diff --git a/content/Essays/ai-infringement.md b/content/Essays/ai-infringement.md index c7c9ec668..6cc398132 100644 --- a/content/Essays/ai-infringement.md +++ b/content/Essays/ai-infringement.md @@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ tags: date: 2023-11-04 draft: true --- +> [!info] I’m looking for discourse! +> Critique my points and make your own arguments. That’s what the comments section is for. + Quick reiteration: **This site contains my own opinion in a personal capacity, and is not legal advice, nor is it representative of anyone else's opinion.** I've seen a few news articles and opinion pieces recently that support training generative AI and LLMs on the broader internet as well as more traditional copyrighted works, without respect to the copyright holders for all of the above. There are some common themes I'd like to address right now, but I'll add more in future. diff --git a/content/Essays/home.md b/content/Essays/home.md index faae3b9bc..60dbe5794 100644 --- a/content/Essays/home.md +++ b/content/Essays/home.md @@ -11,3 +11,4 @@ Below is a collection of long-form content I've authored. - [[Essays/why-i-garden|Why I cultivate a digital garden]] - [[Projects/my-cloud|Why I'm so concerned with minimizing my digital footprint]] - [[Essays/on-linux|My Linux experience]] +- [[Essays/law-school|Law school as an institution]] diff --git a/content/Essays/law-school.md b/content/Essays/law-school.md index 5606e49b1..dc246167f 100644 --- a/content/Essays/law-school.md +++ b/content/Essays/law-school.md @@ -1,42 +1,64 @@ --- -title: On Law School +title: Law School is Broken tags: - essay - seedling date: 2023-09-20 draft: true --- +## ...and here's how to fix it + >[!warning] ->CW: Mental health, references to US politics. TLDR law school bad. +>CW: *Law school*, mental health, references to US politics. TLDR law school bad. -I have a lot of thoughts about law school, both as an institution and the type of culture it creates in the workforce. These include my experiences as a student and as an observer. Places and names will be altered to preserve anonymity as well as the school that I'm attending. [[#Homework/Further Reading|Prospective law students, click here]]. +Law school is a concept that deserves scrutiny, both as an institution and for the type of culture it creates in the workforce. In this essay, I aim to question the issues I've observed in applying to law school, the 1L year, and in practice. Places and names are omitted to preserve the privacy of my classmates. [[#Homework/Further Reading|Prospective law students, click here]]. -> [!hint] Law school as a process usually looks like this: +I don't have a central thesis for this entry, and there isn't really anything profound about the content. I just want to point out what law school does wrong and suggest some alternatives that do or should improve the experience for students. + +> [!hint] Law school as a process *usually* looks like this: > Take the [[Misc/lsat|entrance exam]] $\rightarrow$ apply $\rightarrow$ first semester $\rightarrow$ 1L job offer $\rightarrow$ Second semester $\rightarrow$ 1L summer job $\rightarrow$ 2L job offer $\rightarrow$ second year $\rightarrow$ 2L summer job $\rightarrow$ career offer $\rightarrow$ third year $\rightarrow$ career. > > Sometimes, the timing of job offers will be delayed, as it depends on the type of employment that you're pursuing. I talk about this more in the [[#Job Prospects]] section. ## Applying + I was one of the lucky ones that knew I wanted to be a lawyer right out of the gate. -With law school, a substantial minority of applicants are on their second career ("nontraditional students"), or view law school as a backup plan after job prospects from their recent degree didn't pan out. Teachers and former aspiring history professors are plentiful in this degree. -- Sidebar: I will say, teachers being present makes study sessions very helpful, and icebreaker parties significantly more fun! +With law school, a substantial minority of applicants are on their second career ("nontraditional students"). Quite a few also view law school as a backup plan after job prospects from their recent degree didn't pan out. Teachers and former aspiring history professors are plentiful in this degree. Others will go to law school because it feels like a logical step from their previous degree, rather than out of an actual desire to be an attorney. ==say more right now== The law school application process is also a bit hostile to nontraditional students, as it requires quite a lot of time out of a working adult's day to go navigate the steps for starting an application, not to mention the hour requirement for the LSAT entrance exam. -There are a lot of equitable concerns and shady dealings with law school applications, as well as a lot of conflicting opinions. +When looking at the LSAT, it first appears to be a type of aptitude test where you either "have it" or you don't. It's designed to be an indicator of success in law school classes, so this would make sense. Unfortunately, that's not the case. It's absolutely an exam you can study for and obtain a substantially higher grade from. As such, many different "prep courses" exist which will walk you through previous question solutions or provide general strategies for question types. **Those who pay for a more expensive prep course will almost always do better than those who do not.** This makes the test hailed as an equalizer really just another secret indicator of financial ability that hampers the fairness of the process. -In the law school process, it feels like every step is more daunting than the last. Applying in particular is a race to see who runs out of money first, as most applicants will be applying to as many schools as possible. This has a few purposes: +In that process itself, it feels like every step is more daunting than the last. Applying in particular is again a race to see who runs out of money first, as most applicants will be applying to as many schools as possible at $80 a pop. This game has a few purposes for the applicant: - Ensure acceptance to a school that the applicant would actually go to - Hope for acceptance to a school that's good enough to lord over the schools you want to go to -- Hope for a huge scholarship at a school that's worse than the schools you want to go to +- Hope for a huge scholarship at a school that's worse than the schools you want to go to (again, for a bargaining chip) -As you can see, it's a lot more about gaming the system and obtaining leverage than it is being considered for your merits. And law schools play into it: there's an institution called the US News World Report, which rates every US law school by *how selective they are*. Not how good they are, just how much better they make themselves out to be. -- Disappointing sidebar: I mentioned being considered for your merits. [That's currently ALL you can be considered for.](https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/students-for-fair-admissions-inc-v-president-fellows-of-harvard-college/) -### Equity, Rankings, and Deans, oh my! +As you can see, it's a lot more about gaming the system and obtaining leverage than it is being considered for your merits. And law schools play into it: there's an institution called the US News World Report, which rates every US law school by *how selective they are*. Not how good they are, just how much better they make themselves out to be. Remember that $80 price tag? Many of the more prestigious institutions will hand out fee waivers to vaguely uncompetitive candidates to entice application, *padding their numbers* so they can reject them anyway and drive down that percentage-of-acceptance. +- Disappointing sidebar: I mentioned being considered for your merits. [Good luck being considered for anything else.](https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/students-for-fair-admissions-inc-v-president-fellows-of-harvard-college/) This absolutely makes the environment worse by limiting the candidate pool. Echo chambers aren't fun. +Because the entrance exam is so off-target, holistic review is even more essential to law school than undergraduate admissions. Not everyone is going to think the same way in the real world, and any forcibly lessened diversity in an already-stagnating profession is going to be harmful in the long-term. I'd also appreciate testing and application reform to reduce the barriers to low income applicants currently in place. Testing fee waivers are excellent, but prep courses are as essential as actually testing, and most come at a high price. +Note that there is currently some [testing reform](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/lsats-elimination-logic-games-prompts-jeers-cheers-2023-10-19/) taking place for accessibility reasons, which I fully support. Disabled lawyers exist and deserve recognition, and I'm confident that this change will improve the diversity of viewpoint that I wish to see in law school classes and the field in general. This reform does not affect the necessity of prep courses. ## Your First Year +The most important thing to realize during your first year of law school is that you and your classmates are all in the same boat. You were admitted the same way, and now nobody knows what's going on. Unfortunately, some have much better support systems than others (usually lawyers in the family). Either way, the **culture, mechanics, and responsibilities** of the 1L year are all very difficult to contend with. +Even at schools that attempt to create a culture that discourages open, toxic competition, there's always the background truth that you are competing with every other student you're on a curve with (or on a curve against, really). If everyone's final assignments are ranked, then you will be better than another student, and so on and so forth. This necessitates feelings of distance that make it harder to really connect with your classmates in a way that lessens the impact of the stress you're all under. And the environment does little to help either. + +The most common way courses are taught in your first year is called the Socratic method. Dating back to Socrates, this technique supposedly teaches material through questioning. The professor will pretend to know nothing, and instead ask questions of the students to guide the class through a case. The goal is to have the students reason through the opinion themselves, and eliminate counter-arguments to arrive at the eventual conclusion. Unfortunately, this will usually require recitation of the facts before delving into analysis. And the tool used to elicit the facts is one of the most stressful parts of 1L: the "cold call." In a true cold call, the professor selects one student at random to lay the groundwork of the case. It's harrowing because you don't know what the professor is going to care about. Remember, 1Ls know nothing—including what facts are relevant to a discussion. I've seen people have panic attacks leading up to their cold calls, and even one student that cried in the middle of theirs. The goal of law school is to teach students how to think like lawyers, which the cold call does not serve. +- Another thing that does not serve the goal is the grading structure. A single, *curved* final exam being worth 100% of your grade for a course do not have any particular benefit to teaching a way of thinking. Rather, incremental assignments with individualized feedback would much better serve the purpose. Likewise, absolute grading would make more sense, as nobody really thinks "better" than anyone else: we all think *differently*, which is what makes the practice of law so interesting. + +Note that this relates to the pure, textbook cold call and Socratic method. Many variations exist that alleviate some of the broad-stroke pressure on a class. The professors that recognize this and adopt newer, more effective learning techniques are consistently rated the highest among students, because they allow students to focus on their other responsibilities when it matters most. + +By far the largest source of pressure during the 1L year is finding a first-summer job. For these positions, the legal field is split into two general halves: "big law" and "public interest." Those interested in big law will usually seek out summer associate positions at law firms, and public interest students look to aid groups, advocacy, or political agencies for their summer positions. Either may seek government positions under judges or prosecutors. Despite their disconnect, the firms involved in the big law recruiting 'game' make the environment worse for everybody. +- Please note that there is a lot more to legal careers than big law and PI, and this divide is really just what the market and most schools force on students during recruiting. +- I also don't want to speak to or sway anyone's career decisions here. That choice is for you to make, and you can find mentors in your school and potential field(s) that can speak a lot better to the pressure they experience on a daily basis than I can. + +Big law recruiting is a rush for talent at all levels. As such, firms push for an earlier and earlier start every year to earmark candidates to touch base with once grades are published. Quick turnaround times are encouraged in order to sift through as many candidates as possible. Admittedly, it's an exciting hustle to be caught up in. + +On the other hand, PI recruiting is much more relaxed. The opening and closing dates for recruiting and interview timetables are about a month further back than big law's equivalents. Unfortunately, this really does hurt those interested in PI exclusively. Everyone around you talking about their interviews and networking events for an entire month before PI even gets moving? Sounds like the perfect breeding ground for anxiety and FOMO. In fact, I've been part of the problem here: Watching my PI friends' mental state when I ask them about their career goals during big law recruiting season made me realize just how much of an effect being hamstrung for a month has on someone. Big law creates pressure on everyone just by being the way that it is. + +There is one technique that I've noticed helps with recruiting pressure, and it has to do with support systems once again. My law school has an alumni mentoring program, where practicing attorneys will sign up to be connected with one or two students based on shared background or career interests. Those of us who lack support systems to prepare us for recruiting or to discuss options with can really benefit from an attorney to talk to specifically for those purposes. Some students even end up with positions through their mentors. For me, a first-generation law student (and first-generation college student, even), my mentor was instrumental in navigating recruiting and weighing my offers received. Recruiting season was still stressful, but the impact of that stress decreased, which meant I could focus on my coursework more intently. Which in turn led to better grades, funnily enough. ### Detour: Constitutional Law -There are a few subjects in particular that foster a very toxic classroom environment, and I think con law has the biggest penchant for this out of the first year classes. Nearly every law student I've talked to absolutely resents the way they felt in this class because of how it was taught. +There are a few subjects in particular that foster a very toxic classroom environment, and I think con law is the most notorious of the bunch. Nearly every law student I've talked to absolutely resents the class for way they felt in it because of how it was taught. The aforementioned Socratic method and its derivatives are primarily at fault for this. Most professors will teach the course chronologically\*, which means you talk through all the obsolete cases Socratically until you get to current law, so that you can see how the doctrine developed. In con law, Socratic discourse means the professor splitting the class into sides\* of the issue over each case and putting sides in conversation with each other. This method of pitting student-on-student tends to make the class very heated, especially when you have a very smart bunch of students that realize the importance of these old cases to new doctrine. - \*: Oversimplification @@ -46,18 +68,30 @@ I'll refrain from discussing con law final exams because I think they're an area Con law is a depressing course to watch the evolution of different doctrines through, especially today. I can say for certain that I came out of it with a much more cynical view of judicial politics due to recent developments in state power, reproductive justice, and economic and regulatory judicial policy. Even looking back at historical cases, it's always disheartening to discuss a Justice's motivations for ruling a certain way when the class knows full well that they flipped their entire jurisprudence in order to rule along political lines. Thankfully, there are ways to teach con law with respect to the first point that lessen the emotional toll on students. I'm a big fan of my professor's approach: *he*'s the one that plays devil's advocate, rather than the students. When he asks a student on one side of the room a question, he'll immediately rebut their answer with an argument resonating with another. Repeat for every side of the room. That way, you don't end up fostering resentment between students for their opposing views on cases. It takes a very skilled and humble professor to be able to completely conceal their own opinions AND know the cases well enough to swap arguments at the drop of a hat several dozen times throughout a class period. -## Job Prospects -### "Big Law" +## Practice +This section is admittedly short because I haven't had much genuine experience. Regardless, law firms are more than just recruiting entities, and pointing out their oddities is within the scope of this essay. Expect this section to expand in future. +### Detour: Women in Law +Disclaimer, I am not a woman (much less one in law), so my observations do not reflect lived experiences, and there are probably much more profound accounts elsewhere. -### "Public Interest" +I’ve observed several women with established legal careers who don't act according to what I would expect someone who had a poor experience getting to their current position would. Often, they will not attempt to uplift other women, and will not provide support and wisdom about how practice looks for a woman. Instead, they are overly harsh and critical of young women attempting to enter the practice. For example, a female judge brushed off my mistakes when I owned up and stood my ground, but the female advocate for the opposing party had to remain completely composed while the same judge flew off the handle at her for taking too long to answer a question. I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count in academic (“speak up!”) and professional (“why aren’t you…”) contexts. If a woman is noticeably "playing the game" (pitching up, being less assertive, all the things that women in the workplace have to do around men to avoid criticism for acting outside 1950s era social roles, all of which should not need to be done in a proper work environment) around men, then they should not get a free pass to attack anyone. It’s unfair to students and advocates, it pressures them out of the career, and just plain hurts them personally. -## Ethical Obligations +Literature on this subject suggests that these attorneys and judges could be motivated by a subconscious desire to “prepare” young women for the misogynistic practice they’re going into. If that is the case, then it’s ironic that their behavior is pushing people away from the career who could actually do something about how shitty it is. +## Conclusion +It's often said that law school is not meant to teach you the law; it's meant to teach you how to think like a lawyer. And if you can think like a lawyer, you can be a lawyer. But law school does not serve its purpose. Any attorney will tell you as much. +In fact, I think law school is more about adaptability and stress management. If you manage to survive your first year (or in some cases even your first semester), then you've experienced 95% of the stress of law school. It's unhealthy, but only for a fleeting moment on the grander scale of an entire career. And getting through that stress is a matter of mindfulness, reflection, and simple regimented academics. But a more relaxed law school experience would + +I recognize that there's an argument for a stressful, competitive law school experience. Using the coping mechanisms and time management skills developed in law school, we become +- Additionally, I recognize the rates of alcohol abuse among attorneys, so I'm not sure those coping mechanisms developed in law school are even effective. But the drinking culture is an essay by itself and outside the scope of this blog, really. + +I'm not sure whether this essay functions more as an introduction to law school or a consideration for those already interested in it. But I do know one thing: **Law school is broken.** ## Homework/Further Reading For those considering law school, I'd like to suggest two resources to you. -During my undergraduate studies, I stumbled across an excellent account by Rhett Campbell, a retired energy bankruptcy attorney. At the time I found these (and presumably when they were updated), he was the CEO of a nonprofit called the Terry Foundation. A lot of his opinions hold up, and I've uploaded them here as PDFs at Why Not to Go to Law School and Guide to Making Good Grades in Law School. All credit goes to Campbell for these resources. If you only take two things from these documents, let them be "**law school is hell**" and "**outline early, outline often**." +During my undergraduate studies, I stumbled across an excellent account by Rhett Campbell, a retired energy bankruptcy attorney. I don't know where I found these, probably on Reddit (I've ignored r/LawSchool and r/lawschooladmissions in this entry because all of Reddit is toxic and those two subs are no exception). At the time I found these (and presumably when they were updated), he was the CEO of a nonprofit called the Terry Foundation. A lot of his opinions hold up, and I've uploaded them here as PDFs at Why Not to Go to Law School and Guide to Making Good Grades in Law School. All credit goes to Campbell for these resources. If you only take two things from these documents, let them be "**law school is hell**" and "**outline early, outline often**." - Sidebar: I do agree with Campbell's view that there's a certain "fire in the belly" that you need to be a lawyer. I think I satisfied this because reading these documents made me excited, not stressed. - Sidebar x2: The resources he recommended weren't that helpful to me. The real value of his writings is his firsthand experience. -During the application "cycle," I also enjoyed Kathryne Young's book How to be Sort of Happy in Law School, and I think it provides a realistic expectation of what it means to be a law student while also being a person. Some of what I talk about in the [[#Detour Constitutional Law|detour on con law]] comes straight from her book. \ No newline at end of file +During the application cycle, I also enjoyed Kathryne Young's book [How to be Sort of Happy in Law School](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35793679-how-to-be-sort-of-happy-in-law-school), and I think it provides a realistic expectation of what it means to be a law student while also being a person. Some of what I talk about in the [[#Detour Constitutional Law|detour on con law]] comes straight from her book. + +And finally, my only advice to prospective law students is do some soul searching on what you *really* want to be doing in 3 years. If that's either practicing law or working in policy/advocacy, only then should you choose law school. You don't need to know an exact field, but I love my job and I think I'm the exception for that. There is something to be said for a meaningless 9-5 surrounded by hobbies you truly enjoy, but the law takes too many of your hours in a day for it to not interest you. Any further questions or ways I can help, contact me! \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/Misc/friction.md b/content/Misc/friction.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..95053fa12 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/Misc/friction.md @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ +--- +title: Friction - computing +tags: + - "#glossary" + - misc + - linux +date: 2023-12-26 +--- +The subjective mental or physical effort required to access a tool that you already have. This is less tied to OS than resistance, and can vary by tool or environment. + +If something is low-friction, it gets used, and used often. As a matter of fact, the reason I've swapped around so much for my notes solution is because I've been trying to find something low-friction. [[Projects/Obsidian/digital-garden|Quartz]] appealed to me for this website simply because it was low friction and I could author content right out of my notetaker. +- For example, [[Programs I Like/obsidian|Obsidian]] is more feature rich than the alternatives while being more accessible. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/Misc/lsat.md b/content/Misc/lsat.md index 0dafd68dd..c300b409b 100644 --- a/content/Misc/lsat.md +++ b/content/Misc/lsat.md @@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ tags: - glossary date: 2023-09-21 --- -The Law School Admissions Test ("LSAT") is a timed multiple-choice and written test administered by the Law School Admissions Counsel ("LSAC"). It's designed to provide some indicator of performance in law school, and it's bad at its job. An applicant's score on the LSAT (between 120 and 180) is the primary metric that law schools examine when determining whether to extend them an offer of admissions +The Law School Admissions Test ("LSAT") is a timed multiple-choice and written test administered by the Law School Admissions Counsel ("LSAC"). It's designed to provide some indicator of performance in law school, and it's bad at its job. An applicant's score on the LSAT (between 120 and 180) is the primary metric that law schools examine when determining whether to extend them an offer of admissions. It consists of three types of multiple choice sections: - Analytical Reasoning (aka "Logic Games") diff --git a/content/Misc/resistance.md b/content/Misc/resistance.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..d5e0336c6 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/Misc/resistance.md @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +--- +title: Resistance - computing +tags: + - glossary + - linux + - misc +date: 2023-12-26 +--- +Resistance is the subjective difficulty involved with installing new tools. In simpler terms, it's how much of a fight your computer puts up. I believe that your computer should adapt to you, rather than the other way around, which is a major part of the reason why I use linux. + +For example, Windows is very high-resistance in general: finding an executable for the tool (hopefully portable, otherwise it's an installer which is even more resistance), putting it in the correct place, and potentially dealing with UAC to authorize where you put it or to allow it to run properly. + +It goes without saying that package managers alleviate resistance significantly. A single source for no-nonsense installs of almost everything you need! \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/Programs I Like/functional-programming.md b/content/Programs I Like/functional-programming.md index ed0cbeb07..2f45ee91a 100644 --- a/content/Programs I Like/functional-programming.md +++ b/content/Programs I Like/functional-programming.md @@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ tags: - project - haskell date: 2023-11-13 +draft: true --- diff --git a/content/Programs I Like/hundred-rabbits.md b/content/Programs I Like/hundred-rabbits.md index 699ddf6e1..071d470ae 100644 --- a/content/Programs I Like/hundred-rabbits.md +++ b/content/Programs I Like/hundred-rabbits.md @@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ title: Hundred Rabbits Ecosystem tags: - community - creators - - seedling date: 9-08-23 --- Hundred Rabbits has a collection of programs and APIs that reflect the kind of project base I really like. Here are the highlights. diff --git a/content/Projects/my-computer.md b/content/Projects/my-computer.md index 9177bfe61..6fd1f8dab 100644 --- a/content/Projects/my-computer.md +++ b/content/Projects/my-computer.md @@ -25,10 +25,11 @@ So yeah, it’s pretty cool. Here are my peripherals: ### eGPU - ADT-Link R43SG-TB3 - It was smaller than a core x chroma -- Dell DA-2 +- Dell DA-2 x2 - eBay’s finest -- GTX1650 - - Upgrade Soon(tm), it’s really not good. I’ll probably go to the power limit of the DA-2, so like a 3060ti or so + - Had to buy a second one to power the 3060ti. There's a paperclip jammed between two pins and the other ones are connected to the 8pin power slot directly. +- GTX3060Ti + - Rated max power is 220W, but one DA-2 isn't enough because they're too old ## OS/Configuration I run Fedora Linux with the GNOME desktop environment. I was a longtime Windows 10 user, and dabbled in Linux a bit, but eventually got fed up enough with Windows that I swapped for good. @@ -43,18 +44,14 @@ I use a [bare git repository](https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/dotfiles) - There are a lot of little tweaks I do to software to make it fully useful to me, which is the one argument I’ve ever raised *against* compartmentalizing through Flatpak, Snap, etc. - I have a bunch of Flatpak programs with absolutely no settings sync or remotely near the capability to sync, so what do I do when I want to migrate? - Hey kids wanna see a dead husk of a man? Come find me three hours after I update my Neovim install. Dear lord, that thing breaks OFTEN. +### Future? +Upgrades are inevitable with any piece of hardware. Now that my GPU is up to a 3060ti from a 1650s, I'm looking to upgrade my cpu. I'll follow through on that when linux figures out thread scheduling on newer cpu die layouts (p-core e-core is still rough at the moment). ## Software Any software that's actually of note can be found in [[Programs I Like/home|Programs I Like]]. Here, I'll just go over some tenets I've noticed when dealing with my computer as a tool for my work, my projects, and my personal life. -### Resistance -To me, "resistance" is the subjective difficulty involved with installing new tools. In simpler terms, it's how much of a fight your computer puts up. I believe that your computer should adapt to you, rather than the other way around, which is a major part of the reason why I use linux. -For example, Windows is very high-resistance in general: finding an executable for the tool (hopefully portable, otherwise it's an installer which is even more resistance), putting it in the correct place, and potentially dealing with UAC to authorize where you put it or to allow it to run properly. - -It goes without saying that package managers alleviate resistance significantly. A single source for no-nonsense installs of almost everything you need! +I value low-[[Misc/resistance|resistance]], low-[[Misc/friction|friction]] software. It's what led me to pursue linux, Obsidian, and this website in general. If something is fast to use, I'll use it more often. #### Immutable Distros Something that's gaining popularity is the immutable operating system, where the underlying filesystem is intentionally resistant to change. I don't see this as overly resistant in my sense, mainly because providers like VanillaOS and Fedora Silverblue recognize that this resistance is present and provide alternative routes to install software. It's more of a compromise. -### Friction -I define "friction" in a computer as the subjective mental or physical effort required to access a tool that you already have. This is less tied to OS than resistance, and can vary by tool or environment. -If something is low-friction, it gets used, and used often. As a matter of fact, the reason I've swapped around so much for my notes solution is because I've been trying to find something low-friction. [[Projects/Obsidian/digital-garden|Quartz]] appealed to me for this website simply because it was low friction and I could author content right out of my notetaker. -- For example, [[Programs I Like/obsidian|Obsidian]] is more feature rich than the alternatives while being more accessible. \ No newline at end of file +### Software future +I'll probably hop to Arch next since Fedora is going to drop X11 soon. Tiling wms like River and Hyprland look interesting, and I've played around with them on my 1tb Arch expansion card to mixed results. If I get frustrated with tiling, there's always arch gnome... \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/Projects/zotero-lexis-plus.md b/content/Projects/zotero-lexis-plus.md index b709377e4..471fd5f54 100644 --- a/content/Projects/zotero-lexis-plus.md +++ b/content/Projects/zotero-lexis-plus.md @@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ Alas! I can't use it to save cases. All resources on the internet tell me that Z Why is Zotero's compatibility an open source project with inbuilt development tools? I don't care, but I love it. Work starts right away on a [Zotero Translator](https://github.com/zotero/translators) for my database of choice, Lexis's newest iteration called Lexis+. One or two hyperfixations later, I [drop a PR](https://github.com/zotero/translators/pull/3012) and call it a day. +- The way Zotero translators work is pretty simple conceptually, it activates on regex match for URL and then based on site content you can choose what to scrape for and the category of your eventual entry. +- My translator works like this: + - First, it uses regex to find the hallmarks of a case or statute, since those seem to be the most commonly encountered page types, and then takes the elements on the page that fit into the Case or Statute categories on Zotero and plugs them into the resulting object that gets saved when you click the Zotero button. + - Then, it saves the entire webpage as an offline HTML snapshot and attaches it to the object. + - Any supplemental info that I think is necessary but doesn't really fit into the given fields is attached as a note. +- For best results, download the PDF scan manually and attach it to the Zotero entry. This was my first medium-term back-and-forth with an open source project contribution. Zotero's development APIs have lackluster documentation, but their maintainers have high standards. Through a team effort, I made it to merge, and could claim victory! Victory over the internet, the legal community, the Zotero project, and the walled-garden ([[Essays/why-i-garden|I hate those]]) legal research databases that dared catch my ire. diff --git a/content/Updates/2023/dec.md b/content/Updates/2023/dec.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1bee6a736 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/Updates/2023/dec.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +--- +title: Summary of Changes for December 2023 +draft: true +tags: + - "#update" +date: 2023-12-13 +--- +## Housekeeping +Happy holidays! Dropbox has begun opting their customers in by default to allowing the company to train AI on your stored documents in the cloud. I feel validated in my [[Projects/Obsidian/livesync||Obsidian LiveSync]] goals. + +Literally the second I finished finals I started attacking the essays I have unpublished. Expect them released soon, I’ll parade it about my mastodon as well. +## Pages +- The aforementioned unpublished essays are being worked on. Primarily the law school one, which I want to have out as soon as possible. +- Oops, [[Programs I Like/hundred-rabbits|Hundred Rabbits]] isn't a seedling anymore. +- Updated [[Projects/my-computer|My Computer]], and extracted some definitions for the misc subdirectory. +## Status Updates +- Small tweaks to the comment system and moderation. +- Explorer entries now list "Home" pages at the top of each subfolder. +- Clarified privacy policy. +- Changing favicon and static images, may need a few weeks to update on your side. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/about-me.md b/content/about-me.md index 372ef1098..9825489e2 100644 --- a/content/about-me.md +++ b/content/about-me.md @@ -1,16 +1,13 @@ --- title: About Me -date: 9-08-23 +date: 2023-08-23 --- I’m an enthusiast for all things DIY. Hardware or software, if there’s a project to be had I will travel far down the rabbit hole to see it completed. - ## By Day I'm a law student aiming to practice in intellectual property litigation. At a high level, this sort of work primarily involves pointing a lot of fingers and trying to force money to change hands. I enjoy the lower levels the most, where attorneys can really sink their teeth into the kind of technical issues that fascinate me. - ## By Night I obsess over minimizing my digital footprint with respect to services where the users are viewed as the product. The projects within this website are a testament to that fact. -## By...Hobby I enjoy rock climbing, building & flying FPV drones, reading, and baking. Hobby electronics repair was previously one of my interests, but modern devices are unfortunately no longer repairable to the extent that I’m able to do so. -I can be found in your local cafe, sipping something more dessert than coffee and typing furiously into a legal document or class outline. If I'm procrastinating, I'll probably be debugging some selfhost service or writing a toy program in Haskell. \ No newline at end of file +I can be found in your local cafe, sipping caffeine that's more dessert than coffee and typing furiously into a legal document or class outline. If I'm procrastinating, I'll probably be debugging some selfhost service or writing a toy program in Haskell. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/content/index.md b/content/index.md index f3381e525..852bee843 100644 --- a/content/index.md +++ b/content/index.md @@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ This site changes often. Feel free to subscribe to [the RSS feed](/index.xml) fo > I [[about-me|(me, myself)]] write about: > - Projects I've undertaken and programs that I've used > - The intersection of social issues and technology, often with a privacy-first spin +> - Law, apparently > - Anything else that you can find in the [Explorer](https://quartz.jzhao.xyz/features/explorer) on your left > - If you're on mobile, visit the [[sitemap|Sitemap]]. @@ -30,14 +31,15 @@ Please accept that I reserve the right to be wrong on this website. I don’t cl If you don’t like how I’ve done something, feel free to write a piece in your own garden for it. I’d love to read it! It’s no secret that a lot of this garden comprises my gripes with various things. ## Disclaimer It goes without saying that anything herein constitutes my own opinion and not the opinion of any affiliated person or entity. Nothing on this website is legal advice either. - ## Attribution Feel free to properly reference any of the content within in your own gardens or work. Don’t plagiarize. -**Do not input my work into a generative AI for any purpose, including to train or update the model, explore alternate positions to mine, or to converse with the work.** Keep the moles out of the garden. +**Do not input my work into an online or offline generative AI for any purpose, including to train or update the model, explore alternate positions to mine, or to converse with the work.** Keep the moles out of the garden. ## Privacy/Terms of Use - I don't run analytics of any kind on this site. - I don't share any of my content with third parties, nor do I consent to third party use of my content which I retain a copyright in. - - The sole exception to this policy is that third parties are permitted to link to this webpage in their own content. + - The sole exception to this policy is that third parties are permitted to link to pages on this website in their own content, or to cite this website as a source. - Comments - - The time of posting, username, and comment content are all public facing and stored on the server for the sole purpose of providing a comment service. These are not shared with any third parties except to the extent that someone may access that public facing data through this site. \ No newline at end of file + - The time of posting, username, and comment content are all public facing and stored on the server for the sole purpose of providing a comment service. These are not shared with any third parties except to the extent that someone may access that public facing data through this site. + - Accounts created through email will retain the email provided for account login purposes only. + - Accounts created through GitHub login will retain an access token (revocable at any time through GitHub), your GitHub username, and your GitHub profile picture. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/quartz.layout.ts b/quartz.layout.ts index 5129cefc2..e730c6a95 100644 --- a/quartz.layout.ts +++ b/quartz.layout.ts @@ -27,7 +27,26 @@ export const defaultContentPageLayout: PageLayout = { Component.MobileOnly(Component.Spacer()), Component.Search(), Component.Darkmode(), - Component.DesktopOnly(Component.Explorer()), + Component.DesktopOnly(Component.Explorer({ + sortFn: (a, b) => { + // Sort order: folders first, then files. Sort folders and files alphabetically + if (a.name.match(/Home$/)) { console.log(a.displayName); return -1 } + if (b.name.match(/Home$/)) { console.log(b.displayName); return 1 } + if ((!a.file && !b.file) || (a.file && b.file)) { + // numeric: true: Whether numeric collation should be used, such that "1" < "2" < "10" + // sensitivity: "base": Only strings that differ in base letters compare as unequal. Examples: a ≠ b, a = á, a = A + return a.displayName.localeCompare(b.displayName, undefined, { + numeric: true, + sensitivity: "base", + }) + } + if (a.file && !b.file) { + return 1 + } else { + return -1 + } + } + })), //Component.TableOfContents(), ], right: [