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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

#321

Post by egeozcan »

eduren wrote: post #312
jsjohnst wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When searching here in the US with query “vesa monitor wall mount” I find a bunch of ones which would be secure and work well (multiple of which I own). Maybe that’s not the case where you live (assuming you’re either European or Aussie based on the phrase “caravan-life”, but guess that’s not an accurate assumption possibly).

I'm gonna guess Europe based on the "no drivers license" comment.

Your guess is right, I'm living in Germany. But I think I'm in the minority here - I really don't know any German who is in their twenties without a driver's license. I'm not German though and I used to have a license back in Istanbul, which is not valid in Germany. I didn't bother getting a license here because you can get a Bahncard from Deutsche Bahn, which covers 90% of one's public transportation needs. Maybe it's a similar story in other European countries but I think most people still get a license just in case.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#322

Post by munificent »

coldtea wrote: post #310
maaaats wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was your tone. It reeked of "real programmers" don't use debuggers etc.

Aah. I'd say real programmers use debugger when they make sense -- but lots of programmers use them to jump around checking this and that without any reasoning what is going on, and thus taking 5x the time of a simple printf.

Respectfully, I disagree with the notion that lots of programmers don't know best how to manage their own time and productivity. Of course, we can all stand to do a better job of meta-cognition and thinking critically about our workflows, but I trust that if most people spend a lot of time in a debugger, it's because it helps them get their job done faster.

Personally, I definitely find myself going through stretches where I just use printf debugging. (I work on a lot of hobby language implementations where that's often the only kind of debugging there is.) Then I remember, "Oh, yeah, debuggers are a thing." More often than not, I'm surprised by how much faster I am at tracking down an issue using one.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#323

Post by mikestew »

It would appear that “van” has a different definition in Europe. In the U. S. I think most would consider that a Class C RV. I’m not just being pedantic, as there is loads more room in the authors rig than our VW Westfalia, or even a Chevy conversion. I’d live full-time in what’s pictured (and plenty of U. S. retirees do just that), no problem, but I’d have to have a genuine need before I’d consider more than a month or two in the VW.

EDIT: now I’m genuinely curious, so please help me out Europeans. Scroll to the bottom and relieve my ignorance: is this considered to be a “van” in Europe? https://ruby-on-wheels.github.io/blog/the-first-ride/ Because I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the U. S. that would call that a camper van.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#324

Post by lloeki »

donkeyd wrote: post #291
pavel_lishin wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I gave the original post to my wife and her first question was “How’s the guy coping to live alone?” My knee-jerk response is, "blissfully." I live with my wife, a 19 month old, and two cats. I love them, but I would love, love, love to spend a week entirely by myself - going to bed and waking up on my own schedule.

I did this for one week last year. I was in the alps, doing some snowboarding, some work and some reading. It was great. Especially being alone in a country where I didn't speak the language well enough to hold casual conversation for too long. Was still happy when my girlfriend arrived after a week though. But that one week was indeed 'bliss'.

My girlfriend and I broke up a 15 year long relationship approximately one year ago and while I did enjoy having time alone back when we were together, after so much time I still can't stand being alone as the default. I miss the sharing, the laughs, the little moments (good or bad!) that seem insignificant but that turn out to be core to the relationship, that no friend seem to be able to replace. While I do enjoy some activities briefly, everything I do retrospectively seems like an attempt to escape and drown out the drone of loneliness. Being able to share is such a catalyst to any experience that things feel sort of pointless: does a falling tree make a sound if no one's around to hear it? Maybe I'm still getting over that break up, maybe I should just fake it till I make it. Really, I don't know.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#325

Post by toomuchtodo »

munificent wrote: post #320
pavel_lishin wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I gave the original post to my wife and her first question was “How’s the guy coping to live alone?” My knee-jerk response is, "blissfully." I live with my wife, a 19 month old, and two cats. I love them, but I would love, love, love to spend a week entirely by myself - going to bed and waking up on my own schedule.

Introverted Dad with a wife, two daughters, two dogs, and two cats reporting in. Wife and kid #1 are both high energy. I love my home life, but there is definitely some part of my psyche that is drained by it. I took a couple of days to drive to the middle of nowhere in Oregon to see the eclipse by myself. My goal was literally to be as far from other people and as solitary as possible for the whole trip. (Not exactl…

We should start a club, one where none of us meet up in person :)

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#326

Post by toomuchtodo »

lloeki wrote: post #324
donkeyd wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did this for one week last year. I was in the alps, doing some snowboarding, some work and some reading. It was great. Especially being alone in a country where I didn't speak the language well enough to hold casual conversation for too long. Was still happy when my girlfriend arrived after a week though. But that one week was indeed 'bliss'.

My girlfriend and I broke up a 15 year long relationship approximately one year ago and while I did enjoy having time alone back when we were together, after so much time I still can't stand being alone as the default. I miss the sharing, the laughs, the little moments (good or bad!) that seem insignificant but that turn out to be core to the relationship, that no friend seem to be able to replace. While I do enjoy s…

I am sorry for your loss.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#327

Post by et-al »

twobyfour wrote: post #86

Are there any women here who have done something like this and would be willing to comment on it? Theoretically it sounds cool, but I'd be a bit anxious about personal safety.

You can try reaching out to Caroline of Little Package: https://www.little-package.com/about-little-package

She used to make awesome cycling caps, did the PCT, and is now traveling around America in a Vanagon.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#328

Post by et-al »

Alkim wrote: post #104
grecy wrote: post #24

I am doing something somewhat related. I built a Jeep Wrangler into a house on wheels [1], and am driving around Africa for two years. I am freelancing for Magazines, and earning money through my website and social presence. I have not done any coding on this trip, mostly becuase I find it hard to get remote work that meets my flexibility needs - i.e. weeks off-grid and only occasional checkins/calls. Last time I dro…

This sounds both interesting and audacious. I'm nearing retirement and considering various options for what to do next. Could you explain how you earn $$ from 'social presence'? I'm a personable guy, but I don't know that I could convince anyone to give me money just for showing up to something.

#Vanlife, the Bohemian Social-Media Movement https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bo...

Previous HN discussion on the article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14138438

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#329

Post by pavel_lishin »

lloeki wrote: post #324
donkeyd wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did this for one week last year. I was in the alps, doing some snowboarding, some work and some reading. It was great. Especially being alone in a country where I didn't speak the language well enough to hold casual conversation for too long. Was still happy when my girlfriend arrived after a week though. But that one week was indeed 'bliss'.

My girlfriend and I broke up a 15 year long relationship approximately one year ago and while I did enjoy having time alone back when we were together, after so much time I still can't stand being alone as the default. I miss the sharing, the laughs, the little moments (good or bad!) that seem insignificant but that turn out to be core to the relationship, that no friend seem to be able to replace. While I do enjoy s…

> Maybe I'm still getting over that break up.

You almost certainly are. Fifteen years is a long time, longer than my parents were married. You didn't have a break-up; you went through a divorce. A year sounds like the minimum amount of time it would take a person to deal with it. I wish you the best.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#330

Post by pavel_lishin »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #325
munificent wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Introverted Dad with a wife, two daughters, two dogs, and two cats reporting in. Wife and kid #1 are both high energy. I love my home life, but there is definitely some part of my psyche that is drained by it. I took a couple of days to drive to the middle of nowhere in Oregon to see the eclipse by myself. My goal was literally to be as far from other people and as solitary as possible for the whole trip. (Not exactl…

We should start a club, one where none of us meet up in person :)

There might be some sense in that - pool together resources to rent or lease a large area to camp in, with centralized things like hot showers or kitchens with refridgerators, and maybe wifi, but otherwise mostly just spread-out campgrounds where people can go and not be bothered, but not so cut off as to be worried about breaking a leg and getting eaten by a coyote.
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