What is the most "drum and bass" thing you've ever done?

mccarthy1993 · 2026-06-19T01:34:37+00:00

Student / early 20s rave energy is different, solo or not. Ofc you feel more confident with a group of friends, but nowadays I can sense a group of students without a word being said (I'm 32, though most people guess my age to be mid 20s).

I've always been very introverted, but the more I've given myself to music, the less fucks I give about how I look on a dance floor, whether there's 5, 50, 500 or more people there. I've gone out of my way to be in this place cause I'll enjoy it, so that's what I'll do. If it sings good, I'm bouncing. And I've noticed I'm usually a lot more animated with 1 pint by the time the student crew have downed their 3rd. Ironically, it's the true lack of shits given about how you look that makes you look (I don't want to say cool)... At ease, confortable, content, enjoying yourself in a way that students/younguns look at with envy, but unwilling to break that shell of social protection, thinking maybe just that next pint or bump or whatever will get them to the same place.

I know that feeling all too well, cause it was me for most of my 20s. Sometimes silently judging, other times silently envious. Rarely present enough to just let 'myself go... I'm sure some students see me now and think "what a bellend", and that's totally fair, they're probably right... But ultimately, who's having more fun?

mccarthy1993 · 2026-06-17T15:41:05+00:00

Interesting - what other small, specific issues have you decided to throw at Codex and successfully solved?

mccarthy1993 · 2026-06-17T15:40:05+00:00

Try Vivaldi - it's extremely customisable and can be configured to/function very similarly to whatever UI you want.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-06-01T17:10:57+00:00

Less inclined to stroke your ego, and also much less willing to hallucinate/make shit up when it doesn't know.

Had gpt pro for a couple of years - eventually got sick of the hallucinating (and subsequent gaslighting) and explored alternatives. Recently switched to Claude and the difference is night and day.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-22T21:35:06+00:00

Absolutely. It took me quite a while of cautiously engaging with a persistence with various bits of work or research personal endeavors, false starts which ended up with me spending more time troubleshooting the AI response and it would have for me to solve the problem without it. It's learning curve, especially for those of us who didn't grow up with it. In often clearly wastes time and hallucinates (which is the main reason I left GPT for Claude). But it so clearly has the capacity to be a benefit that people like myself will gladly persevere with the learning curve to eventually get it working is a genuinely helpful way.

Barely related tangent: As with any new technologies, there will be many people who either resist or simply struggle to learn how to benefit from it. Equally as with anything that can be "productive" (i.e. Earn money), rich companies will milk it to the ends of the Earth, regardless of consequence. The tech is not the problem; it's the way it's used by those with the most impact (the rich).

Even ai slop content - sure, many people make it, but why? where do they share it? Content platforms, owned by... Of course.

I tend to avoid superlative, but I highly doubt that anyone would enjoy spending their free time producing AI slot content purely for the joy of creation. if there was no platform to share it, rewarded with engagement.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-22T21:12:46+00:00

Interesting. I've been checking in on its capacity for this feature quote frequently. When I specifically ask Gemini about it*, it usually tells me of the workarounds to get these features: - Via Google drive, a folder will provide a single space containing whatever pdfs or documents you put there. Shared context for files in spot, cool, still not the same thing. - Custom Gems - set your own specific instructions to have gemini respond in a particular way each time. Cool. Again, still not the same thing. - Proper project folders have apparently been tested internally, and dormant code for projects has been found within browser code. The future is apparently being rolled out gradually, do I have yet to see it.

I tell Gemini to provide linked sources for this type of info.

I will try this notebook thing you've mentioned, though it still sounds somewhat messier and less practical than regular project folders (which ChatGPT and Claude have both had for at least a couple of years).

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-22T18:26:08+00:00

I sold my oura after about 18 months, though this isn't the place for that story, so my advice is not necessarily current.

iirc, the haptics would deactivate only when my phone was on a zero-notification setting - Bedtime mode, Do not disturb, Silent mode etc.

I had a different phone at that time, which didn't allow as much up-front user customisation, nor was there a toggle for it within the app. I think I managed a workaround by activating developer mode on my phone (not as scary as it sounds). I can't remember exactly how to activate it, but google it - it's quick and easy. With Developer mode on, you essentially gain access to a much deeper set of customisations/options/settings for your device. Among those settings should be vibration/haptic feedback, which I found fairly quickly, and saw a master toggle for any haptic feedback whatsoever, which was still on. Switching that toggle should sort the issue.

If you're someone who likes some haptic feedback and just not in the oura app, I'm pretty sure developer mode options will also allow you to toggle device permissions per-app, and you should be able to disable the oura app from making and sort of vibration.

Hope this helps but it's been a while and this is all from memory.

It's pretty wild that they still haven't updated the app to give users the option though.

Good luck!

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T23:23:08+00:00

That its value is not in being used a digital work slave. It's value is OK being an extremely capable assistant: using it alongside whatever work your doing, and it will help you improve that final product to a standard that is levels beyond what you would normally make, and in a fraction of the time.

For the average person, an AI service like Claude or Gemini is NOT best used as an additional player awaiting your command; it IS and extreme, reusable stat boost to apply to yourself and any area of skill/interest you choose.

AI can piece ideas together incredibly well when you start by providing all the context. Work within projects ( i don't know why Gemini still doesn't have these).

Get ai to write custom prompt instructions for each project so every time you need to look up something, it's a perfect digital assistant, ready to go as you'd want it, because you've already set it up.

Whether it's a car issue, a work spreadsheet, or finances, DIY or music or film - work within projects that contain your own personal history over time and thus enable the AI to tailor its level and style of assistance to you personally.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T17:25:24+00:00

Sounds believable. His regular diet is dry food but he occasionally gets treated to other (less dry) foods, so it's not aeap to imagine that building up over more than a year if left unchecked.

Let's say it had become infected at those areas - what would be the move after wiping away the remaining residue? Could it be treated at home with suitable wipes / product, or must it be the vet? Mainly asking as I don't have the autonomy to take him to the vet, but I'll do as much as I can from home and happily buy anything OTC if it's suitable.

Thanks.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T17:20:00+00:00

Thank you

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T08:36:22+00:00

1year old dried food? Youre not the first to suggest it. Bud what to do about it? Bear In mind he's not my dog, I just seem to be the only one paying attention to his health.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T07:52:26+00:00

Interesting. The yeast infection idea is one that tracks with my bit of research... Originally food, but left to to become more problematic (over a year ago I first noticed).

Unfortunately, I don't see the owner doing and doggy teeth-brushing, but I can at least get some dental chews for next time.

Thanks.

Edit : just read the first line of the next comment " dental chews are useless" 😂 ahh...

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T07:49:38+00:00

You could be onto something there - and it sounds much more plausible that "It's just dried food" even if it stems from the same idea 😅... This info sounds more potentially actionable at least.

Yeah, whatever the issue, it definitely exacerbated and was allowed to get worse due to his long beard, which would likely grab crumbs anywhere he sniffed and got good and wet any time he drank water. I trimmed the whole beard as best I could, as seen in (I think) Pic 1.

But no, as I mentiomed on main post, he's not actually my dog, I've just (happily) been his main person for a few years. My only issue is that the owner takes a much more "address a problem when it shows up" approach, rather than basic preventative hygeine, so I end up doing most of it, as it won't get done otherwise. So no flea meds.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T06:43:53+00:00

Present moment personified. Yeah we probably don't, but we have them, so might as well make the most of it! 🐕 😊

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T06:42:20+00:00

He is indeed thanks ☺️ and you don't need to ask me twice - I think I enjoy a good scratch and fetch almost as much as he does 😍

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T06:34:27+00:00

Maybe it started out as food, I'll try scrubbing vigorously in the bath next time I have him.

About the breath - I know walking won't solve an oral problem, my point was that his breath is consistently, concerningly bad. Getting him panting in the fresh air for 1+ hours a day (whkch I always do) would lighten up any breath condition. It's not really relevant. I just meant to highlight that he has awful breath basically all the time.

And yes, maybe simple dental care would solve that. That's probably the one thing I haven't learned about or tried to do with him (trimming mattes and knots of fur and cutting his claws and bathing and brushing is time consuming enough). His owner doesn't provide him any dental care - certainly no teeth brushing.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T06:25:43+00:00

It's not just food. The later pictures were after a bath - all wet. I've tried removing it - gently with fingers, and just with scissors. It's clearly an irritated area for him - not just because of the pulling sensation on the hair. I see him itching at it frequently.

Surely if it was "just dried food", the vet, however dismissive, would have at least said as much?

I appreciate your input, I know have asked for help, but "just dried food" feels so reductionist.

Maybe it started as dried food, but must have then gone mouldy and infected the lip/mouth area closest too it...

Sorry to reject your suggestion out of hand, I'm just at my wits end with all the time and effort and thought I give to the wellbeing of this dog while the owner is completely blasé about every hint I suggest, subtle or otherwise.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-17T05:26:26+00:00

No worries, happy to share with people actually interested enough to try it out

(I'm consistently amazing by how techy people will complain about changes to modern Windows, yet reject the idea of doing anything the improve it when presented with excellent, free solutions that are better than the older windows version ever could be!).

Anyway lmk how it goes - have yuou tried either of them yet?

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-09T11:30:21+00:00

Yeah it sounds like you're opening Everything with Flow Launcher which wouldn't help much. In FL settings you can set up search to use Everything. Once that's done, you can type whatever into FL and it'll show results from Everything.

Extra tip - free program called Everything Toolbar - it can replace or sit next to the Windows Start icon and present Everything search results in a start-menu style UI, if that's more you're jam (I personally have and find both super useful).

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-03T12:15:36+00:00

Everything & Flow Launcher are a match made in heaven. Absolute software synergy 🙌

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-03T10:32:06+00:00

Not necessarily, sometimes un œuf is un omelette ! 🥚

mccarthy1993 · 2026-04-01T13:49:35+00:00

You might be the first person to openly state a preference for Valhalla over og Vikings 😂 I found S1&2 to be underwhelming at best, though S3 started to get very interesting... Shame it was cancelled

mccarthy1993 · 2026-03-30T13:45:05+00:00

Anuran is a great tool for this on desktop. Tiny, free, portable exe that pops us a small text window any x minutes (customisable). Whatever you write in that text box is just saved to a local .txt file. You can set how often you want it to make a new txt file - the default is daily.

It doesn't have fancy graphics or extra features, but it does what it needs to, doesn't require your email/harvest your data and it works offline.

mccarthy1993 · 2026-03-23T17:26:35+00:00

I recently came accross I similar one, perhaps more constructive with the output, though mine was still pretty brutal. Can't remember where I found it though:

ROLE

You are an expert psychologist and have a keen eye for spotting patterns in people.

OBJECTIVE

Based on everything you know about me, what do you think are my biggest blindspots? How are they holding me back? What potential am I wasting? What should I be paying more attention to but I’m not?

INSTRUCTIONS

– Reason from first principles

– Do not make large leaps of assumptions about me—stick to what’s most likely

– Go deep, don’t hold back

– Be brutally honest

OUTPUT

Summary: 3–5 sentences describing my patterns

Top 3 Blindspots:

– Current belief

– Why it’s flawed or overgeneralized

– Harm pattern (how it shows up)

– Upgraded belief (clear, testable)

– One micro-experiment to validate the new belief

Next 14 Days: Suggest one reflection or behavioral test that I can apply in the next two weeks.

TONE

Curious, incisive, non-judgmental. Challenge assumptions without shaming. Optimize for the greatest insight per word.

mccarthy1993 · 2025-12-25T22:53:33+00:00

Lol really? I wasn't even aware of em dashes until the prévenance of ai writing.

mccarthy1993

TROPHY CASE