2021 Resolutions

[pinback]

Hey Ben and Eric, how have the 2021 resolutions been going so far?

Terribly. After getting off to a rousing start, dark times descended. I've abandoned virtually all of the resolutions, and have been under a heavy pall of depression for the last month-plus.

Other than that, not too bad.

[Flack]

Could be worse. You could have a guy in a nursing home who doesn't think you know how to Google things.

[bryanb]

Sorry to hear about the depression. Is there anything we can do? I'm willing to start semi-daily polls, lobby Robb to invite Finsternis back for another go, or email Retro again if you think any of those things would help. I even researched whether telnet poker servers were a thing; while I did find an abandoned GitHub project, I didn't find a true equivalent to FICS or FIBS. Sadly I don't think a BBS poker tournament conducted via a more secure Internet protocol would be quite the same.

I don't think my problem is depression, but maybe if you look deep enough it is. Something in me finds the status quo so comforting that I resist making even unambiguously positive changes to my life. My amateur psychological analysis of myself is that because I've experienced some really negative sudden changes in my life (mostly deaths of people and animals I cared about) I've come to subconsciously fear all change. I gotta fix this somehow.

[Tdarcos]

Could be worse. You could have a guy in a nursing home who doesn't think you know how to Google things.

Whether you're stupid as you asked in the previous question, well, the jury is still out. But you're definitely insensitive and cruel, and again, I'm sorry I ever tried to offer some help to you, and since you find my attempt so insidious that you have to insult me, I shall try extra hard never to offer you any help on anything ever again.

Everybody can consider that my 2021 resolution.

[Flack]

Could be worse. You could have a guy in a nursing home who doesn't think you know how to Google things.

Whether you're stupid as you asked in the previous question, well, the jury is still out. But you're definitely insensitive and cruel, and again, I'm sorry I ever tried to offer some help to you, and since you find my attempt so insidious that you have to insult me, I shall try extra hard never to offer you any help on anything ever again.

Everybody can consider that my 2021 resolution.

Cutting and pasting things from Google that you obviously know nothing about is not offering help.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Everybody can consider that my 2021 resolution.

Okay, but don't garbage day hanging dong on your roommates.

[Casual Observer]

Hey Ben and Eric, how have the 2021 resolutions been going so far? (If you guys want to say...it's still early after all.) My resolutions have been down for retooling recently, but I'm recommitting to them starting today. I knew I was asking for trouble by setting a resolution that required me to do anything every day. It remains possible I'll end up writing something on the majority of days in 2021 which would still be pretty awesome. Yes, I'm moving the goalposts and lowering the bar.

I thought I didn't really make any resolutions, given that I've commented that I think an arbitrary holiday is a terrible thing to pin something like resolutions to. A resolution can be made at any time and let go any time. We're adults, if we want to be thinner or soberer or more productive then we will.

I'm doing great though, mostly friends with moderation these days, starting an exciting new job, helping my wife start a business and made it out of Cali alive so things are good.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I am sorry you are depressed, Pinner.

I bought a Sound Blaster card for my computer and the additional musical fidelity has been so good I am actually running around with a giant ear to ear grin.

Maybe you need a Sound Blaster? Imagine how much better your music can sound!

[Jizaboz]

Yeah I love my Creative Labs speakers. I thought about buying a sound card for my current computer but the on-board is fine on this mobo. (That is not the case for all mobos)

[AArdvark]

I bought the SB Audigy card at Christmas necause the onboard sound on my music pc was pretty muddy. Made a huge difference. But I wonder if it was the hardware or the new drivers with the equalizer option

THE
LOTS OF SLIDERS
AARDVARK

[bryanb]

I thought I didn't really make any resolutions, given that I've commented that I think an arbitrary holiday is a terrible thing to pin something like resolutions to. A resolution can be made at any time and let go any time. We're adults, if we want to be thinner or soberer or more productive then we will.

I'm doing great though, mostly friends with moderation these days, starting an exciting new job, helping my wife start a business and made it out of Cali alive so things are good.

Glad to hear you're doing well! You sound happier and more chill these days. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the WA tech scene vs Cali's and the details on your wife's new business, but those sound like future threads that will be carefully crafted parts of CO's 2021 MVP campaign so I guess I'll just have to be patient.

You did post some resolutions in last year's thread which is what I was remembering, but you did say there you didn't think they really did much of anything. Still, it sounds like your #1 and #5 resolutions might be going well based on recent posts. The Nordictrack might possibly have to wait a little longer. This is honestly the first year in my life I've ever tried to seriously make resolutions and actually follow up on them. There have been a few years when I made resolutions and then prompt forgot about them. Mostly I've been like you and thought the whole thing was arbitrary and wouldn't be likely to lead to meaningful change, but I was inspired by Ben's example and the way he held himself accountable whether things had gone well or not.

[Casual Observer]

Glad to hear you're doing well! You sound happier and more chill these days. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the WA tech scene vs Cali's and the details on your wife's new business, but those sound like future threads that will be carefully crafted parts of CO's 2021 MVP campaign so I guess I'll just have to be patient.

You did post some resolutions in last year's thread which is what I was remembering, but you did say there you didn't think they really did much of anything. Still, it sounds like your #1 and #5 resolutions might be going well based on recent posts. The Nordictrack might possibly have to wait a little longer. This is honestly the first year in my life I've ever tried to seriously make resolutions and actually follow up on them. There have been a few years when I made resolutions and then prompt forgot about them. Mostly I've been like you and thought the whole thing was arbitrary and wouldn't be likely to lead to meaningful change, but I was inspired by Ben's example and the way he held himself accountable whether things had gone well or not.

Ah, yeah, thanks for the reminder. Not doing too great on those ol resolutions:
1, moderation = mostly
2, put the bike together = not yet, haven't even put together my new desk yet
3, start getting out of debt = hopeful. New job, wife's company has a couple of clients, but lost a month of income due to job change so that set things back. Finally starting a 401k and going to re-structure the debt this year so hopefully will be better going forwrd.
4, relationship work = not really
5, enjoy nature = It's rained almost every day for 5.5 months in WA so . . . no

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the WA tech scene vs Cali's

Pre-pandemic there was a huge difference between Seattle and SF Bay. Seattle's tech scene is driven primarily by people who made shit tons of money from MSFT and AMZN (Boeing too I guess) starting their own companies. Problem is there's not the deep well of venture cash sloshing around here and it's still almost as expensive as the bay, the tech leaders here seem to be more conservative and scared to take chances. The Bay area has this attitude of "failure is ok", "pivoting is the way forward", etc so people are more forgiving of job hopping or job breaks. Yeah, there are thousands of tech companies in the Bay and frankly most of them are hiring sales people at all times. The problem is most startups are toxic vapid places to work. There are CEO's who want to build their company only for the purpose of selling it's tech or they're an engineer and just have no fucking idea how to run a company.

I made the disasterous decision to move to SF Bay because of the "tech scene"and at the time was the right decision because it helped me get into a market space that I really enjoy. I'm hoping to work remotely the rest of my life, even more I'm hoping this will be my last "real job"

and the details on your wife's new business, but those sound like future threads that will be carefully crafted parts of CO's 2021 MVP campaign so I guess I'll just have to be patient.

I'm no JC MVP so no danger of some kind of campaign, I'll just keep being a cynical asshole who likes to post pics of things I cook.

Actually though, the wife's company (well, we're both "managing members"of the LLC) is a B2B Lead Generation company. Starting slow with 3 clients for now, just re-hired a couple of girls in the Philippines for research and phone calls. Got big plans going forward offering MaaS (Meetings as a Service) for tech startups. The wife has to be the public face on the website and Linkedin for now since I'm working a full time job but in reality I'm doing most of the work behind the scenes. The goal is this will be my retirement since my total 401k savings as of payday will be about $200 . . . and I'm 46 so a bit behind the curve there.

[bryanb]

Damn, CO, it sounds like you're working a full time job and bootstrapping a new business at the same time. These must be exciting but stressful times for you. Hopefully your wife will be able to take things over more as she gets used to the work (or maybe it'll become your main gig if it's a big success). In general I'm like you and much prefer remote work to the daily commute, but the one thing about it that bothers me is that sometimes I feel like my brain is never 100% sure when I'm not working. I had a side gig last year and found myself routinely working seven days a week. After a while, that schedule started to feel natural to me, and that scared me a little. This year I'm trying to relax a little, reestablish some work-private life boundaries, and give myself a little extra time away from the screens.

[Casual Observer]

Damn, CO, it sounds like you're working a full time job and bootstrapping a new business at the same time. These must be exciting but stressful times for you. Hopefully your wife will be able to take things over more as she gets used to the work (or maybe it'll become your main gig if it's a big success). In general I'm like you and much prefer remote work to the daily commute, but the one thing about it that bothers me is that sometimes I feel like my brain is never 100% sure when I'm not working. I had a side gig last year and found myself routinely working seven days a week. After a while, that schedule started to feel natural to me, and that scared me a little. This year I'm trying to relax a little, reestablish some work-private life boundaries, and give myself a little extra time away from the screens.

ideally the Filipinas will be doing the bulk of the hard work pretty soon. Outsourcing is kinda tricky, the fillipines are great for callers who have almost American accents and well educated, though I've had issues in the past with work ethic and honesty. Indian "freshers" are super educated, often engineering but the accents can be off-putting to some Americans. Only used Ukrainians for programming, they're cheaper and more desperate than indians, never tried them for calling maybe i should.

[pinback]

Alright, although the depression has largely lifted, I'm cancelling these Resolutions, as I don't need any extra things that my mind might use to call me a failure. But let's look at how we're doing on them, as we toss them in the garbage:

1. Don't turn back into a big fat slob - I did not turn back into a big fat slob.
2. Clean things when they are dirty. - Slightly better at this, but still a ways to go.
3. Stop chewing nicotine gum. - I have not stopped chewing nicotine gum.
4. Don't play chess. - I have not stopped wasting time with chess.
5. Don't buy any computer games. - I have bought computer games.
6. Create something every day. - I ain't created shit.

[Tdarcos]

Unless it's for your job, #6 is unrealistic. I think I proved that to you when I kept bugging you to put up or shut up about The Don Rogers Show, and even a weekly program is a lot of work.

Expecting you'll create something every day is too much, unless you are sadistically determined. And even at that, it would be hard. Even programmers rarely get a whole program - even if it's just a piece of a test suite - created in one day. Try an easy goal. Create one thing a month. Then once you've done that two or three times, push it to once every two weeks if you can handle the once-a-month schedule. Then once you've been consistent on the every two weeks schedule for about 6-8 weeks, if you think you can, try weekly. Making the steps gradual gives you an easier chance to actually complete something. Or discover you can't.

Here is an idea: go to your nearest IKEA or use Amazon to order a computer desk kit. They're about $30. They come in a flat pak, usually come with all needed tools or at most they'll need an Allen wrench, a screwdriver, and a crescent wrench or pliers. It should take about 1 day or less to assemble. Then, if you don't need it, donate it to your local rec center or public library. I built two of them without assistance while in a wheelchair, so I have the chops that I can say, "If I can do it, you can."

[pinback]

Okay, but what about the nicotine gum?

[AArdvark]

If you build a work station every day you can stick the used gum on the underside

Creating something every day is a little difficult. No, pushing yourself to create something every day is difficult.I couldn't draw a Crazy Doodle every day, they would start to become lame, like Garfield.

[Tdarcos]

If you build a work station every day you can stick the used gum on the underside

No, 'Vark, I meant he should do that for the once-a-month project.

Creating something every day is a little difficult. No, pushing yourself to create something every day is difficult.I couldn't draw a Crazy Doodle every day, they would start to become lame, like Garfield.

Actually, you'd most likely plan a story and do anywhere from 2-4 a day for a 7-day-a-week strip. Professional cartoonists usually set up a "buffer" that represents about a month's worth of work before starting. So if you do 2 a day, in 2 months you have six months of strips done.

Howard Tayler, creator of the Web Comic Schlock Mercenary, gave up a lucrative (as in 6-figure) job to become a cartoonist in the summer of 2000. The comic has appeared on his website every single day since then, without any being late, despite the fact he had a server crash. Over twenty years of seven-day a week cartoons. If you check out episode 1, the artwork is much cruder than how it looked even a year later. The strip (and spin-offs such as books and merchandise) produced enough income to support him and his family. He has announced he plans to end the strip and may have done so already.

But to do that, do an every day comic strip for weeks, months and years at a time, takes a lot of discipline.

[AArdvark]

Please dont tell me what I would most likely do.