Hundred Rabbits is a small collective exploring the failability of modern tech
Hundred Rabbits is an artist collective sailing the Pacific, creating sustainable software and documenting their journey. They focus on low-tech solutions, simplicity, and collaboration while minimizing environmental impact.
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Hundred Rabbits is a small artist collective that explores low-tech solutions and the fragility of modern technology while living aboard a sailboat named Pino. Since 2016, they have sailed over 22,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean, documenting their experiences and findings to promote a more resilient future. The collective, consisting of Rek, a writer and cartoonist, and Devine, a programmer and artist, aims to create sustainable and open-source software that is energy-efficient and reliable. Their journey began after experiencing frequent technology failures at sea, prompting them to develop tools better suited for their environment. They transitioned from using bloated software to creating lightweight applications, ultimately designing a virtual machine called Uxn to address cross-platform issues. The collective's philosophy emphasizes simplicity and sustainability, as they strive to maintain their artistic practices while minimizing their environmental impact. Their website serves as a living document of their projects, travels, and learnings, and they encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing under specific licensing terms. The collective has also produced videos of their travels and maintains a library of resources related to their work. Despite challenges such as limited internet connectivity and equipment failures, they continue to adapt and innovate in their pursuit of creative and sustainable living.
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- Many commenters express admiration for their innovative projects, particularly the 2D music programming language Orca and the UXN project.
- There is a recurring theme of curiosity about their sustainable lifestyle and how they manage challenges while sailing.
- Some users question the authenticity of their low-tech claims, pointing out the use of modern technology like YouTube and Google services.
- Several comments highlight the philosophical and political aspects of their work, discussing the implications of their approach to technology and society.
- Overall, the community appreciates their commitment to sustainability and creativity, while also engaging in critical discussions about their methods and values.
58 commentsPrivacy Badger blocked tracking from:
googleads.g.doubleclick.net
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play.google.com
www.google.com
www.youtube.com
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=MNF8SF69QvM&list=PLb1uDATFJPcEEG...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=DBI8eBMGyYs
Stark contrast from the core attitude of mainstream extractive tech work, and a necessary ethos amid a growing storm of complexity that humanity increasingly depends on
We are trying to go slow and fix things biologically that our natural evolution has left us vulnerable to. Cancer, prion diseases, etc. Yet we have resigned the evolution of information tech over to God as we haphazardly race in a survival of the "financially fittest" sort of contest, rewarding the companies that win at financial selection
Baffling. I'm in
Their boat is very small and has only one engine, and it looks like they will sail thousands of kms in one leg on occasion.
I am soft. If I must do this, and I would kick and scream, I would sell my house and buy a yacht with megalitres capacity of water, batteries, refrigerators, and starlink. But I do not think that I could be happy doing this. I would find it more anxious than normal life.
https://100r.co/site/computing_and_sustainability.html
Transcribed and video format. Among other things, they came into computing from a bit of a different direction and ended up building tools and a platform that I’m betting 90% of people in the industry would revere in awe as things beyond their understanding. Truly an inspiration.
"PLI is truly a picturesque place, nestled between extraordinarily large mountains and cliffs, blessed with clear waters and lush forests. The waters in the inlet are very calm, it is well-shielded. Any boat wakes travel far thoughout the inlet, from wall to wall, and take a long while to subside. If motoring in this inlet, go slow."
Wow. Surprised to see one of my favourite places show up on HN.
If you have the opportunity to go to Princess Louisa Inlet, I highly recommend it.
The contrast between the glaciers and the ocean is breathtakingly beautiful.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Princess+Louisa+Inlet/@50....
As with most experiments, we can observe and borrow shadows of their ideas into our own life hopefully!
So much software also just takes for granted that it should be allowed on the Internet.
Also, the Yamaha 33 is an impressively tiny and light boat for the sailing they're doing, let alone living and working on.
I continue to use it for nearly all my projects now. I have become addicted to the smallness of it all.
I hope they keep it up (I donated, I’ll probably donate again now).
But. I keep coming back around to, where are they getting all this stuff. Everything that keeps them going has to be made somewhere, by working stiffs with day jobs.
There is no escaping Moloch. These groups are the odd random cast off, and I really want to be them, but everyone can't be them, or their wouldn't be any of the things that keep them going. They are living on the cast offs of the rest of us still in the machine.
> Diversity is important in nearly all aspects, whether it's with computers, or with life itself. A polyculture of tools and systems distributes the surface of attack and creates resilience. Viruses can attack a single crop, or a single computer architecture. The more services, or resources are centralized, the more power is concentrated into fewer hands and more easily taken over.
Feels particularly relevant given the recent Crowdstrike outage.
"We eventually ported our tools to C, but while we had achieved ideal energy usage, portability was still an issue, so we kept looking. We learnt 6502 Assembly, seeing players run our games as NES roms on all these different platforms gave us an idea."
Congrats on everything Aliceffekt !
I think they are at risk of becoming exactly what they hate, with a convoluted build stack that outside people struggle to use. Why was 6502 decided on instead of Java for example, which is relatively platform agnostic?
Now… what could they do about this issue? Assuming this is the root cause of the failures.
What apocalyptic events?
They're smart, capable, and committed to openly sharing knowledge and ideas in their community.
It's hard to take people with this political manifesto seriously, but I have to give credit where it's due — their work is impressive. Many artists say that they "explore" something and end up with completely bland "social critique" pieces that don't say anything new, but these guys manage to do a lot of interesting stuff, especially Orca.
Crazy how HN works. I posted this 6 months ago because I collect unique personal websites, but no one took a bite...
Glad people took interest this time.
I remember vising the Seychelles a few years ago, and finding it an earthly paradise, the kind that everyone should experience at least once. Yet it's a tiny nation state that can only properly handle a limited amount of tourists.
In essence, I've started believing that all these "digital nomads" that work remotely in one of these places are simply abusing their quota of earthly paradise, which really is in a fixed supply. I'm not really blaming them, but let's not glamourize this.
Soooo... kinda no shit, you can live a more creative and meaningful life if you don't work. Which most people can't afford(?) to do. Where's the secret? What's the cheat code they have?
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