guy is a S&C coach who's 30 and strong. He too believes sleep is overstated.
Comment · 2 years ago
For me career happiness translates to these:
time freedom: as an employed guy I know I'm exchanging time for value. But I also get time during the weekends and a few hours outside work. These allow me to think about things outside work, like dabble in learning new things, work on side projects, read a book, do non-career related stuff etc. This is the most basic, and I'd do everything in my power to avoid getting in a situation where I absolutely have no/minimal time freedom. Got bitten by this in the recent past: I simply said yes to people close to me; committing to doing certain things ("I'll build you a shopify store") and then realizing I'd put myself into a hole. Never again family person.
maximizing every chance to be useful to others at work: It's a great feeling when I could help someone and them thanking me for the help. It's silly, I don't need validation to do the work for which I get paid. But when a big part of the work you do goes unnoticed, your ears perk up when the occasional praise comes your way. So that's why I try to teach my juniors some coding trivia at least once a day.
close the week without any debt: Even if there's enough time for a task next week, if I could find the time to do the core work needed for the task this week, then I'd do it. Even if it meant spending an hour or so on the weekend. I just don't like work piling up for the next week.
extract more out of the transaction: yes I get paid for the work I do at my job. But if I choose to, I can get more out of the work. Things I learned at the project, access to specific tech/hardware that'd be difficult to get all by myself etc. Translate these bits into things that can help you. Make them as blog/linkedin posts, learn some new tech with your laptop etc.
Comment · 2 years ago
I didn't know what it does. There's no copy explaining it. No examples either.
But when I asked, it responded well.
> what does this do? > Can you give an example?
And I got:
> It translates corporate jargon into plain English. For example: > "We're leveraging synergies to optimize our core competencies" > Becomes: > "We're trying to do our jobs better"
Maybe add this to the site's copy?
Good little tool.
What's the usecase you had in mind when you built this?
Also, if you care to explain, what' the stack used?
But if you're doing it primarily for health, there's one other thing I'd suggest.
High rep bodyweight squats and lunges.
If you build up to it very gradually there's no risk of hurting your knees. It's the best example of "motion is lotion". After a few months of daily squats, climbing stairs will feel effortless. I'm 40 and I can tell you you'll notice the difference.
A 100 squats at relaxed pace takes about 5 minutes for me. 10 mins for 150. 100 walking lunges in 10 mins. There's no hurry/competition. You can take your time to catch your breath. I've done 250 or so in 30 mins once every 2 or 3 weeks. But I feel that's not conducive to daily work. I get tired.
Once you get acquainted to this to the point where a 100 reps of squats/lunges don't make you sore the next day, or hurt the joints, then the heart rate you achieve from this will be similar to a relaxed zone 2 run.
And the health benefits are similar to walking. improved blood sugar and blood pressure.
My goal is to be able to do this for 20 to 30 mins twice or thrice a week. That might be some 300 to 400 squats.
I've been doing his way of training for a few years now, and I love it because this is what has be train consistently. not going to gym or tracks, or playing sports.
I like this, and recommend this over walking to anyone who can't seem to get the time to walk because it takes less time to get similar health benefit, doesn't need space/dressing-up/socialising/commute.
If you want info on this, kboges on youtube is the man. here are his amazing squat/legs related videos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guG1LT7ejDU - he does 525 reps in one set. says it took him 20 mins
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXToSCaq-Q - he does 100 constant tension squats in 2 mins
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0euDDJu6GnQ - deep knee bends, aka hindu squats
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqNP_PiEalg - his take on squats busting your knees
ofc, not a doctor, dyor, listen for sharp pains etc and progress very slowly if you don't want to get hurt! you have your whole life to improve, so there's no hurry.