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Thanks for being a crucial part of this crucial part of my life, Tom.


Pretty unrelated, but if you are a developer and don't have a lifetime SDF.org membership, you should.


Why SDF over a free limitless VPS?

I joined SDF last year and was disappointed. I was willing to tolerate the limitations (eg. can't change your shell unless "validated"; can't even 'touch' a file...) in exchange for community but it's a ghost town. To make matters worse, IRC for new users is only available on a Sunday!

I would love to give it another shot but I don't understand what its value is in 2025.


I had never heard of that. What's your use-case for it?


It basically dates back to when having access to a Unix system meant that you needed to be at a university or a big employer or some such. These guys provided one for free.

Currently you can get some basic email, web hosting, etc. for a one time $1 donation. You can get more for a one time $36 donation.

They also have internal “forums” and chat and such as well as offering a bunch of related services like VPS, dial up, VPN, a Minecraft server, etc. Realistically, you can get a lot more for a lot less with modern hosts but between nostalgia and the limited environment having a particular kind of charm, it is kinda neat.


Right. Some kind of community, in a way.


So this seems to be a membership to access a remote Unix system and share it with others?


Dave Kellogg is definitely someone worth listening to.


This seems overly-catastrophizing to me. I don't deny it rings true for many, but I think some of the statements here really depend on your team and company.


A good dev manager would be thrilled to have a senior like you on their team. Rockstars are great, but bedrock employees are better.


The password to the system was "BRIS," the name of the vendor.


I laughed when I read that, too. Like locking up that “$2MM dollars of information” in a vault secured with a piece of string.


Beware dangling modifiers!

> I built a failed startups goods website and named it VcSubsidized.com

Is better written as: I built a website named VcSubsidized.com for failed startups goods


A bit of a false dichotomy. But in my own experience, the search is not very semantic. Director of Engineering that builds bridges is pretty different from a Director of Engineering that builds APIs. My experience with LinkedIn job search often conflates such things.


Not sure what you mean with the false dichotomy... The search is so extremely bad (and I don't remember it being this bad a month ago), that I considered they might have released a bug. It looks like it completely ignores my search query. Of course other explanations are also possible.


Environmental modification is one of my favorite emotional coping strategies. It.. feels like you're actually doing something! Cleaning up/tidying, "sacred space creation," light and color therapy all work way more effectively than you might believe.


Talk to me about color therapy


Nature bathing is great. But it turns out that people in hospital beds facing windows recover faster when they face nature. And, in fact, it's not the nature at all! It can be fake and just as effective. In the end, basically, it's the green.

Color therapy or chromotherapy is incorporating specific colors into your environment to evoke desired emotional states. It blows my mind how well this works, and that's why you see peach colored walls in offices.

Light works similarly. Warm vs. cool, etc. You can use light exposure to regulate mood, particularly for conditions like seasonal affective disorder (SAD). All of this is culturally-dependent but it works way better than you'd think.

Here are some of the common color associations:

1. Red Emotions: Energy, passion, excitement, strength, urgency, love, anger, aggression.

Therapeutic Use: Stimulates energy, increases heart rate, and can evoke strong emotions. Often used to combat fatigue or lethargy, but excessive use may lead to overstimulation or agitation.

2. Orange Emotions: Enthusiasm, creativity, warmth, optimism, sociability, joy.

Therapeutic Use: Encourages social interaction, boosts creativity, and uplifts mood. Often used to combat depression or feelings of loneliness.

3. Yellow Emotions: Happiness, clarity, intellect, optimism, caution, anxiety (in excess).

Therapeutic Use: Promotes mental clarity, stimulates the nervous system, and enhances focus. However, too much yellow can lead to feelings of anxiety or frustration.

4. Green Emotions: Balance, harmony, growth, renewal, calmness, peace, envy (in some contexts).

Therapeutic Use: Known for its calming and balancing effects, green is often used to reduce stress and promote relaxation. It is also associated with nature and healing.

5. Blue Emotions: Calmness, serenity, trust, stability, sadness, coldness.

Therapeutic Use: Reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and promotes relaxation. Often used in spaces meant for rest or introspection. Darker shades can evoke feelings of sadness or detachment.

6. Purple Emotions: Spirituality, luxury, creativity, mystery, introspection, wisdom.

Therapeutic Use: Encourages deep thinking, meditation, and spiritual connection. Often used to inspire creativity and self-reflection.

7. Pink Emotions: Love, compassion, nurturing, calmness, playfulness.

Therapeutic Use: Promotes feelings of warmth and comfort. Often used to reduce aggression and create a soothing environment.

8. White Emotions: Purity, clarity, simplicity, peace, emptiness, sterility.

Therapeutic Use: Creates a sense of space and cleanliness. Often used to promote mental clarity and a fresh start.

9. Black Emotions: Power, sophistication, mystery, fear, sadness, protection.

Therapeutic Use: Can evoke feelings of protection and strength but may also lead to feelings of heaviness or depression if overused.

10. Brown Emotions: Stability, reliability, warmth, comfort, dullness.

Therapeutic Use: Grounding and stabilizing, often used to create a sense of security and connection to the earth.

11. Turquoise Emotions: Calmness, clarity, communication, emotional balance.

Therapeutic Use: Combines the calming effects of blue with the rejuvenating qualities of green. Often used to promote emotional balance and clear communication.

12. Gold Emotions: Success, wealth, luxury, wisdom, optimism.

Therapeutic Use: Inspires confidence, abundance, and positivity. Often used to elevate mood and encourage a sense of achievement.

13. Silver Emotions: Modernity, sophistication, intuition, reflection, coldness.

Therapeutic Use: Encourages introspection and clarity of thought. Often used to promote a futuristic or innovative mindset.

14. Gray Emotions: Neutrality, balance, sophistication, boredom, sadness.

Therapeutic Use: Creates a sense of calm and balance but can also evoke feelings of dullness or detachment if overused.


How do you accomplish silver colored lighting?


Although they are both forms of environmental modification, light therapy is different than color therapy. Light therapy uses e.g. daylight to boost affect. Color therapy uses e.g. silver paint to prime cognition.


I would guess by reflecting light off something silvery, eg, a wall painted in metallic silver paint.


That's not how colored light actually works. (That's the joke!)

There isn't a silver "color" of light, it's a visual phenomenon that warps and reflects the color of the environment around it.

So unfortunately there are no silver colored light bulbs (except for using a silver coating to block or reflect the light).

Maybe it's that shiny reflective things like disco balls are therapeutic, imparting modernity, sophistication, intuition, reflection, coldness, or disco fever.


If you're into this, you might enjoy the Opal Hunters show on Max.


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