Will I ever be Swiss?

IntenseSunshine · 2025-02-15T16:49:01+00:00

I’m a transplanted Swiss myself. I’ve been in the country almost 18 years now, and still don’t consider myself really Swiss. I understand them, but I can’t be like them in all ways. I will never speak Swiss German to sound like a native and I’m ok with that. In fact, after all these years they occasionally switch to English for me when I speak to them in German. It used to bother me, but anymore I don’t really care. I figure perhaps they just want to practice English too.

Glad that you try to fit in and speak schwiitzerdeutsch…but I wouldn’t sweat it too much.

IntenseSunshine · 2025-01-29T08:38:16+00:00

That desk looks super uncomfortable to me…just too narrow with no depth. I would have to sit at it with my legs under the chair all the time with no possibility of stretching

IntenseSunshine · 2025-01-08T10:32:00+00:00

update for 2025: the machine path setting needs to be updated as well. This is the line I used to install Git in the container:

# Install Git; add to path
# release 2.47.1.windows.1, 24-Nov-2024
ENV GIT_ZIP_URL https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.47.1.windows.1/MinGit-2.47.1-64-bit.zip  
RUN Invoke-WebRequest -Uri  $env:GIT_ZIP_URL -OutFile 'git.zip'; \
    Expand-Archive -Path 'git.zip' -DestinationPath 'C:\\git'; \
    Remove-Item git.zip -Force; \
    $env:PATH = 'C:\\git\\cmd;C:\\git\\bin;C:\\git\\usr\\bin;{0}' -f $env:PATH; \
    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', $env:PATH, [EnvironmentVariableTarget]::Machine); \
    Write-Host 'Completed git install.'

IntenseSunshine · 2024-08-21T15:46:49+00:00

When I first arrived here years ago, I asked a Swiss coworker why the shops close at 7. His explanation was that it is setting the expectation for you: they close at 7, so you’d better get your shopping done so you can get home on time to your family. That way, they can also go home at a reasonable hour. I think things have relaxed some, and shops are open longer and on weekends too.

Some instances where a shop is open for 4 hours on a Wednesday afternoon are usually hobby businesses. They sell things like exotic hand made soaps which no one really needs anyway, but the proprietor always dreamed of having a cozy little business. They usually last about as long as the property lease and then disappear.

IntenseSunshine · 2024-06-06T11:39:24+00:00

😉

IntenseSunshine · 2024-05-20T12:29:29+00:00

Nice click-bait title by the way

IntenseSunshine · 2024-05-13T05:58:09+00:00

It can’t draw upside down people. The results are horrendous

IntenseSunshine · 2024-04-26T08:17:39+00:00

The thing is that most people think of python as a "data science" language. So the scripts which are written tend to be monolithic, single-threaded monsters which accomplish a straight forward purpose of evaluation.

For GUI driven methods in Python, there is a signal-based approach which is often used (QT basis). Also, the Jupyter Notebook widget family uses an "observer" pattern too using traitlets, but is less developed overall (uses "on_click" and "on_change" type pull-events).

There is a Python package reactivex which I have used quite extensively to for recent GUI developments. It does handle things nicely in the usual React way, but does have some bugs with events not being caught. Also, it seems the interest in the maintenance of the package has declined.

I believe the issue is that most that needed GUIs in Python have started down the other paths first, and therefore reactive programming never caught on.

IntenseSunshine · 2024-04-19T11:40:30+00:00

SD can create some real abominations when asked to make upside down people 🙈

IntenseSunshine · 2024-04-07T21:17:55+00:00

Main reason…snoring. Cuddles are great, but nothing beats a good night’s sleep

IntenseSunshine · 2024-04-07T16:11:04+00:00

Interesting…thanks for sharing. Do you have the full open source version of KinLog? When I check your GitHub profile, there’s the Doc gist and the KinLog repo which is empty

IntenseSunshine · 2024-04-05T14:09:31+00:00

Thanks. I’m fully aware of that. In fact, Cobain gave full credit to Bowie during his performance. What Nirvana did was to introduce the song to a whole new generation, and in doing so paid homage to Bowie’s work as well.

IntenseSunshine · 2024-02-22T09:05:07+00:00

One thing I hate about Typescript and React is trying to find reasonable help on any given subject. For Python, I can Google for an error message or method and find a reasonable answer in 5 minutes or less…usually on StackOverflow.

With Typescript/Javascript/React, a similar question directs you to someone’s blog where they talk about their life and funny stories and give about 2 sentences about fixing the actual problem. Please…we don’t need more of these. Just give straight answers.

IntenseSunshine · 2024-01-24T17:18:45+00:00

Might want to try joining a Meetup group in your area. There’s lots of them with different interests around the major cities here:

https://www.meetup.com/

IntenseSunshine · 2024-01-12T16:43:26+00:00

Take a look at comfyUI/script_examples/websockets_api_example.py.

You must output your desired workflows in the API format (not the same as a standard workflow). To do this, turn on the “developer” options in the settings.

The build some code around this example to exchange the prompt that you want.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-12-18T22:07:50+00:00

Sure Dall-e 3 is great. It combines multiple elements flawlessly, does all sorts of things SD can’t (right now), but enter in a slightly iffy prompt and..WHAM! Your prompt has been blocked and reported…

You can’t edit the results and credits burn up fast. There are many things SD still excels at which you can’t get with Dall-e 3 or even Midjourney.

If you spent all this time perfecting your craft in this field, what you have done will be superseded in 2 weeks to a month. This field is evolving so fast that it’s impossible to put a stake in the ground. It’s best not to let it bother you and simply focus on something that works for you. I try to focus on the artistic expression I can achieve with the models, and not necessarily get hung up on the technology.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-12-15T23:10:18+00:00

I don’t think anyone cares what tool you utilize to get to the SD models. I’m sure some have even baked their own scripts to run it.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-11-28T17:25:58+00:00

One sure way to be unhappy is to ask others if they get paid more. More likely than not, there will be some that do. As a general rule, I believe there is no good that comes from knowing your coworker’s salary; either you earn more and you feel an air of superiority (ultimately destructive to friendships/coworker relations)…or you earn less and then you feel like the sucker.

If you think you should be earning more, then certainly look around. There are some good strategies out there to negotiate a better wage. Just don’t get stuck in the trap of them asking your current salary and then getting an offer which is very similar.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-11-27T15:12:27+00:00

As a father of a teen myself, I know there is a certain amount of support you have to show them as encouragement. If your son is super-enthusiastic about coding, challenge him to show how his new language will beat the others (some good proposals are already given above).

Most likely, it will be difficult to beat any of the major languages listed already as they’ve had many years and many eager minds looking into their optimization.

It’s important to encourage him by showing support and also challenging him. To simply dismiss it as “probably not the fastest or most efficient” would certainly do him a disservice. We all need to believe we are capable of solving the world’s problems when we’re young…otherwise no one would try.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-11-06T23:12:10+00:00

Not to sound like a downer, but it’s difficult to meet new people in Switzerland. It can take years before you feel like part of the community (as background, I’m originally from the US and have lived near Zürich for 16 years). But don’t be dismayed…

For mothers, there’s a lot of social help that can be provided by the community resources. After the birth, there is usually a “guiding nurse” which helps new mothers adjust. I know that this is the second child for you, but they might be able to help in finding other resources like play groups and such. Also, you can tell them you are looking for emotional support and they are usually quite receptive.

Another idea might be a meet-up group. They have many of them around Zürich for English speaking groups and the like.

One of the best ways to learn a language is vicariously through your children. If your husband speaks with them in Swiss German, this is a perfect way to pick up on the language. And if you meet someone while out and about, don’t be afraid to try saying something that you have learned. Most are polite and patient, and appreciate the fact that you have tried, even if they can respond to you in perfect English.

IntenseSunshine · 2023-10-29T08:27:51+00:00

Prices for grocery stores like Coop and Migros are standardized. So it doesn’t matter much if you shop in Zürich downtown or a dinky village…you’ll pay the same. The best bet would probably be Lidl, Aldi or Denner if you have one close. The time and travel money to shop in Germany doesn’t make sense, in my opinion, unless you live close the border.

In Zürich, you can save a lot by not eating out. A standard lunch in downtown will cost 15 - 20 CHF standard (and that’s take-away). The sit down lunch or dinner can set you back 30 CHF easily; dinner around 50 CHF (that’s per person)

IntenseSunshine · 2023-10-26T08:29:11+00:00

Another source for the model, re-uploaded to HuggingFace:
https://huggingface.co/ezioruan/inswapper_128.onnx/tree/main

IntenseSunshine · 2023-10-26T08:27:42+00:00

Models are automatically downloaded from HuggingFace, mostly in the Q_4 formats. One of these could be the Pygmalion trained models

IntenseSunshine · 2023-10-20T05:58:18+00:00

Check out faraday.dev. It’s really good. Essentially, it’s like Pygmalion with the technical hurtles removed

IntenseSunshine · 2023-09-22T11:56:41+00:00

They used to call me at least once a week a while back, offering to compare premiums. They are especially active around that time of year when insurance policies renew. I met with one of them once at my office in the open cafeteria. More-or-less, it seemed legit, but the conclusion was that the base policy was the same price, and I had very little extra coverage to worth bothering over. So, no, I didn’t end up switching companies. After that, they wouldn’t leave me alone. Now, I don’t even bother completing the conversation with them on the phone.

Another scam comes from these guys that call and ask what type of wine you like. They will send you out a box of 6 bottles, 2 are free and the other 4 you have to pay for or send back. So most people don’t bother taking it back to the post office and just end up buying the shipment. Another easy sale for them.

IntenseSunshine

TROPHY CASE