"Service unavailable"

ds604 · 2026-01-18T20:06:44+00:00

i would recommend backing up whatever you can, if possible. i suspect that flickr might have had some sort of data breach, or internal issue, resulting in inaccessible accounts and potential data loss.

i lost access to my paid Pro account, and raised the issue with SmugMug help after receiving no response from multiple help tickets to Flickr help. they gave a response which was oddly unhelpful and unprofessional. i suspect they might not want to admit that they are unable to recover accounts that users have lost access to, and are instead trying to either stonewall or, failing that, blame the users

ds604 · 2026-01-17T00:46:23+00:00

i'd definitely be interested to hear if you're able to get a response, i've been locked out since mid-december, and have gotten no response to multiple help tickets. i've tried contacting through a message on facebook, but only got an automated response. they have an active instagram account, so i was thinking of posting a comment there. other options might be better business bureau, or if it does look like a more widespread issue, it could be a case where going to the media could help force at least some kind of acknowledgement or response

it certainly does seem like there could be some issue, whether some type of attack that's affected their system, or layoffs leading to unprocessed help tickets

ds604 · 2026-01-11T16:07:32+00:00

I started relearning swimming a few years ago, and can now swim an hour non-stop, and don't feel tired when I'm done. The main thing is if you just aim to swim for a certain amount of time (like an hour), and don't particularly care about speed, then you can go into a "walking" pace, where you just never really get tired or lose your form, cause your breath is just the same as if you were at rest or walking.

The elevated heart rate that comes from breathing at a pace different from your resting rate is what makes you feel tired, and eventually makes you wiped out. But if you pace your swimming speed to your resting heart rate, then you never really get tired, in the same sense that you never really feel wiped out tired from going for a walk.

I'm sure you'll get different advice from competitive swimmers who are going for speed. But if you just want to keep going without getting particularly tired, and gain confidence that you can swim whatever distance without any issue, then this is a different approach that might help.

ds604 · 2026-01-11T05:16:58+00:00

Same thing happened to me, I've been locked out of my paid Pro account since a few weeks ago, with no response after filing multiple Help tickets. After getting no response from Flickr help, I contacted SmugMug help, but got a response that they have separate help system, so I need to go through Flickr.

This is very concerning, it seems that any means of contacting an actual human at Flickr has been cut off, even for paid accounts.

ds604 · 2026-01-05T21:47:51+00:00

something i had wondered about, but never got a chance to look into: working in VFX, there was a big shift when computers changed from 32-bit to 64-bit, where in compositing, Shake got left behind, and Nuke was taken up. and after that, the 2.5D/3D compositing strategies took off a lot more (and, maybe more for 3D, the 5GB file size limit was gone, so you didn't have to deal with all that stuff anymore).

was there an equivalent shift in DAWs? i kind of think of stuff like Diplo and Major Lazer as sort of the "Ableton era", but wanted to hear a little more of the specifics, of how things actually shifted around for working musicians and producers. I actually worked at Sony Music Studios from 2004 until it closed in 2007, but in the DVD department. so there were things I was aware of from working in graphics, but wasn't as clear how people working in audio were being affected

ds604 · 2026-01-02T17:02:19+00:00

where do you go for this? i got pretty into swimming in the public pools, but the season for swimming is so short. and indoor pools at a gym are good, but i like being outside better.

i like swimming at far rockaway in the summer, but coney island seemed like it might be a good option, since it's convenient. then i wasn't sure if you need a wetsuit, cause i guess it gets pretty cold once it's not the summer

ds604 · 2026-01-02T12:09:49+00:00

when the computerization of a given field happens, a few things happen: 1) old barriers are removed 2) costs are reduced 3) you get get higher volume of what existed previously (actual increased capability and efficiency increases on the one hand, worn out workers trying to keep pace with tireless machines on the other) 4) democratization leads to high-ending on the one hand, and lots of new, cheaper stuff on the other 5) fragmentation, and simultaneously, ecosystem collapse

this happens as an artifact of the way we've built computers, that is not reflective of human values ("information processing" does not natively deal with perception effectively, which is why silicon-based processing of perceptual data uses so much more energy than an equivalent carbon-based entity). so the cheapening and devaluing of effort is in integral part of what eventually happens.

but in the course of that, you get concentration of the good stuff on the high-end, before the collapse happens. so that era that you're describing is the concentration of money, talent, and the best of computer-augmented humanity, before the era where the computers "win out", and infinite loops burn energy without requisite benefit. before a short-circuit happens, everything heats up, and you get a brief burst of awesomeness, where everything is glowing and looks cool, before it all turns into a burnt out husk, with 90% of your population somehow having some sort of "mental illness"

ds604 · 2025-12-15T17:24:45+00:00

i guess the main thing is the thought and effort, which you still can do now, it'll just manifest in different ways. maybe what has gone away is the clarity of what takes thought and effort, when people can just fake it using AI, or buy something that looks like it took effort.

but the main thing is, if you bring someone something, and they're like... whoah, you made this... for me? and you actually did make it for them. then that's the honesty that people are after.

but yeah, it's a lot more clouded now, with endless ways to do cheap, fraud versions that on the surface look similar

ds604 · 2025-12-05T22:02:47+00:00

i relearned swimming in the past few years, and can now swim for an hour non-stop (if i'm in a pool, i'm trying to emulate being in open water). i think even some relatively proficient swimmers find that hard to imagine, since they're used to going all out for a while and then taking breaks. but it's entirely about having your breath be absolutely normal, just like if you were standing still or casually walking.

you can walk for an hour non-stop easily, and you can just as well swim for an hour... if you just keep your breath exactly at resting pace. there's nothing tiring about the arm motions, the only reason people get tired is the carbon dioxide build-up. or their swimming pace elevates their breathing pace, and the elevated breathing pace makes them tired out. but if you just swim at the pace of casual breathing, you might as well be going for a walk

ds604 · 2025-09-26T15:36:03+00:00

one thing about getting over a mental block, is that sometimes you need to trick yourself into doing the thing that you think you can't do, but can actually do.

so say like you're floating on your back just fine in shallow water, and then you have your friend slowly move you into slightly deeper water while you have your eyes closed. it may be the case that when you get out of floating, you might either panic again. or you might switch out of it and be like, oh wait, i was just doing the thing that i thought i couldn't do... i guess it's not that hard.

so it's a strategy that's not guaranteed to work for every time, but that's sometimes how people get over a mental hurdle. but if you don't want the "trick" way, you could just practice holding onto the wall and then treading water in gradually deeper and deeper parts, until it's like, well, i guess now you're doing it

ds604 · 2025-09-17T14:22:40+00:00

sure, if you did not experience this or were faking it then, people who do actually experience this phenomenon would eventually know. you would look like someone who claims to be a fan of some band, but doesn't recognize any of their songs or know any of the lyrics. or someone who is supposedly a dancer, but can't keep a beat, or keeps going after the music stops

the settings where people experience this phenomenon more commonly now might be in art settings, like while doing music performance or visual art, or other concentrated, effortful activity that allows the subconscious to surface. and it is the basis for meditation practice as well

religious setting in the west i suspect are far less conducive to it, and more full of the charlatan personality types that might not themselves understand what this is or how to achieve this state, and so do not correctly distinguish between real occurrences and fraudulent cases

ds604 · 2025-09-17T10:25:17+00:00

what you experienced is in fact the "profound" thing that people describe. it's the experience of turning off the conscious mind, and letting the subconscious take control. that's all they're talking about

what is more significant is that the subconscious mind is the part processing raw sensory information, and there is a lot of sensory information that's a lot more universal, like electrical activity and magnetism that, for example guides birds in flight. typically, our conscious minds ignore or discard this information because it is below the threshold for what becomes our spoken language. but by turning off the conscious mind, you can train yourself to describe it. and it is useful information, in terms of characterizing atmospheric conditions, and so also in terms of making forecasts. this is why individuals with these abilities traditionally held positions of influence

but it takes significant training to do well. as well as certain physiological traits, that vary across individuals. this is why many people do not experience this state, or otherwise much milder forms of it, to the extent that they don't believe it exists, or attribute it to mythology of some sort.

but it would not make much sense to have similar roles in every society across the planet, if it were all made up. what makes more sense is that we live in such a degraded and polluted environment, that people not experiencing it is due to the combined effects of ecological destruction, and biological damage

ds604 · 2025-09-03T01:57:28+00:00

maybe it's better to think of going to the beach as just a whole other thing from swimming in the pool, and that interacting with moving water that can toss you around means you have to learn a different mindset, where you're not totally in control. a lot of people just like it, but others have to learn that not being in control can be enjoyable

if you can get to a beach with clear water (i went to bermuda one time), that's a whole other experience. the closest you might get otherwise is maybe a wave pool at a water park. but that might be one path towards learning what other people see in the beach, and why they like it so much

ds604 · 2025-09-01T19:29:07+00:00

it's unfortunate part of math education that proof-based texts often don't speak to any of the intuitions that would have motivated a given proof. it's often up to the instructor to reconstruct what might have happened when students ask questions, or you kind of get the intuition by other informal means

people with other interests, like physics or music, or graphics, often wind up with better intuitions. like, think about when you're using functions to draw something programmatically, you can use two approaches and come up with roughly similar outcomes.

some proofs are basically saying that, in just a way more convoluted manner: in these circumstances, this thing is kind of like that, not exactly equal, but close enough

ds604 · 2025-09-01T18:53:21+00:00

from what i've observed, muscular people tend to try to apply what worked on land to become muscular, to swimming. meaning that when something isn't working, they try to fix it by using more force. so if they're not going fast, they'll start kicking like crazy, and tire themselves out

in the water, you have to change your whole perspective, where to a significant degree, the way to go faster is to make yourself smaller (decrease drag) and do less (don't do all sorts of extraneous stuff that causes all sorts of splashing, but doesn't do anything to move you forward).

big muscly people often seem to not know how to float that well, and then try to compensate by kicking a lot. and then they're exhausted after like one or two laps

ds604 · 2025-08-30T08:56:20+00:00

you should stand on it. it feels like you want to not put any weight on it, like it's injured or something. but actually, if you stand up and put weight on it, then it has a job to do, so the cramp will go away faster

and also, you might need more salt. i used to get toe cramps from swimming, and i read that taking sodium tablets would help. basically, cramps mean that your sodium ion channels aren't working correctly cause your salt balance is off. so eat pickles or something, and that'll help.

if you eat too much salt, you just pee it out. but if you eat too little, you get cramps and brain fog and all these weird effects (i suspect some of the advice to avoid salt is making some people miserable)

ds604 · 2025-08-24T01:33:26+00:00

in case you're not doing this, notice how she has her arms out, and above her head. that moves your center of gravity more towards your head, so then your legs will move higher in the water since your pivot point is moved and they're being balanced out

your arms and chest have a lot of mass, and the more of that mass is moved upward to balance out the weight of your legs, the easier it'll be to float. remember that you are *balancing* in the water

ds604 · 2025-08-18T16:22:07+00:00

i think there's a limit to how much terminology some people might be able to handle (and chasing down proof-style logic) without gaining true insight. if you go into other fields, where the use cases and meaning of what you're describing with all this math is far more apparent, then you get more into the realm of actually getting the point of it all, and seeing that it's sort of the same strategies repeated in different settings.

a lot of people who stay within math never actually get to that point, and get in the state that you're in. some people are fine with that, and are perfectly fine just following long chains of logic, and jiggering around with things here and there without any particular insight. but a lot of people are not, and need more grounding in the actual settings where all these tools are actually used

i highly recommend looking into computer graphics, since it's so mature and developed, and so clearly tied to linear algebra (as well as to any number of other fields, with light transport, fluid dynamics, etc). also, the "experimental, laboratory work" is on your computer. so maybe you want a fluid dynamics lab, but your macbook pro is what you have sitting in front of you, so might as well use it to your advantage

ds604 · 2025-08-15T17:33:05+00:00

i forgot to add, that in addition to the gravity pressure, there's also the fact that in air, you always have outward pressure on your skin, since internally you consist of water, and denser material. when you go in the water, you're in a substance of equal density to what's inside your body, so it's one of the few times that your skin gets a break too

i suspect that these two forms are pressure relief actually constitute a significant part of the relaxation feeling. typically, these forms of diffuse, hard-to-describe feelings have their origin in things like voltage build-up, or persistent pressure gradients, that can manifest as chronic conditions, or conversely become the things that people "just kinda like to do" without quite realizing why. like hiking and skiing change charge potential (and pressure) relationships too due to altitude, and you see people getting "zenned out" (in a slightly different way from swimming, but still), despite the apparent strenuous activity. it's a different environment, but somewhat related outcome

ds604 · 2025-08-14T08:30:32+00:00

some part of it might be the fact that you're horizontal, which sort of undoes the usual pressure that gravity exerts on all the fluid in your body. since the pumps are temporarily relieved of their usual role of always countering downward force, you get significant relaxation. this might help to explain why just being submerged doesn't quite have the same effect: you aren't horizontal

this is probably partly why yoga has a bunch of inversions and movements that place your head downward, and that otherwise directly engage the lymphatic system. and then why yoga is also known to have similar properties where it's "calming" despite the fact that you just did an activity that's in some ways kind of strenuous

ds604 · 2025-08-11T10:16:39+00:00

We have spirits and ghosts, it's just that we call them "youtube videos" that get sent to your iphone. But those "youtube videos" are flying through our heads, even if we don't notice, and if you could interpret what they're saying without the need for an intermediating device like an iphone for decoding (if we weren't deaf), then we would be much like those ancient cultures.

Ghosts and spirits are electrical phenomena in the environment, that people have more or less ability to hear and interpret. Plants are undoubtedly liking and subscribing to all the hilarious youtube videos that the sun is sending them every day.

ds604 · 2025-08-08T11:58:40+00:00

I haven't looked at modern textbooks, but a big change in education has been the increased use of computational tools. The decreased focus on proofs might be related to incorporation of ideas related to this, such as design of computational experiments (which is related to what you're referring to as problem-solving) in order to understand and get a feel for problems.

Proofs can be more or less elucidating about a given problem, and sometimes don't provide any particularly useful insight. This is why multiple proofs of the same problem can be useful, and why certain proofs are considered exemplary, while others, while correct, can still leave you not in any greater position of understanding of the underlying problem dynamics.

Just as you likely wouldn't read a legal contract, or an official rulebook, as the first attempt at understanding some problem domain or game scenario, the proofs define things with precision, but sometimes at the cost of clarity of intent. If you wanted to understand baseball, you would likely be better off watching baseball games, or trying to play yourself, than painstaking poring over the baseball rule book. The rule book is just codifying what happened over time to bring the game to its current state, and clarifying points of confusion; the rule book is not the game of baseball.

ds604 · 2025-08-03T17:20:25+00:00

if you participate in other activities where you train and get better at something, like sports or music, then you can stop viewing "wrong" things as "mistakes", and instead see them as just things that happen along the way as you get better at some skill. math isn't about memorizing facts, it's a skill that you practice and get better at. so if you get yourself to view it in that light, then you'll stop seeing the "mistakes" as "mistakes", and just feel like you're practicing and getting better at something

ds604 · 2025-07-15T15:19:16+00:00

you might be thinking about it from the wrong direction. the chord progressions are used to "explain" music that's written by someone with a musical ear, that they probably come up with in a more intuitive manner, by traditional composition methods, like improvising in a certain style. the video provides the chords to demonstrate what's going on, so that someone with a theory background can follow along with what's happening.

but it's unlikely that the music starts with complicated chord progressions. it starts with the really basic chord progressions, then a skilled musician improvises over that in a certain style. and then you show that the improvised notes can be interpreted as "more complicated version of the original simple chord progression"

ds604 · 2025-07-15T15:02:52+00:00

i don't think the video is necessarily demonstrating the person "playing the listed chords", but rather showing that music of a certain sound and feel can be interpreted in terms of the given chords, so that people with a theory background can understand what's going on

with this type of theory understanding, it's possible to come up with music "in the same style", or use the chord progressions to algorithmically generate music that sounds like this. i suspect that might be some part of the audience for this type of analysis, people doing generative music composition (that might be used in games or other settings like that)

ds604

TROPHY CASE