Alexey Staroselets

U Jednom Селу

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:07:39 +0200

U jednom selu kod Крагујевца živela je velika породица, ali nisu mogli da se slažu jedni sa drugima zbog srpskog писма. Dok su neki više voleli da koriste ћирилицу, drugi su radije koristili латиницу.

U цркви je uvek bilo свађе oko toga na kojem писму treba da bude молитвеник, ali to je njihovoj деци baš smetalo jer su oni bili mladi i progresivni.

Kad se najstariji син jednom uvukao noću u цркву i zamenio sve литургијске књиге kineskim, pa je zbog toga zbunjivao људе tokom jutarnje литургије, neki u породици su se naljutili na njega i prestali da razgovaraju sa njim, a drugi su ga čak i prokleli što se šali u цркви.

Zbog toga je rekao svima: “Otići ću odavde i vratiću se tek kada prestanete da budete tako tvrdoglavi oko pisanih система!”

Na to mu je отац odgovorio: “To je tvoj проблем, ali radi šta želiš — jer te volim.” Posle toga otišao je sledećeg јутра, a mnogi su se pitali: “Nismo li bili previše strogi prema njemu? Da li je važno koje писмо koristimo, ako izgubimo našu децу?”

Nije prošlo ni годину dana, a људи su postajali manje ljuti na najstarijeg сина i počeo je da im nedostaje. Međutim, ne bi to bilo tako loše, ali je lokalni свештеник odlučio da će u цркви biti dozvoljeno korišćenje молитвеника i na ћирилици i na латиници u jednakoj мери. Iako je to u početku izazvalo malo стреса, kasnije su svi navikli na to.

Na kraju su se svi složili da je to bio glup разлог, pa je мајка jednog dana priznala da zna gde je син, prenela mu sve вести i da će se uskoro vratiti u село.

Od tada je породица živela srećno i nije se svađala zbog писања, jer im nije važno kako pišu i čitaju, već da budu zajedno.

Building Habits With Low-Effort Oncers

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 03:14:39 +0100

Developing a new habit - or fixing an old one - can be a struggle for me. Especially if I set the bar too high. This is how I came up with the idea of low-effort oncers: goals I can achieve at least once in a set time, without much effort. The trick is setting the bar so low it feels the completion is almost inevitable.

Here’re some of my monthly oncers for 2026:

Publish one blog post
Read one book
Go for one long run
Make one call to a distant friend
Cook one new dish
Create one non-commercial artwork
Do one thing differently
Observe one Digital Shabbath
Review this list once on the 15th

Each one feels totally doable, almost effortless, and just a bit exciting.

So far, one point is already checked off for January.

Where do I see the IndieWeb in 2030

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Children’s Games, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Public Domain

In response to December’s IndieWeb carnival hosted by V.H. Belvadi.

IndieWeb 2030 will likely resemble today’s version, except it will be more diverse, uneven, decentralized, fragmented, and bizarre. However, I doubt more than 5% of users will be involved because of the high learning curve and the new skills required. It won’t be any more than what Big Tech leaves after harvesting. But I’m sure everyone will have fun - like those children on the Bruegel’s painting.

The future of the IndieWeb depends on whether it remains a community of web technology enthusiasts or evolves into a more expansive concept (World Wild Web? Freenet? Infranet?).

I hope to see the following ideas develop further over the next five years in the IndieWeb:

Better syndication for everyone - developing bridges and gateways between protocols and communities. The concept of POSSE makes sense, but it doesn’t have to be site-centralized. Any digital entity - be it a website, a Mastodon account, a GitHub repository, a Gemini capsule, or a mailing group - should be treated as an equal infopod, or digital entity of personal preference. Hence, POISE.
Breaking away from tweeting: the return of mailing lists, forums, and other forms of communication that feature larger, more conscious content.
Encourage slower, asynchronous communication. Increase friction to discourage overconsumption and the unthoughtful use of resources. Slow is enough for small things.
Simpler, cross-platform instant messaging: IRC and XMPP.
Development of self-unfolding, prefabricated servers. Imagine a physical analog of a Docker container: a small box that only needs to be powered up and connected to a network to start delivering a service.
Sharing resources. Participating in decentralized storage, digital archiving, collective renderfarms, lightning networks, etc.
Implementation of low-tech, Smolweb, and digital minimalism ideas. Promoting low-resource, alternative-powered, minimal setups and low-cost solutions.
Use of alternative mesh communication networks: LoRa, Bluetooth, LDR.
Wider support and usage of e-ink

Updated (2026-01-03): Follow up with the Canival round-up

Cat-a-log of 2025

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

My degoogled Pixel uses syncthing over the LAN to sync photos with Photoprism on my home server. The vision module of Photoprism then recognizes objects and adds labels and captions using ollama with qwen3-vl LLM that are running on my workstation (it has the better GPU).

I search for cat year:2025 in Photoprism, put the images into the img/ folder, write this text, and build static pages with hugo. With that, the only time I need a connection is to put it online.

It took me almost four hours to compose this publication and realize that it was made locally.

Try Not To Get A Job

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0100

During a meeting on basic income in the UK in 2015, Brian Eno has identified the need to earn a living as the biggest obstacle to generating intelligence in creative communities. He talked about how he advocates for students not to have jobs:

Try not to get a job. That doesn’t mean “try not to do anything”. It means “try to leave yourself in a position where you do the things that you want to do with your time, and where you take maximum advantage of your whatever your possibilities are”.

In the YouTube comments, user @yourmomsdaddy9130 replied:

I’ve been a musician since the age of 14, and i’ve always worked the day job to make ends meet. The best advice I can give is to live as cheap as possible: small apartment or house, old used or no car if you can make that work, lowest amount of bills possible, and then work as little as possible so you spend most of your time at your craft. I learned this from reading Aleister Crowley.

I couldn’t find the book, but I like the idea of the connection between frugality and creativity. When you don’t have much, it’s easier to get bored. And when you’re bored, there’s room in your head for new things to sprout.

If happiness is the ability to interact with the world in one’s own way through creative practices, not having a job means not having to maintain things that do not contribute to creativity. Hence, happiness comes from caring less about such things.

The idea of not having a job sounds utopian, unless you inherit a fortune or suddenly find a new deposit of rare resources. The idea of not having a job sounds utopian, unless you inherit a fortune or suddenly find a new deposit of rare resources. But the attitude toward work itself can certainly be challenged. Here’s an insightful tip from Moxie Marlinspike:

My career advice usually falls within the framework of doing the absolute minimum amount of work necessary to prevent starvation, and then doing something that’s not about money, completely outside of supporting structures, and not simply a matter of “consuming experience” with the remaining available time.

Goodbye, Slopify

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0100

My Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify is finally poisoned by AI slop.

There’s no way I’m going to continue a subscription to a streaming service that suggests AI-generated music with AI-generated album covers. A bloated, Electron-based desktop application with a terrible UI is only going to add up.

So goodbye, Slopify. Thank you for pushing me towards supporting more real artists and buying music that I can actually own.

Updated on 2025-02-12

The Ghosts in the Machine – Spotify’s plot against musicians (Harper’s Magazine)
Not even Spotify is safe from AI slop – How fake music targets real artists (The Verge)
Any other Spotify users being bombarded with this AI generated slop on their recommended albums list? (r/MetalForTheMasses)

Cat-a-log of 2024

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 13:10:59 +0100

Meowy Christmas and Purr-fect New Year!

Pilgrim Walk

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 14:31:59 +0200

What happens when you mix a curious mind with a deck of cards? Well, let me tell you about my latest walk with Pilgrim Cards.

Pilgrim Cards is a flash cards app we’ve been working on since 2022 at Locus Praxis. The cards give you tasks and directions to follow, making each journey a bit of an adventure. Some decks are more structured, with dramaturgy and storytelling twists, but others are all about random exploration.

Maverick is my favorite deck in the app. With over 100 cards, it helps you break out of your routine and discover new places. I use it often to shake things up, and this time it took me through the streets of Batumi, a beautiful coastal town in Georgia.

Here’s what happened on my walk with Pilgrim Cards one hot and sunny day in July 2024.

1:26 PM

“Walk forward for 5 minutes”

I walked forward into a green yard, crossed the street, and took a selfie in a mirror covered with graffitis.

For some reason, there are plenty of mirrors on Batumi streets. A mirror is a perfect psychogeographical object: it makes one stop and take a moment of self-reflection.

Moving forward I notice a signage of the old atelier, and another graffiti. It all rhymes in my head – mirror, atelier, graffiti on both of them, reminding me of vanity.

5 minutes pass, and I’m taking another card.

1:36 PM

“What is the first thing that comes to your mind in this place? Write it down or memorize it.”

I look around and see a cafe. Dissident cafe.

It reminds me of a place in Hollywood with a relevant name.

Intelligentsia Coffee on Google Street View in 2022

It immediately reminds me of a place in Los Angeles with a relevant name! Take a look at it - Intelligentsia Coffee in Hollywood:

Are all dissidents = intelligentsia, and vice versa?

1:40 PM

“Find an item or an object that cannot be found in another city.”

Hunting for unique things then. I walk and look around the surroundings.

Could it be this tree of wires?

Or maybe an old iron gate with a “good luck” horseshoe?

Or this used-to-be-luxurious Pontiac?

Or some authentic yard?

I like this one: a shop selling sinks, ladders, fans, shovels, and who knows what else.

Or this quirky display wall?

My attention is captured by piles of freshly cured tobacco which look like tall fur hats. Pretty unique!

Is that izmir, samsun, latakia or just a regular virginia?

I end up finding a street vendor who’s selling Soviet-era double-edge razor blades (I use safety razor for years and can’t get enough of it). And these blades are as rare as it gets! So, I’m finally satisfied and consider the task done.

I see Maverick as more than just a fun way to walk and explore – it’s also a great way to sharpen your senses and awareness. Take Batumi, for example. The city has been colonized many times, and you can find traces of different cultures layered throughout. But you have to look closely to spot them.

For example - signs from the Soviet era are still around, though they’re becoming rare. Like this entrance sign I found with elegant numbers and a Russian inscription. It reads “Entrance 3, apartments 51-74”.

Entrance #3, apts. from 51 to 74

By 2:30PM I found myself in the old city center, and the closer I got, the more aware I was of how near the Turkiÿe border is. Time for a new card.

Shop named Istanbul

2:32 PM

“Listen to the people around you talking. Memorize any three words. It may be a future clue along your way.”

I’m looking at Orta Djame – Batumi Central Mosque built in 1866, the oldest building in town. The surrounding streets are packed with small cafés, shisha bars, tea and baklava shops. The air is filled with sounds and chatter, though I can’t recognize a word, since I don’t know Turkish which prevails in this part of town.

A signage in 4 different languages

The sounds of rattling forks and the smell of food made me realize that I had been wandering for over an hour and was quite hungry. I rarely go to Turkish places, but as far as I got here, I could not think against having a plate of hummus with a cup of tea.

It turned out that hummus goes for free with any dish, so I had to order chicken shawarma. It resulted in three dishes. First harissa, then hummus with cucumbers marinated in lemon juice with herbs, and cabbage salad (like coleslaw).

I was already full before I even got to the salad. Then came the chicken shawarma with cream sauce, fries, and more pickles! And of course, the tea. Plus, a can of Pepsi, which I quickly regretted. The whole meal cost me 21 ლ, just over 8 USD.

Right before I left the cafe, a group of English-speaking tourists sat at the table next to me and I managed to complete my task.

Lunch break was over, time to move on.

3:15 PM

“Open a door and take a peek inside.”

In Georgia, it’s pretty common for doors to be left unlocked, even in residential buildings where people leave their apartments open. It says a lot about the sense of safety here. Even in the old town, with plenty of tourists around, I easily found a door left ajar – maybe it’s a thing in Ajara (see what I did there?), the capital of which is Batumi (pronounced ah-JAR-ah)

Inside was a stairwell with old tiling and a modern chandelier handing from a suprisingly well-preserved moulding. Another mirror is found.

3:32PM

“Flip a coin. Heads - go left. Tails - go right.”

I didn’t find change in my pockets, googled a digital coin flipper, got heads, and walked to the left.

3:36 PM

“Do something funny”

I sat down on a bench to rest and sip some water, wondering if I should tell a joke to a stranger or maybe recite a limerick. Just then, a man in his late 60s appeared and politely asked if he could share the bench. I didn’t mind. He lit a cigarette and started talking, I was mostly listening. His life sounded like an adventure, full of unusual situations and colorful characters. He made sharp comments about the law, corruption, business, and culture. “I just got back from my seventh tour, and I realized there’s no place like home in Batumi,” he said. Given that Batumi is an old Black Sea port, I figured he must be a sailor who’d traveled the world and returned home after years of adventure. So, I asked, “What kind of tour was that?” With a smirk, he replied, “Prison, of course!” Then, after finishing his cigarette, he left just as quickly as he had appeared.

4:19 PM

“Feed the birds”

I didn’t see any birds or a bakery to get breadcrumbs from. Postponing this card, I get another one.

5:11 PM

“What is the warmest place in this city? Visit it today.”

It’s 30°C outside, and the last thing I want to do is find a warmer spot. Then I see a bird pecking at breadcrumbs, and I mentally check off the “Feed the bird” card!

I love when such coinsidences happen. Sometimes, tasks come together after you’ve put them off, and it feels like a nice surprise, as if you’re perfectly in sync with the world.

I got tired and decided to pull the last card in this session.

5:30PM

“Build a tower”

I spent a few minutes wandering around, trying to figure out how to build a tower. After having no luck, or imagination of how to make it creatively or metaphorically, I gave up. So I skipped the card, and grabbed a scooter to head home.

A few days later when I was going through the photos I had taken, I noticed this shot. It was one of the last pictures I took, but I didn’t realise the tower at first!

Results

The walk lasted a little over 4 hours.
I found a spot that really gives off Hollywood vibes.
I definitely need to visit Turkish cafés more often.
Batumi is full of beautiful numbers hidden around the streets.
I got sidetracked and ended up climbing my first circus dome (but that’s a story for another time).
Once again, Pilgrim Cards took me to places I never would have found on my own. Randomness is truly amazing!

Mysterious note I found in the park

Musical Discoveries of August

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Retrospective: She Belongs to Me (2024). This October Brian Ferry is going to release a 5CD compilation of his work, featuring 81 tracks. Among them is a cover to Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me” which is already available on EP.
I didn’t know until now that most of the songs from Tom Waits’ Blood Money (2000) 💾 were written for Robert Wilson’s opera Woyzeck, based on the play of the same name by Georg Buchner (1837) – one of the most influential and most performed German plays.The opera was premiered at the Betty Nansen Theatre in København, Denmark, in late 2000. It tells the story of a simple man named Woyzeck and how his lover, a colonel, and others conspire to torture and destroy everything that makes sense in his world. Twenty years after I first heard Blood Money, it turned out to be a conceptual album with a narrative that gave me a new perspective on it.
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme is a play composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully in between 1670-1674. Honestly, I don’t remember how exactly I got into researching late baroque music. Most probably I was looking for something more ‘classical’ and less ‘modern’ than Schnittke. This record of Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme is perfromed by Le Concert Des Nations in 1999 under direction of Jordi Savall.
I’m convinced that a truly masterpiece soundtrack is one that sounds good on its own, even without reference to the work it’s written for. DOOM Eternal O.S.T. (2016) 💾 by Mick Gordon is one of those kind.
Flight b741 (2024) is the 26th (!) studio album by the one and only King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard – the greatest psychedelic rock band of modern times, if you ask me. In essence, 43 minutes of power blues and high-voltage boogie rock. Listening to each new King Gizzard’s album is a unique experience. Many years from now it will allow you to proudly tell grandchildren and journalists who interview seniors about those good old days when music was great. Hail to the King!

💾 – pieces that I have heard before, but recently rediscovered.

Leo's Sweet Beard

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This innovative idea revolves around selling cotton candy shaped like Leo Tolstoy’s iconic beard, combining a whimsical food experience with literary appreciation.

What problem does it solve? 🔍 The idea addresses the lack of unique and creative food offerings at events, particularly for literature enthusiasts. It targets a niche market where desserts can also reflect cultural icons, making them memorable.

Who is target audience? 🎯 The primary target audience includes young adults, book lovers, and event-goers who enjoy unique desserts. Demographics are largely students and literature enthusiasts aged 18-35, seeking fun and engaging experiences.

What makes this solution unique? 🔧 Unlike conventional cotton candy offerings, this idea uniquely fuses food with literary culture, making it particularly appealing at themed events or festivals, thereby standing out from typical food stalls.

Description created with Keep My Idea.

Progress of the Hollywood Star font

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0200

I’m excited to announce that I’m getting close to releasing the next version of the Hollywood Star font, which it going to become its first major update since 2020.

During these four years I’ve been taking a series of daring (yet gentle) steps aside from the original design of the typeface, giving myself more creative freedom and hoping to bring more individuality to the font.

First and foremost, I retraced and recreated all the letters I photographed during the 2019-2020 fieldwork, this time including newly discovered variations.

Grey letters are from the first version

Evolved Latin uppercase with alternatives

Secondly, I designed characters that were missing, including lowercase, numerals, non-Latin, and many more.

And finally, I designed an extensive set of Cyrillic characters which, along with diactrics, increased the number of supported languages has up to 215.

First Article of the Declaration of Human Rights in various languages

The original letters from the first release (both Rugged and Clean sets) are preserved in the character set and also available as alternatives.

Characters of the first version had accomplished the mission of conserving typographic history of Hollywood

In summary, there were created:

Latin lowercase
Basic Greek (uppercase)
Full set of Cyrillic
Greek uppercase
Ligatures
Punctuation
Symbols: currencies, math, arrows, geometry, etc.
Combining and modifying marks
Numbers, including small figures
Walk of Fame artistic category icons

Latin, numerals, category icons

Cyrillic

Extended list of characters

I have a plan to release the font no later than October 2024, with the next two major tasks coming up: fixing the kerning, and finding a foundry.

Update from 2025-01-06: I failed to release the font in 2024 because I haven’t found a distrubutor. Yet I’m considering selling it directly from my own shop. Stay tuned!

Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, I’m pretty happy with how the font is turning out. At least I haven’t made many changes in the last few months, and to my eye the font looks balanced. I’m curious to find out what others would say.

Musical Discoveries of July

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 00:28:02 +0200

A Broken Frame (2015) is a refreshing modern-day interpretation of the iconic 1982 Depeche Mode album performed by Marsheaux, the all-female electro duo from London. To my ear some covers sound even better than the originals (My Secret Garden, Monument). Or maybe I’m just starting to get bored of old stuff?
I first heard Silver Apples’ Lovefingers at the opening of Civil War and immediately loved it for its eerie atonal sound. The fact that it the same-named Silver Apples (1968) album was recorded over half a century ago is mind-blowing.

Retrace Your Steps (2024), a new single from maestro Brian Eno, featuring remastered versions of masterpieces such as St Elmo’s Fire, Third Uncle, and the amazing Seven Deadly Finns. Don’t miss the brilliant video for the latter.
An epic orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, The Planets, written between 1914 and 1917. It is composed of seven movements, with each one named after a planet of the Solar System and reflecting its astrological character. It’s believed that the opus inspired John Williams to compose Star Wars soundtrack: the opening Mars clearly reminds me of The Imperial March. I particularly like the 1961 performance of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Herbert von Karajan.
Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky (2024) is an intriguing musical quadriptych by Jyoti Prakash Mishra, an Indian-born British artist, radical Maxrist, and leader of White Town — a band mostly known for the 1997 hit song Your Woman. The conceptual EP consists with four tracks arranged according to the historical activity of their lyrical heroes. Sounds like Trent Reznor after reading “Das Kapital”.

Lesser-known MacBook Features

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 01:50:51 +0200

Surprisingly, not many MacBook owners are aware that:

Apple MacBook can be charged from any available USB-C port with a standard cable. Works for >2016 Pro and >2018 Air laptops.
The brightness of the Retina screen can be increased from 500 to 1600 nits. It is possible with apps such as Lunar (I recommend it) or Vivid. It’s also a must-have tool for brightness synchronization between multiple displays.
MacOS has a built-in caffeinate command which prevents the system from going into sleep mode. This can be useful when downloading or compiling and the laptop is not connected to a power supply.

Junited 2024

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Sun, 26 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This June I’m participating in Junited, a blogging adventure started by Robert Birming. I will be building this publication with links to websites, blogs, and publications that I find interesting and worth sharing with others.

Publications & Links

32: CALM DOWN—YOUR PHONE ISN’T LISTENING TO YOUR CONVERSATIONS. IT’S JUST TRACKING EVERYTHING YOU TYPE, EVERY APP YOU USE, EVERY WEBSITE YOU VISIT, AND EVERYWHERE YOU GO IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD
31: Vigesimal, a numeral system based on 20.
30: Notes on Tajikistan by Matt Lakeman.
29: I Will Fucking Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again ⭐️
28: A curated list of digital specimens of the highest quality
27: Boltzmann Brain
26: Remembering is reliving
25: Chrese Evans, Stalin’s granddaughter, lives in Portland, OG
24: Ever wondered why dragons exist in almost every culture?
23: Create ASCII art from any image with Silhouettify
22: ChatGPT is bullshit
21: Computers starring in movies and television
20: Photographic Dynamic Range Chart
19: Discover the advantages of System 2 thinking
18: Long-wanted REST API for cats
17: MS Paint in browser
16: Collection of tools by Open Source Publishing.
15: Zero Data App is a collection of apps that let you control your data.
14: Is the Sun conscious?
13: An expansive but certainly not the whole list of pangrams.
12: Universal Declaration of Human Rights in XML.
11: Páthei máthos! — extensive list of Classical Greek phrases.
10: Websites founded before 1995 .
9: For almost 30 years, FogCam is the world’s oldest operating webcam.
8: Some people consider these are the best documentaries to watch.
7: Did you know that Romans decorated floors with garbage?.
6: WeatherSpark — neat and informative visualization of weather data for any location.
5: A comprehensive resource about diactrical symbols: diactrics.typo.cz (for font designers and typography enthusiasts).
4: Album Whale is a place where people create and share lists of their favorite music albums.
3: Typography legacy: full archive of Emigre Magazine (1984-2005).
2: Futility Closet is a regularly updated collection of curiosities in history, literature, language, art, and other topics.
1: Modern news in ye olde way by The Medieval Times.

Blogs

10: Farai Gandiya, web developer.
10: Matt Lakeman’s blog, especially his recent notes on countries that are not among the top destinations.
9: The Art Of Cover Art.
8: Notebook of Mark Simonson, type designer.
7: Internet Archive Blogs
6: Tanya Khovanova’s Math Blog and her collection of Math Humor.
5: Tom Miller’s Daytonian in Manhattan: the stories behind the buildings, statues and other points of interest that make Manhattan fascinating.
4: Lizbeth Poirier, folk and fantasy artist, illustrator, letterer.
3: Dostoynikov, web-developer from Turkey, also translator from Japanese, who has recently moved to Estonia.
2: Ruben Schade, a real nerd from Australia.
1: Chris Hannah is a software engineer who shares thoughts about enjoyable software, mobile devices and takes astonishing pictures with his smartphone.

Georgian Pangrams

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200

A pangram is a sentence constructed so that the words in it use every letter of the alphabet. Probably the best known pangram is The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, and there are many others for almost every language… except Georgian. Because the language has a unique writing system and there are not many type designers who work with it, the search for a Georgian pangram is quite a task. Nevertheless, I managed to find some interesting examples, which I verified with native Georgian speakers.

აბგად ევზეთ იკალ მანო, პაჟა რასტა უფქა ღაყაშ, ჩაცა ძაწა ჭახა ჯაჰო
“Abgad Evzet Ikal Mano, Pazha Rasta Upka Ghagash, Chatsa Dzatsa Chakha Jaho”. This one is used in schools to help children memorize the letters of the Georgian alphabet. This phrase contain all of 33 characters and only 52 characters long, but the words are all made-up and have no meaning.
გვიპყრობდა კვამლი, ჩიტებს გაჰქონდათ ჟღურტული ზეცაში, ძილს უფრთხობს ჭიქების ჯახუნი მიწებში¹
“We were overcome by smoke, the birds were carried away by chirping in the sky, sleep is disturbed by the clatter of glasses on the ground”. 77 characters
ჩიტს გაჰქონდა ჟღურტული ზეცაში, კვართიან საპყარს ძილს უფრთხობდა ჭიქის ჯახუნი
“A bird flew up to the sky, the clinking of the glass scared the robed cripple from sleep”. Only 65 characters.

I would still like to double-check and make sure that these sentences are 100% accurate. And I hope there are more pangrams in Georgian, so I will keep finding them and updating this list.

I committed this one to Wikipedia page about pangrams ↩︎

I Might Well Ask

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200

How popular will a quizshow be where the player that gives the wrong answer gets dunked in a pool of turd?

Could there be a religious cryptocurrency with coins minted while worshippers pray?

Is there a way to link up old phone booths so that people can walk in, pick up a receiver and chat in the same room at the same time?

How many coin collectors would like to use an escort service to talk about their possessions with a nice person who won’t roll their eyes at them?

Is it possible to make a mechanical watch that can generate random numbers? And why?

Who would use a taxi service for children that takes them away while their parents are having a good time?

Would it help to build a better business relationship if a business card was combined with a scratch-off lottery?

How about an AI voice assistant over the phone ordering a taxi or directing you to the nearest public toilet?

Why isn’t there an FM radio that broadcasts popular people’s playlists and lives on donations?

Spring Site Updates

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 17:25:52 +0400

Spring is here and I’m actively digging into the beds of my digital garden.

Replaced collapbisble manu with a plain inline navigation bar; also removed mobile navigation modal.
Optimized Hugo templates. Hopefully this will make building process a bit faster.
Replaced many CSS stylings with native HTML 5.0 tags.
Implemented responsive typography. Now text size corresponds with the width of the viewport using formula font-size: calc(15px + 0.390625vw);

Main stylesheet is now 50% smaller: 2.8KB versus 5.8KB (uncompressed). And despite of reduced styling I like the way it looks now - with larger fonts and better usage of space.

Of course, these are not all possible improvements - I can never get enough of caring for Web yard. Here’s what I’m up to:

Find an alternative solution for graphic design portfolio display. I’m thinking about ditching animated thumbnails for Film titles and replacing them with simple static images.
Do more optimization for Hugo templates
Move hosting to a separate self-managed VPS server with nginx
Create an automated routine to create mirrors on Gopher and Gemini
Improve accessibility for blind and low vision users
Keep pages under 14kB¹
Optimize for e-ink displays
Use lowercase in code

Happy Easter! 🐣

Nathaniel on Endtimes explains why the website should be under 14kB (14000 bytes) in size. Barry Pollard has even more detailed explanation on this topic. ↩︎

Dumber Smartphone

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 22:49:44 +0100

I intentionally stupefy my iPhone for:

Less distration. There are too many features, notifications, and apps that fight for my attention. Constant distractions are affecting my focus and bring undesired stress. I find smartphones out-of-the-box quite overwhelming, that’s why I prefer plenty of features to be turned off.
Better privacy and security. I care about how my data is used and value my digital privacy. Knowing where the data goes and how it’s being processed allows me to have more control over it.
Prioritizing individual needs. Manufactureres compete for a bigger share of the market. They try hard on creating universal solutions aimed to please everyone’s needs, which is not necessarily applies to my case. I prefer to figure out what’s really needed and what’s not by my own.
More freedom. I view a smartphone as an additional benefit, not as something mandatory. I like the idea that my quality of life doesn’t depend on an electronic device or some of its functions.

This publication is a follow up to an earlier post about my Digital Principles.

☁️🤖🥱🫨😖 → ☀️🏃⚡️😌🧘‍♂️

Apps

Delete apps that haven’t been used for more than a month
Delete communication apps that are not crucial for personal life and work
Stay away from social media
Delete apps for servies that have usable web versions
Use RSS reader (Miniflux) with a custom-tailored feed of sources.
Keep the total number of installed apps below 30 (Check in Settings > General > About)

UI/UX

Turn off all non-critical notifications: Settings > Notifications > [App Name] > Allow Notifications: Off
Turn off ask to join networks notification: Settings > Wi-Fi > Ask to Join Networks: Off
Use single page home screen
Remove non-freqently used apps from home screen
Reduce motion and animation: Settings > Accessibility > Reduce Motion (Disable), Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions (Disable), Auto-Play Animated Images (Disable)
Reduce transparency: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Reduce Transparency (Enable)
Use ugly color as wallpaper (like drab dark brown, #4A412A).
Use greyscale mode¹: Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters > Greyscale

Security & Privacy

Use secure passcode (7+ characters) instead of Touch ID
Disable Touch ID / Face ID: Settings > Face ID & Passcode > (Disable everything in ‘Use Face ID for’)
Disable access to features on locked screen: Settings > Face ID & Passcode > (Disable everything in ‘Allow aceess when locked’)
Disable auto-joining hotspots: Settings > Wi-Fi > Auto-Join Hotspot > Never
Disable analytics: Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements > (Disable everything))
Keep Bluetooth off by default: Settings > Bluetooth > Bluetooth (Disable)
Disable Personalized Ads: Settings > Privacy & Security > Apple Advertising > Personalized Ads (Disable)
Disable offloading unsued apps: Settings > App Store > Offload Unused Apps (Disable)
Disable feedback notifications: Settings > App Store > In-Apps Ratings & Reviews (Disable)
Safari: Prevent Cross-site Tracking: Settings > Safari > Prevent Cross-Site Tracking (Enable)
Safari: Hide IP from trackers: Settings > Safari > Hide IP Address > From Trackers
Safari: Tracking protection everywhere: Settings > Safari > Advanced > Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection > All Browsing
Safari - Better privacy for ads: Settings > Safari > Advanced > Privacy Preserving Ad Measurement (Enable)
Use encrypted DNS servers (Quad9, NextDNS, AdGuard)²: Settings > Wi-Fi > [Network name] > Configure DNS > Manual

Extra

Do not rely on powerbanks; use device less often to save power.
Exploit other people and their phones to get navigation guides, search for information, order foor or call a taxi.
Substitue smartphone functions with single-purposed devices: read ebooks from Kindle, tell time from a wristwatch, take pictures with a real camera, use pen & paper for taking notes, etc.
Practice Digital Shabbat.

Greyscale mode is a useful aid when color are distractive and unimportant. I have a shortcut to quickly disable colors with a triple tap on the back of device: Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap > Triple Tap > Accessibility: Color Filters ↩︎
I run a self-hosted AdGuardHome instance with multiple encrypted upstreams and custom filters for ads filtering. ↩︎

Build & Deploy Hugo Site With Sourcehut

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:54:52 +0100

Requirements:

Private Sourcehut repository with Hugo website
Web hosting with SFTP (like Hetzner)
ssh-keygen

SSH keys

First, create a designated pair of SSH keys for the job:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/srht

Two keys will be created: ~/.ssh/srht with private key, and ~/.ssh/srht.pub with public key.

Add private key to Sourcehut

Go to Sourcehut Secrets and add new secret: paste the contents of ~/.ssh/srht into the form, selecting SSH Key.

Copy the generated UUID of added key (should be looking like 49f119e5-0291-44ac-b79e-gf483b7d2fa1).

Sourcehut will also store the private key on its server (~/.ssh/UUID).

Add public key to Hetzner

Open Hetzner KonsoleH, look for Public SFTP Keys section, and add the public key (~/.ssh/srht.pub).

For additional security, Password-Login option can be disabled in Hetzner SFTP settings. Only hosts with added SSH keys will be able to connect to the server. Additional FTP users will be disabled too.

Build manifest

Create .build.yml file in the root of your Hugo website repository, and change the settings accordingly:

image: alpine/edge
packages:
 - hugo
 - rclone
sources:
 - git@git.sr.ht:~USERNAME@REPOSITORY # change to your Sourchut repository
secrets:
 - XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX # Sourcehut Secret UUID
tasks:
- build: |
 cd REPOSITORY
 hugo --gc --cleanDestinationDir --minify
- deploy: |
 cd REPOSITORY
 rclone sync \
 --sftp-host HETZNER-SERVER.COM \
 --sftp-user HETZNER-FTP-USER \
 --sftp-key-file '~/.ssh/XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXX' \
 public/ \
 :sftp:public_html/

Run a test build

Now you can submit the build manifest from the web to check the configuration. Open builds.sr.ht/submit and paste the contents of .build.yml into the text field. Set Visibility to Private, and click Submit.

With correct settings Sourcehut will:

Start a virtual machine with Alpine Linux
Install hugo and rclone
Clone your private repository
Build static website with Hugo
Deploy the contents of public/ to Hetzner server via SFTP

Check logs for possible errors. Sourcehut will also allow to SSH into the virtual machine for troubleshooting.

Commit and push

“git.sr.ht will automatically submit builds for you if you store a manifest in the repository as .build.yml. Each time you push, a build with this manifest will be submitted,” — https://man.sr.ht/builds.sr.ht/#gitsrht

Open builds.sr.ht right after the commit to see the building process in real time.

Even though Sourcehuts Builds are available for non-paid accounts, consider subscribing to one the paid tiers (starting at only $2/month) to support the serivce.

Canon RP Silent Shooting

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Sun, 07 Jan 2024 17:49:22 +0400

It’s been almost two years since I started shooting with Canon EOS RP. I can’t get enough of this camera and am very happy with my choice. It has a full-frame sensor, it’s lightweight, compact, and it supports a new line of cutting-edge RF lenses. With two extra batteries, I don’t care about infamously high power consumption. Slow autofocusing is not a big deal since I’m not into shooting sport events or wildlife. RP costs less than $1000 and weighs less than 500 grams, which is good for my budget and lifestyle.

However, what RP is seriously lacking of is full Electronic Shutter mode. And, consequently, silent shooting. It actually has a designated Silent Mode scene setting, but it doesn’t allow any manual settings of aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. And it shoots in JPEG, which sucks. But there’s a trick that I discovered while playing with Focus Bracketing.¹

Enabling electronic shutter

Go to Menu -> CAMERA 5 and enable Focus bracketing. Set the required minimum of Number of shots to 2. Focus increment parameter it better to be set in accordance to the type of your lens, i.e. 10 for 16mm lens, or 1 for 300mm. Leave Exposure smoothing disabled to avoid additional image processing.

When Focus Bracketing is enabled, the mechanical back-curtain shutter will be disengaged in favor of full electronic operation. The camera will stay silent in all modes, including Manual. Every shot will produce two (or more, depending on ‘Number of shots’ setting) consequential images. It’s a small price to pay, which can be helpful with dynamic scenes – as a form of burst shooting.

Why cripple the device?

Both mechanical and electronic shutter systems have their pros and cons. There’s also an Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter, a smart compromise. EFCS is hybrid system which uses a mechanical back-curtain shutter (so MBCS would be a more accurate term). In simple words, a mechanical shutter is a blade that pops out in front of the imaging sensor at the end of exposure. EFCS prevents rolling shutter, artificial light flickering or banding effects, and allows proper flash syncing. But full ES allows faster shutter speeds, prevents sun-star flares, gives better bokeh, and – most of all - allows to shoot silently.

I comprehend that Canon was considering users who ‘may not necessarily be aware of some of the unwanted side effects of using an electronic shutter’. However, I doubt that deliberate crippling of the device is the most effective solution.

There’s a relevant thread on dpreview.com which I discovered later ↩︎

Predictions for 2024

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 23:28:11 +0400

Subjective, biased, and mostly ungrounded predictions of some events in 2024.

Donald Trump will win the GOP nomination
The 47th President of the US will be a Republican
Compromisation of Telegram; state-level bans.
- Spain high court drops Telegram ban — 2024-03-26
- Telegram CEO Durov arested in France – 2024-08-25
- France charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov – 2024-08-28
Apple Vision fails in sales and adoption (less than 500,000 sold in 2024)
- Apple’s Vision Pro Won’t Cross 500,000 Sales This Year, IDC Says – 2024-07-11
- Apple severely cuts Vision Pro production, and may stop it completely very soon – 2024-10-23 [x] Bitcoin >$100,000 – 2024-12-04
Gold >2200
- XAU Eyes $2200 Ahead of Fed Insights — 03-28-2024 wow that was fast.
S&P500 >5000
- S&P 500 closes above key 5,000 level for first time — 2024-02-09
NVDA >100¹
- NVDA trades over 101.5 on 2024-05-23
TSLA <150
- Tesla shares tumble below $150 per share, giving up all gains made over the past year — 2024-04-18
Worldwide Google Search market share <90%
- statcounter Global Stats report – 2024-09-01
New global heat records
- April 2024 became Earth’s warmest in the global climate record
- World recorded hottest day on July 21 (2024), monitor says
Intense electromagnetic storms on Earth
- Powerful solar storms occurred in May 2024
- G4 Geogmagnetic Storm in October 10-11

Didn’t happen (update from 2025):

…but it won’t be Donald Trump (same)
Federalization of media streaming services
Announcement of ChatGPT-5
Decline of NFT
Benjamin Netanyahu will resign as PM of Israel

Corrected typo: 1000 -> 100. ↩︎

New Website

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 23:30:00 +0400

Today, on the first day of 2024, the new version of this very website is finally released. I have been working on it since the middle of 2023 and I’m happy to finally open it for the public after hundreds of hours of production.

This is my playground, my digital garden, a place on Web where I can do whatever I want. I’d like to keep it lightweight, intuitive, accessible, and easy to maintain, hence it’s going to be changing and evolving until it reaches a near-zen state.

Along with portfolio of my works in graphic design, photography, and other fields of interest, there is a Blog section where I will be publishing thoughs and rants on topics that matter to me. I hope it will help me to improve my wiring skills.

Colophon page which has information about how this website is built.

Perfect Smartwatch

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 01:03:46 +0400

A list of features that would make me a perfect smartwatch.

eInk. I’d like to change to the display update period (i.e. once in a minute, when seconds doesn’t matter), or show the current time only when manually hitting the designated button.
GPS. With custom update interval too.
Maps. OpenStreetMaps, preloaded with cable connection.
Heart rate monitor.
Altimeter/barometer. I guess such feature might requre additionl space and special engineering. But I’d love to have it to predict weather.
Temperature sensor. It would be great to have an external wired sensor to measure temperature of various objects, like steaks and engines.
Waterproof. Sustaining a hevay rain or underwater immersion for a couple of hours would be enough.
Solar-powered. This is a very important feature. I would also like a low-power when only time is displayed, allowing the watch to operate from solar energy for many months.
USB-C. For charging and data transferring
FM/AM radio. That would probably require a 3.5mm jack for the headphones, which will also work as an antenna.
Universal lugs. Just throw in a cheap nylon NATO-strap in the box, I’ll figure it out on my own.
Open-source. Firmware available for customization, hacking, and community development
Data and storage. All collected data should be stored in plain format (json, xml, csv, etc.) and available for accessing. There could be some extra space to store personal files.
NFC security key With support of FIDO2, OATH-TOTP, OpenPGP, etc (Like Yubikey).
Power reserve indicator. Show how long it would last without recharging.

How I Donate

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0200

When I started the first draft of this publication, I was thinking about actually sharing the list of companies and individuals that I support. But during the editing, I realized that this wasn’t how I wanted it. I just want to formulate the system of how my donations are made.

I believe that the act of giving should come along with a pure intention. Speaking metaphysically, it’s a charged load of psychic energy (as a feeling of love, compassion, and care) that I give willingly, not just money. Hence, I agree that good actions should be done in silence. Because talking breaches the energy and makes it cheaper.

So, no lists. But there goes my system.

When I’m facing new causes, discovering interesting projects, or reading publications that resonate with my life principles, I put a note to it into the special list. At the end of each month, I make a review and select those projects that still make me feel grateful. This is how I avoid impulsive or unweighted actions and, as I hope, make wiser decisions. It can also be applied to other situations, i.e. with people on the streets. I leave the right not to give money when I don’t feel sincere about it. The feeling of guilt is not what I want to convey along with my contribution. I prefer to take my time until I’m ready for a thoughtful action.

Thus, at the end of the month, I share the funds equally between chosen recipients. And the process starts again.

I define a fixed amount relative to my current financial situation. Being a freelancer, I have a variable income, hence it’s more convenient for me to adjust donation limits every month. I can say that 5% feels like a good reference point.

Whenever I save money by canceling a subscription or moving away to cheaper software, I move half of those funds to a fixed monthly donation budget. This is my way of sharing the benefits I’m getting from following my principles.

Hence, I choose to give:

Regularly
Thoughtfully
Silently
With an open heart and positive feelings

User Data Takeout Links

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:59:41 +0400

Recent news about Twitter routinely destroying itself inspired me to create this collection of links. They are pointed to user data download pages for the most popular web services.

Apple: privacy.apple.com — click Request a copy of your data
Facebook: accountscenter.facebook.com/info_and_permissions/dyi
Google: takeout.google.com/settings/takeout?pli=1
Instagram: instagram.com/download/request
Mastodon: mastodon.social/settings/export — replace mastodon.social with your Mastodon instance
Spotify: spotify.com/us/account/privacy/ — look for Request Data button
Twitter AKA X: x.com/settings/download_your_data
~~Adobe assets.adobe.com/cloud-documents~~ — Creative Cloud Sync discontinued on Feb, 2024.

Build Websites For Cuba

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 02:29:47 +0400

According to Speedtest analytics, the median internet access speed in Cuba in 2023 was 3.87Mbps for mobile and 1.86Mbps for broadband connection¹. The island country holds the record of having the slowest internet in the world.

I created a throttling preset in Chromium’s Inspector to get a feeling of how long it takes to load popular media websites in Cuba. The results:

apnews.com – 22 sec
reuters.com – 32 sec
ft.com – 22 sec
yahoo.com – 12 sec
theguardian.com – 12 sec
miamiherald.com – 35 sec
cubadebate.cu – 18 sec

My suggestion: when building a website, make sure it loads in less than 10 seconds in Cuba*.² Give priority to users with the most limited abilities.

Internet para todos!

Source: https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/cuba ↩︎
10 seconds is an average attention span time. ↩︎

Extra Pixels in Adobe Illustrator

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 00:19:08 +0400

Problem showcase

Let’s say I have an illustration on a 333x333 px artboard.

This artboard is precisely 333x333 px

I want to export it into a bunch of PNG images with various scaling. Sounds like a trivial job to me. I run Export -> Export for Screens and tick x1, x2, x3 scaling options:

Selecting three scale option

A Finder window pops out exposing the generated images. At this point I could have pressed ⌘+I on each file to summon a flock of new Information windows. Instead of that, I’m opening Terminal with current folder¹ and run identify -format "%f %G\n" command² to get file details in plain format:

icon.png 334x334
icon@2x.png 667x667
icon@3x.png 1000x1000

Here it is. Each of exported files is 1px larger in both dimensions. Even the non-scaled icon.png is 334x334 px, whereas the artboard is 333x333 px.

This doesn’t happen when files are exported with Save for Web or Export as..., hence the problem is specific to Export for Screens.

The Origin of Extra Pixels

I stumbled upon this message in Adobe Support Community:

The root of the problem is when the Artboard Reference Point is set to center. This means the X & Y coordinates are based on the center point of the artboard. Consequently, when the width or height of your artboard is an odd number, the edges of the artboard are pushed off the pixel grid, and end up in between pixels. Illustrator then tries to compensate for this during export and ends up adding an extra pixel.

In my case, both width and height of the canvas are odd numbers. According to the found suggestion, changing the Reference Point from center to one of the corners should fix the issue.

After exporting with Reference Point set to top-left corner:

icon.png 334x334
icon@2x.png 667x667
icon@3x.png 1000x1000

Extra pixels are still added.

I double-checked that the Reference Point and artboard size are both set properly, this time noticing that artboard position contain decimals.

Decimals in coordinates

From my experience, such decimals may appear after moving artboards with the mouse. I presume that Illustrator is rounding up X, Y coordinates to the nearest whole integer and that somehow affects the dimensions of exported images.

To quicky fix the coordinates I run Object -> Make Pixel Perfect and do another export:

icon.png 333x333
icon@2x.png 666x666
icon@3x.png 999x999

Hooray! All files have correct sizes.

The Solution

To prevent Illustrator from adding extra pixels to exported images it’s necessary to make sure that:

Artboard size is set in whole numbers (i.e., W = 333 px, H = 333 px)
Artboard position is set in whole numbers (i.e. X = 547 px, Y = -378 px)
Artboard Reference Point is set to any of the corners.

To quickly launch macOS Terminal in the current folder location, go to Setttings -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts, select Services -> Files and Folders, tick New Terminal at Folder and assign a desired shortkey. I personally use ⇧⌃⌘+Z to launch iTerm2. ↩︎
identify tool is a part of ImageMagick — a free, open-source software suite, used for editing and manipulating digital images. It allows performing mass and repetative acctions on images, thus saving time. Visit imagemagick.org for more information. ↩︎

Smooth End Crawl

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

When designing end credits I deal with taking care about many components: fonts, proper punctuation, diactrics and special characters, typesetting, layout design, colors, sound sync, etc. Actually this is what makes me fond of title design process. I can use most of graphic design skills in one place altogether! And there’s always room for creativity and advancement.

Many times I felt sad from seeing clumsy twitchy end credits after watching a great movie. Flickering or jittering effect in the end crawl is a common problem. It still takes place and seems to never go away. This is one of the reasons I decided to write this post to sum up best practices.

Jittering crawl

End crawl jitter effect appears in the form of an unpleasant twitching of scrolling lines of text.

Keyframing is a common method of creating moving objects in AfterEffects. It allows to incrementally change the position of a given object from one keyframe to another.

Imagine two keyframes with different vertical Y coordinates. One with Y = 0 at 00:00:00, and another with Y = 500 at 00:00:05. Going from 0 to 500 in 5 seconds is equal to the speed of 100 px/sec. Let’s convert it to pixels per frame with taking various FPS settings into account:

100px/sec @ FPS=25 equals 4 px/frame
100px/sec @ FPS=24 equals 4.166(6) px/frame
100px/sec @ FPS=23.976 equals 4.1708375042 px/frame
100px/sec @ FPS=60 equals 1.66(6) px/frame

When pixel/frame ratio is not an integer number, it leads to so called sub-pixel motion. AfterEffects simulates it with changing the opacity of glyphs’ edges, thus calling the jitter effect.

So, the scroll should be running with integer values. To achieve that, layer positioning should be defined with a mathematical expression.

Expression-based scroll

Create a new null layer and paste the expression into Position.

Alt+click the icon and paste the script into the field

The script:

rate = 4; // scroll speed, px/frame
currentFrame = (time - inPoint)/thisComp.frameDuration;
value - [0, currentFrame*rate];

Link the layer with titles to this null expression layer.

Click `Parent & Link` and select choose `null` layer from the dropdown

Now the scroll is controlled by the expression. The speed can be adjusted by changing rate variable in the script. It’s recommended to keep px/frame rate under 4 for maximum smoothness.

Control start/stop time

If you would like to choose when the crawl starts or ends (e.g., title cards are shown before the end crawl), there’s an advanced version of the script:

rate = 4; // scroll speed, px/frame
timePoint = 10 ; // time reference point
if (time <= timePoint) // end crawl on timePoint;
	{
	if (marker.numKeys > 0){
		if (time > marker.key(1).time){
			value - [0,rate*timeToFrames(time-marker.key(1).time)];
		} else {
			value;
		}
		} else {
			value - [0,rate*timeToFrames(time-inPoint)];
		}
	} else {
		value - [0,rate*timeToFrames(timePoint-inPoint)];
	}

With timePoint = 10 scrolling will begin on the tenth second. Conversely, to end scrolling on timePoint, replace the <= condition in the third line to >=.

Recommendations

Here are some of my best practices of creation neat-looking and smooth end crawl sequences:

Turn on Title/Action Safe grid in AfterEffects to keep the crawl within safe margins
Avoid usage of the pure white color (#FFFFFF) on top of dark backgrounds. Reduced contrast rate works better the darkness of a movie theater.
Choose fonts appropriately. Choose simple, easy-to-read typefaces without unnecessary complications and tiny details.
Set Reduce Interlace Flicker effect to somewhere between 1 and 3, depending on the font size.
Subtle Pixel Motion Blur effect might be helpful in some cases.
Set Shutter Angle to 180 degrees.
When exporting with Media Encoder, set Time Interpolation to Optical Flow or Frame Sampling.
Make sure that all external assets¹ are in original resolution, not scaled.

Digital Principles

Alexey Staroselets (hello@alexeystar.com) — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0200

My Digital Principles keep my digital life organized. They help me to stay productive and reduce the clutter.

These rules come from decades of experience with computer systems and electronic devices. At first glance, they may sound like constraints, but the effect of following them is quite the opposite — I get more freedom and less stress.

Noneheless, I’m not obliging myself to follow them stricly. I just try my best and observe positive outcomes with a feel of joy.

I review this list from time to time and keep my principles evolving with me.

Software

Use free open-source software
Uninstall apps that aren’t often used
Be independent from specific operating systems
Replace GUI apps with CLI options¹
Avoid services that don’t export/delete user data

Finances

Cancel unnecessary subscriptions
Avoid subscription-based software
Donate to developers and artists directly

Hardware

Get rid of devices which are not used frequently
Use wireless connections
Reduce the number of cables
Use one standard for cables (USB-C)

Productivity

Track time for all work processes
Manage tasks with a single system or a single tool
Automate with scripting and shortcuts
Keep hands over the keyboard
Work some time without a computer
Work some time in offline mode
Don’t use phone when bored²
Turn off all notifications
Honor the Digital Sabbath day

Data and formats

Name and organize files and folders with a system
Don’t keep all data in one place
Use ISO 8601 for time and date format, e.g. 2023-08-27 18:30:24
Use plain text for documents and emails
Keep updated local copies of user data for most used services
Do regular data backups
Avoid proprietary formats
Leave less digital fingerprints
Don’t share more information than required

cli.club is a great source of command-line options. ↩︎
How to make your phone boring: www.autodidacts.io/how-to-make-your-smartphone-boring ↩︎