No link, as this is a scratch my own itch thing for now, but I'm working on a personal 'hub' web app that is part UX/UI experiment, and part a way to integrate various tools I've created over the years to ease various pain points in my life.
Some of this has to do with solving the problem of the deluge of information I consume, through psychological 'intervention' as well as some way to store all this stuff and make it easy to filter and find the useful bits.
Some of it is journalling-related, and vaguely in the Quantified Self area.
A significant portion is about finding ways to actually use this amazing, powerful computer that I have in my pocket for things that actually, quantifiably, provably improve my life (and hopefully, eventually, that of others). This is mostly in the direction of autism-related issues, anxiety, maintaining social connections, and so on. Applying the (relatively) well-supported lessons from psychology to the bafflingly advanced technology that is part of my daily life, and that of most people around me.
Mostly it's a vanity project though, that I can currently afford indulging in. I figure that after years of working and making money off building stuff I don't care about much, it's time to let my more creative side express itself in ways that might prove useful somehow. I'm not an painter, or a musician, or a poet, but I can code, I love to code (when it's on my own terms), and I'm still amazed that for less than five bucks I can have a server running that does whatever I want it to do, and as a 'full-stack developer', that's quite a lot!
Part of me wants to work on things that are more directly beneficial to others, but 1) I have enough 'runway' to do that too, eventually, and 2) I've grown weary of always trying to make sure that what I do is 'useful' by some measure that doesn't quite feel like it originates from within. Many of the best things I've done started out as scratches to personal itches, so perhaps it's okay to 'indulge' for now.
I'd argue very few people make their own path. While anecdotal, looking at those around me, most 'paths' people go down are a result of external forces that have been internalized over time.
Hell, even look at myself, very few of my choices were a result of just my own thinking, convictions, and/or discipline, and those that I do consider my own can partially be explained by my genetic makeup. But I don't want to reduce this argument too far.
My point is that the path we go down is mostly followed 'by default' and not a result of our own individual actions and choices. And I find that those who've had the most fortuitous defaults tend to ascribe them to their 'selves' more than others do. I think this is incorrect, and even if it's not, the more ethical position is to assume it is incorrect.
To my embarrassment, I didn't really know much about Doug Engelbart until Brett Victor brought him up in one of his excellent talks (Inventing on Principle). I quite like his eulogy: http://worrydream.com/Engelbart/
I'd say it's akin to me building a high-speed car that randomly stops braking, severely endangering whoever uses it. As long as it's just me and other high-speed car enthusiasts playing around with it, that's fine.
But if I package it up as a DIY package, ready for the real world, and lots of people start building/using my faulty car, I would consider it quite important to add a huge disclaimer.
I'm curious... at a rate of $29, do you only get HNers that work from outside Western Europe or the US? In Holland I gather the 'average' rate is 50 euro, and that's for 'simple' front-end work. RoR or Drupal work can net you more.
1. There are a lot of projects available nearly all the time. You could say "oh, so you work more for less and call that good" or you could say "it is a pain point of contracting to be forever negotiating a new project that will just end in days or months, to be renegotiated again. What if there was a pool of work always available and I could scoop it up as I wished and contract out for it under known terms"? Less money, but more reliable money when you are free to do the work as you can see the fire hose.
2. The pay goes up. Informally, we'll name/label "epic projects" and hand them to veteran contractors. On clean completion, I'll get a "hey, its time to talk hourly rate" email and will bump rates.
3. F U, pay me. I do, reliably. This is a big deal.
4. It is home brew code base PHP work, which does tend to be a bit cheaper than RoR or CMS work.
5. Interesting work. We've rolled our own custom warehouse software. Our own queue system. File and fax storage engine. Purchase forecasting software. On and on. Yes, there's rote work and yes things go wrong now and again but in general once you are up to speed you are going to get something cool. When you fight that dragon, you'll do so with the help of a lot of people who know more than you. So you won't be bored and you'll come out stronger.
6. Me. I'm GM but also a (middling) coder. A lot of people doing contract work HATE these things:
a. Here are project specs, they have no relation to how databases are designed or how software is built, but do your best. PS, we're not going to use a ticketing system or code versioning to reference changes, just email me.
b. Refactor? No, no money or time for that. Just get this feature in.
c. Idea? No, can't trust you. Code review before push? We don't do that, so you are dangerous.
I think (and hope) we do a better job than most here and it makes us sticky.
7. Picky. We are fairly picky when it comes to enjoying working with a fellow contractor or full time person. If they have the chops but there's not a click, we pass. Seriously. Even when there's a pressing technical need. This makes for a nice group with less of the usual software pain. People tend to take a project, then another, then kind of keep taking them as can while mixing in that $100/hr, 5 hour project when it comes along.
Too much... stuff. Lots of small buttons IN ALL CAPS. Irritating UI "helpfulness" like (just one example) overriding right-click on article titles, so you have to right-click, aim pointer, left-click to open the original in a new tab.
The showstopper for me is the lack of infinite scrolling, although only today (after using NewsBlur for several months!) did I realize it's apparently intentionally crippled so I'd go upgrade to the premium version.
Think that's it. I just looked at Yoleo Reader (https://yoleoreader.com/) and realized that the clean look of that is exactly what I want/need, and what I miss with NewsBlur.
I got a premium NewsBlur account primarily because it was the only non-google reader with good keyboard support. And I kind of like the attempt to add social and commenting features.
But I might move away if I can get a cleaner UI with full google reader-style keyboard support.
This problem could be solved with a 'minimal' skin, perhaps?
It's not, and that's a good point. But it sounds more logical to me. Could you give some reasons why people with 'mental illness' would gravitate towards centers?
(mind, I'm asking this with the assumption that mental illness is much broader than just homeless schizophrenics, so to speak. I can definitely see why they might gravitate towards heavily populate areas. But they usually don't pay rent.)
Yes, homeless moving to centers where it's easier to find shelter and people to give you money while begging were my first example; of course 'the homeless' includes many subgroups like the schizophrenics who don't have the mental ability to live a 'stable' life, over the alcoholics and drug addicts whose sanity is affected by chemicals, to people who are just down on their luck (usually combination of illness, no job, no family, etc.)
But other drivers might be that certain demographics are more prone to living in cities as well as developing mental problems: immigrants who are under a lot of stress because of having to adapt to a new language and environment; people in high-pressure jobs like lawyers and people in finance; criminals; etc. (being a criminal is very stressful and most non-psychopath criminals who have been living such a lifestyle for several years or more develop stress-related physical (ulcers, ...) and mental problems because of it, potentially on top of the mental problems they had before).
Or maybe people with mental problems find it easier to be anonymous in a city, where they don't have to (or at least less) deal with the social pressures that outsiders in small communities are under.
Furthermore, while statistically there are more people with mental problems in cities, some classes of problems (like depression) happen more in more rural areas.
I'm not saying one or the other; we don't know. Every now and then there is a study in the popular press with a populist headline like 'cities cause mental problems', and it's also an idea that fits nicely with people's preconceptions about cities=bad, country life=good. The papers those articles are based on are not conclusive though, and the literature shows a much more nuanced image. I work in academia and peripherally work with social scientists who study cities and people living in studies, and they are much more uncertain about the health implications of cities. There are sometimes unexpected feedbacks in complex systems that can cause very unintuitive dynamics.
You can live in a nice one-room apartment in Berlin for about 390 euro a month, 15 mins away from the hip boroughs by great public transport, and 10 mins by bike. What's the price like in Paris (honest question)?
I can only speak for NYC having lived there. I paid $1100 for an apartment on Avenue C in the East Village. In Paris, for a comparable area, I'd be hard pressed to find the same space for less than €1000 per month in an area like say, Belleville. Having said that, in NYC, I was making about $60K. In Paris, I make about 30K€.
Wow. It's quite possible to make more than 60K in Berlin (in Euro's) while paying around 400-500 for an apartment. Crazy how much difference there is between cities.
Well, how much easier is it to 'connect' in other settings? Do you connect more significantly with colleagues? random people you meet at clubs, bars, or other types of social events?
I'd say the 'connection' problem is equally real outside of meetups, and more an issue of post-college life:
First, there is almost no institutional 'mingling' (outside of work anyways). Second, we stop having the massive amounts of free time that we used to have in school and/or college to goof around with others. And third, we have less energy and often more responsibilities in the bit of free time we have left.
Add to that perhaps a general increase in weariness, 'emotional scarring', and decrease in energy and decreased need for socializing (for some of us anyways), and the whole concept of 'connecting' with new people in a post-education, full-time work life (for you AND them) becomes a serious challenge...
Some of this has to do with solving the problem of the deluge of information I consume, through psychological 'intervention' as well as some way to store all this stuff and make it easy to filter and find the useful bits.
Some of it is journalling-related, and vaguely in the Quantified Self area.
A significant portion is about finding ways to actually use this amazing, powerful computer that I have in my pocket for things that actually, quantifiably, provably improve my life (and hopefully, eventually, that of others). This is mostly in the direction of autism-related issues, anxiety, maintaining social connections, and so on. Applying the (relatively) well-supported lessons from psychology to the bafflingly advanced technology that is part of my daily life, and that of most people around me.
Mostly it's a vanity project though, that I can currently afford indulging in. I figure that after years of working and making money off building stuff I don't care about much, it's time to let my more creative side express itself in ways that might prove useful somehow. I'm not an painter, or a musician, or a poet, but I can code, I love to code (when it's on my own terms), and I'm still amazed that for less than five bucks I can have a server running that does whatever I want it to do, and as a 'full-stack developer', that's quite a lot!
Part of me wants to work on things that are more directly beneficial to others, but 1) I have enough 'runway' to do that too, eventually, and 2) I've grown weary of always trying to make sure that what I do is 'useful' by some measure that doesn't quite feel like it originates from within. Many of the best things I've done started out as scratches to personal itches, so perhaps it's okay to 'indulge' for now.