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150 days of living and coding in a van

ruby-on-wheels.github.io

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Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#281

Post by petra »

justonepost wrote: post #64

I think it's really sad and pathetic that someone can enjoy such a simple, non consumerist based life. How are you supporting the global economy? How are you proving that you are worthy? This sounds like homelessness to me. Without a home, are you really a worthwhile human being deserving of a mate? I don't think so. Unless you shop and own, man, you don't really exist.

>> Without a home, are you really a worthwhile human being deserving of a mate?

Is it possible to have a family living a stable life without an home/appartment ?

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#282

Post by kylixz »

mmahemoff wrote: post #94

I'm curious - don't people miss big monitors when coding on a laptop? I've done a fair amount of coding on laptops while travelling and it's okay, but I feel like a big monitor is optimal for most work and wouldn't want a permanent situation with just laptop. I like to have logs, command line, and editor all visible, and ideally a browser too. The editor alone is much more useful in a big window where you can see a f…

I definitely do miss my multi-monitor setup in our travel camper. I've been fulltiming (thanks to some articles and prodding from other HN members) in a trailer for almost a year, and can admit that I am looking forward to a bit of a break with at least one more monitor. Like a few other comments I've looked at some swinging arms I could mount but space is at such a premium that its hard to justify. On the plus side, it has made me simplify my work and life overall. I get outside more and go for walks, exercise, spend more time with my wife and friends.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#283

Post by Fnoord »

j7ake wrote: post #3

Not all spouses would agree to the van life how do you deal with this ?

Not to mention children going to school. I don't think this model is very feasible for parents. Certainly not single mothers/fathers.

I find Assange's early life [1] relevant to this conversation. He lead a nomadic life, lived in over 30 towns throughout his lifetime. One could say it affected his nomadic adult lifestyle.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Assange#Early_life (contains relevant sources)

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#284

Post by bitexploder »

robotresearcher wrote: post #274
bitexploder wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I researched this. With a decent battery and solar system you can power a monitor and laptop all day long.

The most demanding hardware requirement list ever.

Lol. It reminds me of that scene from the Steve Martin classic.

A laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, Herman Miller embody, Heat/AC... That's all I need.

If you want to be inspired by some cool hacks, though, look up Sprinter Van Conversions. People get into it and do some amazing work. They share their specs too! You can outfit a van with my above hardware list for about 4000-5000 if you don't get fancy. You have to plug in th AC usually. Heat is easier, you just have to insulate well. I got pretty far along this path of research. Some day.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#285

Post by logfromblammo »

majewsky wrote: post #190

> The amount of water that I used in Berlin to brush my teeth is probably enough for a whole day in my van. Maybe 80% of the water just flowed from the tap right into the drain without even touching my body. I hear things like that time and time again, and I can literally not understand it. Why would any sane person leave the water running while brushing their teeth? When I brush my teeth, the water runs for one seco…

Why don't you wet the brush by dipping it into the glass? Why even wet the brush at all? The inside of your mouth is already wet.

But then again, I'm a bit of an oddball regarding tooth-brushing. In my view, the alcohol-based mouthwash is there to do a scorched-earth annihilation of all mouth bacteria, and the toothbrush is only there to break through biofilm and clear away all the tiny, tiny corpses. So I brush with a tiny bit of soap and tiny bit of toothpaste, while holding a mouthful of mouthwash. (And sometimes I use peroxide-based mouthwash, to attack the anaerobes under the gums. Cavities from S. mutans aren't the only reasons to brush.) If I routinely rinsed my brush, I would do it in an antibacterial, not with tap water, but when it comes out of my mouth, it is essentially covered in alcohols already, so I don't. As a result, the only use I have for the sink is as something to spit into.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#286

Post by jsjohnst »

brookside wrote: post #142
mmahemoff wrote: post #94

I'm curious - don't people miss big monitors when coding on a laptop? I've done a fair amount of coding on laptops while travelling and it's okay, but I feel like a big monitor is optimal for most work and wouldn't want a permanent situation with just laptop. I like to have logs, command line, and editor all visible, and ideally a browser too. The editor alone is much more useful in a big window where you can see a f…

I use the app "duet" to connect an iPad as a second monitor for the cases when a second display is really useful (like playing spot the difference with a site vs Sketch design). This would be wonderful I'm sure with one of the newer 12.9" iPad pros. And for 1/10 of the cost you can pick up something like a "15.6” Widescreen Flat-Panel USB 3.0-Powered Portable LED Monitor - $99"

The problem is the USB powered monitors generally all use the same driver, one that frequently crashes on macOS and Linux. The driver is literally one of the worst I’ve ever used.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#287

Post by mjbrownie »

lliiffee wrote: post #257
mjbrownie wrote: post #255

I drove around Australia whilst still maintaining several django projects for a web hosting company back in 2011. Started with an old 15 inch Dell and a Samsung Galaxy tab but got a 11 inch Mac Air later. Great fun! You really learn to optimise your setup around current draw and avoiding overheat :) My biggest lessons were combining mosh and tmux It'd be more of a struggle as a front end developer.

Could you give more details about how you combined these? I'm aware of both of these tools, but wasn't sure how they could be used together. At the moment I heavily use mosh which is pretty much perfect aside from the fact that it kills my local scrollback history.

Well tmux gives you back some scrollback (when you remember the key combination). I was doing linux sysadmin style work on remote cellular networks so mosh was great for the occasional dropouts. Also tmux gives you an extra layer of persistence and window organisation.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#288

Post by egeozcan »

jsjohnst wrote: post #280
egeozcan wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I directly skipped to finding a solution to that "problem". I literally found myself browsing amazon for monitor stands that can be folded and easily mounted in a van. What happens if I break hard? Hmm... I came up with requirements for a monitor stand suitable for use in a van. For a moment, I remember being depressed about the zero number of perfect solutions for this "basic" use-case. Now I'm convinced that I'd ne…

You didn’t see VESA mounts in your Amazon search that allow you to screw the stand into the monitor and into a solid surface (desk or wall) with an articulating arm that allows you to adjust the monitor’s location!?

Most of them had reviews about how hard it is to make them stay in place with heavier monitors. I can't even imagine what happens if I forget to fix them very carefully before moving and break hard while moving.

But then, of course, I am half-joking. I actually did find myself doing that research but after realizing the sitcom scene I put myself in, I gave up quickly: I don't even have a driver's license, and I'm researching the monitor-mount situation for a caravan-life?!

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#289

Post by ge96 »

Sounds cool, main concerns are bathroom and internet connection. What about security and parking?

The photo of laptop side of caravan in front of the beach looks nice though unsure in practice (smell) can you focus sort of thing, regardless cool, like the mobility idea it's what I strive for some day.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#290

Post by e59d134d »

endymi0n wrote: post #229
koolba wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A huge desk, huge monitors, comfy executive chair, and a foot rest gives, IMHO, the best of all worlds.

This might be something for you two guys if you can afford it... http://mashable.com/2015/10/28/altwork-station-laying-down

Looks great (if it is real) but for me I guess it is not about laying down but freedom to work from anywhere.

Sometimes, I work from patio while smoking a cigar. Other times, I just need to try out a new coffeeshop on other side of town.

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