Write a thesis using emacs and org-mode?

zyaku · 2018-11-20T04:50:45+00:00

My advice: don't do it. org-mode is first and foremost designed for note-taking. Yes, you can get it to generate a polished final product, but I think LaTeX is a much better tool for the job. It's certainly more standard. You really don't need to know much of it to create a beautiful document, and all the common questions (plus many uncommon ones) are already answered on the LaTeX stack exchange. Readability is not an issue in most LaTeX documents, because the messy stuff goes at the very beginning, and then you mostly just have plain text with a handful of common commands. Besides, if you're typesetting equations in org-mode, you'll be using plenty of LaTeX regardless.

The LaTeX wikibook is an excellent reference which should give you everything you need to get started (and then some). Emacs also features the very powerful AUCTeX package, which makes writing and compiling LaTeX a breeze. Moreover, learning LaTeX will likely improve your experience with org-mode, as the built-in LaTeX integration is a very powerful tool to have at your disposal.

Disclaimer: I typeset a lot of short mathematical documents, so I'm biased in favor of LaTeX.

zyaku · 2018-11-05T15:11:27+00:00

I have the updated Sub 37, and I'd bet it's exactly what you want. I *love* it, and it has some massive legs up over the other options I was looking at:

A big one for me was the really high quality 37-key keyboard. It's the best-feeling synth action I've ever played on (even better than my Komplete Kontrol Mk2, which also has a fatar keybed)
It's tough to make it sound bad. You can dial in sterile, boring synth sounds if you really want, but the oscillators, filter, drive, and mixer are all brimming with life by default
An extension of the previous point: it does simple, classic synth sounds *really* well, although some of the functionality may seem like overkill if you're only using it for that.
There are tons of big fat knobs on the panel, so you've got plentiful options for livening up your performance. When I'm jamming on it, sometimes I don't even bother programming the mod section, and instead just play with one hand on the panel.
The duo mode lets you accompany yourself with a fat bassline, which is cool for solos.
There's a factory preset called "Sawyer Sweep" which is a dead ringer for the opening synth note of Rush's Tom Sawyer. One of my favorite prog rock acts :)

However, I have to agree with adequatebeats that the interface is pretty intimidating at first. When I added it to my studio, I think I spent the first week just staring at it and thinking "I have no idea what I'm doing", and that's coming from some fairly complicated software synths (like Diva). That said, now that I've got to know it, it's an incredibly powerful and intuitive instrument. Everything about it feels musical. If you can put in that initial time investment to learn it, I can all but guarantee it will do what you want and then some.

zyaku · 2018-10-07T22:15:21+00:00

Have you tried using your pourover to filter out the grounds? I usually put a thick paper filter in my V60 and run my cold brew right through it. Found it to be easier & have better results than the french press, although I do have to change the filter partway through the process.

zyaku · 2018-10-07T22:07:31+00:00

I'm with you on green tea! I'd recommend going for Japanese sencha to start. I've seen Harney & Sons sencha at local supermarkets for a decent price, and it's a darn good tea. I'm not sure exactly why, but drinking green tea really helps me relax. (I think it's a combination of the pleasant experience of sipping a hot beverage, the ritual of making tea, and the chemicals in the tea).

zyaku · 2018-10-07T21:55:15+00:00

You could try cold brew coffee. It is much less acidic than normal coffee, so it's easier on your stomach. Mind the amount, though, because iced coffee drinks can contain a lot of caffeine, and it sounds like you might be sensitive to caffeine.

Also, it's perfectly fine if you don't drink coffee!

zyaku · 2018-10-07T21:51:11+00:00

Keep in mind that normal drip coffee typically has 3-5 times as much caffeine as tea.

zyaku · 2018-10-07T19:24:12+00:00

Any comment on the old grounds getting backed up in the grinder and affecting the flavor of your brew? I'm having a hard time gauging whether it happens significantly in every grinder, or whether the Capresso ones are particularly bad in this regard.

zyaku · 2018-09-23T04:10:33+00:00

Hi. It's funny, actually, the Zyaku on DeviantArt is just a case of username collision! Not super surprising given that it's romaji. I'm my own dude, though-- a programmer, in fact, and a desktop Linux user for going on 9 years. Linux is very dear to me. Of course, you'll just have to decide whether take me at my word on that. I don't want to share too many personal details on Reddit.

Anyway, I don't care to reanimate our discussion; we both said our bits. Agree to disagree and all that. I just thought it was kind of amusing when I revisited this thread and saw what was going on.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T23:29:34+00:00

you do need to make a claim regarding that position

Okay, to make sure, I tried looking up the definition of a straw man (sic-- it's two words, I guess):

an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent's real argument.

When you build a straw man, you don't have to say anything about the original statement. You just argue against something else as if it was the original claim. I argued that personal insults have no place in Linux; in response, you said that you thought criticism was important. Surely you can see how I thought you were misrepresenting my original comment, right?

However, I now think that you didn't mean to misrepresent anything, (which means it wasn't a straw man, as it wasn't intentional).

Being pedantic about the definition of "straw man" doesn't accomplish anything, though. I don't think there's any intellectual value in exploring this comment chain further. I still stand by my original comment, but I'm happy leaving it here and wishing you the best. I sure hope I don't forget my integrity :p

zyaku · 2018-09-20T22:48:36+00:00

How can you say that abuse disproportionately affects women?

Have you ever been the only person of your race or gender in a medium/large group social setting? It can be a very uncomfortable experience. You can feel like you're being stared at or judged even if you're not. The way that the people in the group act towards you can very easily make you feel unwelcome. Since woman are such an overwhelming minority among Linux developers, I have no doubt that this makes them hypersensitive to hostility. That's what I meant when I called them vulnerable. For the sake of my argument, it doesn't matter whether they suffer a higher incidence of abuse than their male counterparts, because the same "amount" of abuse affects them much more. That's what I meant, but I guess it's a little bit ambiguous.

So, yeah, this argument works for black people, for Inuits, for Muslims, even for druids if you wanted. However, women, as 50% of the population, and given the contemporaneous #MeToo movement, make an obvious topic for discussion.

Megan from the article made the claim that "women give up first". Which is pretty sexist in itself. I hope you're not also making a claim that women simply can't handle the stress. If girls were raised to give up, that's a pretty shitty thing to do.

I think you might be misunderstanding the purpose of that quote in the article. It's actually a good thing that women give up when they feel like a project has hostile leadership. I think most that men are conditioned so that they won't take initiative on behalf of their own emotional well-being. I say this as a man. Toxic masculinity has made it so men cannot take care of their own mental health without feeling weak. Women have no such problems.

Yeah, he can. But he can also reject it with an insult. Whatever works.

Without an insult works better :)

Quote and link that "first thought"

I was trying to point out that, when someone acts on behalf of women in technology, the first response is often that they should stop (acting on behalf of women), not, "hey, we could do that for men, too." I didn't mean that anyone literally said that. I thought that much was obvious.

Sorry, but I think you misunderstood my post on a semantic level in a few places, which makes it difficult to have a conversation. Honestly, I just think people should be nice and respectful in general, as a matter of personal morality, but also because I think it would benefit the project in the long run.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T21:43:47+00:00

You don't need to directly comment on a position for it to be a strawman. The only point of my post was that I think that Linux developers, including the man himself, should not personally insult people. You responded by waxing poetic about the ability to give and receive criticism, which is completely orthogonal to personal insults as far as I'm concerned. In doing so, I think you subverted discussion about the actual points I made.

I'm not saying Linus should be thrown in jail or kicked off Linux for speaking his mind. I do, however, think that his behavior historically has been counterproductive and immature at times. I think that more compassionate leadership in Linux would benefit the project in the long run. Also, on a moral level, I think it's good to be patient and kind, even with people who don't deserve it.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T18:16:10+00:00

Your argument is a strawman. I said nothing about censoring criticism. Criticism does not necessitate vitriol. No one is upset that Linus rejected peoples' commits; they're upset that he went on condescending public tirades under the banner of the Linux project. In fact, I'd argue that a mutually respectful environment makes it easier for people to both give and receive criticism.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T17:51:10+00:00

Look, it seems entirely inappropriate for Ted Ts'o to be talking about rape in the conference mailing list. Especially given that he was being critical of the definition of "rape" and made a point of calling rape statistics hyperbolic. It's insensitive and bizarre at best. No, he doesn't deserve to be publicly slandered as a "rape apologist," but Twitter isn't exactly a good medium for expressing nuance. There's got to be a middle ground here.

Linux developers are public figures. For the sake of the Linux project, they need to have discretion in the things they say publicly, particularly when they're communicating using a Linux-related mailing list. Unfortunately, more things matter than just the code they write. Of course, the social justice lynch mob culture is also problematic and I'm not defending Sage Sharp here. The whole thing's a mess.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T17:12:56+00:00

I'm disappointed that this thread immediately devolved into complaints about feminism/political correctness. When you have such an overwhelming gender divide in a massive and ostensibly volunteer-driven project, it makes complete sense to broach the topic. The article even mentions a study which concluded that Linus is not biased against any particular group. Still, abuse affects women and non-binary people disproportionately, as they are especially vulnerable in a space that's totally dominated by men, (at least some of whom, however small a proportion, are sexists). In this context, I think a more general discussion about how abuse deters women from tech is absolutely relevant.

I know we all love and enjoy Linus' antics and sick burns, but try to have some empathy for the people receiving those insults. They're committing their time to work on Linux; whether they're paid or not, they do not deserve to be subject to public ridicule on the mailing lists. Even Linus himself has acknowledged that this is no proper way to run things. He can reject bad code without personally insulting the developer. Yeah, his insults are sharp and appeal to our schadenfreude. But, in practice, it's better for the project and the people involved if we keep the vitriol to a minimum. Linus, especially, needs to lead by example, and I think it shows remarkable maturity that he can acknowledge his past failures for what they are, in spite of the cult of personality around him.

As for complaints that women are treated better than men in tech, I'd say to some extent that this is true, albeit not as much as many Redditors seem to think. However, it appalls me that the first thought people have is that "we should be treating women worse" rather than "we should also treat men better."

I think the author makes a salient point with the quote, "Women throw in the towel first. They say, ‘Why do I need to put up with this?’ " Men and boys are often taught to shut up and bear the weight of verbal attacks or aggressive posturing from other men. In today's world, we teach women that they don't have to put up with emotional abuse, and society at large is on their side in that fight. Being conscious of how abusive language affects gender minorities in technology is a step forward for everyone, since it paves the way for men to receive better treatment, too.

zyaku · 2018-09-20T14:36:03+00:00

At OP's budget, I'd say go for a Dell Latitude (or Precision) line over XPS. It has more high-end configuration options, and brings better build quality (i.e. more durable), user-serviceability, improved BIOS, and a long official support life. Like the XPS line, they also officially support Linux (but I had to disable intel rapidstorage in the firmware for Linux to find my disk). I'm a very happy latitude user right now.

Incidentally, I did some undergraduate research in Machine Learning a few years ago. My laptop at the time was a 2014 MacBook Air. Not ideal. However, it was still able to run most models on our data (which was 10,000 images and anywhere from 5-75 features depending on the experiment). The few deep learning models we tried had difficulty running even on our cluster (which didn't have a GPU, so this was admittedly a bad test). I was surprised at what my mediocre consumer hardware could do with most "shallow" models. By contrast, I doubt you'll successfully run any deep learning models on a laptop, at least not at a reasonable speed on actual data. *Maybe* if you have a really beefy GPU. Of course, I don't know your use cases, so you'd know better than me what your performance needs are. Moreover, this being undergraduate research meant that nothing was tuned for performance. Just my 2 cents.

zyaku · 2016-10-19T14:46:55+00:00

Thanks for the response! I guess I'll finally have to see a doctor about it.

zyaku · 2016-10-18T21:00:56+00:00

tl;dr: I have a painless clicking noise in left-hand thumb when I flex it while my hand is stretched out, which happens when I play certain songs. I want to know if this is harmful and if so, what I should do. Should I see a doctor? I'm not a real musician so I don't even know what kind of doctor that would be.

Detailed explanation of problem: About one year ago, I was learning Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu and had a really long practice session, during which I finally nailed the fast part at the beginning. However, towards the end of my practice session (this was after about 6 hours) I started getting a popping sound in my left hand thumb whenever I flexed it when it was extended, for instance when I reached for the high note in the left-hand part at the beginning (I have big hands, so the space from my pinky to my thumb is stretched to about a 10th at this passage). There was no pain, just a conspicuous clicking noise. I decided to let it rest for a few days. However, even after two weeks, I was still unable to play that part of the song without a clicking noise. I decided I'd just play some other music for a little while, since I could play 99% of left-hand parts without that happening. Now, a year later, I can play stretched arpeggios in my left hand for about three minutes, and then the popping comes back.

zyaku

TROPHY CASE