My first computer was a ZX81 - in 1982 - which, with my brother, I built from a kit and was astonished when it actually worked. We eventually added the 16k ram pack too: how could anyone possibly use all that?!
First phone. I think it was a Nokia 5110 or similar in 2000.
Biggest one for me was swapping from setting the alarm as late as possible and then rushing to get out of the house, to setting it an hour earlier and using that to read, do a little qi gong and have a leisurely breakfast.
Yes, definitely. Why you are doing it makes all the difference.
There is - in my experience - a good deal of how you - and the organisation in general - do it too, and that accounts for much of the cultural difference. Charities tend to treat staff (and volunteers - since so many depend on vols) as people rather that resources much more, although there is also a tendency for the cause to outweigh everything, which can lead to staff, particularly, being expected to commit totally around the clock, and sidelined if they don’t. I have only encountered a few organisations that do this to a problematic extent really though.
I did in my late 20s after working in IT. I didn’t know what I wanted and wasn’t planning on non-profit or anything as such, but jumped ship, did a range of random things before spending some time volunteering (at something that was not in any way IT related)- which was the critical thing. That put me in a spot to A) show some commitment and B) get some training as it was offered. A paid post followed in due course after that.
That is a very simplified version, but volunteering was definitely the critical element for me.
Since then, I met plenty of other people who made the jump. Some simply moved with their existing skills to an equivalent role in a charity - and there are plenty that need project management skills - whilst others have taken the same route as me and spent some time volunteering.
Volunteering means you don’t get paid for some time, of course, so you have to either live off savings and/or find a live-in role and/or work part-time or something and you probably need to downsize one way or another, but people find a way and make it work.
Of course once you are in a role with your chosen cause, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be away from being overworked, stressed and given more and more responsibility. It is a trope that working for a charity means that you don’t do it for the money and you work waaay longer than the official hours say.
Certainly my role at the moment, with a large charity, is the most demanding I have ever had and there is basically nothing left at the end of the month for savings: I am just keeping afloat. For all that though, there is no way at all that I would go back to a for-profit role, and I have never looked back for a moment. The culture is totally different and leagues better.
My main requirement is that it has to be available on my heavily locked down work phone and work laptop as well as my home ones. If it isnt in my face whenever I look at a screen, it isnt going to work. So it ends up being Google tasks.
Not a developer, but I will always use 2 monitors when I can - using the secondary for Outlook: inbox on one side, calendar on the other. I will also swivel this for showing presentations/plans/documents to members of my team in face to face meetings, and will move Zoom windows to in webinars etc it whilst I get on with some actual work on the main monitor.
I am - in the UK - and I think that it should be opt out rather than opt in.
I use Rainy Days for the radar, and - since I’m in the UK - the Met Office weather app, which has a Next Rain widget.
We have used ALS Testing in the past. More recently Latis Scientific. Both have been good, we swapped just because of some internal admin thing at one point.
In my case, I approached our usual plumbing contractor who have a couple of labs that they usually used. I now go directly to those labs.
I manage utility services - among other things - for a group of properties - and have had the mains water analysed for chemical and biological contamination at various times. The results have always been absolutely fine. Not just with EU limits, but far, far, far within them for almost everything and definitely well within them for all measures.
I’ve got no issues at all with drinking tap water in the UK, even given the state of the rivers etc.
Re-decorated their living rooms, fitted new kitchens, built patios and bbqs and so on.
We were the ones fitting the plexiglass etc.
I was considered an essential worker, along with a few colleagues.
There were three phases: going into it, being in it and coming out of it. During the first and and third of those there was new legislation and instructions coming in pretty much every day that needed to be interpreted and implemented and we had to do all of that. It was exhausting. And then everyone else came back from furlough and told us all about the DIY they had done and the books they had read and so on.
In the middle though: well, I work across a cluster of heritage and wildlife sites. There was a bare minimum of checks and maintenance that we were expected to do - pretty much alone - one at each site. Once that was done we went out and did patrols. They are some beautiful places and there were a few days when I completed the entire circuit of the site and saw absolutely no-one. Just me and the wildlife. That was excellent.
The last couple of weeks have been pretty full-on at work, but this week is fairly straightforward so far - and looks ok over the next few days too.
Had a good weekend as well: some gardening, repaired the microwave instead of having to chuck it out and get another - which I was pleased with - and got out for an enjoyably bucolic walk. Also played chess with my SO - which is the first time for years - and have agreed to play backgammon in the near future. I have only ever played that a couple of times before and it did not grab me then. Maybe my SO will convert me though.
The first I thought of was Dead Horse, Alaska. Permanent population 25 - 50, I understand.
I really can’t recall where I first heard of it though.
I have probably heard of a few other odd ones like this.
It is about dealing with damaged or diseased trees mostly, or just reducing the tops to make them safe and so on.
I spent my time climbing trees then hanging from them on ropes while playing with chainsaws. Very enjoyable and satisfying work, but extremely physical.
It depends how you want to count them. Does self-employed (artist), self-employed (IT consulant) & self-employed (tree surgeon) count ad one or three? Especially since all of those overlapped to some extent. And do promotions count?
However, looking at long-term, full-time roles only, then about 5 - most of which involved at least one internal promotion. Probably closer to 15 if you include all the odds and ends. I’m in my 50s and will probably be staying put now until I retire.
My brothers - quite a bit older than me - had one job (including promotions) in one case and two in the other.
Never touched Instagram. Deleted Facebook a decade or more back.
It’s difficult to tell how many there are around here overall. There are a scattering of pagan, witchcraft and occult communities, but pretty much no activity on any of them: I have made a few attempts.
But then every so often someone does post something on one of them and at least some of those posts get a significant number of up votes - but then no follow-up activity at all… so I don’t know who is up voting or what their background is.
Anyway, howdy back at ya.
At the point where you and the AI can see someone straightening their tie in a certain way and you and the AI can exchange a single wordless glance and you both burst out laughing 'cos it was just like that thing that you both saw 6 months ago and found hilarious then - then maybe.
Not before.