One thing I have found that works quite well is to pre-empt this question by asking people about what they do .. for fun (you can add a line like "you have fun... right? <smirk>"). Then guide the conversation towards talking about enjoyable things, sports trips sightseeing travel etc. On the work part, I've tried the very many ways of replying with "consulting in tech" (having worked as self-employed consultant or some variation thereof for the better part of a decade). Depending on my biz needs this week and who I'm talking to I've also gone with "accounting" and rarely "sales", or, wh ..read more

Thanks for your journal update! Congratulations on saving 60% of your income and best wishes for the health of your grandfather. Fingers crossed, hope he gets better soon Thank you, delay & ertyu! This is very sweet from you both. My grandpa is doing much better now, he's out of the hospital. I'm feeling relieved! You guys might enjoy: https://www.amazon.com/Tomorrow-novel-G ... 593321200/ I finally read this book. I am unsure if I liked it or not. The game development part was interesting, because some parts felt close to the reality of making a game, but I could not get attached to ..read more

Depending how many days you're doing this, lack of fiber can become a problem. When I'd travel for work, I'd grab a can of chili with a pull tab. It's not great cold, but it's fast to eat and effective. Statistics: Posted by Scott 2 — Sat May 11, 2024 2:55 am ..read more

thef0x quoting the above post made me think: it has become the consumer experience to ever reduce any individual's need for storage and organization. The tv shows are "on Amazon/on Netflix" - someone else stores and organizes, you retrieve from the overall storage on demand. Books are "on your kindle." Cheap consumer trinkets are "on the internet." Food is "at the store." Etcetera. The trained behavior is, "I retrieve as I need, paying for the privilege." There is an increased push to expand the scope of this: subscription-based software and so forth come to mind. Everything that can be subscr ..read more

I appreciate the book recs too. Thanks Statistics: Posted by ertyu — Sat May 11, 2024 2:27 am ..read more

In the interest of not polluting other journals, I'll keep my spite to my own journal: For a forum supposedly about life involving other stuff than work, it really does seem like talking about work is a major pastime here. What happened to just putting in your hours and then going home to have fun? Perhaps this tendency to drone on about your job is a common predicament for the professional managerial class in the US (and to a lesser extent elsewhere). You think the plumber goes home and belabors his wife with vivid stories of the particularly intransigent pieces of excrement he had to deal ..read more

In the interest of not polluting other journals, I'll keep my spite to my own journal: For a forum supposedly about life involving other stuff than work, it really does seem like talking about work is a major pastime here. What happened to just putting in your hours and then going home to have fun? Perhaps this tendency to drone on about your job is a common predicament for the professional managerial class in the US (and to a lesser extent elsewhere). You think the plumber goes home and belabors his wife with vivid stories of the particularly intransigent pieces of excrement he had to deal ..read more

Confessions of an ERE Hoarder: Storage, Maintenance and Organization ....This is what addiction does to us. We add something to the system, which initially brings it to a higher state or relieves an internal tension. Over time this thing moves from positive to necessary. Necessary things require maintenance. Having something go from positive to maintenance is generally negative. I was pretty affected by this post, thank you for writing it. I'm horrified by my own behavior here -- and, in general, our human tendency toward "stuffing" (literal and figurative). The hard drive always seems to ..read more

After reading jacob's post where he said, I'll say that I for one have come to the point where "enough is enough". When it comes to letting "team" interfere with "important work", my strategy is now to avoid dealing with "fools" as much as possible. There's just no way to win. The more things change the more they stay the same. I don't believe that new methods like sociocracy or @riggerjack's software-to-be-invented (but good luck!) will change things, so I now prefer to work around it; building a moat between myself and the fools. I have finally come to realize why our living arrangements ..read more

Nice! i would either skip the sections from Lagos to Sagres by taking the bus, or if you decide to walk them, do the first two in a single day, they are both short and not that exciting. Once you get to Sagres and head north it gets pretty incredible. There is quite a bit of walking on soft sand, so be mindful with footwear choice and empty the sand from your shoes/socks often. I wish we had acquired or DIY'd some gaiters to wear over our ankles. We used low trail runners and the sand was a PITA. Statistics: Posted by 2Birds1Stone — Fri May 10, 2024 7:32 pm ..read more