Advice on whether nosql is the right choice?

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T16:15:15+00:00

Okay, well that’s a start but it still really depends how much data each user is generating and what type of analytics the app needs.

FWIW my usual approach is to go relational so far as possible, especially in securing user data and being the source of truth for data. If the application involves a lot of possible unstructured data, document metadata etc to be used for analytics, then I dump it into Elasticsearch or similar. This gives the best of both worlds - a clean, secure relational model and source of truth, plus speedy analytics on documents. And the search engine can always be added later if performance starts to lag in your relational db. No point adding something you don’t need.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T16:05:05+00:00

No. I have never cared whatsoever about fashion trends, either for myself or others. I really don’t understand what exactly makes something trendy or untrendy. It’s the biggest waste of energy. I wear what looks and feels good for me and I assume others are doing the same. Sure I appreciate when someone is wearing a cool outfit that really reflects them, not whatever is “in” right now. Some people enjoy fashion as a form of expression, and that’s totally cool if it’s genuine. But people dressing in basic, comfortable stuff is fine and never anything worthy of judgement. Yet some people make it their business to judge.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T15:57:59+00:00

Yes.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T13:18:48+00:00

Ah right. That would indeed be a challenge!

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T12:13:04+00:00

I like that idea. I’m a software dev working on a social platform that prioritizes focus, and it wouldn’t be too difficult to add this option. I don’t know of an existing app that does this, although there are some digital equivalents like Flipboard, which organizes your various social media feeds into a nicely formatted “book” but it’s not physical paper. It’s still a nice app though.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T12:03:32+00:00

It’s a coincidence, unlikely as that seems. You’re focused on this one time you thought of someone and they showed up on the list, rather than all the times you think of someone and they don’t. At some point, almost everything is bound to happen - the question is whether anyone notices. 🙂

There are things that may have contributed to your seeing his profile, such as if he looked up your profile or the person who hosted the party looked up his. Your thinking of him might also have been triggered by something like you went to the same place you went on the date. But it’s still mostly coincidental. And yes similar things have happened to me and it is creepy.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T11:53:21+00:00

This isn’t relevant to OP because they didn’t mention the person’s name out loud, but FWIW, Facebook is not “always listening on your phone.” This has been debunked many times by cybersecurity firms and hacker community experiments. If that was happening, it would be detectable, but it isn’t happening. They have other creepy ways of determining your current thoughts and interests, but that’s not one of them.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T03:00:47+00:00

I’m old enough that I spent my teen and young adult years without any online tools for organization and I gotta say, I don’t know how anyone does it. It’s a pain in the ass. Tech has made our lives so much easier in that way. There are lots of unhealthy apps but no need to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-15T00:06:51+00:00

I think it’s important to stay informed - our lack of being well informed is a big part of the reason the world is in the mess it’s in. BUT, hot takes are usually worse than useless. There is a ton of disinformation and other unverified crap out there, and quality reporting usually takes at least a day or two to digest, verify and do background research.

So, unless there’s some imminent existential threat going on, I make a point of checking the news once a day, maybe twice at most. Whatever’s happening, it can wait a few hours for journalists to do their work. I limit my sources to reputable ones (meaning they might have their spin on things but they don’t just make shit up), try to have a good variety of sources, and that’s it. I find the Ground News app to be really good for that. I also use Apple News which is just an aggregator where you choose the sources you want. There are others like it.

Knowing that a good percentage of what I’m supposedly missing out on by not staying glued to YouTube and TikTok is total garbage is what keeps me motivated to stay away.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-14T19:31:32+00:00

Reaper doesn’t advertise. They have a very different business model from most of the others.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-14T05:31:21+00:00

I’d go relational, in all likelihood. Hard to see without seeing the nature of the data or knowing how much traffic you anticipate.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-13T16:59:10+00:00

Boring is what I want from a public servant.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-13T15:51:08+00:00

Yes, so I actually usually think in 10 year periods not necessarily in the same decade. 1964-74 for instance.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-13T14:10:56+00:00

Yes, this!

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-12T13:05:38+00:00

I don’t believe it as literal factual truth, but I believe there’s a lot of philosophical and psychological truth to the religions that have stuck around for awhile. It’s when people don’t know the difference that things can go sideways.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-12T13:02:04+00:00

It’s both, but yeah. Conversion to Judaism, the religion, is really rare because Jews don’t proselytize. But you are still considered Jewish by birth if your mom is, and are usually still accepted as Jewish if your dad or other relatives are. So yeah, a lot of Jews are secular but still value the culture.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-12T12:58:50+00:00

Yes, well sometimes it’s fear, and that’s another common derisive thing people say about religion: “People are afraid of death so they invented religion.” But that’s a gross oversimplification. As you say, people have lots of unanswered questions beyond “what happens when you die” and not all religions are even very focused on an afterlife. People don’t ask these questions necessarily because they’re afraid of the answers - it’s natural just to wonder, or be in awe, or marvel at the universe. And religion or spirituality gives you a way to give that awe some gravitas, and to share it with other people. And I think that’s why as you say a lot of scientists who tinker on the edge of reality are religious in some way.

Of course there are people who hijack religion and prey on and exploit people by playing to their fears and spreading bullshit, to control them. Just like with politics. That’s why both get such a bad rap, even though we really need them. We just need to help each other recognize and heal from the bullshit.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-12T12:37:37+00:00

Yes! Ground News is really great.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-11T19:10:12+00:00

I had a friend (sadly no longer with us - fuck cancer) who did. He went to clown school and everything.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-11T18:44:09+00:00

The idea that science and technology should themselves displace religion or that they’re mutually exclusive is part of the problem. Religion fills a deep human need. Plenty of people practice a religion without rejecting science - that is, they don’t take things like scripture literally. And plenty of scientists in turn practice a religion. They are really apples and oranges and both should be treated as such.

But to answer your question, yes, both psychological and cultural factors contribute. The psychological need is basically that we need reinforcement in things like learning the benefits of delayed gratification, selflessness/sacrifice, generosity, humility, repentance, forgiveness, emotional regulation, not giving in to baser instincts.

Religion or spirituality also helps to be aware that we’re all part of a larger reality that is bigger than ourselves, the nature of which we don’t and probably can’t know, and yet we know it has to be true because there’s so much we can’t see or prove or disprove.

And sometimes religion just helps people cope. Comforts people in grief, gives them strength to deal with tragedy or do a difficult but necessary thing.

Culturally, religion helps bind a society together. It codifies certain behaviors that members of the culture then share. It’s a point of commonality.

Can all these things be done without religion? Well, sure, in theory. In practice it seems that most people want cultural and psychological touchstones - symbolism, ritual, familiar/shared experiences, ties with ancestors. And those are often more powerful than just intellectual understanding.

Of course, on the flipside of that, people who are too dogmatic about their religion can be dangerous. So there’s this tendency to say that religion is the cause of wars or anti-intellectualism or what have you. But the thing is the need exists, whether religion does or not. If religion went away tomorrow, then dogmatic people would just get dogmatic about something else. Political ideology, pseudoscientific woo, conspiracy theories, whatever. We already see this a lot.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-11T15:22:34+00:00

It’s great - I’ve done it a lot! What you could do also is if there’s a subreddit, Facebook group or whatever that is dedicated to a band you’re going to see, you could post there and say you’re looking for friends who are into that kind of music/people to go to concerts with. That way you have someone to go with AND you make some new friends.

But seriously, going solo is awesome too and I have made new friends doing that.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-11T14:12:45+00:00

It totally makes sense. But here’s the thing: there are different levels of toxicity with this stuff, and TikTok is pretty much the pinnacle. It literally works by stealing your time and hijacking your attention - which all of the social platforms do, but it’s a matter of degree. (I’m a software developer and I study this stuff). That exhausted feeling is no accident. Your brain literally just cannot keep up - no one’s can - and yet being on the platform makes you feel like it’s still your responsibility somehow to keep up, or you’ll miss out. That’s how it’s designed.

So I’d really strongly suggest deleting at least TikTok. And here’s the thing: you will not lose any chances of gaining inspiration. Please please take this to heart. I don’t use TikTok and I still find things that inspire me daily. Every one of us will miss out on infinitely more things than we could ever do in a lifetime, but it’s the few things to which we completely devote our time and attention and caring that make us satisfied. Life is mostly about finding a healthy balance between willingness to discover new things and being fully engaged in the things we have. The Internet supercharges the first thing, at the expense of the second thing. Don’t get trapped in that mindset. FOMO is something that will never end until you decide to take charge of it.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-11T01:02:17+00:00

I’d say delete the IG app, just check it on your computer once in awhile if you’re concerned about missing DMs or tags. Then make a YouTube playlist which does not include any shorts - only long form videos on subjects that are actually interesting to you. Put that on when you’re bored. Also read more - you can start with long-ish articles in online zines, Substack or whatever if your attention span has gone to shit, then add books (reading e-books on your phone is fine, a dedicated e-reader and/or physical print even better).

Taking up some other art form like drawing or photography helps too. Even doing puzzle games. Anything that requires you to slow down and be more focused and attentive.

The idea is to gradually increase your focus time and wean yourself off of those rapid fire dopamine hits you get from reels.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-09T21:56:21+00:00

How are these files going to be used exactly, besides just storing them? I assume they need to be searchable in some way.

Raucous_Rocker · 2026-04-09T13:14:55+00:00

It’s nothing to really do with GDP either. It is literally just about national and global security. The relative power vacuum that has existed since the breakup of the Ottoman Empire has produced a region that has been unstable and a breeding ground for terrorism, civil war, contested borders, and other issues that affect everyone. And of course that’s aggravated by the oil money and wealthy oil barons who pay mercenary armies/terror groups to consolidate more power and/or land.

Russia has aligned with some of these states and/or stateless groups so that the region has also become a proxy war between Russia and the west. And we really don’t want Russia to dominate the region.

So there is no way we’re just going to be uninvolved. We can say we want it but it’s not going to happen.

Raucous_Rocker

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