Linux.
Maybe not Linux per se, but certainly learning how to write scripts and other technical stuff, to automate boring tasks or alert me of things, or writing applications to do things I need, has been a massive time saver - but also a time waster as I enjoy it, and probably spend longer on these things than the amount of time they’ve saved.
And as footnote, it’s always easier to do this stuff on Linux than Windows… plus you can stick things on a Pi so it’s cheap and quiet.
Scripting is the closest thing to magic I’ve seen in real life. Wave your hand over the script and poof, a job is done.
I automated so much at my last job I usually never “worked” more than a half hour a day. I am not a programmer, but I slowly learned enough Excel functions and VBA, then simple batch files and some AutoHotkey. Since it was only stuff for my job I needed to learn to program for, it took much less time than learning to program for any situation. Also much of your work is going to be relatively the same as many others’ work, so there is a lot of code out there you can lift from and tweak until you learn to build it from scratch.
🙄
😆
(I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be upvoted for that answer… Really, though. The whole culture and philosophy also influenced me. And gave me a lot over the years. I think it’s alright fulfilling the stereotype every now and then.)
My god you people are annoying.
Every single goddamn thread
standing ovation
Linux got me a job later on in life. Made my life a breeze honestly.
I know most people will talk about how Linux/Windows/Mac but one of the not often talked about benefits to learning an OS really well is that it can lead into a high paying job. And Linux allows you to see under the hood as deep as you want…so more likely.
Two* empty cardboard boxes. One is roughly the width and length of my desktop tower; another is ~1/3 of the size of the first.
My desk used to have two drawers, right below the surface top. I was always hitting those bloody drawers with my thigh. Eventually I had enough, unscrewed them, and threw them away.
…ok, but what about the stuff that I stored there? Inside the big box, that is now over my desktop tower. The smaller one and its lid became divisions for the bigger one. It’s organised, within the reach of my hands, and far from my thigh.
*actually three. One of my cats saw it on my chair, as I was organising the stuff here, and went into “if it sits, I fits, I call dibs” mode. It’s in my living room now.
Roomba.
PlayStation 3. Yeah, it was a games console, and had lots of awesome games (such as the Uncharted series, LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet and Clank, Journey, Warhawk, I could be here all day), but it was the extra features that really made it appealing in my opinion.
This was the cheapest and best Blu-ray player you could possibly get. It even stores media files on the internal storage, rips CDs too, upscale DVDs to 1080p resolution, not to mention the XrossMediaBar user interface was just so easy to use, and aged quite beautifully. It even has funky themes. It can play your PS1 games (some models can even play PS2 disks, but all models have some PS2 games downloadable from the store), you can manage files on your PSP or Vita. It had remote play, but it was… pretty limited to say the least.
It quite literally only does everything.
First thing that comes to mind are my glasses I’m wearing right now. Might as well start with the thing on my already awkwardly roastable face.
Definitely gym membership. Yes, there are plenty of exercises I can do at home or outside, but having a dedicated place that I go just to workout is nice.
Man I feel the opposite
It was so quick and simple to just do Murphs at home. I didn’t need to worry about packing gym bags, spending money, showering in public, needing to drive 10-15 minutes out and back, leaving work early or waking up at 5am to dodge a gym full of people.
Zero equipment Calisthenics are fucking golden if you don’t give a shit about getting big fat dudebro muscles, and just wanna be strong and hot.
Yeah I was doing home workouts since the pandemic until recently and they are great. My partner still does them this way, and I occasionally join in. But for me the real joy is in the long commute to and from the gym.
It’s about an hour walk there and back, and the only time I listen to my podcasts. On the way there I feel anticipation, and on the way back, elation. Fun to walk with a buddy, but really meditative alone. I find I do a lot of good mental processing during that time.
Both my library and a grocery store are nearby too, so I often bundle my trips.
Anyway home / equipment-free workouts are totally baller, I just love my gym.
Electric wheelchair. After my 2nd heart attack, it became harder and harder to do things in the world. Grocery stores were impossible unless they had scooters of their own, which were usually in use or out of service.
Now I just bring my own.
And do you feel like a king/queen in it?
My sister made stickers for the sides so now it says “Majestic AF”
That’s the most aliexpress wheelchair I’ve ever seen
It works great! 17 mile range, automatically folds and unfolds. Has a remote control.
God damn I can walk perfectly fine but I might have to get one.
I use a wheelchair part time, and it’s unbelievable how much starting using one can help when you’re partially ambulatory. I find it funny how able bodied people use phrases like “wheelchair bound”, which perpetuates this idea of wheelchairs being like prisons, but at least for me and a few people I know, finally getting a wheelchair was hugely freeing.
Same, I hadn’t really left the house since 2018. Once a week for groceries and prescriptions and that was it.
Jesus, just being able to go to a movie theater was huge.
No joke, implementing automated MMO style daily quests on my smartphone harnessed my brainrot for productive means. I struggle with depression and ADHD among other things, so before l pretty much never made my bed or worked out, etc. I do all of that consistently now, and I feel all the better for it.
I’ve been looking for a way to invert that and make a number go up instead, and maybe implement gacha, flashing lights and FOMO into my daily routine to really exploit my busted psychology to its maximum.
How do you do that, is there an app?
Plenty, IFTTT for android, Shortcuts for ios.
I’ve got a setup where all reminders with the Daily tag get set to incomplete at 1AM, and all with Weekly tagged get set up on Sunday, etc etc
A NAS. Godsent when you’re dealing with multiple machines.
Selfhosted VPN, another godsent for bypassing network restrictions or using public wifi.
A roomba. (Long time ago though. Not sure I’d get one of the new models.)
Password Manager. I use Bitwarden, which is open source and free.
It’s probably the single most significant quality of life upgrade I’ve had since I started on ADHD meds 5 years ago. I wish I had started using one sooner.
Forgot this one! Using bitwarden is indeed so much easier and also more secure than tracking password. Truly makes my life easier
+1 for Bitwarden. My Dad’s password manager actually made taking care of him in the last years of his life alot easier. I essentially had to “wind down” his life (pay bills/debts, close accounts, stop subscriptions, etc), and as his memory was going it would’ve been impossible to get that information from him. With myself too though I’ve got so many dumb accounts all over the place, having a password manager is the only thing keeping me sane half the time when having to log in to everything to pay bills and such.
Did - Lived abroad. Cheap, fun, good healthcare/dental, great new foods
Acquired - electric toothbrush, immediate halt of dental decay
I stopped wearing navy blue socks.
What did you do with them all? 😳
Got a dishwasher after I bought my house and it is incredible.
Also got one of those fancy self-scooping litter boxes which is great.
Got my yard fenced in too after I broke my ankle/leg walking my dog and had to have surgery. Now I can just let the dogs out whenever and not have to worry about them running off or me breaking my bones.
Which litterbox did you get? A brand would be appreciated.
I got the PetSafe Scoop Free litter box. It’s expensive, as is the refill litter, but it’s so good.
Not my comment, but we have a Litter Robot 3 and we love it. Cats like it as the box is always clean, filter does a good job of keeping the smells down… And its easy to repair…
I looked into litter box robots and decided to try a low-tech solution first. I got an Arm & Hammer sifting litter box for under $20.
Basically, you dump the whole litter box into an equal sized sifter, then lift the sifter and give it a little shake, then dump the waste.
I can completely clean each litter box in 10-15 seconds. It’s not fully automatic, but I have no need for a robot anymore.
Next up, doggy door.
I’m hesitant with those because I have a gang of crafty raccoons hanging around. The 3 little shits cause so many problems and I don’t wanna wake up to raccoons in my house.
Locking dog doors are available that are opened by a tag on the collar or by your dogs microchip if your dog is chipped. Racoons won’t get in unless they steal your dogs’ collar.
Corrective eye surgery
For me this meant PRK not LASIK.
My eyes were bad. Like couldn’t see something three feet from my face bad. I’m 6 feet tall, so walking without glasses was out of the question. The first night I got up to pee and didn’t have to hunt for my glasses was magical.
I’m 6 feet tall, so walking without glasses was out of the question.
Please explain.
He can’t see past 3 feet. Hes 6 feet. So when he looks down he only sees down to his waist then nothing.
Ahh, I see, so the solution is that he needs to cut bone mass off his legs until he’s 3 feet tall. Maybe eye surgery was the better option after all.
