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Preparing for missions in difficult places

bitecode.dev

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Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#11

Post by [deleted] »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #8
mynegation wrote: post #3

Ok, forget the packing lists, advice, and all this survivalist stuff. All I want to know is what _kind of jobs_ requires preparation like this. This is not covered in the article, I have an impression - deliberately so.

I used to be an archeologist and had a checklist of similar preparations before I would head out to the field. However, unlike the article, I couldn't pack two of everything because I had to carry it myself alongside whatever gear, shovels, samples, sieves, survey equipment, etc I had. A few things I learned though: * FOSS software was consistently the most reliable stuff I used, as it wouldn't automatically lock its…

[deleted]

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#13

Post by BiteCode_dev »

tekla wrote: post #12

The only part difficult about this is the computers due to power and maybe network conditions (increasingly irrelevant due to Starlink). Everything else is pretty basic shit.

Getting to the north pole is a series of a lot of pretty basic shits, I'm afraid.

Life is mostly mundane, after all. And there is a limit to what you can prepare for.

One day my taxi, or should I say death trap, went fast and furious on a pedestrian in the middle of Bamako. The procedure for the locals at the time was to stone the culprit to death before the police arrive, as anybody with money will pay their way out.

Not much you can pack to help you with that.

And not programming related anyway.

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#14

Post by x86x87 »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #5
x86x87 wrote: post #4

This should be a TV show. Hire this person for a job in a remote place and after that hire another person to fuck him them and sabotage what they are trying to do. Film it -> Success

It's not as exciting as it look: you spend a lot of time waiting. And then working in difficult conditions. Then waiting. Then something fail and you look for a hack. Then you work. And you wait. And you come back. I did get into serious trouble once or twice, but over two decades, the average netflix factor is pretty low. Corruption and nature owning you is surprising the first few times, but after the 50th occurren…

yeah. not worried about the waiting part. that can be edited out. also, the adversarial element would make for some good drama.

failing and looking like a hack is what would make the show insanely popular. the only challenge I see is that people might think it's scripted and/or would not have the depth of knowledge to understand why something is happening. both of them can be addressed (so what if people think it's scripted - remember man vs wild? + you could introduce a few "expert" commentators that dumb it down and explain things to the peasants while the action is going on)

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#15

Post by anon7725 »

tekla wrote: post #12

The only part difficult about this is the computers due to power and maybe network conditions (increasingly irrelevant due to Starlink). Everything else is pretty basic shit.

There’s a big difference between doing basic shit in your pajamas from the home office and doing it in a remote location while contending with all of the accompanying complications.

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#16

Post by anon7725 »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #7
mynegation wrote: post #3

Ok, forget the packing lists, advice, and all this survivalist stuff. All I want to know is what _kind of jobs_ requires preparation like this. This is not covered in the article, I have an impression - deliberately so.

Yes, deliberately indeed. But I as suspect you may believe, I didn't work for the military. I worked for NGOs, governments bodies, the UN and WHO, and of course the private sector. At home I have a fridge, hot water, heating, nobody is shooting guns except in the shows I can stream in HD thanks to fiber while eating an organic avocado. So it's easy to forget a huge part of the world is not comfortable. But those area…

This was one of the most enjoyable HN comments I’ve ever read - you should write more about this on your blog.

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#19

Post by BiteCode_dev »

tuukkah wrote: post #17

If someone wants to do something like this, I hear the Red Cross has pools of technical experts for emergency response situations. Does anyone have experience about that?

It's the case for many NGO. Just know that:

- NGOs won't pay nearly as much as the private sector, obviously.

- It's very hard to get in, at least for deployed missions. So do not hesitate to try again and again for a long time.

- Once you are in, it ripples, and you easily get access to many other missions, provided you did a good job. It can be useful to accept something completely out of your main thing, just to get the foot in the door.

- A lot of NGO work is actually not helping anybody. Be prepared to be disappointed. Some is good, but the amount of PR, virtue signaling and scams is staggering. Although many people are under the delusion they save the world. Do it for the experience, and maybe you'll get lucky and you'll do more good that bad, on average. Some days, I'm still unsure I did. But emergency responses are where the most unambiguous good is done.

- If you do it for long enough, you will get hurt. That's just how it is. Sick, wounded, bankrupt... Something. That's one of the prices to pay. E.G: in West Africa, our first Malaria was kinda a rite of passage. We'd joke about it. You can't take pills with side effects for ever.

- You'll need to be pretty autonomous. Nobody is going to take you by the hand. But the cool part of this is that you'll get responsibilities and freedom of action you'll have nowhere else. It can be a curse as much as a blessing, but I loved it.

Re: Preparing for missions in difficult places

#20

Post by maCDzP »

tuukkah wrote: post #17

If someone wants to do something like this, I hear the Red Cross has pools of technical experts for emergency response situations. Does anyone have experience about that?

I did training for the Red Cross to join the rooster. Never been deployed so I don’t have any field experience. I have friends whose whole career revolves around different deployments in hardship areas.

From hearing people that have been in the field it sounds like a total shit show. But also very boring since you get to wait a lot.

You also se a lot of traumatized people which I believe takes a toll on your mental health.

I was surprised by the partying, alcohol seems like the preferred way to cope with the environment.

All in all, the people I have met don’t seem at peace with themselves.

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