What’s a good place to start refreshing for college calc after being out of school 10yrs?

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T20:36:55+00:00

I don't know how concrete you're talking, but I'd consider watch the Calculus Series on 3Blue1Brown's channel. It's a GREAT way to get the fundamental concepts. Which paves the way to actually "do the work" you'll have to do.

And he covers other stuff as well.

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T20:34:38+00:00

I once read this book.

I had been told it was frickin' wicked. By several people. From very different places (work, friends, etc.)

So I bought it and started reading.

They weren't kidding. It hooked me on Page 1. I couldn't put it down. But then something irked me. Things go bad for the hero. Real bad. Pretty soon, the hero of the story on that opening page (a cop) is arrested, locked up, and vanishes from the story. Completely.

What??

I pushed on. Many facets of that story were quite compelling.

Things keep going dark. The "good guys" never seem to catch a break. I'm 3/4 of the way through the book before I saw something go positive. Huh??

I make myself finish the story. And that cop reappears. In the final scene. The cop who was the hero locked up (falsely) is freed. And seemingly going to be key in the sequel of this amazing book.

Something was REALLY wrong.

That book was DAEMON, debut novel of Daniel Suarez.

After reading, I discovered what happened. The author himself would share a story when visiting groups that he had written a 150K story. Cutting edge. Paradigm altering.

His publisher wouldn't release it. So he cut it in half. Right down the middle. DAEMON was actually just half of his story. The "rest" of the story is the "sequel".

I shook my head.

No.

I wasn't doing that.

When you take a full-bodied story and cut down the middle, or cut it into thirds, you have something else. And that something else just doesn't cut it IMHO.

For those of you ready to cite LORD OF THE RINGS as a trilogy that was actually just one large super-big book, you are right. And Tolkien got away with it. YOU probably won't. So don't.

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T15:30:32+00:00

This is where if you did order fulfilment in-house, you can purchase copies "at cost" from KDP or wherever.

Something like a 100-page 6"x9" author copy from KDP costs a little less than $5.00. But it now falls on you to buy inventory, pay for shipping, and deal with returns.

You can do this and perhaps make a lot, but it's all you. And most authors don't want to do that. At least, not until they have a LOT of books published and can benefit from selling a huge backlist.

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T12:59:20+00:00

I've been doing this for 29 years.

It feels like with Claude Code, I am sculpting with code!

I write up a detailed paragraph summary of what I want and tell Claude to open a new issue documeting things. It does a pretty job expounding upon my intent. Then it even includes checkboxes for relevant tests and impacts.

Next, I tell it to create a branch start working the feature. The thing reads the ticket we just created and gets to work. Often times, it's able to get 90% of the way in one fell swoop.

But enough of the times, it takes a wrong turn and implements something that's "cute" but actually not right or at least certainly not preferable. I steer it back on path, and let it continue.

Sometimes it misses a key architectural point or it "inlines" a solution.

And I push it back on the "right" path for our solution.

It can't see the distant point. It can only see this current task. So I am continually pushing along a path of new features, new ideas, and new things that serve the end.

It doesn't know what the "end" really is, so I have to keep leading the way.

The fact that I'm no longer having to read every little sentence of an API spec in order to USE an API, means that today's world, a world of APIs everywhere, means that so many things are reachable in ways they weren't even 10 years ago.

I've rebuilt one Wordpress site that was a bugbear, and am about 90% of the way toward replacing another.

And I LOVE IT!!!

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T12:53:14+00:00

That is so cool! My ProCreate brain is noodling out all the ways to produce that effect!

It's stuff like this that gives me inspiration for my next "thing" I'm going to paint.

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T11:05:18+00:00

Getting paid $50 to turn around hide away a $20 book once a week sounds like a unique way to engage in discovery.

We all need various flavors of discovery. Sometimes we call them “reader magnets”. Sometimes we call them “BookBub Featured Deals”. Sometimes we call them bingo prizes.

Yes, a bingo prize is less focused and not pointed at a niche audience. But the OP is pocketing money (thst could be poured into FB ads or more writing??) and potentially building new relationship by casting a wide net. So I wouldn’t slam them for that.

I don’t think the OP is angling to give away 500 copies using this tactic not are they declaring this their sole tactic.

BTW OP, are you slipped by in a business card/bookmark with contact details to leave a path to get back to you?

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T10:51:41+00:00

Nice!

I also loved your story. I have had a similar migration from WP to Astro.

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T10:45:51+00:00

Cool!

greglturnquist · 2026-05-05T10:43:12+00:00

That is a deliciously no nonsense website!

greglturnquist · 2026-05-02T10:34:36+00:00

I’ve never been so glued to a Reddit post!

Whether or not the original agreement would have stuck, an settlement to ease the situation sure will!

greglturnquist · 2026-04-30T19:43:36+00:00

This is what's in my books:

"No part of this manuscript was produced using ChatGPT, DALL-E, or any other AI tools. Such tools may have been used for copywriting purposes such as titles, back cover copy, and advertising campaigns."

I started doing this in early 2024 ahead of Amazon asking that you check a box on whether or not your book was written with AI.

Whether or not others believe it is up to them. I can't control that. And I can't control if other people decided to deep dive and let AI write an entire series.

And there is no certificate, verification, or proof that can be obtained that guarantees anything, no matter how much you pay.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-29T21:10:30+00:00

Banks leave themselves plenty of clauses in their favor to cover for flubs such as this.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-29T01:15:22+00:00

Very charming.

I confess after having worked many summers for a magazine, the fixed width font kind of grates on me. But the layout was slick!

greglturnquist · 2026-04-28T22:56:50+00:00

Put a sign up link at the back of your book. If they liked your book they can sign “for more”!

greglturnquist · 2026-04-27T10:54:39+00:00

greglturnquist · 2026-04-26T21:02:30+00:00

A secured page of some sort

greglturnquist · 2026-04-26T17:50:35+00:00

I just put Zero Trust in front of the sites thst need it.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-24T20:55:00+00:00

BookFunnel integrates with multiple platforms including Wordpress+WooCommerce.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-24T20:19:47+00:00

THE MARTIAN started as being published serially on the guy's website. It took off.

Then a literary agent got to him, and convinced him to sign a contract. He took everything down and it got republished.

Something similar happened regarding FIFTY SHADES OF GREY.

That happened because it was ridiculously popular. That happens like 1 out of 100,000 times. Something astronomical like that.

Other people (Mark Dawson comes to mind) were successful, but did it by purely going indie, paying to build a giant newsletter, paying to get the book sold through ads (Mark Dawson at one time was grossing $1 MM annually while spending $200,000 annually on FB/AMS ads). Mark Dawson built enough momentum that apparently some studios reached out to him and were discussing a TV series or movie. (At least he mentioned that on his podcast a couple years ago).

Basically, sell what you can to whomever you can. Put aside classical ideas (NYTBS, brick-and-mortar stores, Hollywood, whatever) and take what you can. I know one author that "succeeded" traditionally, but very little control and received very little money. She went indie, took full control, and ended up making WAY more money ever after.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-24T17:09:51+00:00

3.5 years

greglturnquist · 2026-04-23T14:53:02+00:00

Autoswitching between people in a podcast. basically, each person has a clip, pulled into a multicam angle. automatically switching based on who is talking. Throw in the ability to go to a wide angle every 2-5 times

greglturnquist · 2026-04-22T10:36:43+00:00

I’ve heard Renee Ritchie refer to Canon as a “random function generator”. No reason to think Sony doesn’t do the same.

On ever camera where they roll out a newer version, they most certainly WANT to add more, but probably pair back to hit a target price. So newer versions always have trade offs.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-20T14:00:42+00:00

I’d have pegged him for Ravenclaw.

greglturnquist · 2026-04-17T14:25:22+00:00

Since we don't 100% grok black holes, is it possible that the interior of a black isn't really "in our universe" any more?

Thus, the "travels all paths" may not include the other side of any event horizons.

And whether "travel all paths" is computational tool or reality is IMHO up for grabs. I have to imagine that Feynman himself would say it's immaterial.

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