Toki Pona!
A coupleo of weeks ago I was reading on the interwebs and I came across something called Toki Pona. Plenty of people have described it far better than I can. A short description is a constructed language containing only 123 words.
I have always wanted to learn a language, and have tried several times to start. This seemed great so I dove in. So far I have learnt the words, and now I’m trying to use them to communicate. Obviously it’s a bit difficult as only strangers online speak it too.
I think I’m going to try start doing toki pona post on this blog. I think this will help me learn the language better.
toki! mi nimi e kipikuno. sona lili li toki pona. mi wili ni, sona soli li toki pona.
mi jo tu wan suweli. suweli tu li nasa en moku e kala. suwli wan li pona mije. nimi ona li Konopi.
mi lon ma Oselija. mi tan ma Mewika.
mi wili suli ni, mi pali e lipu mute. mi loti e lipu.
mi tawa. mi wili sina jo e tenpo suno pona.
tags: toki-pona, learning, fun
Well, it has been awhile.
I have forgotten about this blog. I like the idea of blogging, yet I forget to do it.
I think the reason I like blogging so much is the idea that I have somehow left my mark on the world. In some far off future maybe some kid looking through old archives of this thing they used to call “the internet” will find my blog and I’ll live again, even if it is only for a brief time.
Yet at the same time I feel I have nothing to talk about. Nothing of value to add to the internet.
I grew up always being told that I will do great things. I am smart, I have so much potential. I made the mistake of believing that. No, I don’t think of myself as hopeless, or dumb. But it is a constant pressure I have in the back of my heda. I often feel I cannot do things simply for the sake of doing them. There always has to be an end goal with a pay-off. You’d think this would make me successful, yet all it has done is made me not try anything at all. I am in my fourth decade here on earth and there is so much I have not done.
I am trying something with this entry, no backspacing. I can fix typos and mistakes, but once I have written a word on the paper (so to speak) it is not coming off. Trying to stop the constant cycle of tweaking and editing.
I hope to write more. I want to share stuff with the world, even if it is not the best.
– Hifi
Maybe I don’t want (to be) the best
I was reading an article about Botique Search Engines when I came across a specific line that resonated with me:
The problem, now so drastically different from a decage ago, is not what to read/buy/eat/watch/etc., but figuring out the best thing to read/buy/eat/watch/etc. with my limited time and attention.
This stuck with me because so often I find myself wasting hours looking for the best fantasy novel to read, the best workout routine to do, the best method of learning a new language. And guess what? I still barely read books, I still barely do any exercise, and I still don’t know any other languages.
How much of life do I miss by looking for the best? How many shows or games have I consumed that don’t actually appear in any Best Of lists, yet I still thoroughly enjoyed?
Somehow I don’t think the great novelist became great by only reading the best novels. Or famous singers only listen to the best songs. So why, in my mediocrity, do I think that my time deserves nothing but the best?
It is high time I stop looking for the best in life, and just starting looking for the things in life. Otherwise I feel life will just pass me by.
tags: slice-of-life, reflection
Pinephone Keyboard Case!!
Today my keyboard case arrived for my Pinephone. It works really well and really transforms the phone into a tiny laptop/pda. I am actually writing this post from my Pinephone.
One huge benefit (besides the keyboard itself) is that you no longer lose screen realestate from the virtual keyboard. This makes using the Pinephone in landscape much more pleasant.
There are a few things I still need to sort out. For instance, I have no idea how to use the symbols under the number keys. The manual says to press the super key and the corresponding number, but all that does is change the desktop (I’m using Arch and sxmo btw).
The next thing I would like to change is Firefox. The URL bar and the tabs take up nearly a third of the screen. When you then add whatever menu bar the website adds on top you are left with precious little room for actual content. What I would like to do is hide the tab bar altogether, and only show the URL when I press ctrl (plus) L. (the plus symbol s under the 0…)
All in all, so far the keyboard seems neat!
I like to ride my bicycle
Not to long ago I went up to my in-laws for the Christmas holidays. While there, something remarkable happened: I lost weight. It wasn’t much, but it was enough that both myself and my wife could notice the difference. Now I don’t actually own a set of scales in the house so I have no idea how much I weigh, or how much I lost.
But this little bonus has motivated me to try keep the weight off, and possibly lose a little more. So, I have decided to ride my bicycle to work. I ended up buying a nice bike off a lovely fellow for just over $200aud. This thing is amazing, carbon forks, fancy shifters levers that double as the brakes. It’s fancy.
I have yet to actually ride it to work yet, as I need to still grab a bike lock (and a softer saddle). This is really the first time in my life I have taken an active interest in my health.
It’s not just fitness either, I’ve also given up alcohol (we’ll see how long that last…), stopped drinking anything besides water, milk and coffee, and focused on healthier foods. I hope all this has the impact I am looking for.
tags: slice-of-life, fitness
Start of the Blog
I have recently joined the Tildeverse, I think I joined cosmic.voyage a little under a week ago and now I have joined tilde.club as of today. Today’s society feels so large and fast and disconnected. The appeal of a small(ish) community with a focus on socializing and fun projects was too good to pass up.
Lately I have been trying to steer away from the “traditional” internet sources of mindless scrolling. Things like Facebook, Reddit, YouTube. This feels like a step in the right direction
So who am I? Well, I’m a 30ish year old dude who’s pretending he is a data engineer. I really enjoy my job, but I have always seen a job as nothing more than an income. I don’t want my job to define who I am. I want my projects, and my interactions to do that for me.
Speaking of projects, my current project is an ambient light display. It will consist of about eight segments in a circular configuration. I’m powering it with a generic ESP32 development board that is running the WLED library. It works out pretty well because I thought I would have to program all of that myself, but someone else has already done all the hard work for me.
I will post photos soon, and maybe a build log.
tags: reflection, project