Learn To Program
================
Programming books and courses are all over the place for free, and
once you're comfortable with once, you can make your own sotware
tools instead of having to buy there. Here are some I recommend:
* Javascript
All you need is a text editor and a browser to get started
* C
C has been around forever and there are a ton of resources
* Rust
Very popular and commonly used today
* Python
Incredibly useful for fetching and altering data
Quit Shopping For Fun
Learn A Language
Learn To Program
The acquisition of possessions is but vanity.
Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> wrote or quoted:
Quit Shopping For Fun
Learn A Language
Learn To Program
The acquisition of possessions is but vanity.
The study of tongues doth also prove vain in the end.
Even the mastery of the languages by which we instruct
machines bringeth only a vapor that swiftly dissipates.
All is vanity and grasping for the wind!
He comprehended that the effort to mold the incoherent and
vertiginous matter dreams are made of was the most arduous task
[one] could undertake... much more arduous than weaving a rope
of sand or coining the faceless wind...
--Jorge Luis Borges
On 2024-05-18, Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> wrote or quoted:
Quit Shopping For Fun
Learn A Language
Learn To Program
The acquisition of possessions is but vanity.
The study of tongues doth also prove vain in the end.
Even the mastery of the languages by which we instruct
machines bringeth only a vapor that swiftly dissipates.
All is vanity and grasping for the wind!
Use it or lose it. True learning is fun and playful and improves
quality of life while we still have it. If it were mere aquisition
of mental possessions, i would quickly become bored with it.
Quit Shopping For Fun
=====================
A zine with ideas to entertain yourself and others for free
Created by the FrugalGamer
<https://thefrugalgamer.net>
[snip]
Writing & Journaling
====================
This doesn't work for everyone, and that's fine. But if you like, you
can create worlds and characters, people, and events entirely in your
head, for free. Creativity is a wonderful gift, and what most people
don't realize it's like a muscle. Once you practice, it gets easier!
Make Board Games
================
Did you know there's an entire category of board games called
"print and play"? Many board games can get expensive, but decades ago
people would just make them from scratch. Check out boardgamegeek.com
for a list of new and old DIY board games:
<https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1120/print-and-play>
More generally, "What's happenin'?" fail to
provoke a couple of dozen sentences of reflective text, let alone a
long reflection/discursion on a topic.
And it can't be blamed on the younger generation with a generational
slant or karoshi careers so busy that there's no time for reflection.
All my correspondents are near or past retirement age.
<https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamecategory/1120/print-and-play>
One of those sites that is all js, devoid of text. But here's a
contribution that may or may not be listed there: Spinglasses: The game
https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1839
On 2024-05-19, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
But here's a contribution that may or may not be listed there:
Spinglasses: The game
https://arxiv.org/abs/1312.1839
I took a peek at the Spinglas PDF and it looks cool, thanks!
Here's The Glass Plate Game. It was inspired by Herman Hesse's
book The Glass Bead Game. I had the good fortune to play GPG at
Oregon State University with Dunbar Aitkins and several students.
"The object of playing the game is to spark creative and interesting conversation between the players. Nobody wins."
https://glassplategame.com/
Wow. That calls for disciplined thinking on the fly. Many people
don't routinely make a conscious distinction between theory,
knowledge, opinion or even "what I saw in passing on social media last
week".
From the game-play description:
Writing ideas on cards is openended but no opinions are allowed;
no cards may have a question of truth or falseness. Personal
statements are to be made only by relating ideas. Still, a
theory is not an opinion. Thus the idea "cars as a vile public
nuisance" is acceptable whereas "cars are a vile public
nuisance" is not.
Wow. That calls for disciplined thinking on the fly.
To avoid poisoned Subject lines on Usenet, I start a brand new
thread if I want to respond to something written under a poisoned
Subject lines.
Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote:
To avoid poisoned Subject lines on Usenet, I start a brand newThere is no need for a new thread to change the subject line. Just
thread if I want to respond to something written under a poisoned
Subject lines.
change the subject line to a "non-poisned" one. The post will (if
using a proper Usenet reader) still be linked into the hierarchy of the >replies connected to the original one.
On 2024-05-19, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
More generally, "What's happenin'?" fail to
provoke a couple of dozen sentences of reflective text, let alone a
long reflection/discursion on a topic.
And it can't be blamed on the younger generation with a generational
slant or karoshi careers so busy that there's no time for reflection.
All my correspondents are near or past retirement age.
Thanks for your long and thoughtful reply.
I have noticed changes in local social conventions. When i was a
kid, it was okay to drop in unannounced and knock on the door or ring
the doorbell. If the person was busy, they would either say so, or not answer. Now it is considered rude to show up unannounced without
texting ahead of time.
Ben Collver <bencollver@tilde.pink> writes:
Quit Shopping For Fun
=====================
A zine with ideas to entertain yourself and others for free
Created by the FrugalGamer
<https://thefrugalgamer.net>
[snip]
Writing & Journaling
====================
This doesn't work for everyone, and that's fine. But if you like, you
can create worlds and characters, people, and events entirely in your
head, for free. Creativity is a wonderful gift, and what most people
don't realize it's like a muscle. Once you practice, it gets easier!
Indeed it doesn't work for everyone. I have several friends whom I
see f2f infrequently for various reasons. They're all university
educated, some with advanced degrees, one with a PhD in English
literature.
And I can't get them to write me letters. They all have and use email
but the best I can evoke from them is a short paragraph, more usually
a couple of lines.
And it can't be blamed on the younger generation with a generational
slant or karoshi careers so busy that there's no time for reflection.
All my correspondents are near or past retirement age.
Honestly, what I see in the population at large is a certain generalized >depressed behavior.
with the rest locked behind a
paywall.
Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> writes:
Indeed it doesn't work for everyone. I have several friends whom I
see f2f infrequently for various reasons. They're all university
educated, some with advanced degrees, one with a PhD in English
literature.
And I can't get them to write me letters. They all have and use email
but the best I can evoke from them is a short paragraph, more usually
a couple of lines.
One fact to keep in mind is that it seems desktop computing use has
lowered drastically in favor of devices that you can't type almost
anything on.
(I also see most people often tired /and/ busy.)
And it can't be blamed on the younger generation with a generational
slant or karoshi careers so busy that there's no time for reflection.
All my correspondents are near or past retirement age.
I agree. I don't think it's an age thing. I exchange e-mails (and NNTP posts) on a daily basis with some (busy) young people. (Of course, they could be exceptional cases, but then we'd have a lot exceptions in the non-young crowd as well.)
Honestly, what I see in the population at large is a certain generalized depressed behavior. When people don't enjoy discussing things, I think there's something non-natural going on. (And it doesn't seem to be
regional either: I'm in the hemisphere opposite to yours.)
Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote or quoted:
From the game-play description:
Writing ideas on cards is openended but no opinions are allowed;
no cards may have a question of truth or falseness. Personal
statements are to be made only by relating ideas. Still, a
theory is not an opinion. Thus the idea "cars as a vile public
nuisance" is acceptable whereas "cars are a vile public
nuisance" is not.
Wow. That calls for disciplined thinking on the fly.
Well, this is just what I call the distinction between
a /noun phrase/ and a /verb phrase/.
"Cars as a vile public nuisance" is a noun phrase,
"Cars are a vile public nuisance." is a verb phrase (sentence,
assertion).
I'm of the opinion that Subject lines on Usenet should
be noun phrases.
Using verb phrases (sentences) as Usenet Subject lines is often
abused to spread one-sided viewpoints.
I'm talking about "poisoned" thread titles here, because
people who respond critically are still spreading that message
further.
For example, a poisoned Subject line like that could be,
"John Doe is an idiot."
If someone then responds with "No, John Doe is a very smart
man!", they're still doing so under the Subject line
"Re: John Doe is an idiot," so they're perpetuating that
statement of the Subject line.
A reasonable Subject line could go something like:
"John Doe's mental bandwidth" (a noun phrase).
To avoid poisoned Subject lines on Usenet, I start a brand
new thread if I want to respond to something written under
a poisoned Subject lines.
... if I become aware of it. "Quit Shopping For Fun" is also
a poisoned subject line, because when people superficially
see (maybe on a Web page where the Usenet is mirrored):
Stefan Ram - Quit Shopping For Fun
("Re:" might sometimes be omitted in such cases) it might
sound as if /I/ want to tell people, "Quit shopping for fun!".
So, a less "poisoned" Subject line might just be "Shopping For
Fun" without the "Quit".
And it can't be blamed on the younger generation with a generational
slant or karoshi careers so busy that there's no time for reflection.
All my correspondents are near or past retirement age.
I agree. I don't think it's an age thing. I exchange e-mails (and NNTP
posts) on a daily basis with some (busy) young people. (Of course, they
could be exceptional cases, but then we'd have a lot exceptions in the
non-young crowd as well.)
Honestly, what I see in the population at large is a certain generalized
depressed behavior. When people don't enjoy discussing things, I think
there's something non-natural going on. (And it doesn't seem to be
regional either: I'm in the hemisphere opposite to yours.)
Or don't want to think about things.
My one thoughtful, agreeably articulate correspondent, a fellow
octogenarian, says he's been politically active all his adult life but
finds the existing US political chaos and impending increase in same something that defeats ordinary, non-fanatical scrutiny and doesn't
want to think about it. (He does so anyway, of course, but US politics
isn't the bulk of our correspondence.)
ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) writes:
Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote or quoted:
From the game-play description:
Writing ideas on cards is openended but no opinions are allowed;
no cards may have a question of truth or falseness. Personal
statements are to be made only by relating ideas. Still, a
theory is not an opinion. Thus the idea "cars as a vile public
nuisance" is acceptable whereas "cars are a vile public
nuisance" is not.
Wow. That calls for disciplined thinking on the fly.
Well, this is just what I call the distinction between
a /noun phrase/ and a /verb phrase/.
"Cars as a vile public nuisance" is a noun phrase,
"Cars are a vile public nuisance." is a verb phrase (sentence,
assertion).
I'm of the opinion that Subject lines on Usenet should
be noun phrases.
Using verb phrases (sentences) as Usenet Subject lines is often
abused to spread one-sided viewpoints.
I'm talking about "poisoned" thread titles here, because
people who respond critically are still spreading that message
further.
For example, a poisoned Subject line like that could be,
"John Doe is an idiot."
You should repost this to alt.usage.english (on topic for an active
group not flooded with penc) along w/ my quote from the game-play description.
I agree. I sometimes hesitate to follow up to a post to avoid being
on record as having posted under the "poisoned" topic.
If someone then responds with "No, John Doe is a very smart
man!", they're still doing so under the Subject line
"Re: John Doe is an idiot," so they're perpetuating that
statement of the Subject line.
A reasonable Subject line could go something like:
"John Doe's mental bandwidth" (a noun phrase).
To avoid poisoned Subject lines on Usenet, I start a brand
new thread if I want to respond to something written under
a poisoned Subject lines.
... if I become aware of it. "Quit Shopping For Fun" is also
a poisoned subject line, because when people superficially
see (maybe on a Web page where the Usenet is mirrored):
Stefan Ram - Quit Shopping For Fun
("Re:" might sometimes be omitted in such cases) it might
sound as if /I/ want to tell people, "Quit shopping for fun!".
So, a less "poisoned" Subject line might just be "Shopping For
Fun" without the "Quit".
Good catch, interesting take. ()()()
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