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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

#411

Post by grecy »

kagamine wrote: post #410
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…

Are you the guy who got flak for putting a Mercedes engine in a Jeep and was then told to take an AK47 with you to Ivory Coast? Those discussions were inspiring, funny and tragic all in one, here and on reddit.

Yep, that's me.

I'm in the DRC now, country number 16. Having the time of my life.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#412

Post by grecy »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #100
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…

I didn't know there were mall parking lots in Africa XD

I keep meaning to take a photo in a mall parking lot. They are few and far between on the West Coast, though all the capital cities have them.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#413

Post by majewsky »

Boothroid wrote: post #332
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…

No need to wet the brush - the toothpaste works better without it.

Oh really? Do you have a source for this? I'm hearing this for the first time now.

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#414

Post by kagamine »

grecy wrote: post #411
kagamine wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you the guy who got flak for putting a Mercedes engine in a Jeep and was then told to take an AK47 with you to Ivory Coast? Those discussions were inspiring, funny and tragic all in one, here and on reddit.

Yep, that's me. I'm in the DRC now, country number 16. Having the time of my life.

Glad to hear it's working out well for you and that the naysayers were wrong about everything (incl. the AK)!

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#416

Post by grecy »

kagamine wrote: post #414
grecy wrote: post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, that's me. I'm in the DRC now, country number 16. Having the time of my life.

Glad to hear it's working out well for you and that the naysayers were wrong about everything (incl. the AK)!

The internet is full of "experts".

To really determine if you can do something, talk to people that have done similar things. I know at least 50 people that have done what I am doing, and loved every second. They all said without hesitation the only crazy thing would be not doing it!

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#417

Post by coldtea »

dx034 wrote: post #237
coldtea wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's trivial to get with the van to Morocco, Turkey. And with a rather inexpensive ferry ride, you can go anywhere in Africa / Middle East. In places like Malaga, Crete, Cyprus, etc it's the average low temperature is like 10-13 degrees (52-55 f). Hardly very cold if you've ever experienced NY, Chicago, Canada, Norther Europe levels of cold. And of course it's very easy to heat a small van.

Yes but I'm not sure if that's where the author would like to go. 4G coverage will likely be weaker (making it harder to code on the go) and with fewer camper vans you'll not meet as many people. Security can also be a concern, as can be political influences (esp in Turkey at the moment).

True, 4G coverage can be a factor. Political influences is easier to bypass (just chose a stable country).

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#418

Post by zpr »

driverdan wrote: post #268

Nice writeup. I also live in a vehicle. I have a 25ft (7.6m) former airport shuttle bus I've converted to my home. It took me over six months of full time work and it's still not complete. I've lived in it for a bit over four months. Overall it has been good but not without challenges. I'm currently busy working which has led to neglecting stuff I need to finish on the bus. I can't travel far until I finish these thi…

This may have been asked before but I can't seem to find it: where do you typically shower or use the restroom? Truck stops? Or just ad-hoc as the situation allows?

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#419

Post by Nexxxeh »

kbutler wrote: post #408
eequah9L wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They mention magnets in the article. Presumably you get a custom keyboard and mouse?

I don't imagine I'd enjoy moving a mouse that feels like shuffling refrigerator magnets!

Trackball? Touchpad? Or, given this is HN, keyboard shortcuts?

Re: 150 days of living and coding in a van

#420

Post by harperlee »

crispyambulance wrote: post #306
logfromblammo wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Dude, you don't really want to try to do "scorched-earth" annihilation of all mouth bacteria-- or bacteria anywhere else for that matter. First, it won't work, you'll never get rid of all bacteria. Second, that's like taking the surviving bacteria "to the gym", clearing out the normal flora of bacteria, and replacing it with whatever nasties can survive your treatments. Flossing and brushing (and some tongue scraping…

> that's like taking the surviving bacteria "to the gym", clearing out the normal flora of bacteria, and replacing it with whatever nasties can survive your treatments.

That argument holds for any point on the "target clean level" curve, though... for example I could use it to argue that flossing is cleaning beyond what's optimal. Not that I think it, but what is the best strategy, long term?

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