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.
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.
🙄
😆
(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
A lot of things could go there i guess haha, here's some things I'm thinking of at this moment:
- a dishwasher. I will never go back this is the best invention humans created since the wheel
- AC. Same as above it changed my life
- keybar. This is a nice tool to manage keys and some other tools in a swiss-army like format.
- a good usb-c docking station. I need to jungle between multiple laptops for work, this really helped doing that.
- Going full public transit, bike and carsharing (communauto). Less traffic, and between these options it's rarely more difficult than a car. And muchhhh cheaper, with gas, maintenance, taxes and depreciation it's a bit crazy how much you put towards a car. It really helps to live comfortably with my budget.
Where do you live that public transit is a viable option?
Montreal
Not OP, but in Berlin the situation is the same. Most of my daily ways are done by cargobike, as it is even faster than public transport and public transport is faster than a car.
No car/public transit was going to be my answer too. Sold my car about 9 years ago and switched to using the bus, carpool, or walking. At first it was a financial decision because I figured it would save me lots of money, and it did. I was surprised though how much more connected to the community I felt. I made friends and talked to people on my commute instead of sitting alone in the car. It also makes me feel more free to move around the city instead of just going from point A to point B and then home again.
Walking/biking is really the best for this, I feel like i live in a city with a community instead of living in disconnected "places".
AC also changed my life. My doctor thought I was dehydrated, but I also had symptoms of over-hydration. Not only did everything about my time at home improve significantly, but I also started sleeping better than I ever had in my life.
Yes for me sleep is the big one. I really struggle sleeping when it's too hot
What docking station do you have?
a bit crazy how much you put towards a car
Recently these numbers are hitting over 1k usd pretty easily... i don't know how this is sustainable longer term as most young people's income are too low for rent and student loans as is.
How are these people supposed to get to work? I guess boomers did always say you can't drive a house but you can sleep in a car...
Solitude.
I appear to have had extraordinarily bad luck in my life, as nearly every significant friend or lover or family I've ever had is consistently some.combination of abusive, exploitative, duplicitous, violent, criminal, hypocrite, never willing to hear my side of any story.
Been by myself with a new phone number in a new state for some months now and I've never been less stressed out, never felt less burdened, never felt more free.
Took me 35 years to figure out... wait, what if I did what I wanted to do, enjoyed things because I enjoyed them instead of pretending to like some other thing because someone else does, what if I stopped bending over backwards to solve everyone else's problems when they usually just go out of their way to cause more problems for me, and never give anything meaningful back, and in fact usually blame me for things I have no control over, and then spread unfounded rumors about me due to their own massive neuroticism and guilt complexes?
I am quite happy now. I've never needed much to be happy, and nearly no one who has ever claimed to care about me has ever once been able to handle my honest opinions about what they have put me through.
Its been astounding to realize that actually, I make friends quite easily and get along with most people I meet great, whilst everyone I used to know has spent decades convincing me I am an unlikeable asshole who is merely to be tolerated.
I am going through setting strict boundaries and getting those people out of my life right now, so glad you managed the same!
Well, the final straw was when a number of them made me homeless, and the rest were either too busy or too emotionally burdened to help right now.
So after losing all my possessions, losing my job, being homeless for nearly a year, getting the shit kicked out of me regularly by fentanyl addicts uh... well, I should not have survived.
But despite nearly being killed more times than I can count, being held hostage by madman (who the police held for 30 days and then let loose), and witnessing a number of people I'd met along the way die...
It was not exactly easy.
But, by basically dumb luck, I survived.
And, being alive, having not only hit rock bottom, but having been dragged and kicked along its jagged ground... well, now I am free.
It is only after you lose everything, that you are free to do anything.
And for me, that means not having to deal with anyone while I do a whole lot of PT on disability.
Also, I now have a great deal of self confidence, as I am 100% certain any of those dumbfucks would have died going through a tenth of what I went through, yet I persist.
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.
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.
And do you feel like a king/queen in it?
My sister made stickers for the sides so now it says "Majestic AF"
Got rid of (most) social media. Even only reading about its toxicity makes me uncomfortable.
Same here, only LinkedIn is left and that is pretty boring so it doesn't cost me much time to check. Sometimes there is a hint of FOMO, but in general I'm really glad I'm not comparing myself to fake happy people or being targeted by crappy ads. Also, there's all the time I get back. I love it.
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
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.
+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.
Forgot this one! Using bitwarden is indeed so much easier and also more secure than tracking password. Truly makes my life easier
A longer cable for charging my phone
A NAS. Godsent when you're dealing with multiple machines.
Selfhosted VPN, another godsent for bypassing network restrictions or using public wifi.
Cargo e-bike. Errands are fun now and I get way more exercise. It's hands-down my favorite way to get around town.
I would like one, but I have no space to store it, I live in a two room apartment and the bike storage is only really designed for a normal bike.
I used my normal bike with a bike basket on the parcel holder for shopping, it was brilliant!
No need for a bag, just pack the basket when you have paid, and hook it on the parcel holder.
Sadly I lost my bike during a year when I missed that the bike room was being cleared out and didn't tag it, so it was thrown out as anandoned, this happened as I had messed up my knee, had double flat feet and double heel spurs.
I now drive my car to the shops bur it's only one kilometer so it feels a bit dumb, meh I drive on electricity so it could be worse.
Once my situation with my general life stabalize a bit more I'll looks for a bike.
IMO you only need a cargo bike (i.e. long-tail or box bike) if you're trying to carry more than one kid. Otherwise, a regular-size bike with a heavy-duty integrated rack should be plenty. They even make some that can carry a lot of weight and fold for easy storage (e.g. this one).
If you occasionally need to carry a lot, cargo trailers are a thing.
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.
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.
I got the PetSafe Scoop Free litter box. It's expensive, as is the refill litter, but it's so good.
Languages of the countries I lived in + English. I once again emigrated and am yet again at the start if my language learning journey, and it kind of pisses me off how difficult it yet again is. But I know how much easier my life will be once I master it.
How do you study languages? Any advice?
It's for some reason very difficult and needs a lot of time and energy.
I'm trying right now https://www.lingq.com/en/ it's going very slowly.
A spine. Got tired of doing everything for everyone, so I started setting rules. It's shifted the energy from physical to social/emotional, but the house is cleaner.
A collection of spines does send a message.
[email protected] is leaking.
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 hope this is my experience as well. I'm slated for ICL surgery on Tuesday. Doc said that I qualify for the laser, but that she can get me significantly better results for my condition with the ICLs.
Kinda nervous, but excited too!
A $1 backscratcher from a local pharmacy. Makes scratching my own back effortless. 10/10 investment. And way more affordable than the full-time backscratching assistant I was paying all those years.
Did you mean assistants? Or were you really surviving on just 40 hours of back scratches in a 168 hour week?
Finally setup up my smart home. Lights coming on at dusk across my whole house with varying levels of brightness, from nightlight to lighting up the living room. Shutting down everything in my house and arming my security system all with one phrase. Temp automatically adjusting throughout the day/night for better energy savings. It really just made life a little easier in multiple ways. Especially once you realize there are smart IR blasters.
My Hue system is probably one of the best things I ever bought.
I live alone, in a suburb north of Stockholm, so during winters it get really damned depressing to leave the office after sunset, and then get home and open the front door to a dark hole.
Being able to turn some lights on before I open the door has made wonders for my mental health, it makes it feel as if there is someone at home taking care of it and waiting for you to come home.
Then in the mornings, using the lights in my bedroom as an alarmclock in combination with my phone makes me get up far quicker.
And when I have guests over I can set the mood and make my apartment look cool.
Using smart lights as an alarm clock is a game changer. Fades on 10 minutes before my alarm, and lets me wake up slowly and drift in and out of sleep during that interim period. Only occasionally do I go all the way until my audio alarm, and this way is way more pleasant to wake up to.
My roomba changed my life. Having one of those is essential now with 2 dogs.
Oh hell yes.
I work from home, in the basement. Getting a roomba meant I didn't have to vacuum, but I did have to pick stuff up off the floor.
So now one 15 minute break is tidying and starting the vacuum. The next is cleaning the vacuum out and organizing dishes, while a third is doing the dishes and sometimes minor dinner prep.
My wife gets to come home to a clean house and I get to do it all on the clock so it's done when I'm done with work. Total life changer.
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.
I'm not a fan of going to the gym, either. Though I understand why others prefer it.
I've always liked having a home gym. I inherited a bunch of equipment from my parents when I was about 22, but had to sell it all when I moved into a much smaller living space when I was 25. I was only able recently, at 33, to invest in a new set of equipment and it's been nice to get to do proper weightlifting at home again.
A gimp suit.
I'll be taking no further questions.
Does it make it easier to hunt Roach?
What color is it?
Money, makes life easier (as in surplus to your immeadete needs)
I was always frugal and started investing small amounts in the stock market when I was 19 , started reading the financial news when i was 18 and never stopped doing both. Still invest my surplus income now (still live a frugal life) and still read.
Quit work at 35, been mortgage free for decades and am 58 now. Allows me to live where I want, which is a quiet small rural town well away from everyone.
20lb blanket. Better sleep means better everything!
This and a proper height pillow for your sleep position
I sleep on my side and needed a thicker pillow to better align my neck for example
Yeah my pillows are too thick.
The ones I've tried are always too warm. Anybody have advice for cooler ones?
I just run my AC.
I stopped wearing navy blue socks.
What did you do with them all? 😳
Gold Bond eczema relief cream.
Costs a good bit more than "normal" moisturizer lotion. But when I have a flare up that stuff is a life saver.
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.
Did - Lived abroad. Cheap, fun, good healthcare/dental, great new foods
Acquired - electric toothbrush, immediate halt of dental decay
A drawing tablet. Now I don't have to worry about running out of paper or other art supplies!
An air conditioner.
I don't buy the hype. I'm waiting to see if they catch on.
The Lance of Longinus has its uses.
Electric wire strippers (I do a lot of electronics).
And a low power large work height microscope
Haven't bought it yet so I'll have to update but I definitely think a street and trail dirt bike will make life so much better, especially where I live.
I'll save so much on gas. All the places nearby like local restaurants, friends houses, and my job all have back roads and trails I can hop on to get to faster. It'll be so much more fun. When something does break or need replaced it'll be easier to do myself. A bike will just be so much better.
You need to PRACTICE and be constantly aware of just how shit knobby tyres are on roads, just how shit road tyres are on trails and how overwhelmingly mediocre dual purpose tyres are at both... If you want to stay upright.
More often than not I'll want to stay upright. I've rode my 125 on the road a few times even though I'm not supposed to and it's not too bad but that is only a 125. I'll definitely be playing it safe for a while, on the roads at least
An electrical potato peeler.
My girlfriend loves potato purree ... I just couldn't do it anymore
Why not just leave the skins on? Adds a bit of texture. Yukon potatoes work best for this
When making potato puree, you can't leave the skin on. It's supposed to be smooth, so you dont want any other "texture". Potato puree is not what you know as mashed potatos. You boil the potatos, then you either use a fork or a masher to smash them, add butter and milk and mix until smooth. Having skins on them would ruin the dish.
Potato puree isn't the same as mashed potatoes. Dont get me wrong, I actually prefer mashed potatoes that are a bit more chunky and with the skin, but potato puree is supposed to have a smooth texture without any chunks. Usually people use devices like a potato ricer to make puree, which would get clogged up with the skins
- Legal documentation up to date. Hated paying the fees and having to visit lawyer's office. Easier to manage.
- Nice stainless steel water bottle with a wide mouth. Easier to wash.
- Pilates bar. When I have no time to go to in person classes, this bar has been super useful and I can store it easily. Easier to workout.
A roomba. (Long time ago though. Not sure I'd get one of the new models.)
My wife really likes the beach, but I hate the sand and I find laying flat in a towel very uncomfortable.
This thing fits in my backpack and folds out to a very comfy air filled bed. It does lose some air over time, I expect to re-fill it every 2 hours or so, but filling it is just a matter of catching some air by moving the Lamzac around. It only takes a couple of seconds and doesn't require a pump or anything.
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.
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.
