Please share! This is something I've always wanted to explore.
2,731 karma · joined May 4, 2020
I think I might go back to Safari. I like the way it looks and it feels snappier all the way around.
https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/a-theory-of-zoom-...
But in general this is how I've always learned. And some of my best teachers and mentors over the years have been laser focused on what not to do. This really resonates with me, though I find most people aren't built this way. It comes across as a "negative" mindset.
As I sit in a crowded coffee shop at a shared table, with three people who are on meetings and talking away about sensitive things. Right next to one another! Along the wall there are two people chatting on their phones to family, one of them on speaker.
People don't care, they don't have manners.
I have tinnitus and so my sensitivity might be lower than the average person. Other sounds that cause me pain and distress:
1. Movie theaters these days. Why are they so goddamn loud? I can't tell if it's the sound design of the movie, or if the volume is way up in the theater. If I don't wear earplugs, my ears will be in pain and ringing for days.
2. My refrigerator that has developed an obnoxious electric whine. I can hear it from across the house. It is currently being replaced, and I am spending an absurd amount of money on a quiet refrigerator.
3. A commercial carpet cleaning vacuum running for hours at a time down the block. Again with the high-pitched sound and I can hear it from a mile away. And it's always in the mornings when I am trying to read.
4. Ceramic dishware clashing together. This too causes pain. When I do the dishes, I am mindful of the loud sounds made when stacking plates and bowls, so I stack carefully. When family does the dishes, they create a soundscape from hell. It is like their hands are not connected to their brains and they've never put anything down gently in their entire lives.
5. Industrial electrical boxes. I parked on a top floor of a local parking garage the other day, and I noticed 4-6 very large electrical boxes mounted along one of the walls. The sound coming from these boxes was so loud, so sharp to my ears, I had to get back in the car right away and drive out. It only took a few moments of exposure and my ears were ringing and my head was splitting for hours.
I know I must seem insane, but I don't care. I will go out of my way to create quiet spaces, to preserve the silence, to avoid noise that causes distress, because sometimes it takes days for me to recover. And having to battle this stuff constantly just makes me angry and annoyed, and I don't like that.
I've had numerous ear and hearing exams and in addition to the tinnitus, I'm told I have severe "hyperacusis."
Whatever else the Energy Crisis may mean, one thing is certain, prices of everything will continue to rise. When the economy is berserk the sane citizen will participate minimally. For city dwellers this is the best book on acquiring that skill. Living Poor and Living with Style are far from a contradiction in terms both consist of a loving (slightly detached) attention to detail. Here are 600 pages of intelligent detail for $1.95."
A 20% service fee that is marketed as a "wellness" fee.
A new ZFP surcharge that they market as a "donation."
A credit card processing fee.
Plus taxes.
Plus asking for a tip that is of course defaulted to the highest amount.
I did not choose to do business with ZFP and it is certainly not a "donation" because it is added by default to the bill when you pay. At this point I have no shame about asking someone behind the counter to remove these extra fees.
For the most part, we have started to avoid bushiness that tack on all of these extra charges.
https://medium.com/signal-v-noise/ive-never-had-a-goal-c8921...
Here's Neil Postman on using technology to solve problems that no one has, linked to start at 20:03:
If you're in the market for buy-it-for-life solid wood furniture:
https://vermontwoodsstudios.com/
https://hedgehousefurniture.com
https://www.57thstreetbookcase.com/ (all bookcases, some veneer and plywood)
https://www.spekeklein.com/home
https://roomandboard.com (mix of solid and veneer, some MDF)
These makers are in a league of their own, very expensive, incredibly beautiful hand-made pieces:
https://www.sammaloofwoodworker.com
https://www.thosmoser.com (highly recommended)
https://nakashimawoodworkers.com (new commissions around $7K-$15K for a coffee table, $20K-40K for dining table, plus shipping; older Nakashima pieces are highly valued in the art world and sell anywhere between $15K-$300K)
https://www.wright20.com/search/nakashima/items#past
I used to own a lot of IKEA furniture and as I've gotten older, have slowly replaced those pieces with items from Knoll, with custom pieces from local woodworkers, with a few pieces from the studios listed above. Yes, they're expensive.
But if you like art and design and you care about quality, you save for what you want to buy. I wanted to be surrounded by great craftsmanship, so instead of buying "stuff" and instead of spending money on lots of subscriptions and services, or constantly upgrading phones and computers, I buy one piece of nice furniture every year. I believe the more you appreciate the things around you, the more they begin to influence your own work, and your sense of place.
I regularly see a lot of IKEA furniture on the side of the road and in dumpsters. I think this is the difference between buying "things" and having "possessions" but that's a discussion for another day.
PS: Find a local woodworker, they'll build what you want and it'll be better than anything you can buy at the store.
If you're more interested in the fire side, you can get on an engine. You'll respond to structure fires, car accidents, lightning strikes, and all sorts of well-being checks for people who just need help getting up off the floor.
If you're interested in medical stuff, you can get on an ambulance. You'll run 911 calls and get some real exposure to the human condition. It's a great way to learn about pre-hospital and emergency department care. It's also a great way to get a reality check on how the US healthcare system works, and how it helps or hinders the people who need care the most.
In many parts of the country fire and EMS are part of the same service and system, so you'll get exposure to a little bit of everything. I'd highly recommend fire and EMS as an alternative career path for anyone who is looking for something different, other than tech.
They keep all information close to the chest right up until the very last moment. Then they'll drop it on the team before a meeting (because sharing documents earlier creates confusion, apparently) and then they'll dominate the whole meeting, never letting anyone get a word in.
It's always someone else's fault for not knowing something, or not being prepared ahead a feature release or client implementation or project launch. It's always someone else's poor performance or lack of effort, which is why they have to compensate so much, why is why the have to do everything to make sure it's done "properly" according to their standards, which is why they are always so, so busy.
The only people who can address your obvious incompetence are these two people, because you can't do it right, so they have to do it, and they'll tell you what they are doing when they are ready. And they'll make sure to tell the C-level team just how awesome they are, while making sure to trash talk everyone else around them.
These are the worst people I have ever worked with. They possess no conscientiousness whatsoever. My only recourse has been to directly roast them in public Slack channels with clear questioning that exposes their lack of thoughtfulness. I try to squash their incoherent babble with clear writing and common sense communication. This silences them briefly, but in those moments the rest of us can get a word in, can contribute to the work, can steer the discussion, and we start to make small steps forward.
Until they decide you're wrong, and the routine repeats.