I know I specifically asked for a chair, and the chair you made is a very good chair, but my use case is actually reaching things in high places and this just doesn’t get to the top shelves so you’re gonna need to make the legs longer, I think.
Same with the neofetch dev, saw all this AI crap coming and just jumped into farming
I read “DBMS” as “DSBM” at first.
I need to get out more.
I read it as BDSM… Not sure what I should do…
Get in more
The RSS feed shouldn’t be added. It should be the primary application.
Senior engineer of embedded c/c++ here. I have referred to myself a few times on here as trying to live the superposition of the engineer and the goose farmer. Now that I’ve built a palace of a chicken coop and there are grown chickens running around with the dogs betweenn the play house and koi pond, my back yard is turning into a village from a Zelda game or something.
My power tools are newer and more numerous than my computing devices by far, lol. And it’s all higher end DeWalt stuff because using a good tool can be satisfying as hell. Plus I’ve already spent more money on wood, and the tools will last a long time.
The kernel (heh) of truth underpinning this meme is real and profound. If you spend all your time on screens and in cyberspace, if you go beyond touching grass and get your fingers in the dirt or build something physical, it could be extremely good for you. It works great for me!
I’m an embedded software engineer, too. While I love my job (for the time being) I definitely need to do other stuff with my free time. A junior colleague of mine couldn’t understand why I bake my own bread rolls when I could save so much time by just buying them, but I’m sure in time he’ll get there.
I’m convinced that there is a flaw deep down in the basics of our culture that essentially says that success and prosperity and a good modern life all mean that you don’t need to actually do shit for yourself. All you need to do is make enough money at the job where you presumably actually do productive work, then you can pay some person or some company to take care of all the other shit in life.
No doubt it’s a side effect of, if not a primary design feature of, our hyper-capitalist mindset. The ideal citizen is either working or consuming during all waking hours.
Sometimes accomplishing a goal in the way that’s the most expensive and takes the most personal effort is actually the best way to go about it, assuming you count “improves my life” in your ROI calculation and not just the dollars in and out.
If you like quality power tools, don’t look into Maffel or Festool. They’ll destroy your bank account.
Not a programmer but doing healthcare IT coming from the equally mind numbing healthcare side.
…I feel you.
My woodworking shop in my basement is my solace that keeps my out of a mental institution. Most of my electric tools are oldet than I am - but the good ones, often bought during closing down sales from small carpentry companies.
Besides a self build CNC it’s kept technology free by principle. The CNC is just too handy,though.
Not growing goose,but the ITsec wife dreams of raising Capybaras one day.
I’m dreaming of a niche bakery when legislation allows it and the clanker clanking intensifies even more. Yes a bakery for special “enhanced” and calming pastry and other delights.
If you source hemp-derived ingredients, it’s legal under the farm bill. See Willy’s Remedy as an example. It costs more since the concentration is very low in hemp.
We hear about enshittification but nobody talks about Ludditification
Reptile breeding for me
This is my current fantasy about what I’ll do when the AI takes my job.
In NZ there’s (very) limited reptile options, but I own a bearded dragon and each time she lays a clutch of eggs I wonder why I don’t just quit my job and build a dragon nursery and get a male and start breeding them for fun and profit.
How’s the pay?
It’s only been an investment for me so far. I have a bunch of animals for breeding once they mature, and I’ve started colonies of feeders (mice and horn worms) and colonies of cleanup crew (springtails and isopods).
I’m hoping for my first clutches next season.
…and no mandate to use AI to increase productivity
Tree trimming, welding, and camper van conversions for me, when it becomes necessary
I’m going into plumbing. I’m done with this shit.
Shit is my shit now, and it’s much nicer.
I work in Automation/Controls and i spend most of my day pretending like i don’t really know what I’m doing but amazingly enough getting it right on the first 1-3 tries while also accidentally fixing something else.
It’s honest work.
My senior always jokes about opening a food truck. One day they’re gonna push us hard enough that we’ll do it, too.
The difference between IT and important jobs, is that I get to drink on the clock in IT. In fact it’s mandated.
At my old job, the IT department had a kombucha tap right at the end of their counter. I always wondered if they considered swapping the kombucha keg out for something stronger.
Did you ever try it? Or is kombutcha just what they wrote on the label?
I did try it. If it was beer, it was the weakest, fruitiest beer I’ve ever tried.
Was that some sort of kombucha-flavoured soft drink? Actual kombucha drink tastes only like vinegar. (I drank it for maybe a year in a health-crazed period ~20 years ago xD)
There’s some kombucha that tastes quite fruity and sweet. Actually in that city there was a kombucha company that made a really delicious grape kombucha.
thanks, TIL :)
My first tech job had a beer fridge and a guy who filled it that we all called the Beer Captain.
I swear I must be the only sucker that hasn’t encountered one of these freely drinking tech companies.
It’s not just tech companies lol. It’s funny, the place we would have meetings–when it was a lot of people–was 50% off for the company. It was a nice cantina. Let’s just say my beer mug was a jug and I didn’t have to pay for it lol. >_> one time I was the designated driver sigh. Good thing it was a minute drive and then we would all drink more at the bosses house. Even when I worked in education, no one gave me shit coming in smelling of booze; one day I had to call off after reading my students file. No one blamed me for getting shitfaced after reading that.
You’re not the only one, I’ve been with quite a few startups and before that I worked with VC’s to help get new portfolio companies rolling with IT. Never have a seen it, I’ve only heard of it.
It’s probably for the best, I predict I’d either drink too much or complain that they only buy crappy beer :)
I did this, except I actually have better pay and benefits than I did working in tech (I was a low paid web developer, now I am a highly paid finish carpenter). I was just warning my coworkers today to get ready for the wave of ex-programmers hitting the trades.
raises hand
Construction is nice. We mostly demolish things. It’s good exercise, fun, and keeps the demons at bay.
You were really getting shafted as a web developer and likely could’ve made a lot more… But on the other hand I’m glad you found something you like more. I still prefer programming, with or without AI assistance, to just about any other work I could do. I have a gig where I generally get to solve slightly different problems every day (very wide domain) and I have no idea what other job could provide this without being in danger from LLMs.
I know a few carpenters of the self-employed variety and I gather it can be a very rewarding job if you’re into it. I could never, I need more stimulation for my ADHD, I need to be able to do a week worth of work in 2 hours when things are overdue, it doesn’t really work in carpentry lol
You were really getting shafted as a web developer and likely could’ve made a lot more
I don’t think you know how much experienced finish carpenters get paid.
My dad went from db management to running a grocery store.
My one friend is now becoming an HVAC technician
We’re getting more analog every day
From database management to people management!
