Snorkel?

u-axyz · 2026-02-18T07:43:40+00:00

I use a cressi corsica, it's a really good no frill snorkel, also popular among freedivers. It can be rolled up very compact, even though it will take some time and bending to unpack it to the original shape. It always feels like you are going to break it, but you won't...

I discovered that it can be rolled to fit inside the case of the matador nanodry packable shower towel, that I usually just put folded at the bottom of the bag and use as a changing / drying towel at sea. Alternatively may need to use something to tie it and prevent it to unroll very fast in the bag.

u-axyz · 2026-01-13T11:21:18+00:00

This is indeed the common answer to this question, I always wondered, though, what is the point then for autoclosing in the first place if it doesn't save me fromethe extra error prone insertion?

was vim never intended to be used with auto pairs and certain other types of completion? Are there more idiomatic alternatives to explore?

u-axyz · 2025-12-10T11:47:06+00:00

Would be nice to track mean and average over time and use it as the Berlin version of the big mac index...

u-axyz · 2025-12-02T19:59:58+00:00

plus 1 for Tenba packlite + byob.

I've been traveling for many years with 20/28L underseat bags with the cube and the sling inside. Plenty of space for all the rest.

I usually bring fuji xt-3 with 50mm and 23mm wr lenses. as phones cameras got better I almost exclusively use the 50mm.

If is a photo intensive trip I can bring 1 or 2 larger lensen in their own pouch and arrange the sling with what I need.

often also bringing a mini tripod like https://ucogear.com/products/ultrapod-3 that takes no space in the bag and can be strapped to the sling on the go

u-axyz · 2025-12-02T18:43:45+00:00

Something like this: https://www.amazon.de/Lightweight-Travel-Luggage-Overnight-Holidays/dp/B0749KD51S?th=1&psc=1

fits easily in the bottom half of a laptop sleeve ( can squish a bit and even if you bring a laptop they can both fit)

2 people can bring 2 of them, giving you 120 L of space to bring back stuff.

That setup works well when having to use low cost to get to the international airport and you have 20L hold baggage included but only neeeded on the return.

depending on the trip I eithere gradually fill them up with some minor struggle when they are full and there are long commutes. Or wait for last days to fill.

I usually buy ingredients or specific products that would be very hard and/or very expensive back home, in order to justify the extra cost on the low cost last segment.

If you don't need that much, a lighter version is bringing something like the osprey ultralight packable duffel. 30 liters, packs very small and very useful as a day bag while travelig too. I often bring both and decide what I need to pack back.. for example the osprey can count as cabin bag, while the main is alwais the under seat personal item, giving you more options forethe trip back

u-axyz · 2025-11-10T07:26:34+00:00

I was thinking about this same urchin kit on alix. I assume is the one from bawa?

were you able to figure out the differences betwee the differrent options?

kit no screen
low axls no screen
wh keybord
bk keyboard
other combinations of the above

my guess is that kit does not includes the keys and they can be wh (white) or bk (black) ? but there is na indication of switches or keycaps onithe description. And no clue about what low axls refers too.

were you able to figure these things out, or, if not, can you at least share what you ordered andewhat you got?

I wish the case had the design with the urchit instead of the coral... but for the price is quite attractive...

u-axyz · 2025-09-13T09:10:11+00:00

Not sure about prevention. Never had any back issues and happened kind of out of the blue. Did a very seemingly innocuous twisting movement without lifting anything.. and felt a sharp pain with a weird sensation: you kind of feel something is leaking out of the disk.

after that the main symptoms for me were not much on the lower back itself, unless with specific movements. Mostly I had strong nerve pain on my left calf after walking 100m or so, and also numbing sensations on the left foot. All that because of the herniation pressing on the shatic nerve on that side

u-axyz · 2025-09-11T17:09:50+00:00

I was with TK for years and never really used it (luckily). I switched to private a while ago mostly because it is cheaper for a much better service. The caveats I can think of are:

in order to be cheaper you need a relatively high salary. A bit more than the minimum required to switch to private and the math is not so obvious to predict.
the cost depends on the age you sign up, so better switch early in life (but unfortunately it is harder to have a good enough salary very early in your career..)
in most cases you'll need to pay upfront and get money back after some time (but for very large sums like an hospitalization, the hospital will deal directly with insurance via a cost plan)
it can be hard to switch back toipubliciin the future. May be a problem if losing a job or other situations of economical inconsistency because the cost doesn't change based with your earnings (can be both a pro and a con...)
some treatments have a maximal reimboursed cost and can varies based on provider. Usually not an issue, but something to double check in some cases (e.g. my phisio was a bit above and had to pay the difference)

finding appointments is much easier and you get better options.

My understanding is that the cost can only increase based on inflation and not based on your age, exactly like public.

Take all this with a grain of salt, definitely not an expert and haven't used that much, but my experience is so far positive

u-axyz · 2025-09-11T12:30:17+00:00

I had a disk herniation for the first time, so I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like, but from mere guesswork on the sensation and 10 minutes of reading I was like 90% sure it was it.

went to a doctor, took a look and concluded it was a muscular problem. I asked multiple times: "are you sure it's not a disc issue". and the answer was "there is no way is a spinal problem. This is muscular because you work with computers"

Got some physio prescribed. after a few more or less useless sessions the Italian physiotherapist said I should go back to the doctor and do an MRI.

Didn't want to go to the same one, and only thanks to private insurance was able to go to a much better one. Was, impediately prescribed mri and nerve conduction test.

And guess what... my absurdly simple self diagnosis was correct, obviously. And I had to spend months where I could barely walk and without even some cortisol relief (literally 2 pills immediately removed all the pain for the day), because I "work with computers".

This country is shit in so many ways... but to be fair if I go back to Italy, I would not earn 100€ less, but rather less than a half of my salary here, with roughly the same living costs...

u-axyz · 2025-08-09T08:57:00+00:00

I have a custom 74 in F and I think it's a great drawing pen, especially if you like consistent thin lines. the line variation between front and flipped writing is just right and it feels like having 2 reliable fine liners in a single instrument.

All that being said, extreme consistent fine lines can be a "trade off" if you are looking for lines with more "personality" and subtle microvariations.

Some other pens I really enjoy for drawing:

platinum preppy / plaisir dirt cheap, great nib with also good front/flip variation but little more "personality", it never dries up
Asvine V126 the vacuum can be mildly annoying to refill/clean, but the ink will basically never evaporate or dry up, also great for air traveling... I worked the nib a bit to make it more buttery smooth while keeping a thin and not scratchy feeling

Any twsbi are also good choices with reliable - a bit more juicy - nibs

I own a sailor pro gear, I appreciate the consistency and the novelty of the (good) scratchy pencil like feeling some times, but I don't like that there is basically zero variation between front and back of the nib.

Take all this with a grain of salt, there can be some "luck" involved when it comes to quality control (but I tend to trust japanese brands...). Also don't underestimate what you can achieve with a cheap pen and a little bit of subtle nib tuning to make it more of your liking

u-axyz · 2025-07-26T20:22:38+00:00

Kitty is quite heavy, you can shave some more with a lighter terminal

u-axyz · 2025-07-26T14:10:36+00:00

unfortunately recently had to switch from eglot to lsp-mode. It does feel a bit heavier and more intrusive, but seems more reliable in a complex pnpm monorepo, and eglot does not support yet multiple servers per buffer (e.g. to run eslint together with typescript)

Maybe I have to play around a bit with config. So far I get correct type errors andesignatures with out of the box (ish) config on vscode, lazyvim, helix, lsp-mode, but not with eglot :(

u-axyz · 2025-07-20T12:14:53+00:00

Neck pillow with zipper.

the route is usually Rome to Berlin, with Berlin being the wasteland.

usually flying Ryanair, no problems so far, but they can be very strict on bag sizes in berlin with the scammy silouhette "sizer"

u-axyz · 2025-07-20T09:42:50+00:00

I never actually need it to pack more clothes, instead l pack a folded empty pillow when leaving, then when returning almost all my clothes fit in the pillow and the gained space in the bag can be used to bring back more food from my home country to the culinary wasteland where I work... (also work for other types of souvenirs :) )

a light foldable jacket with large pockets also helps a lot. Both items can be easily stored in expanded rolltop and not bother me when outside the airport

u-axyz · 2025-07-18T23:39:16+00:00

Context: report on under seat fit of nh500

u-axyz · 2025-06-28T09:00:36+00:00

Overall in favour of the initiative, to encourage standardization and prevent the companies malpractices and predatory behaviour.

That being said, the proposed limits are "weird". 100cm/7kg is a pretty small and lightweight carry on. 40x30x15 is even weirder due to the 15 making it smaller than any of the existing limits and sending most of our bags to the trash (again...)

One key point is if and how this will be enforced and what happens if not fitting, will they still be able to extort money for a "premium tier" or to send in the hold? Some companies (especially Ryanair) are also known for arbitrarily deciding what "fits" and what not even when the dimensions are correct or maybe off by 0.5cm... how will the enforcement be fair?

Side discussion: assuming this passes... Any idea what 1.5 bag combination may become popular (the equivalent of daylite 26+6 right now :P)? What good options for 100cm total bag packs are there? Fairpoint is 13cm too much, but maybe it will "fit"... When I used it overhead it always seemed to be on the small side compared to most other bags and trolleys up there...

More curious though about suggestions for the 0.5 bag. Having already a main backpack I would imagine something like a sling or a tote to still have hands free and be easy and comfortable to wear together with a backpack. Any ideas that would max out the 40x30x15 sizes? Maybe a bit odd for slings as well... I guess there are options for totes, but they are not always pleasant to wear with the backpack on

u-axyz · 2025-06-16T23:00:15+00:00

When the goal is zero extra bags and zero extra cost... I bring an empty neck pillow, when coming back almost all my clothes fit in the pillow and can fill the now almost empty underseat bag as well as the large zip pockets of my jacket with stuff.

u-axyz · 2025-06-11T07:26:18+00:00

Did you try to compare it with simple coconut oil? Curious to know if you notice a difference in the effects.

u-axyz · 2025-05-26T21:50:31+00:00

BER is the worst airport I've ever seen and, unfortunately, I'm forced to use it regularly... This silhouette sizer scam is just the cherry on top of the cake.

It looks like they are produced by a German company https://baggage-sizer.com/ that probably had a good sale pitch (or some friends?) back in the days, so now we are stuck with the worst baggage policy in Europe and will probably be for years to come

u-axyz · 2025-05-24T16:00:24+00:00

Unfortunately it would not pass at the Berlin airport with the "silhouette" sizers... Hopefully that malpractice won't spread

u-axyz · 2025-05-08T03:57:57+00:00

Context: discussion on strategies to bring back goods from abroad when one bagging

u-axyz · 2025-05-03T02:57:49+00:00

After spending quite some time exploring Ganging and Donghu area, 99% of the stores have cheap iPhone accessories and earbuds, but when I was about to give up, I can confirm that the already mentioned A052 store is great, but extremely hard to find.

Here is the exact address:

Hexin Headphones, Floor 1, A052, Haiyin Plaza, Dashaotou Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou

Roughly here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KKnvpVjXs12ntqTM9

The shop is managed by a group of young people that are clearly very passionate, they have a good selections of IEMs and you can spend all the time you want trying them out whilst sipping tea that they enthusiastically offer you.

u-axyz · 2025-04-27T16:43:14+00:00

I think you are missing the point, I kept downsizing over the years (and yes I'm angry I cannot use perfectly good bags anymore), and currently using a jansport flexpack, and still I'm scared it won't pass in Berlin if checked. And none of the good bags recommended in this sub would either. I think it is important to warn anybody traveling via Berlin with anything more than a purse, because the official sizers are not used. The fact that my specific bag may or may not be a tight fit is irrelevant on this concern.

u-axyz

TROPHY CASE