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Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

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Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#391

Post by notsureaboutpg »

gonehome wrote: post #383
Viker wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you end up feeding a primate/reproductive prime control system, using unlimited and synthetic input. The system was never designed for the this kind of "bandwidth". Since we are biological machines, other parts of the organism need to compensate... This compensation is very dangerous in the long run both from a personal and a social side. You could argue the same about entertainment. But seeking it is not a p…

And yet it’s still possible to eat ice cream even though such a thing would not be found on the savanna. Some people can’t control this and become wildly obese, but others eat ice cream, understand what it is, and get on with their life.

Bad example considering how out of control the obesity epidemic is becoming...

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#392

Post by OrbitRock »

sprkv5 wrote: post #381
rococode wrote: post #40

Video walks on Youtube. If you haven't heard of them before, they're simple first-person videos where the filmer walks around some area with a stabilized video camera - no talking, just walking. I've really missed traveling and watching video walks while exercising has been a great way to satisfy that travel craving a bit and also trick my brain into experiencing some semblance of normalcy (not sure I could remember…

This. This is exactly what I started watching last summer to keep myself calm and optimistic through the pandemic. The channels I watch are - Nomadic Ambience[1], NIPPON WANDERING TV[2] and IURETA e[3]. Here are my favorite[4] video[5] walks[6] from Japan. Hope you like it. As for other places, here's two from NYC[7][8] and another from Olympic National Park[9] which is not a video walk per se, but would appeal to fo…

I’m wondering what camera would be best for this kind of thing? I’d love to make some.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#393

Post by dagmx »

Working from home.

Every job I've ever worked, my teams have been split across countries so transitioning to working from home was fairly seamless for me, because I've always operated under the assumption that not everyone is in one spot.

But it meant tons of things:

* I get to sleep longer which has helped my epilepsy greatly

* I am not spending 3-4 hours a day commuting which means I spend more of my time being productive

* I can spend some of that time walking my dog and cooking meals for my wife, so I'm healthier now than I was.

* Seeing my wife and dog for more of my day is just pleasant.

* Being able to listen to music and work on things consistently without being bothered in person, since most of our communication is over slack now.

* Since communication has moved to slack for impromptu stuff, it means I can interact with far more people in the company than before.

* not commuting to meetings. Whether that's down the hall, in another building or across town. I no longer have to spend my time in between meetings trying to rush to the next one.

* Being able to work during meetings. Honestly most meetings don't require a person to be involved for the entire duration. So as long as I pay attention, I can continue doing other low attention things in the background. Like kicking off builds and debugging smaller things. Earlier they'd eat into my non meeting time, but now I can do more things in parallel.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#394

Post by allannienhuis »

snidane wrote: post #346
twic wrote: post #257

Buying a dishwasher. 1. Less drudgery means more time to relax 2. Less pressure to minimise kitchenware use means more ambitious and enjoyable cooking 3. I just get a little jolt of happiness when I walk into the kitchen and see my large cuboidal son sitting there

If you cook and have to clean large pots and baking trays, then dishwasher doesn't help you with that as much. These items cannot fit into a regular home dishwasher and these take the most time to clean and dry compared to washing plain plates and utensils. Also dishwashers are not good for roommate arrangements because unless strict rules are enforced things keep piling up in it or you cannot put stuff inside while…

Our kids have moved out so there's just the two of us now.

We solve the 'wait until the dishwasher is full enough' problem by simply having enough dishes and cutlery to last us the 2-3 days it takes to fill it up :)

We do the pots and baking dishes and other awkward items that aren't great for the dishwasher by hand after dinner, but they generally only take a few minutes most days. We try to run the dishwasher end of day or after breakfast in the morning (even if it's not 100% full) to avoid the problem of dirty dishes while it's running.

I agree the roommate scenario is a harder problem, but the same approach might work.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#395

Post by OrbitRock »

meken wrote: post #268
Nbox9 wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In contrast I hate driving cars. I feel like it’s my least favorite tool. I have a nice car, I’ve driven even nicer cars in different styles and hated them all. Driving requires so much of my attention I feel like it’s invasive. In addition I feel like I have to sit relatively still and use my muscles in very particular way. It’s a trap for my mind in body, and an experience I don’t find pleasant. I am an American an…

Interesting. Yup, if that was my experience, I would hate driving cars as well. I’m able to drive pretty much on autopilot. Plus, I don’t feel I’m wasting time listening to podcasts/audiobooks because I’m “doing something/headed somewhere”. I’ve driven almost 20k miles in the past 3.5 months.

I’m about to do something similar, but it’s getting a car that I’m going to put a bed in the back of and drive cross country to a new job, which will also involve driving around and camping as part of it.

I’m all excited over the stuff I want to get. A little solar panel with a battery, good camping stove and coffee percolator, and lots of good audiobooks and podcasts :)

That things gonna be my ticket to anywhere, lol.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#396

Post by OrbitRock »

prawn wrote: post #95

Probably two things: Intrastate travel. Main line of work (web) stalled but I picked up a solid amount of drone photography/videography work that allowed me to get paid travelling more than usual around the state. Australia has been in a good position with regard to COVID-19 which obviously helped, but I did get a few travel jobs during only-travel-for-work lockdowns. In the last 12 months, I've visited every sub-reg…

> Main line of work (web) stalled but I picked up a solid amount of drone photography/videography work

Do you mind me prying into what field you’re doing drone photo/videography in?

I’ve done drone surveys before and always thought that that would be cool too, especially when combined with travel.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#397

Post by dennis_jeeves »

oleander73 wrote: post #303

I retired (after getting diagnosed with incurable cancer). I was a workaholic and never thought I could quit so easily, but after quiting I don't miss work and I'm a lot happier (despite the cancer thing). If you are obsessed with work and in a position to take a few months off, please consider doing this. It may change your perspective.

What cancer do you have? (Also have you been looking outside mainstream cancer treatments?)

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#398

Post by digianarchist »

swimfar wrote: post #317
giantg2 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't even that common in the US. Sure, there's a chance of retiring early. For most of us, that won't happen prior to age 50, if at all.

It's not common at all, but it's very achievable for most engineers in the US if they're willing to live below their means. Engineers in the US make 2-3x the median income. The difference in disposable income is even greater when you subtract off the costs of necessities. And yet, those other people aren't working 2-3x as many years. It may mean not going out to eat all the time, not buying a fancy new car all the ti…

I think it’s less likely as housing trends towards unaffordable.

Re: Ask HN: What was the biggest contributor to your happiness in the past year?

#400

Post by gher-shyu3i »

gozzoo wrote: post #386
pothrow wrote: post #329

Quitting porn. At age 45, having been addicted since first finding I could download over 1200 baud dialup on my parents phone line and watching Cinemax late night through the static, it has just been a thing in my life almost daily and honestly I'd given up on caring whether it was a bad thing or not. I'd felt guilty about it sometimes, and sure, tried to quit on a number of occasions, but always ended up back within…

If you are referring to porn, despite the general perception I think it's quite harmless. Things like drugs, smoking, alcohol and even spedning time on Facebook and Instagram have much worse effect on someone's wellbeing. People use it mostly for stress relief and that's much better strategy than smoking pot or even casual drinking.

Just because other things are also bad for you does not mean that porn isn't bad for you. It's established that it is.
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