Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?) • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#751

Post by adriand » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 5:39 PM UTC

noyesno wrote: post #487

adriand wrote: post #159

What a great thread. I’ve been learning finger drumming on a pad controller (Maschine MK3), going through a course called Quest For Groove. I’ve been into making electronic music for a long time but this is my first attempt to learn a musical instrument and the fact it fits into my musical ecosystem so neatly (because of its digital nature, it’s not “real” drumming) makes it an even more rewarding experience. I’ve al…

I've been considering getting a groovebox to scratch a long-time itch for making music. Would you recommend Maschine MK3 as a standalone device?

I might be misinterpreting what you mean by "standalone" but the MK3 isn't a standalone device, it requires that you connect it to your computer. It comes with partner software, Maschine 2, that is the "brains" of it more-or-less.

NI makes a standalone unit in the same line though, it's called the Maschine+. https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/maschine/prod... I can't comment on it specifically because I've never used it.

What I can tell you, however, is that the MK3 is excellent. It's entirely possible to use it without looking at your computer at all - so if you are looking for something that is standalone in the sense that you don't have to also be actively on your computer, then it does fit the bill for that. (Not sure about you but after working all day on the computer it can be nice to have a hobby that isn't also computer-centric!)

In any case it's a very fun, expressive instrument. The pads might be the best available: they are large and exceptionally sensitive. Overall layout is well-designed, the pots are great, build quality also very good. The NI ecosystem is massive too and you get a lot of stuff for free just by virtue of being part of the ecosystem.

I prefer my Push 2 for certain things, especially noodling around with harmonies and melodies because of its much greater range (64 pads instead of 16, so it covers a lot more octaves), but the MK3's pads are larger and much more sensitive. So there's a bit of a tradeoff there.

My email is in my profile, feel free to drop me a line any time if you have more questions, I love nerding out on this stuff. ;)

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#752

Post by Teknoman117 » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

philangist wrote: post #180

I won the IPO lottery and I’m in the middle ground between rich enough to never work again but not quite rich enough for the yachts/mansions/private jets lifestyle. I haven’t worked in 6 months and I’m struggling to find a larger meaning to my life beyond getting yet another tech job. I’ve considered going to college for a math degree, moving to my parents home country, and joining the military (among many other opti…

28/M myself, and if I ever ended up with that kind of money, the first thing I would do is focus on my health. I'm very overweight and out of shape and never seem to be able to muster the motivation outside of work to do anything comprehensive about it. I'd love to just be able to quit and consider fitness my full-time job for a year or two.

Depending on exactly how much I made, these are daydreams I've had before:

Start a "company" that focuses purely on open source contribution. Pay people tech salaries just to work on open source projects they care about. My main intent would be to focus on areas where no decent open source software exists or is dominated by a small number of complacent companies that consider it a license to print money.

Learn how to teach and mentor kids, then do it. My mom is a high school computer science and math teacher, and I always wonder how much more effective she could be if funding for equipment wasn't an issue. My students would have access to whatever I thought could benefit their education.

Be a stay-at-home father. My mom was a stay-at-home mom until I turned 16, and my dad worked from home when I was 8 through 12 (the years following the dotcom crash) I started learning to program and got into robotics at 8 years old and I don't think I would've been nearly as successful starting at that age if I didn't have access to both of my parents pretty much constantly. If I ever have children, I would want to give them the same or better. Try to guide them along whatever piques their interest and enable them to access the resources to do well.

My personal view on life is that there really isn't any higher meaning to it. I'm content to wander the Earth finding and doing interesting things until the day I die.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#753

Post by agent008t » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:00 PM UTC

jokethrowaway wrote: post #665

philangist wrote: post #504

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha! I've considered it and if I found the right woman and we had a relationship that was in the right place I'd definitely do it. But starting a family seems like one of those 'slow and steady wins the race' type of situations.

You don't know who you are until you've experienced the stress of a family and little kids. Even if I didn't have to, I decided to get a job while having kids to maintain sanity and use the paid paternity leave. Now that the kids are older and I feel like I have a brain again, I'm back at doing what I like: building online businesses. I highly recommend pursuing family, but you need to be careful in your situation. G…

So what would your advice be? Delay having children? Not have children? Only have children if the mother is prepared to do most of the work raising them? Something else?

It seems like having children is something you may enjoy in 30-40 years - or rather will potentially prevent feeling miserable and alone in 30-40 years. But in the short term - at least 2-3 years, but likely much longer - it can be quite miserable.

Now, given that we don't know how long we get to live and what sort of health we will be in, time when you are younger seems more valuable than time when you are older. That would suggest that having children is often a bad idea, unless you strongly believe that you will enjoy the whole experience. But then, imagining what my own parents' and grandparents' life would be like today had they not had children, it seems like it would be far worse. But their circumstances were very different, too.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#754

Post by whoisthisguy » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:11 PM UTC

Teknoman117 wrote: post #752

philangist wrote: post #180

I won the IPO lottery and I’m in the middle ground between rich enough to never work again but not quite rich enough for the yachts/mansions/private jets lifestyle. I haven’t worked in 6 months and I’m struggling to find a larger meaning to my life beyond getting yet another tech job. I’ve considered going to college for a math degree, moving to my parents home country, and joining the military (among many other opti…

28/M myself, and if I ever ended up with that kind of money, the first thing I would do is focus on my health. I'm very overweight and out of shape and never seem to be able to muster the motivation outside of work to do anything comprehensive about it. I'd love to just be able to quit and consider fitness my full-time job for a year or two. Depending on exactly how much I made, these are daydreams I've had before: S…

Try Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, BJJ. Best sport for software engineers, because you constantly have to solve hard puzzles. You never have to worry about motivation again to do sports. I started it 6 months ago. I'm still in the very very beginning, but I can't imaging not showing up in class, it is so fascinating. In order to get better I lost ~30 pounds, started eating better, etc. Changed my life.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#755

Post by arcanon » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:18 PM UTC

smiths1999 wrote: post #497

endymi0n wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I‘m wondering what‘s your motivation behind that… Do you just like the sensation of studying so much? I‘d probably feel empty myself just accumulating knowledge all my life and not applying it to any high impact problem worth solving.

Many people (myself included) that get PhDs simply love learning. Solving problems is important but for some there is this inner drive to need to learn and master everything. It doesn't preclude solving problems, but it's the acquisition of knowledge that is the internal engine, not the desire to solve a specific problem.

Yeah. I can’t understand the counterpoint to getting PhDs. Do you not want to find out how the world actually is? It’s a never ending quest too.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#756

Post by taurath » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:30 PM UTC

joe__f wrote: post #600

taurath wrote: post #560

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar situation here - I’m slowly starting to look to get up and do something other than focus on therapy and healing. I’ve taken a bit of time off, and I’m struggling still to change my mindset from survival towards more self actualization.

Good luck with it, I can attest to it being tough. I also struggle with survival/actualisation, one day I have a brief glimpse of enlightenment and the next two weeks I'm barely managing to get by

Very similar here. Trying to reframe for myself so I’m less frustrated all the time but I’d really prefer to not have to deal with this for the rest of my life.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#757

Post by tata71 » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:32 PM UTC

nickdothutton wrote: post #652

philangist wrote: post #180

I won the IPO lottery and I’m in the middle ground between rich enough to never work again but not quite rich enough for the yachts/mansions/private jets lifestyle. I haven’t worked in 6 months and I’m struggling to find a larger meaning to my life beyond getting yet another tech job. I’ve considered going to college for a math degree, moving to my parents home country, and joining the military (among many other opti…

Congratulations. I was exactly your age almost 20 years ago and in a similar situation. The dotcom crash was just breaking and partly by luck and partly by judgement I had chosen that moment to exit and divest myself of those shares. My advice would be that you do the same, get a good financial advisor, stay grounded, take care of your future and lock that down, then think about what you want to do next. Spending hou…

How do you get a good financial advisor if you have few contacts in the space?

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#758

Post by throwaway34241 » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:43 PM UTC

m33k44 wrote: post #558

throwaway34241 wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Those would be the gamers. But I am targeting students. And not many students can afford high-end devices. I am more interested in devices such as Google Cardboard, Zapbox and AR4E. High cost of devices should not become a roadblock for educational content distribution. > Some applications that I have in mind will require interaction and collaboration I think this would be a much easier decision if there weren't th…

> the lowest-end devices lack positional tracking for both the headset and the controllers That is the reason I am excited about ZapBox and AR4E headsets. Both promise support for interaction using controllers. > So as far as I can tell the category seems like a dead-end at this point, it doesn't seem to be receiving substantial software or hardware investment and will likely disappear altogether as positional tracki…

> …it will be a shame. We need lot of low-cost headsets for XR to proliferate

I agree, I’m just expecting today’s mid-market to be tomorrow’s low end (and to eventually have working old devices being basically thrown away due to over-supply like is the case for computers and phones).

BTW I don’t have the same reservations about the others with tracked controllers, just Cardboard since (for more interactive content) optimizing for head look only is limiting.

> Are you a designer or a software engineer?

For my current VR project I’m doing both the UI and the programming.

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#759

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 6:56 PM UTC

y4mi wrote: post #631

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #582

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the number of depressed people who have jobs, this seems a very questionable view.

Most of these people are forced to work. I think for me personally a 4-6h workday on 4 days per week would be optimal. It's enjoyable to actually work together with a team on a product and provide a service which people want to use. Such part time jobs can be very fulfilling if money is not an issue.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What you up to? (Who doesn't want to be hired?)

#760

Post by fsckboy » Tue, Nov 02, 2021, 7:12 PM UTC

TaylorAlexander wrote: post #525

fsckboy wrote: post #387

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I count three axes, what am I missing? (considering the "stick" at the top "a finger" and moving down, I see the wrist rotation, the elbow rotation, and a rotation at the shoulder down on the desk)

So in the video you first see a section of movement using the second and fourth axes. Then after that the arm goes back to zero (sticking straight up) and you see the midsection rotate back and forth without the end section rotating. That’s the other two axes. There are also closer photos here: https://twitter.com/tlalexander/status/1455100498428588036?s...

ah, i see, thx