💾 Archived View for gem.soaringotter.xyz › gemfeed › atom.xml captured on 2024-12-17 at 10:44:11.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
<updated>2024-12-08T21:10:46-07:00</updated>
<title>gem.soaringotter.xyz feed</title>
<subtitle>Flying through life</subtitle>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/atom.xml" rel="self" />
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/</id>
<entry>
<title>I Failed</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-12-08-i-failed.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-12-08-i-failed.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-12-08T21:10:46-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>Well, I failed. If you read my last post you know I was doing a short game jam with my friend to motivate us to get writing some code. My friend used Unreal and was able to get a nice MVP working with a single level. It was all very well done, and I feel very comfortable saying I lost. As I was going along creating my game, I ran into a few different road bumps.. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>I Failed</h1>
<p>Well, I failed. If you read my last post you know I was doing a short game jam with my friend to motivate us to get writing some code. My friend used Unreal and was able to get a nice MVP working with a single level. It was all very well done, and I feel very comfortable saying I lost. As I was going along creating my game, I ran into a few different road bumps.</p>
<h2>What prevented me from finishing</h2>
<h3>Issues with Bevy</h3>
<p>One of the biggest issues I ran into was some issues with Bevy. I struggled a lot with the animation system. Things just weren't working out for me. With the condensed timeline and my infamiliarity with Bevy, it got messy and I ran into some bugs that I didn't have time to troubleshoot. I hit my main roadblock with creating some spikes to die on. I was on my last day, trying to go fast and for some reason, I just struggled with the sprites and the collision detection. I think I know what I was doing wrong, and if I went back and rewrote some code I think I would be able to figure it out fairly quickly. But since I was on my last day, I burnt out and turned in for the night, accepting the loss.</p>
<h3>Time management</h3>
<p>Probably one of the biggest issues was my ADHD. My goal was to focus on only the game jam in my free time, since I knew I was learning something new, and at maximum would only have a few hours each evening. I made the mistake of diving into multiple other projects, including trying to get Misfin setup. I probably spent waaayyyy to much time trying to get this working instead of working on my game. This put me on the time crunch and set me up for failure. If I were to do this again, I would really need to commit for the entire jam time, and not take on any other projects.</p>
<h3>General Exhaustion</h3>
<p>Finally, I think I just got tired from personal life. Work, family, and sleep all contributed to me being tired and not feeling as motivated as when I started. Mental health is important everyone! Don't burn yourself out!</p>
<h2>Where do I go from here</h2>
<p>While I say I failed, I actually was successful with my original goal, motivating myself to do a project. It almost worked too well, in that I started multiple projects instead. I also learned a lot about Bevy and learned what I like and don't like about it. I might go back and work on cleaning up my code and seeing if I can get it done, but I am not going to have a timeline and not stress about it. I had fun, which is the most important part.</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Adventures with Bevy</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-12-01-adventures-of-bevy.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-12-01-adventures-of-bevy.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-12-01T21:48:19-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>Bevy is newer game engine written in Rust. It isn't like most other game engines like Unreal or Godot where you have a GUI and is more similar to Mono in that it is code only. There are some plugins that add GUIs but they aren't required and I haven't used them before. Bevy follows the ECS architecture and I love it. You create components that contain some kind of data, like health, and then you use these components to make entities, or most things you interact with in a game. Entities are just collections of components and nothing more. Finally, you have systems which are just functions that act on components. So you can have a 'check_dead' system that gets all entities that have the 'Health' component and checks the health of that entity.. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Adventures with Bevy</h1>
<h2>What is Bevy?</h2>
<p>Bevy is newer game engine written in Rust. It isn't like most other game engines like Unreal or Godot where you have a GUI and is more similar to Mono in that it is code only. There are some plugins that add GUIs but they aren't required and I haven't used them before. Bevy follows the ECS architecture and I love it. You create components that contain some kind of data, like health, and then you use these components to make entities, or most things you interact with in a game. Entities are just collections of components and nothing more. Finally, you have systems which are just functions that act on components. So you can have a 'check_dead' system that gets all entities that have the 'Health' component and checks the health of that entity.</p>
<h2>Why am I using Bevy?</h2>
<p>There isn't a particular reason. I have been trying to figure out what to fill my free time with. I have a good friend who is just getting into programming and game dev and is currently trying to learn Unreal Engine. For fun, I challenged him to a two week game jam to get out of the research forever hole and start actually implementing something. I wanted to even the playing field a little bit, as well as learn a cool new framework. We decided to have the general theme of 'Platformer'. The game jam ends next week and I have a lot of work left to do.</p>
<h2>My thoughts</h2>
<p>The game I am doing is a Celeste/Chained Together kind of mix. The concept is basically Celeste and instead of climbing a mountain, you are trying to escape Hell. I also want to reiterate, this is a two week game jam and I do not plan on getting this finished and don't plan on publishing the game, it is more for fun and learning. I have been really enjoying it so far. I absolutely love the ECS system and how Bevy organizes all the code in plugins and bundles. It is very intuitive and can make some really clean code. However, not everything is straight forward. By far, the hardest part was animations, mainly because I was too lazy to actually create my own animation system. Bevy has a built in TextureAtlas that allows you to use spritesheets. The first problem was, the sprite that I got online, was split into multiple spritesheets for each animation. Theree can only be a single TextureAtlas per entity. One work around I saw was to have multiple entities, one for each animation. I really do not like this idea. It is redundent, unnecessary, you have to manage multiple entities, which, even with Bundles, is still always bad, and it is inefficient. Luckily, I found a way that you can use a TextureAtlasBuilder to combine multiple spritesheets into one. I can then use this as a single atlas to hold all my animations.</p>
<pre>
fn load_textures(mut commands: Commands, asset_server: Res<AssetServer>) {
commands.insert_resource(SpriteFolder(
asset_server.load_folder("textures/characters/player/"),
));
}
pub fn setup_texture_atlas(
sprite_handles: Res<SpriteFolder>,
loaded_folders: Res<Assets<LoadedFolder>>,
mut textures: ResMut<Assets<Image>>,
mut texture_atlases: ResMut<Assets<TextureAtlasLayout>>,
mut library: ResMut<AnimationLibrary>,
) -> (Handle<TextureAtlasLayout>, Handle<Image>, AnimationId) {
let loaded_folder = loaded_folders.get(&sprite_handles.0).unwrap();
let mut texture_atlas_builder = TextureAtlasBuilder::default();
for handle in loaded_folder.handles.iter() {
let id = handle.id().typed_unchecked::<Image>();
let Some(texture) = textures.get(id) else {
warn!(
"{:?} did not resolve to an `Image` asset.",
handle.path().unwrap()
);
continue;
};
texture_atlas_builder.add_texture(Some(id), texture);
}
let (_, texture) = texture_atlas_builder.build().unwrap();
let layout = TextureAtlasLayout::from_grid(
UVec2::new(128, 128),
16,
5,
None,
Some(UVec2::new(0, 32)),
);
let layout_handle = texture_atlases.add(layout);
let texture = textures.add(texture);
</pre>
<p>The next issue was finding an easy way to manage animations without creating a whole complex system. Luckily, I found crate to handle this for me [1]. It allows me to define specific squares in the spritesheet for an animation, give it a name, set the speed of the animation and how many times it loops. And most importantly, allows me to change the animation by simply doing </p>
<pre>
animation.switch(idle_animation);
</pre>
<p>After getting all this setup, I was able to quickly and easily implement falling and jumping and started making progress again. </p>
<h2>Going forward</h2>
<p>I have one more week to go, a lot to do, and a couple ideas on what to implement. I'm excited to be learning more about Bevy and have been enjoying the project so far. </p>
<h2>Links</h2>
<a class="textlink" href="https://github.com/merwaaan/bevy_spritesheet_animation">Animation Crate</a><br />
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Atomic Habits Final Thoughts</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-24-atomic-habits-final-thoughts.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-24-atomic-habits-final-thoughts.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-11-24T20:40:19-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>Well I did it, I finished a book. I'm actually estatic. I have been wanting to get better at reading and ever since starting a book club which forced me to read this book, I have been reading more. My initial goal was 5 books this year, and with the completion of Atomic Habits, I am at 3. I am reading 2, soon to be 3, books at the same time and plan to be able to meet this goal by the end of the year! Honestly incredible because if you asked me 2 months ago if I would hit my goal I would've laughed in your face. But hear I am, and I attribute a majority of my success to this book club as well as the principles taught in Atomic Habits. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Atomic Habits Final Thoughts</h1>
<p>Well I did it, I finished a book. I'm actually estatic. I have been wanting to get better at reading and ever since starting a book club which forced me to read this book, I have been reading more. My initial goal was 5 books this year, and with the completion of Atomic Habits, I am at 3. I am reading 2, soon to be 3, books at the same time and plan to be able to meet this goal by the end of the year! Honestly incredible because if you asked me 2 months ago if I would hit my goal I would've laughed in your face. But hear I am, and I attribute a majority of my success to this book club as well as the principles taught in Atomic Habits</p>
<h2>General Thoughts</h2>
<p>I don't mean to sound hyperbolic, but Atomic Habits has really changed my life for the better. I have always known about good goal setting and could recognize bad goals. I also knew a lot of the principles that the author taught, but I never really applied them. From reading the book, I got motivated to try and apply them into my life. It has been incredible. From this blog alone, I have not missed a week of uploading since setting the goal. I feel energized and motivated. I have been reading nightly and have started to rekindle my love for reading. I have been cleaning more and my house now is much cleaner and I feel like I can actually live in it. I rearranged my office and decluttered making me more productive throughout the day. And all this is because I set 3 goals. The other thing to note, is this has been going on for a couple months now. Typically when I do something like this, I burn out after a week, maybe two. To make it a month is really motivating and encouraging to myself. I ended up getting a habit tracking app called Loop Habit Tracker [1] to track myself over time and it has kept me honest with myself and helps to keep me going. I highly recommend this book and at least giving it a shot to see if it helps you.</p>
<h2>Where to go from here?</h2>
<p>I don't know what other goals/habits I am going to set going forward, and for the most part, I will probably keep them to myself. I am currently reading 'How to win friends and influence people' which has been a fantastic book which I recommend and will probably write about at some point. I also have been reading 'The Tao of Pooh' in that same book club. I am not too far into it yet, but so far it has been a good read. </p>
<h2>Links</h2>
<a class="textlink" href="https://github.com/iSoron/uhabits">[1] Loop Habit Tracker</a><br />
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Do you really need a VPN</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-17-do-you-really-need-a-vpn.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-17-do-you-really-need-a-vpn.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-11-17T23:13:38-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>This blog post is sponsored by NordVPN. Are you tired of hackers getting ahold of you SSN or equivalent? Do you want to be cool and feel like a hacker? Then you need a VPN! All joking aside, this isn't sponsored by NordVPN, and they probably wouldn't want me to since I don't like them. We have all seen the ads and honestly, most people here are probably familiar with a VPN and already know what I am talking about, but for the other people who are seriously considering one or who aren't familiar with the concept, this is for you! . .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Do you really need a VPN</h1>
<p>This blog post is sponsored by NordVPN. Are you tired of hackers getting ahold of you SSN or equivalent? Do you want to be cool and feel like a hacker? Then you need a VPN! All joking aside, this isn't sponsored by NordVPN, and they probably wouldn't want me to since I don't like them. We have all seen the ads and honestly, most people here are probably familiar with a VPN and already know what I am talking about, but for the other people who are seriously considering one or who aren't familiar with the concept, this is for you! </p>
<h2>What is a VPN</h2>
<p>Put simply, a VPN is like having your computer wired up to a remote location. So instead of having to be plugged in at your office building, you can use a VPN to connect to your network and access any information you could as if you were in the office. Companies have then taken this technology and monotized it, allowing you to connect your devices to their network. When you connect to a site, it looks like the request is coming from their business instead of your home network. In order to ensure privacy, the connection to the VPN provider, whether it be your office or a paid for provider, is encrypted. This is where all the buzz words come from.</p>
<h2>What a VPN can do for you</h2>
<p>There are plenty of valid use cases for a VPN. Here are just a couple:</p>
<ul>
<li>If you need to access your office remotely is one of the largest ones </li>
<li>If you want all your network to go through a home adblocker</li>
<li>If you want to avoid man-in-the-middle attacks (kind of)</li>
<li>If you don't trust your ISP</li>
<li>Torrents</li>
</ul>
<h2>What a VPN can't do for you</h2>
<ul>
<li>Hide who you are from the sites you are visiting</li>
<li>Make you completely invinsible to cyber attacks</li>
<li>Turn you into a ghost while your browse the deep dark internet</li>
</ul>
<h2>Do you need a VPN</h2>
<p>I would argue, most people don't need a VPN. I say that as I use one. Most internet nowadays is encrypted with SSL anyway, so you are pretty much protected from most cyber attacks. The main thing for me is not letting my ISP know what sites I am visiting. The one piece of information that is not encrypted when you go to a website is which website you are going to. This is needed so you are able to actually go to the website. Your ISP can see this. Also the router you are connected to can see this. If you don't trust either of those pieces, then you might want to try a VPN. Just be sure to choose a VPN provider you do trust, since they will be able to see all the websites that you are going to. If you are really still conserned about hackers, the best thing to do it just host your own VPN in your house and connect to that. It is free and you get all the benefits of the big company VPNs. Obviously, if you are doing some activity that your country considers illegal (you shouldn't be) then you don't want your ISP knowing this. That is really all a VPN can do. I am really passionate about privacy, so I would advocate for VPNs, but I understand most people do not care about privacy, and thus, don't really need a VPN. I will have a blog post coming about privacy and why I care so much about it at a later date.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>In summary, it all comes down to trust. Do you trust the people that provide you internet? If not, do you trust one of the VPN companies more? You can always look at alternative solutions, such as the Tor network. VPNs are great for what they are supposed to do, but don't go believing all the hype that the commercials and sponsorships are saying. They are not a one stop solution to all your problems. Practice safe browsing habits, and if you want more privacy, or have practical reasons, then your probably don't need a VPN.</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>You're Relaxing Wrong</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-10-youre-relaxing-wrong.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-10-youre-relaxing-wrong.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-11-10T23:13:39-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>We have all been there. We come home from a long day, kick off our shoes, collapse on the couch and just want to relax. Turning on NetPrime Max, selecting our favorite show and before we know it, it is time for bed and you feel no better than when you first walked through the door. How can something as simple as relaxing be so hard?. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>You're Relaxing Wrong</h1>
<p class="quote"><i>Published at 2024-11-10T19:45:56-07:00</i></p>
<p>We have all been there. We come home from a long day, kick off our shoes, collapse on the couch and just want to relax. Turning on NetPrime Max, selecting our favorite show and before we know it, it is time for bed and you feel no better than when you first walked through the door. How can something as simple as relaxing be so hard?</p>
<h2>Zoning out is not relaxing</h2>
<p>This is a frequent trap we all fall in. Our form of relaxing is shutting off our brain and zoning out while watching TV, scrolling social media, playing video games, reading books, or really anything. The problem is, even if the action is something that relaxes us, zoning out isn't relaxing. The time passes but nothing changes. The stress isn't gone, just moved. Sure, while we were zoned out, we weren't stressing, but that is were the trap comes in. Doing these actions, in this way, doesn't fix the issue, but temporarily removes us from the stressful situation. This isn't all bad. Sometimes we just need to zone out for a second and it feel good to just go numb, but it is very different from relaxing.</p>
<h2>Active vs Passive relaxing</h2>
<p>To better illustrate this point, I'm going to define this difference between zoning out and relaxing as active and passive relaxing. Zoning out is passively relaxing. We turn off our brains and go with the flow, whatever is easiest. Active is, in my mind, the true form of relaxing. The important thing is, the action is irrelevant. You can actively or passively relax while watching TV. It is all a mindset. Sitting down and saying "I am going to relax and enjoy this moment" is being active. Mindlessly switching on the TV and staring at it for a few hours is passive. You could even define this difference as being mindful. When our mind is actively in the world around us, then our body can start to truly unwind and relax. We can sense our current bodies condition and identify if we are sore, or caring our stress in our shoulders, and this will allow us to release that stress. </p>
<h3>Breathing</h3>
<p>One of the best ways to make passive relaxing active, is through focusing on our breathing. Even just being aware of our breathe can be game changing. I like to imagine myself breathing out my stress and then breathing in fresh air. The really cool part is you can do this anywhere. Need to relax in the middle of a tough day at work? Take 30 seconds to breath and relax. </p>
<h2>Isn't this just meditation?</h2>
<p>Eh.. kind of? It is probaly inspired by meditation and mindfulness. To me, active relaxing is just being in the moment. If you love reading, then read! If you like to watch TV to relax, then watch TV! If you are in the moment while you are doing whatever you do to relax, it will be much more relaxing and you will feel like you actually recharged. In my mind, meditation is an action that naturely follows the principle of active relaxing. </p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>All in all, this change in mindset has helped me a lot so I wanted to share it with other people. Getting away from the big internet itself was a huge help and being on the smolnet (smolweb?) is inherently more mindful and relaxing. I would like to reiterate there is nothing wrong with just zoning out. Sometimes that is exactly what you need. But if you want to really relax and recharge, make sure to do it actively. Hopefully someone out there finds this interesting!</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Election Burnout</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-03-election-burnout.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-11-03-election-burnout.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-11-03T23:13:39-07:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>Well, it is that season again. Leaves are beginning to change colors, pumpkin spice is in the air, and everywhere you look you get punched in the face with politics. If you are from a country other than the US, or you live under a rock, the US presidential election is happening this Tuesday, and if you are like me you are ready for it to be over.. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Election Burnout</h1>
<p class="quote"><i>Published at 2024-11-03T20:09:39-07:00</i></p>
<p>Well, it is that season again. Leaves are beginning to change colors, pumpkin spice is in the air, and everywhere you look you get punched in the face with politics. If you are from a country other than the US, or you live under a rock, the US presidential election is happening this Tuesday, and if you are like me you are ready for it to be over.</p>
<h2>Importance of Elections</h2>
<p>I am actually very passionate about politics. Being involved is one of the most important things you can do in a democracy. The main reason for this is it prevents us from getting to a political environment we are already in. A democracy, and for all the people saying "but the US isn't a democracy, it is a republic", yes, you are technically right, but this still applies. In a democracy, the concept is rule of the majority. In a republic, it is basically the same, rule of the majority with protections for the minority. When you look at something like the Nazis or the CCP, they are totalitarian regimes which can be quickly summarized as rule of minority, or the party. When people in a democracy don't vote, the number of people making important decisions for the country become the minority. In the state that I am from, in the Republican primary, the parties decision on who should represent them on the ballot was decided by a mere 9% of the Republican party. 9%! That is abismal! When you start getting into those numbers, it is a small minority making big decisions. This further pulls people to the extremes and alienates the majority of voters who now feel like their opinion doesn't matter since it isn't aligned with the minority that are vocalizing their opiinion. This creates the climate we are in now, two parties, screaming at each other, while the average voter is sitting in the middle, hating everything.</p>
<h2>The Burnout</h2>
<p>Like I said earlier, I am passionate about politics. I try my best to stay as informed as I possibly can from the most un-biased sources I possibly can. I love talking politics and hearing other viewpoints and why people think the way they do. I find it all incredibly fascinating. But I can't right now. I woke up one day and the burnout just hit. I didn't want to read the news, I was sick of everything going on, and I just wanted to finish filling out my ballot, drop it off, and be done. Anyone that knows US politics, knows that this is a pipe dream. The election is Tuesday. We probably won't know the results until at least Thursday, but possibly not until the weekend, or even next week. And after that, there is going to be so much screaming, and so many lawsuits. There are still people complaining about the election that happened **4 years ago**. Last presidential election, it was mayhem from election night, all the way until inauguration day. Until that day, no one truly knew what was going to happen. Don't expect this time to be any different.</p>
<h2>What can we do</h2>
<p>The million dollar question. I wish I knew. The only thing I can think of is to get informed, vote, and spread the word. You don't need to debate or talk politics, we just need informed voters. Maybe, just maybe, if we get more people voting, we can start to have some compremise and start cooling this toxic environment we are all living in. But I am not a political scientist, just someone who is passionate and has taken a couple classes. I'm not even trying to convince anyone of anything in the post, more just trying to vent my frusterations and get through this hell of a time.</p>
<h2>Wrapping Up</h2>
<p>Thanks for reading my rant. For all the people outside of the US, welcome to US politics. For any fellow US citizens, lets get through this. Lets stop all the hate. Lets compremise. Lets work together, civilly. And lets hang on through this next election cycle. I would love to hear anyones thoughts! I haven't been able to figure out misfin yet, so if anyone has any advice on how to get that up and running I would appreciate it. Otherwise you can reach me via email or gemlog reply. Stay strong out there!</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>AI is ruining software engineers</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-27-ai-is-ruining-sofware-engineers.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-27-ai-is-ruining-sofware-engineers.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-10-27T23:13:39-06:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>I am still fairly new in the software engineering world. I graduated from University only a few years ago, but I already feel like the old man yelling at the clouds. There are two main reasons I feel like AI is ruining the up and coming developers.. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>AI is ruining software engineers</h1>
<p class="quote"><i>Published at 2024-10-27T22:16:08-06:00</i></p>
<p>I am still fairly new in the software engineering world. I graduated from University only a few years ago, but I already feel like the old man yelling at the clouds. There are two main reasons I feel like AI is ruining the up and coming developers.</p>
<h2>No ability to think and problem solve</h2>
<p>Nowadays, ChatGPT and Copilot and other AI helpers can do amazing things when it comes to helping developers. I admit, I use it at work. However, I mainly only use it to automatically do the code I am too lazy to write myself. It is basically a fancy autocomplete for me. And that is what copilot does really well. If you need to write the same line over and over again with minimal changes, hitting tab can do that very quickly for you. It has also shown it is really good at writing tests for my code. But there is a reliance on these AI assistants that is going too far. There are way to many college kids that can't complete a single assignment without getting help. Instead of learning, you can throw the question into these assistants and viola! you have an answer! When these developers are put in a situation where they can't use it, they either cheat and use it anyway, which can potentially cost companies millions of dollars if you end up accidently using licensed code, or you are completely unable to do anything. In the long term, this is going to be very detrimental to the coding industry.</p>
<h3>There are pros</h3>
<p>I don't think this is all bad though. These AI assistants are drastically lowering the barrier of entry, which is only a good thing. In the same way that python opened the door to non-developers to be able to be able to create software of all kinds. This is only a plus. More people are going to be able to pursure their dreams, or make their lives easier, or do whatever. The cons I was mentioning above are more for larger software projects that require the ability to think and architect and write good code.</p>
<h2>AI development is not software engineering</h2>
<p>I am an interviewer at my company. I am seeing a lot people who have very impressive AI experience. They have done some really cool things and solved complex problems with them. Almost everyone coming out of school has some AI experience, because why wouldn't they? It is what almost every company wants nowadays and it is an exciting piece of technology. The problem is, they spend so much time studying how to train models, that they no longer know basic object oriented patterns. When asked to organize some data into a class, people with impressive resumes struggle. And I mean can't do what a basic intro level CS class should be teaching. I'm honestly stunned. This is an extremely core value that you need to be a software engineer. These are two very different skills though. If you want me to do some AI stuff, I would be at an absolute loss. And if that is the road you want to take, that is absolutely fine! You just aren't going to have the skills to become a software engineer or design large software projects. </p>
<h2>Wrapping up</h2>
<p>I don't know, maybe I'm just a cynical, grumpy old man, but I am only saying what I have been seeing. Developers can't structure code anymore, and can't think for themselves. These are caused pretty directly from AI. Maybe this is just the direction the world is going in, and we will have to learn how to adapt. </p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Habits and the environment</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-19-habits-and-the-environment.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-19-habits-and-the-environment.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-10-19T23:13:39-06:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>I recently started to read the book 'Atomic Habits' by James Clear. I have really been enjoying it so far. I am currently about half way through. The issue that I have been having is, even though I am enjoying what I am reading, and all the advice is really solid, I have no idea what habits I would like to set. I have become fairly complacent with where I am at in life so seeking out things to improve has been difficult. Not to mention having ADHD makes it hard to be motivated to do anything. This largely changed after I read through the section on your environment. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Habits and the environment</h1>
<p class="quote"><i>Published at 2024-10-18T22:10:14-06:00</i></p>
<h2>What am I even talking about?</h2>
<p>I recently started to read the book "Atomic Habits" by James Clear. I have really been enjoying it so far. I am currently about half way through. The issue that I have been having is, even though I am enjoying what I am reading, and all the advice is really solid, I have no idea what habits I would like to set. I have become fairly complacent with where I am at in life so seeking out things to improve has been difficult. Not to mention having ADHD makes it hard to be motivated to do anything. This largely changed after I read through the section on your environment</p>
<h2>Your environment</h2>
<p>The author starts off by saying too often we associate habit building with sheer willpower and motivation, when in reality, the much larger factor is our environment. He goes on to say, most of the time, our habits are tied to our environment. For example, if each time I get home from work I sit on the couch and pull out my phone, I then start associating sitting on the couch with being on my phone. This will then create a habit of _everytime_ I sit on the couch I will pull out my phone. </p>
<h3>Setting goals</h3>
<p>We can use this to our advantage though by rearranging our environment to better suit the goals we are trying to accomplish. If we are trying to learn the guitar, we can put the guitar in the middle of the room. If we want to eat healthier, we can put the healthy food at the front of the fridge at eye level, or even move stuff onto the counter where it is easily accessible</p>
<h3>Breaking habits</h3>
<p>Just like we can use the environment to set habits, we can use it to break them. If I want to play video games less, I can unplug the console and move it into the closet after each time playing it. This means, whenever I want to play it, I have to think of it without seeing it, and then having the motivation to go get it from the closet and set it up. This would be extremely discouraging for me and I would probably play significantly less games... that is, if I wasn't a computer gamer.</p>
<h2>What clicked</h2>
<p>The thing that really clicked for me, is the act of changing your environment in large ways. Think big. Going back to the couch example. If I wanted to stop using my phone on the couch, I could rearrange the furniture in the front room. This puts me in a foreign environment and prevents me from going into autopilot mode. It makes sitting down and pulling out my phone a much more concious decision. This makes it easier to insert new or different habits, when you don't have the old ones getting in the way. One example that James gave in the book was wanting to buy healther groceries. One easy way to do that is to go to a different grocery store than normal. This prevents you from just going down the same isles and grabbing the same food since you now have to conciously figure out where everything is. All this really hit me hard for some reason.</p>
<h2>What am I going to do about it</h2>
<p>I learned a lot of cool things, but if you never do anything with it, then it is useless. I want to set a couple of goals myself:</p>
<p class="quote"><i>Read more</i></p>
<p>The whole reason I started reading this book was because I can count on one hand the number of books I have read in the past 5 years. I used to love reading but life always seems to have a way of getting in the way. Even with reading this book, it has been in waves. I'll read 5 chapters in one day, and then not read again for another week. I want to read a little bit every day. I am going to do this by:</p>
<ul>
<li>Every morning, when I get out of bed, I am going to make my bed</li>
<li>After I make my bed, I am going to place my book, and the bed inclining remote on my pillow (inclining beds are so nice to read in)</li>
<li>When I get in bed, I will incline the bed, and then read 1 chapter, or 20 min, whichever comes first</li>
</ul>
<p class="quote"><i>Post more on this site</i></p>
<p>I have always been a lurker. As I have been browsing the Gemini space, I have really wanted to start engaging with the community here more. I am going to start off by trying to post at least once a week. I have some ideas for some more tech related posts that I want to do. To accomplish this goal, starting next week, I am going to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Whenever I get an idea for a new post, I will make a note in my phone</li>
<li>At 8 PM on Sunday, I will look through my notes and decide on a topic</li>
<li>After I decide on a topic, I will pull out my laptop and write a post</li>
<li>After posting, I can watch the show of my choice</li>
</ul>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>I have really been enjoying this book so far and encourage other people to read it. I am very interested to see how these new strategies work and if they help me with new habits, and more importantly, if those habits last longer than a couple weeks. I will probably make more posts about this book in the future and look forward to finishing another book this year!</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Getting started in Gemini</title>
<link href="gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-08-this-gemini-capsule.gmi" />
<id>gemini://gem.soaringotter.xyz/gemfeed/2024-10-08-this-gemini-capsule.gmi</id>
<updated>2024-10-08T23:13:39-06:00</updated>
<author>
<name>Soaring Otter</name>
<email>soaringotter@proton.me</email>
</author>
<summary>Honestly, I'm can't remember where I first heard about Gemini. Wherever it was, I instantly was intreged and started poking around. Now, when it comes to doing things on the internet, I tend to be a lurker. I never post, I don't ever comment or really interact with posts. I have slowly been moving away from things like Reddit and moving to RSS feeds and have found myself enjoying blog posts more and more. I think that is what has interested me in Gemini. Because of the smaller reach, I figured I would take the plunge and start trying to document some things about my life, and if someone enjoys reading it, all the better.. .....to read on please visit my site.</summary>
<content type="xhtml">
<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<h1>Getting started in Gemini</h1>
<p class="quote"><i>Published at 2024-10-07T23:11:52-06:00</i></p>
<h2>Diving in</h2>
<p>Honestly, I'm can't remember where I first heard about Gemini. Wherever it was, I instantly was intreged and started poking around. Now, when it comes to doing things on the internet, I tend to be a lurker. I never post, I don't ever comment or really interact with posts. I have slowly been moving away from things like Reddit and moving to RSS feeds and have found myself enjoying blog posts more and more. I think that is what has interested me in Gemini. Because of the smaller reach, I figured I would take the plunge and start trying to document some things about my life, and if someone enjoys reading it, all the better.</p>
<h2>Spinning up this site</h2>
<p>I bought the new domain name, picked up a server, installed Agate on it through Docker and here I am. I'm giving 'gemtexter' a try to make my life easier and to provide a gemfeed and atom feed. </p>
<h2>What's next</h2>
<p>I'm not sure how frequently I am going to post. I'm fairly new to this whole blogging thing. I do have a few ideas of things to talk about and am hoping to put something new up every week. I'm trying to figure out my process for creating new posts and how to upload them. I have been liking gemtexter so far and am hopeful it will make things easy for me. Regardless, I look forward to diving into the Gemini universe, getting to know some of the people here, and actually trying to be apart of a community. Feel free to reach out at any point with any questions or comments!</p>
</div>
</content>
</entry>
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