barefootstache @barefootstache@qoto.org

#DailyBloggingChallenge (35/50)

In #programming there is this consensus of don't touch a working process. That means that any alterations done to the process were deemed necessary because something of the process was not quite right, so it was broken.

Now this could be obviously things like not getting the expected result or the time needed to get the result is just taking to long or less obvious things like the code is ugly or it is developer unfriendly for debugging.

These broken changes is what makes oneself a better programmer in the long run and thus I am glad that I started my #bash programming experience initially without #chatgpt.

For example, initially JSON files were built line by line instead of via jq.

#DailyBloggingChallenge (34/50)

#ginger is a known remedy for an upset stomach as well as #peppermint. One can combine both a them in a #HerbalTea:

1. Grab a pint glass and make some boiling water to fill it.
2. Take a bulb of ginger and slice it up in small sticks and add it to the glass.
3. Add about 200ml of water to the glass and let it seep for 5min. Optionally add sweeteners at this stage like honey.
4. Next fill the rest of the glass and finally add the peppermint tea bag. Seep it to your desired strength.
5. Optionally add some lemon juice after taking out the tea bag.

The nice thing is that one gets to eat the ginger sticks while drinking the #tea.

#DailyBloggingChallenge (33/50)

One inconvenience of the summer heat is that foods and used tea spoils within a day. This means if one buys any fresh produce either one should have the fridge space to store it or eat it up latest by the next morning.

For tea the easiest work-a-round for lazy people is to use self filling tea bags over tea balls. Since when drinking the beverage from pint glasses, the annoyance of drinking with the tea bag still seeping (don't follow the practice of "steep for x minutes") will eventually make one remove it. And one removes the extra step of cleaning up the contents like one has will tea balls.

#tea #lazycooking #summer #spoil #lifeprotip

#DailyBloggingChallenge (32/50)

When comparing a standard text editor and #Vim in most simple day-to-day tasks, the standard text editor suffices. Though the main scenario where Vim shines is if one frequently needs to copy line-wise data.

It it so much faster to use the Vim command `"+yy` over selecting the whole line either HOME to SHIFT+END or END to SHIFT+HOME and then CTRL+C to get it to the clipboard.

For multi-line selection, both software complete the task similarly fast, unless one knows how many lines one will be selecting, then Vim wins again.

#NeoVim

#DailyBloggingChallenge (31/50)

I have been using #chatgpt for a couple months as a developers' tool. Although originally against the concept of such tools, I quickly realized that it will become an integral part of developing in the future.

The good thing about the tool is that it saves a lot of internetting though only if you already know what you are looking for. (As a beginner, video tutorials are still the better option.)

I have built a static website that was 80% generated from the tool, or compute data via #R in no time, or write #bash as if I was a pro.

Though on the flip side, I didn't learn much. I made one key mistake and that is that I #copypasta the code. If you are an expert in a field, then this is fine, but being a novice, this removes a concrete learning route. (This also falls inline with the reasoning behind this [challenge](https://qoto.org/@barefootstache/110743952822270245)).

Another downside is that the tool is many times quite dumb. You ask it to change one thing and all it does is change the intro but spit out the same result again.

Another factor is how up-to-date is the tool. While using ChatGPTv3 one quickly learns its barriers when asking about the latest versions of libraries, which don't exist in its dataset.

In the end, AI is here to stay, either you can learn how to use the technology or not.

#developer #coding #programming #learning

#DailyBloggingChallenge (30/50)

The "convenience factor" is how convenient is the task at hand that one will do it. This plays a major role when trying to start new habits and stop old habits.

If one wants to start a new habit, then one should try to make it as convenient as possible that it becomes a no brainer to continue with the change at hand. Whereas on the flip side, one would want to make it as inconvenient as possible to stop the old habit by putting many obstacles in the way that each further crossing is so much more painstaking than stopping there.

Social media is a typical habit that many want to reduce and lots just don't understand how. There are many apps out there that can give the social media app a limited period of time. Though quicker than not, one just uses the master password and continues on the addiction.

One step further would be to create a secondary account where the social media apps live. This is harder to circumvent, though once in this garden of entertainment it is hard to get back out.

Then one could try to put the social media apps on a completely different device. This like the last barrier will not alleviate the haven of entertainment. Though it will reduce the chance of getting there unless one is willing to constantly carry around two devices.

These are some examples of putting potential obstacles in the way without completely cutting off the source of enjoyment.

#habits #productivity

#DailyBloggingChallenge (29/50)

One of the biggest goldmines as a mapper is if a location has a brochure. As long as the license permits it, one could just use their map (if in existent) to add onto #OpenStreetMap. Though other attributes are also valuable that comes with, like the contact information. This saves the time at location to fill in all this data.

Brochures from malls are quite practical when indoor mapping. Though usually such malls also have a website. At that point it is questionable which one is more favorable.

#DailyBloggingChallenge (28/50)

What is the difference between daily mapping and daily uploading on #OpenStreetMap ?

When looking at the site [how did you contribute](https://hdyc.neis-one.org/) the only thing that counts are your daily uploads.

This sucks if you have mapped something and either were not able to upload due to lack of internet connection or blankly just forgot. Or if you don't have the cut off point in mind which is UTC+0. This makes it difficult to map when far away from this fix point as when a couple time zones away.

On the flip side, one can map a set of changes and upload a subset daily.

Looking at both of these scenarios, which is more true to the statement of daily mapping?

#DailyBloggingChallenge (27/50)

Everyone has an ideal chronotype (the state where one's sleep wake cycle is aligned with one's biology). The trickiness lies in following this ideal state while tending to other priorities in life.

The best analogy for sleep schedule quality is L-bar metal. This distinct form is hard to mold into shape from a piece of wavey sheet metal. Though once in form it can withstand a lot of external force until the structure has collapsed.

Moving from one sleep schedule to another can be done systematically by slowly flattening out each L arm and then reshaping as desired. Or one can implode the structure creating a havoc mess, slowly trying remold it, but constantly being thrown into an uneven mess.

An interesting example is the jet lag weekend. During the workweek one follows one sleep schedule and as soon as Friday pulls up, one feels like one should treat oneself with longer wake hours and thereby indirectly giving oneself the permission to sleep in. This in return can create jet lag as soon as Monday pulls up and thereby putting the body in a state of stress for the next upcoming days.

A more permissive way to keep the treat behavior is to supplement the waking hours' tiredness with either power naps or a full sleep cycle. This in return only works if one has the discipline to stop at the set time markers, otherwise one will be in a nice state of dismay.

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On a personal example, I typically live on a circadian squared cycle, meaning every 3-4 weeks I naturally switch between a night owl to an early bird and vice versa.

#sleep #circadianrhythm #chronotypes #nightowl #earlybird #jetlag

#DailyBloggingChallenge (26/50)

The conclusion after the first 25 days:

* The initial rule with the slumber comes quite beneficial when staying awake across multiple days.
* Started implementing some backlog writing, though none became fruitful enough to publish.
* The one long article per month was not able to upheld, though can first conclude it as a failed experiment at the end of this year.
* The goal of writing in the first four hours of the day, backfired more often than actually being helpful, since it prolonged the time to be more productive in other areas of life.
* The main goal for the next 25 days is to get at least one long article out.

#DailyBloggingChallenge (25/25)

One of the niche topics in #OpenStreetMap is depicting the genus of a tree. The current #botany hardship is to learn the differences between mountain ash (aka rowan) and European ash (aka ash).

One would think they are both from the same genus Fraxinus, since they both have the word "ash" in their name, but actually rowan is from the genus Sorbus.

The next step is to learn how to depict these two species and it comes down to how the leaf stem is connected to the branch, one is compound (ash), whereas the other is staggered (rowan). To add to the trickiness, the leaf of both species consists of compound leaflets. These leaflets are arranged along the leaf stem to create the leaf and each leaflet has its own leaflet stem.

(Of course there are many other differences like leaflet shape and count or bark shape, though trying create a method that can withstand dim lit scenarios like night.)

To imagine the differences between compound and staggered, imagine wearing a shirt that uses buttons vs one that uses a zipper. The buttons need to be aligned with their holes to comfortably wear the shirt, so they are compound. Whereas if you have a zipper, the teeth are alternating, so they are staggered.

In summary:

- rowan (genus: Sorbus) has staggered leaves,
- ash (genus: Fraxinus) has compound leaves, and
- both have compound leaflets

Fun fact: The Fraxinus genus is the predominant genus that has compound leaves.

#gardening #tree #herbalism #foraging #wildcrafting #fieldguide #flora

#DailyBloggingChallenge (24/25)

One hypothesis behind the leap year is so that we can keep the months aligned with the seasons and the reason why February was chosen is so that we can get through winter much quicker (illusion of time). But with climate change there has been a shift of subjective winter stop and start dates, at least in Europe, for the past couple of years. Where the typical first snow fall happens right after Christmas and snow persists until late April.

If we would have disregarded leap years for the past 100 years, we could have kept the original promise of having the months align with the seasons, though in the end, we changed ourselves out of the concept.

#LeapYear #ClimateChange #IllusionOfTime

#DailyBloggingChallenge (23/25)

Are you fortunate enough to live in a small room?

A cheap and simple way to split it up is to use a shower curtain and its rod. Plus it gives additional space to dry and/or hang clothes.

Technically, any telescope rod would do the trick.

#minimalism #cheap #lifehack

#DailyBloggingChallenge (22/25)

Have you tried looking for the #ProtonMail client on #Fdroid with no prevail. There is a simple solution, just add their website login portal to the home screen:

https://account.proton.me/login

(For some reason they hide the direct link on their mobile homepage.)

The complex solution is to use your personal server as a bridge between ProtonMail and #K9Mail. For details checkout this post:
https://www.tchilderhose.ca/posts/2021/11/protonmail-k9/

written by @tchilderhose

#FOSS #android

@protonmail @k9mail