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Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

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Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#51

Post by [deleted] »

nosuchthing wrote: post #49
catbird wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's so strange. If you're going to park your tiny home somewhere, why not make it the size of a regular car, like the VW Westfalia camper van? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Westfalia_Campers

Westfalias retail for upwards of ~$50,000, with 1980's models still fetching upwards of $15,000... If the Elio [1] can retail for $6,800 new, it's not a stretch to imagine a modern minimal camper-motorcycle/tuktuk/scooter for under ~$20,000... models for countries with less regulatory requirements like India or Asia regions might have much less expensive versions. [1] http://eliomotors.com/

[deleted]

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#52

Post by jschwartzi »

cfallin wrote: post #45
saalweachter wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tools , man. Where do you keep your table saw when you're living in a van?

You joke a bit but this is one of the biggest things I miss now (in a small apartment in the middle of a city). Growing up in suburbia with a well-stocked garage for tinkering was a wonderful experience. Yeah, hackerspaces; not quite the same though...

I won't pay 300 more a month for modern fixtures, plumbing, or millwork, but I'd pay it for a two-car heated garage with a 220v outlet and good lighting.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#53

Post by kragen »

beambot wrote: post #48
saalweachter wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tools , man. Where do you keep your table saw when you're living in a van?

Google has some pretty insane machine shops and labs (electrical, bio, & chemistry)... They blow my home lab out of the water -- and I've probably spent upwards of $30k on my home EE lab.

Can you walk into one and use it to make yourself a new set of silverware, or do you have to be, like, working on a Google project?

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#54

Post by samstave »

ogreveins wrote: post #21

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Especially if you don't own much stuff? How much do you actually need besides your computer, phone, clothes and toiletries? Gym for bathroom and free public wifi for internet aside from your phone and you're set. The rental and housing market is disgusting. I wouldn't cons…

Have kids?

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#55

Post by kragen »

bobbles wrote: post #50
cfallin wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You joke a bit but this is one of the biggest things I miss now (in a small apartment in the middle of a city). Growing up in suburbia with a well-stocked garage for tinkering was a wonderful experience. Yeah, hackerspaces; not quite the same though...

I'm sure it wont be long until hackerspaces become competitive enough to introduce 'hobby' workshop rooms etc for people to spend more time there... Hell maybe apartment buildings should accommodate things like this instead of just having a gym/pool included

Hackerspaces have had various conflicts related to people living in them for decades now. You’re probably aware that Stallman was sleeping in his office at the AI Lab in the 80s.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#56

Post by kragen »

uuilly wrote: post #22

I worked w/ Ben through our google acquisition. This is all accurate. He's a fun, talented guy. Funnily enough he was only the 4th or 5th strangest bird of the 50 or so employees at 510 systems. Good times...

Wait, what's strange about him?

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#57

Post by oaktowner »

Dorian-Marie wrote: post #9

So he got food, water, shower and toilets from Google's office. He only used his van as a sleeping place. He should definitely do an AMA: What about Internet access? What about the cold? Sleeping bags? Isolation inside the van? What about the hot? Air conditioning?

Cellular for internet, if the wireless doesn't reach (and Google has pretty good wireless outside on much of the campus).

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#58

Post by eli_gottlieb »

zzalpha wrote: post #27
ogreveins wrote: post #21

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Especially if you don't own much stuff? How much do you actually need besides your computer, phone, clothes and toiletries? Gym for bathroom and free public wifi for internet aside from your phone and you're set. The rental and housing market is disgusting. I wouldn't cons…

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Really? You honestly can't fathom why some people might desire their own, private space, away from their work environment, where they might, I dunno, live their life outside of their day-to-day drudgery? I'm not even sure how to react to that. It's such an alien way of thi…

>Really? You honestly can't fathom why some people might desire their own, private space, away from their work environment, where they might, I dunno, live their life outside of their day-to-day drudgery?

I agree, but you do have to admit that $2k-$3k per month is a huge trade-off, especially considering how little you're actually going to get for that money.

Would you prefer to spend the same money on a shitty, expensive apartment now, or a nicer, cheaper house later?

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#59

Post by Steko »

This article pairs nicely with How I Gave Up Alternating Current from a few days ago. The only place left to go in the bachelor lifehacking one upsmanship game is to stop changing clothes and showering altogether, live under a bridge, telecommuting and doing all your work with a prepaid Andro-- err Firefox OS phone that you charge with a hand crank. No parrots.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#60

Post by mrbill »

tjohns wrote: post #35
pbiggar wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AFAIK it's only in SF they don't. Everywhere else in California is properly hot.

Living in Los Angeles as a college student for five years, none of my apartments had air conditioning. Sure, some houses had it... but even in LA it's a bit of a luxury. Same goes for the homes of everyone I knew in Lake Tahoe, where I grew up. The climate's similar to the bay during the summer, but it's still (partially) in California. ;)

Born and grown up in Oklahoma, and living in Texas (Austin from '96-04, Houston for the past ten years) living somewhere without AC seems so bizarre. What if you like it cooler than the weather permits?

Heck, I have central AC in my house here, and I keep the house generally at 75, but have a window AC in my bedroom that lets me crank it down to 66-68 in there.

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