grasshopperpurp (u/grasshopperpurp)

grasshopperpurp commented on Americans will soon be able to renew passports online cntraveler.com/story/amer... · Posted by u/avonmach

quag · 3 years ago

From the USA it was faster (1 week), cheaper, and easier (all online, all digital, no mailing anything in) to renew my New Zealand passport, than it was to renew the US passport for the little one.

We were left with the impression that the USA just doesn’t care about improving these things. So it’s nice to see that the improvements are coming, they just took a while.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

I think "little one" = your child and not a passport card? If so, minors can't renew the way adults can and must meet with an agent - similar to an adult getting a new passport. Idk how these standards are set, but unless something changes, renewing online will likely be limited to adults.

Agree with your sentiments about the current process and hopes for improvement.

grasshopperpurp commented on What I learned trying to classify abortion access across the rich world dynomight.net/abortion/... · Posted by u/phnofive

ivraatiems · 3 years ago

> I, uhh, I guess that’s quite close to de-facto abortion on demand? Not sure what political dynamics led Israel to leave abortion “illegal” but also add multiple redundant layers of extremely broad exceptions. Maybe the country has other priorities.

Someone isn't familiar with Israeli politics.

Since this is HN and a snarky comment won't suffice, let me elaborate: Israel is a cultural mishmosh of so many different varietals of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and every other thing that literally every view on every given issue exists. The country doesn't have a constitution because it can't agree on one.[1] The current government, which is falling apart, is a right-wing-left-wing coalition government that includes ultranationalists, Arab anti-Zionists, the left wing who was out of government for a decade, and vaguely centrist "yeah whatever Zionism" parties.[2] The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is administered by no fewer than six (!) different churches who all share the space and have to carefully coordinate the timing of their rites and services.[3]

And don't even get me started on gay marriage.[4]

This topic is something that people who are blindly anti-Israel (as opposed to anti-Zionist philosophically, anti-the current Israeli government, anti-occupation, etc.) just do not understand. Israel is a melting pot that boiled over onto the stove and made the fire stronger instead of snuffing it out. It is a very strange place to have a government.

So "we theoretically ban abortion because traditional sects of various groups don't like it but in practice we allow it for everyone because lots of people want it and we don't really want to make them angry either" is a typical Israeli policy position on something like this. It is just the nth example. This way, Israel can plausibly claim to take every position on this issue, all at once, and thereby appease a coalition of about a zillion different views.

Now try to get the country to agree on an approach to Palestine and you see why the current situation is so messed up.

[1] https://theconversation.com/how-israels-missing-constitution... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-sixth_government_of_Isr... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre [4] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/world-of-weddings-israel-same-s...

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Thanks for posting this.

grasshopperpurp commented on It's normal to play the same song over and over again (2016) kqed.org/arts/11523994/re... · Posted by u/reg_dunlop

klodolph · 3 years ago

I’ll add to this—when writing music, a lot of people (myself included) make the mistake of not using enough repetition!

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

I think this is right. A lot of my favorite music finds ways to rotate what's repeating. It finds a balance of keeping the groove while still playing with the listener's expectations. But, to your point, if there isn't enough repetition, there's not enough to grab hold of. Obviously, it depends on what you're trying to accomplish, but for most applications, you want to give the listener engaged with your music.

Beyond, or beneath, song structure, I've noticed that experienced songwriters repeat notes in their melodies more often than people starting out.

grasshopperpurp commented on Music for Programming musicforprogramming.net/... · Posted by u/Group_B

skyyler · 3 years ago

Besides his work with Roxy Music, I think I see more discussion about Music for Airports than anything else he's done.

But maybe I exist in strange circles.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Outside of music critics, I don't see him talked about much at all. I love his work as a producer for John Cale, David Bowie, and the Talking Heads in particular. Iirc he also worked on the two Iggy Pop records (the Idiot and Lust for Life) that Bowie produced. I also like his solo (non-ambient) work and work with Roxie Music, but the style of singing isn't my favorite. I know he didn't do vocals for Roxie, but the style of singing is similar to me.

He had a great conversation with Rick Rubin on the Broken Record podcast.

grasshopperpurp commented on Music for Programming musicforprogramming.net/... · Posted by u/Group_B

DaveInTucson · 3 years ago

Brian Eno's got some great ambient stuff (although Ambient 4 is not one of my favorites).

Some I'd recommend:

* Ambient 1: Music for Airports

* Ambient 2: Plateaux of Mirror

* The Pearl

* Thursday Afternoon

* Discreet Music

If you like any of those, there's lots more to explore. I don't care for all Eno's ambient works, but I really enjoy some of it.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Music for airports is my favorite ambient Eno. I have this part of my brain that notices odd (to me) choices, and some of his ambient stuff has sounds/patterns that break me out of the zone, but music for airports works as intended. Love Eno, and I think this is a "me" problem, rather than an issue with his work.

Unless I need a sense of urgency, random recordings of bird songs (especially mockingbirds) are my go-to for background noise for work.

grasshopperpurp commented on Germany’s move to legalise cannabis expected to create ‘domino effect’ theguardian.com/world/202... · Posted by u/samizdis

treis · 3 years ago

https://www.insider.com/why-theres-no-difference-between-ind...

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Just finished reading that article. Interesting. Will look further. Ty.

grasshopperpurp commented on Germany’s move to legalise cannabis expected to create ‘domino effect’ theguardian.com/world/202... · Posted by u/samizdis

treis · 3 years ago

The difference between Indica and Sativa is to a large extent imagined. Even if it's not most of the strains you buy today are hybrids.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

>The difference between Indica and Sativa is to a large extent imagined.

Can you elaborate? This is very contrary to my experience.

. . . NM I looked it up and see what you're referring to. I'll have to look into it more, because, again, it doesn't sync with my experience.

>Even if it's not most of the strains you buy today are hybrids.

I've never had an ounce of difficulty finding Indicas or Sativas at dispensaries. Maybe there are more hybrids (never took the time to count the options), but if there are quality options available for all three, I don't see how it matters. And, within hybrids, there are Indica-dominant and Sativa-dominant strains.

grasshopperpurp commented on Germany’s move to legalise cannabis expected to create ‘domino effect’ theguardian.com/world/202... · Posted by u/samizdis

kennyadam · 3 years ago

Strongly agree.

As the THC percentage has increased, so has my anxiety when I smoke it. If I go out of my way to find lower quality weed, I enjoy it much more.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Anecdote: I've never seen someone suffer anxiety from an Indica strain, but I have seen plenty of bad trips from Sativa strains.

Medical is legal where I live, and I like both (and hybrids) depending on what I'm doing. In the evening, I would stick to Indicas and Indica-dominant hybrids. Since I work, and I never use while working, I use Sativas far less, but I like them for weekends - walks, chores, etc.. It's a bright feeling and more of a head-high, but under the wrong circumstances, that bright feeling turns dark.

Particularly in the evening, Sativas can make you buzzy and unsettled. My gf thought she hated herbs until she tried Indicas. She knows how and when to use now, so she can enjoy Sativas under the right conditions.

Again, this is just my personal experience, but it tracks with my understanding of the strains, and I hope it's helpful to someone.

grasshopperpurp commented on Toxic Productivity paperform.co/blog/toxic-p... · Posted by u/jackdelaney

luxurytent · 3 years ago

My challenge with this is that I feel I am not good enough, so I make the extra effort (e.g in my personal time) to show up and be better. The problem is I've been burnt by this in the past and I see it happening again to myself. There's a few things I've done differently to prevent burn out, but anytime I pause, my inner critic catches up and works to remind me how incompetent I am relative to everyone else.

grasshopperpurp · 3 years ago

Your inner critic can be shaped to what you need it to be. First, I'd change, I'm not good enough, to I want to get better at X. Seems like semantics, but perspective is everything. When possible, frame things in the positive (hit the ball, rather than DON'T miss).

When you do this, I think it will be easier to convince your inner critic that you need rest (not just sleep but time to pause, other activities for your brain/body, etc.). Whatever balance is for you, you can train your inner critic to prioritize that over a cruel checklist.

Also, I think it's unhelpful to describe yourself as incompetent relative to everyone else or not. If you are behind some others, there are reasons (most probably related to experience), and if you understand them, I think you should be at peace with where you are. That doesn't mean stop improving. It just means, I am here; to get to Z, I must do X and Y.

Basically, zoom in and out of your situation enough to understand it, and do the best thing for you. It could be helpful to frame it as though you are setting up the parameters for a friend rather than yourself. A lot of people aren't as kind to themselves as they are to people they care about. Care about you; be kind to you.

grasshopperpurp commented on Be curious, not judgmental shubhro.com/2021/12/20/be... · Posted by u/shbhrsaha

r3n · 4 years ago

Dose anyone has good advices to change this kind of mindset ?

It is hard for me to not be judgmental about stuff I disagree, and I can tell this attitude is causing more trouble than I would like in many different area of my life.

grasshopperpurp · 4 years ago

The replies to this are very good. I'd just add that - like anything - it takes practice. You have to train your mind to work this way, and you need to continue to do so. So, don't judge yourself too harshly when it doesn't come easy. Recognize it and continue to practice.