What are your Favorite Things?

*Work*

1. HackerNews: I get most global news and AI development updates from here.

2. Pockettube.io: This is an awesome YouTube subscription manager. It's how I wish YouTube subscriptions worked by default. I described what I like about it in a recent comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38813965

3. Chatbox (ChatGPT Desktop Client): I use it to access the ChatGPT API with Temperature 0. It allows switching between GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo.

4. Promptmetheus.com: For GPT prompt version control.

5. Reddit r/LocalLLaMA: For keeping up with the latest in open large language models.

6. Mozilla Thunderbird: For managing many emails. I used to dislike the UI but now I like it.

7. X2Go: My preferred remote desktop software for accessing my Linux cloud server which I use for random development and experimenting.

8. Logseq & Obsidian for taking notes. I don't have a system I trust yet, but I'm working on it. I keep coming back to this post to keep me motivated: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29661167 (My productivity app for the past 12 years has been a single .txt file)

*Daily life*

9. Milk frother: I just love having a milk frother for all sorts of mixing instead of using a spoon. If I'm mixing protein powder I have a bigger frother.

10. Cleaning lady: One of the best investments ever. Reduces so much of my cognitive load and saves me so much time.

*Fashion*

11. Take accurate clothing measurements and determine your body type. Finding tapered pants that fit my body type helped my jeans fit better instead of too tight or loose.

12. Dress for your skin tone. I now understand why certain colors are unflattering on me. Determining which shades match your complexion can improve how clothing looks on you.

Walking with my dog alone on the hills above my house. Particularly when we really go for it and spend 4+ hours up there.

All my worries evaporate after the first 40 minutes, my mind wanders and problems get solved. I see pretty natural things, he sniffs stuff. Pure bliss.

Portable storage. As a soldier I take my work and entertainment with me because when you deploy you may not have internet. I have hundreds of movies, about 4000 songs in mp3 320kbps, a bunch of audiobooks from librevox, and a ton of games with Steam’s DRM removed or using emulators for consoles or flash games or exodos. It’s all well organized and ready for any file share should I come across a large file server.

I enjoy maintaining this file sharing application in TypeScript. I am considering rewriting it in Zig so that it’s faster, doesn’t need Node, and works with better encryption than TLS and without certificates. It is fully decentralized using a multi-tier model so that sharing and texting is unrestricted between personal devices but allows Samba like restrictions between users.

These aren’t really things but it was nice to self reflect on what’s important:

- Piano music, specifically listening to and playing the greats like Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Beethoven, etc.

- The feeling you get when learning something totally new and you push beyond some barrier you were struggling with

- A great meal with great company

- Walking through a light drizzle with overcast skies in a new place

- Laughing at something so much that it hurts

I'm extremely blessed to say I have way too many to list but these were the few I could think of for this post:

- i love my Luna roots sandals. They are a pain in the derrière to tie right, but they are stupid unique and feel amazing when the leather is taut. I have three pairs and would like to get a few more. The one with the bison leather feels INCREDIBLE on my feet. https://lunasandals.com/collections/roots/products/usa-bruji...

- Thanks to HN, I re-discovered soma fm and am loving listening to Indie Pop Rocks! This was my favorite station in college over 15 years ago.

- my yeti water bottle. It is incredibly distinctive and just works. Goes with me everywhere; I even have an AirTag strapped onto the thing

- i love my wife for (amongst many other things!) re-introducing me to opera and chamber music. We have a theater nearby us and she bought us tickets to a few performances for my birthday. One of the best gifts I've ever received and can't wait to see and learn more in 2024.

- My fanny packs/hip packs/bum bags/whatever you want to call them. I've lost significantly fewer items over the years thanks to these, and, again, they are crazy unique. (I don't like the super large ones that are popular atm. I like the 0.5L packs that are small but very light, like Patagonia's Ultralight Black Hole hip packs.)

I really like keeping a knowledgebase full of notes and all the cool files I've come across. The collection is growing steadily at about 2GB/year. I'll never read all the PDFs I've saved but I just like having them.

I also really like self-hosting my own stuff on my own server/network. Feels nice to tinker on it for a while and end up with something nicer than you could get by using proprietary/cloud stuff.

Emacs is most definitely on the list. I'm using EXWM so I never have to leave Emacs.

I love designing and fixing stuff. I love carpentry, metal fabrication, programming, sysadmin stuff, and other more abstract forms of architecture like designing my PKMS hierarchy or standardizing everything for a company.

I love opposing social hierarchy. I think it makes the world a better place to help others escape their oppressive situations. Not that I'm in much of a position to be helping people escape domination, but it's nice to try when possible.

And finally, I love marijuana. It makes life manageable. Best medicine for me that I've ever found. I think I'm simultaneously addicted to it (because it's a nice high) and benefiting from it (because it genuinely helps mitigate life-impeding symptoms of health conditions).

Raindrops on roses.

Whiskers on kittens.

Bright copper kettles.

Warm woolen mittens.

Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

1. Beats by Dre - Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are my #1 favourite thing. I hate residual background noise and I’m quite obsessed with music just generally so these just bring me a lot of happiness.

2. Spotify 2nd - because there is so much to listen to ranging from music, to podcasts about anything, to rainstorms and pink noise.

3. It’s actually an activity, but swimming is a top favourite thing to do at the moment because I can swim for ages and still feel completely fine, but also I’ve noticed since I’ve been swimming my breathing (when not in water) feels different in a good way, perhaps more efficient.

4. My MacBook. It’s the only laptop I’ve ever had that lasted more than 2 years. It’s still going strong and is perfect for what I use it for (mainly research and writing).

5. My cat Timmy - because he’s just really cuddly and he meows a lot and I just think he’s really cute, even though I’m not really a cat person, I just really like that one particular cat a lot.

1. My e-bike. I've always cycled however having the e-bike has given that a boost. Routes I might have ridden occasionally because of a long hill have become routine. It eats up the miles so I ride much further. I can tow a trailer so shopping trips are reasonable.

2. A new bike saddle. I tried many different saddles over the years without much success. Then I read an article on measuring you're sit bones and discovered I need something much wide than the average.

3. iPhone. Camera, alarm clock, music player, banking interface, podcasts, payment tool, route planning and on and on. I don't use it for social media though.

4. 5K monitor. I spend too much time at the computer to suffer a low res monitor.

5. Walking shoes. I've been buying the same ones for years. They are a cheap brand but fit me perfectly.

1. My motorcycle (BMW R1250GS) - Hoping on and going in any random directions you want, far away or close, on whatever road you choose, paved or not, it's the ultimate sense of freedom.

2. My Camera(s) (Fuji XT2/X-E4) - With my favorite prime lenses. I usually always carry one with me wherever I go, capturing moments with them beats any phone camera, and not just in terms of quality, but in terms of intent, it feels that there's a stronger connection with the photo.

3. My keyboard (HHKB Professional Hybrid (type-s)) - It is just so nice to type on (I've tried and have a bunch of other mechanical keyboards but I've always came back to it, 10+ years now)

4. Neovim/vim (+ tmux)- So fast and smooth and customizable (Although I think I finally stopped changing my config), I've been using it for more than 15 years now, still cannot let it go.

5. Airpods Pro - It took me a long time to press the buy button, initially I felt that they looked stupid and it was just another overpriced Apple product, but I bit the bullet and I've _always_ had them in my pocket. Just being able to pop them in when doing random chores, on quick walks, it has become a must have.

6. Sennheiser HD650 - for when I am in front of my computer, had them for so many years I don't even remember what I used before.

1. hacker news.. absolutely my favorite daily web experience. The nerdy eclecticism of the topics, coupled with the stripped-down experience are just unequaled on the Web, in my view. 2. writing software.. after almost 40 years (including college), I still love learning new languages, new techniques.. still love solving problems.. after 40 years, I've even gotten somewhat passable at it. 3. golf.. even though I'm not very good..

I really like the cheap usb-c charged pocket hand-warmers that are available all over amazon/alibaba/whatever. I keep it in the front pocket of my sweater, it lasts for 12+ hours, and it helps my ailing arthritic hands stay warm during the idle time where my hands don't need to be on a keyboard.

I'll do one of each.

Essential software tools: i3wm (a tiling window manager for Linux). So much nicer to use than draggy droppy window managers, and so lightweight.

Impactful books: The Fabric of the Cosmos (Brian Greene). Reading this changed my view on the world, mainly due to it helping me get an intuitive grasp of general relativity.

Physical tools: My laptop. I have had a bunch of different Thinkpads over quite a number of years. My work and hobby lives largely revolve around computers so a laptop I like and am familiar with is very important.

Art pieces: Framing and hanging my own photos has been a lot of fun. Next I want to make the frames myself rather than buying them in.

Any other items that have significantly influenced your life or work: My dSLR (Canon 5d mkI & 50mm f1.4), my musical instruments. Also a handful of humans!

I love my Volkswagen Golf wagen. It’s a 2019 and apart the last generation made available in the US. It has all the essentials without the pointless gimmicks or “quirks” of modern cars, it’s the kind of slow car that’s fun to drive fast (6 speed manual), while also being able to haul a truck-load of ikea furniture. I really do not look forward to the day I have to retire the thing.

I love the feeling of overcoming a problem or some other challenge that I had previously been unable to overcome. It’s always amazing to see your own determination pay off.

I love dusk and dawn. I always go on a short 20 minute walk just to be able to indulge in the pretty colors that the sky wears during this short transition between day/night.

- my family and my relationship with my brother.

- some of my friends, they make me wanna learn new things (spanning a large spectrum of music, books, finance, movies, food, etc.)

- musical instruments, I really enjoy playing instruments, it helps me decompress and forget about stress inducers.

- my daily walk, keeps me healthy and gives me time to listen music and podcasts. sometimes I invite friends and we chat during the walk.

- having good breakfast or dinner with friends with long chats along with the food.

- movies, I really like watching high quality, good movies and learning about directors and how they function.

- my coffee machine.

- useful-charts posters, they help me compartmentalize things.

- good food, I really enjoy finding new places to eat good food and learn about the history of the food.

Washlet / bidet with seat warmer and dryer.

I used one for the first time while traveling and bought one as soon as I got home.

Probably one of the best quality of life upgrades I've ever made.

Dog

While I dislike the term "digital nomad", it's probably the shortest way to describe me. A lot of this list is biased towards things that travel well

Real world stuff:

1. My moonlander keyboard. Small and portable and very ergonomic (for me).

2. NEXTSTAND laptop stand, I think it's a clone of some other stand which I forget the name of. Small, portable and improves stops me always staring down at my laptop when I work.

3. Apple airpods pro 2. I am far from an apple fanboy, it's pretty much the only piece of apple tech I have. I think they work exceptionally well

4. Adidas ultra boost shoes. I used to buy really cheap garbage shoes. Then one day I had to borrow a friend's shoes and realized that there is actually a difference in shoe. They fit like socks and the soles are great.

5. Farpoint 75L osprey bag. My whole life fits in there, easy to open and live out of. Great to carry on short walks.

Software:

1. i3wm, maybe one day it'll become sway when I ditch x11. It really boosts my efficiency in basically everything I do. I couldn't imagine working on a small laptop screen without it.

2. Vim, modal shortcuts really improved my efficiency in editing.

- my cat. Absolutely best investment of time and money ever. Highly intelligent and equally stupid at the same time. Endless hours of happiness and laughter

- 1440p 120Hz led monitor. Right balance of FPS for gaming and high resolution & color accuracy for work

- adidas stan smith white shoes. Absolute workhorse and great for my previous disc back injuries. Donate old pair every 6 months once worn and buy a new. Goes with everything and all occasions.

- google home mini next to my bed. Use it for light music at night and morning. But mainly for waking up “hey google, set an alarm for…” (don’t want to pick up phone first thing)

- Obsidian. Been using it for last few years. Bought Sync. Since spot for my notes and thoughts. Work or personal. Habit is more important than tool (which has been pointed out by many here too)

- casio f-91w. $22. Have one at home, one in my travel backpack and one in office. Cheap enough so I can distribute keep. Faster to see time than phone and chimes at every hour so I know my next meeting is starting (was always late for meetings in the past)

- flighty. I travel a lot for work and this is consistently better at telling me when flights get delayed, all my info and sharing with family and loved ones where I am in the world. And vice versa. UI is beautiful.

- Libby. Singapore National Library is a goldmine for books, international papers & magazines and audiobooks. At $10 initial registration fee for library membership setup (annual fee is $0 for residents and $40 for foreigners), this is the most value add item in my life.

- a bookshelf. Crammed with more books than what I can read. Mostly sci fi, fantasy, graphic novels and special editions. The colors make me smile everytime i walk past

- omnidesk standing desk. XXL version. The extra large size gives a lot of space for me to put stuff and a generous space for my cat to spread out.

- Hacker news. First webpage of the day usually. it’s the best implementation of what a “online community” is and delivers to its members. Please never change anything in it. Its perfect.

- Katong. It’s the area I live in Singapore and best implementation of what an “real world community” is and delivers to its members. Great folks in the neighbourhood, great bars/restaurants/cafes/unique shops, great shop owners who are super warm, great community meetups (tech, artists, foodies,etc), great weather, next to the beach, no high rise buildings, near to city center, near to airport

- a daily 5 min phone call from/to mum to see how I am we are doing. Been a ritual for the last 6 years and counting.

My leatherman wave+. Over 20 years old, still use it weekly. Still sharp. Also my Brompton foldable bike. Also 20+ years old. And elementaryOS, with a desktop that allows for picture-in-picture of any screen area you pick. And my 20 euro Bialetti Mocca stove coffee maker, of 20+ years old.

* Github Copilot for assisting me writing code more efficiently.

* 34" ultra-wide screen for productivity.

* Firefox with a bunch of addons, including tab containers, for browsing the web with sanity.

* Youtube for following my favourite channels to de-stress and/or be informed.

* Pocketcast (on Android) for all my podcasts.

* Quest 2 and treadmill for keeping me fit.

These aren’t my favorite physical items but favorite things in life. The only physical things I particularly like are my vintage computers. And books.

The internet and the knowledge it lets me access… when I grew up you had to find books or mags to learn computer stuff from.

Coffee

Computers

Software development

Vintage computers

Thinking about the universe

My friends

Alcohol

Making stuff, creating weird techno gadgets

- Saddleback leather thin front pocket backpack and portfolio - Tactical Turn Copper bolt action pen and pencil - My great great grandfather’s gold pocket watch - My great grandfather’s straight razor and badger hair shaving brush

My Meindl Caracas Mid hiking boots. I wear them all the time, not just for hiking, and so far they stay good much longer than previous hiking boots, apart from replacing the soles once.

A kobo for reading (kindle was getting too restrictive) and a custom built gaming computer (same, off the shelf computers and laptops are also getting too restrictive).

emacs*

emacs + org-mode

emacs + chatgpt (org-ai)

emacs + evil

* finding a good reference config at https://github.com/bling/dotemacs after declaring emacs bankruptcy multiple times

* Logseq for notes

* trydeepwork.com for focus

* Google Calendar

* Next.js for frontend

* My high performance PC

* My pixel 4a

* My MacBook Pro 13