Posts on Honzabe - blog

Can writing about summer help with winter depression?

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I hesitated before posting this here because depression is serious stuff, and I do not feel qualified to write about it. However, I have found something that helps me, and someone else might also find it helpful. Be warned - this post is about my personal experience and is utterly unscientific.

What I mean by “winter depression”

I have never been officially diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Judge for yourself if I fit the diagnostic criteria.

Is ChatGPT autocomplete bad UX/UI?

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I get it. I am not the only user the world revolves around. When an app does not behave the way I would prefer, it’s probably because most people have different preferences, and the app is optimized for them.

But sometimes, I encounter UI/UX decisions that puzzle me. Not because I dislike them but because I have trouble imagining anyone likes them.

One of those puzzling UI/UX decisions is ChatGPT autocomplete.

The day I jumped Chesterton's fence

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The older I get, the harder it is to bear the long, cold, dark Czech winters. They suck the life out of me. Reminiscing about sun-filled Spanish adventures helps. So, here comes a sunny story…

Years ago, when I was backpacking across western Europe, I was hiking ~~in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo~~ along the Camino del Norte, one of the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela.

My two personalities

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

There seem to be two dudes living in my head, fighting over the control of my mind.

The first dude is an eternal optimist. When I have an idea, he always thinks it’s great. For some reason, he speaks with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s accent.

#1: Awesome idea! You must be smart. People will love it!

Me: Are you sure? It would take a lot of work to make it happen.

#1: Yeah, I really like it. And what do you have to lose? Even if it fails, at least you will learn something. And you will have fun working on it.

Conditions for contentment

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When one is hit by a severe case of midlife crisis, one feels an urgent need to turn one’s life around. I have no wife I could leave for a 20-year-old. No money to buy a flashy sports car either. But I have dreams. Things I always wanted to do “someday.” And now I feel, painfully, that just any “someday” is not going to cut it anymore. What if I am running out of time? What if the only “someday” still available to me is right now?

Severe case of midlife crisis

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I had a big scare not that long ago. One night, just as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed a little blood stain on my T-shirt. I looked to see where it had come from and discovered a new mole - large, irregular, and bleeding.

I have googled images of skin cancer in the past. Yes, I am that kind of person. When I saw something like that on my skin, it freaked me out. Intensely. It felt like vertigo. I had to grab the door frame and hold on to it for a minute. I did not sleep well that night.