I wouldn’t consider it a “hack”, but I’m always baffled by the number of people who don’t use any kind of content blocker on the web, then complain about full-page ads, pop-ups, and autoplay videos. It’s like going to a cheap motel with a lady of the night without bringing condoms.
i used to just use like browser extensions and stuff and now have a pi hole setup for my home network, and its game changing. Even mobile apps are now ad free. Its awesome.
Pi Hole couldn’t block YouTube ads last time I tried it, which is one of the main things I want to have adblock for. So I went back to ublock origin.
a combo is definitely best. Pihole gets stuff the extensions dont and the extensions get stuff pihole doesnt. Together they block 99% of unwanted bs. Pihole can even block malware and telemetry if u configure it to.
That content blocker’s name
– Ublock Origin
I work on peoples’ PCs at work (regular people and not business IT), and one thing that I do for every PC I work on is add uBlock Origin Lite to Chrome and uBlock Origin on other browsers no matter what. As 8 or 9 times out of 10 the shit that caused someone to bring in their PC for cleaning are actually full-screen scam messages and scummy ads on sites or from emails. The only times I ever randomly get someone that is upset about the blockers being installed are from either the pickup person not showing them how to use them. Or I get a random person that actually uses those “news” start pages like MSN, Yahoo, AOL, etc. not understanding that the blank slides in the main slideshow are not actual articles and are ads.
Working in IT.
Tell the truth.
We will get lied to straight to our face and when proven they are lying they double down and get annoyed.
We don’t care that you spilt coffee on your keyboard, we just need to know it happened so we can get you a new one.
- Continuing study after school. Whether its science, political theory, or anything, a lot of people stop reading or studying anything after college / school.
- Doing something creative as an outlet (music, art, knitting, anything). A lot of people are just consumption machines nowadays, mostly consuming things other people have made, rather than creating something.
- Physical exercise.
- Having explicit long-term goals and working towards them.
Having time for all that would be nice.
None of those things needs a big time requirement. You could work out for 5 minute a day if you want, study for 5 minutes, and do something creative for 5 minutes.
Most people don’t prioritize vitally important things like self study.
I agree, but putting the time to make space and pull out study material has to have the value of learning enough. I do actually study regularly, but we can’t pretend it doesn’t require significant energy and dedication to produce a result.
Yeah this screams privilege lol
I would agree, except for the continue studying. Everyone has at least 20 minutes of downtime that they could put towards learning a new concept every day
everyone has at least 20 minutes […] every day.
No.
A lot of people do, but a lot of people don’t.
They may have months without any time surplus. And then maybe some months where they do have a significant time surplus.
But never assume everyone has the same time to dedicate to things.
My mom is currently working 50h weeks and I’m sure that’s on the lower end for some people. I’d prefer her to focus on not getting burnout so she is able to survive a bit longer, and that means she physically can’t.
No.
Yes.
Everyone has the time, not everyone has the priorities (this isn’t a dig, it’s a reference to some inspirational speech I heard in high school). 50 hour work week and 56 hours of sleep leaves 62 hours in the week. Probably another 12 hours split across 7 days for cooking, eating, etc. which leaves 50 hours to recover, study, exercise, or do whatever she pleases.
She values using those 50 hours to recover from the 50 working hours more than learning a new concept. That’s not invalid or wrong in any way, everyone has their priorities and values and they’re allowed to do whatever they want with their time.
That being said, everyone has the time they just might not have the mental space. But increasing your human capital by learning something new is often a great way of reducing stress. Learn to handle something in a new way, learn a little about financial theory, learn something that helps you at work. The best weapon you have against the injustice of daily life is knowledge. If you have the mental space, find the time to learn something
ETA: Coming from the perspective of a full time student who spends 6+ hours daily searching for a job because I’ve been down on my luck since quitting a year ago. I grew up poor and watched my mom work full time, put herself through school, raise three kids, and continues to fight every day for the right to live; I know the struggle you’re going through right now. Spend your time better than I did.
Careful, you’re going to get priviledge checked by the g*mer who thinks reading books and exercise is something only rich ppl have time to do.
Dude it’s not a dig lmao
You just have some privileges that allow you to have more free time. If I was you I probably wouldn’t do anything differently
As someone with both ASD and ADHD, I’m practically allergic to not learning. Blows my mind that most people aren’t the same in some regard.
Same. I don’t own any subscriptions except for YouTube premium. There is an endless amount of educational content on there and it’s the only content I really watch.
Yeah, I also have premium. I’m a mathematician and it’s always great getting suggested all the new channels posting interesting videos.
As a programmer, same. Endless content on every programming concept, language, or niche that you can think of. Math videos often as well. Numberphile is one of my favorite math channels. They have a computer channel too.
Yeah, I am also a programmer. I’m nearing the end of a double degree in mathematics and computer science. Finding a new video at this point is honestly exciting because I’ve seen pretty much everything! (or so it feels)
Vote early. Almost every single area in the US has early voting at least 2 weeks before elections. People complain about long lines and lack of ballots on election day. You know what you get if you stumble into a polling place before that? A couple of bored poll workers in an otherwise empty building. You get your ballot, fill it out, and leave within 5 minutes. I seriously don’t understand why this isn’t used more.
People like to procrastinate
In Ohio you have to vote early at the county election board and last I checked it was only open regular business hours. For me that means 30 minute drive in, pay for parking, 30 minute drive home. Waiting until election day I can walk to my piling place in 10 minutes, wait in line for 30-45,then walk home in 10 minutes. For a lot of places it’s not as easy as voting on election day.
So I play guitar. I had a problem where I would sometimes drop my pick. Then, one day, I had an idea. I took some copper wire and attached it to a pick through a small hole I burned into it with a needle. I wrapped the wire around my finger. Now I physically cannot drop my pick.
By vectron’s creaky ankle that’s a great video!
Be careful where you drop your pick, by Vectron!
Using password managers. All of my friends and family refuse to use them but always complain about getting locked out of accounts due to forgetting login details. I leave them too it now.
That’s why you use the same username and password everywhere! Duh!
Oh yeah, i didnt even think to do that. Thats a great tip ;)
Mask. N95 or better. My wife and I never stopped, and she never gets sick despite being immunocompromised. I work in a place where illness is common due to the environment and I’ve been sick once in the last year, meanwhile all of my coworkers come in sick like twice a month. Apparently they’d rather be sick and miserable all the time than wear a mildly uncomfortable thing on their face.
Ok, but i have a question.
You want us to wear it all the time? Beacause i also use a mask when i use the metro or any other means of travel in which i share a communal space.
But being a social animal as we all r, wearing a mask all the time is a fast way to get ostracized.
I would like everyone to wear them until the pandemic is over, at least. After that we can reassess the situation, and preferably during flu season. To me it seems cruel to not mask for that seeing as it would greatly reduce the number of preventable flu deaths.
I think if all, or more realistically enough, of us were masking, that would eliminate the social stigma surrounding it. Personally, I don’t receive much pushback about my mask aside from the occasional staring anyways. What’s far more ostracizing to her, I, and several other people I know, is the fact that all of the social gatherings and hobbies we used to participate in are no longer accessible to us because not a single one is taking any acceptable precautions. In fact, I can think of exactly two social events I wanted to participate in this year that still “required” masks, and neither actually enforced the rule. This is sadly not a new problem for disabled people either. Many, if not most, are alienated from society and forced away from any participation in social activities due to a blatant disregard towards making those activities actually accessible to them. I cannot stress enough how painful this is for those people on the receiving end of this ableism. So, frankly, I have little sympathy for those who fear ostracism from choosing to wear a mask. If they really care about people being ostracized, they should do what they can to make their social circles safe for everyone, not just those without disabilities.
Getting sick occasionally is good for your immune system if you do not have a condition like your wife.
Key word being occasionally, and also not with a disease that causes serious health complications, cognitive decline, and that itself damages your immune system.
COVID linked to 65% of new onset cognitive impairment, dementia
Every COVID Infection Increases Your Risk of Long COVID, Study Warns
SARS-CoV-2 infection weakens immune-cell response to vaccination
Yes, Everyone Really Is Sick a Lot More Often After Covid
Cognitive performance of post-covid patients in mild, moderate, and severe clinical situations
Being outside is good for your immune system. Being near other people is unnecessary.
Don’t we need viruses to build resistance?
Exposure to one virus rarely leads to a resistance to another one. That’s why they have a new flu vaccine every year even though they’re all closely related. Cow pox immunizating against small pox was a fluke
It’s more about being exposed to everyday bacteria, pollen, and hot/cold cycling that gives your immune system exercise.
I was much more susceptible to sickness after wearing a mask for years on end during Covid.
Where did you live? I always wore a mask around other people, but I also live in a rural area, so I didn’t need to wear a mask for that many hours comparatively.
Also in a more rural area. After Covid was over I got pretty sick 4-5 times from just normal colds. What used to be a slight headache had me bedridden. This happened a few times but gradually improved.
Now years later my immune system is back up and running again.
The level of sick for which this is true is below the threshold of what we normally call “getting sick”. You’re always fighting off something. That’s what’s good for you. Not the getting overwhelmed and having to stay in bed amount.
Covid is a retrovirus. It destroys your immune system.
Cancel subscriptions when you sign up, fuck auto renewals and save some money if there’s a gap before the next time you need or use the service, and gives you a chance to consider if it’s worth the money or ethical concerns when manually renewing subs.
Years ago, a family member (who was on my mobile phone family account) was getting charged monthly for some mobile game. I would point it out every month, and they were like “Yeah…I need to cancel that…”
It took over a year for them to get around to canceling it.
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Email management. Like at all. Set up filters and use the archive. There is a key to do that. And holy fuck 2432 unread emails? You should be ashamed of yourself
I am ashamed.
I had 6000 ish, recently went through and started unsubscribing and deleting. Got it down to 1200
i don’t use my fingertips on public. door knobs, rails, etc. i use knuckles or fist or elbow or whatever. my finger tips are not for public use. started during covid, never got covid. barely ever get sick.
Long sleeve shirts ftw!
Palms ftw
I saw a similar thread on Reddit about 12 years ago and one of the suggestions near the bottom that didn’t have any comments on it is something I’ve incorporated into my daily life and it has made a huge difference: Adjust your car mirrors so you have no blind spots.
Most people have their side mirrors adjusted where they can see a portion of their own car in the mirror. This leaves you with large blind spots. To adjust them where you have no blind spots, sit in the driver’s seat and lean your head over to the left as far as you can (basically putting your head on the window), then adjust the driver’s side mirror to where you can just barely see your car in it. Then lean your head over to the passenger side about the same amount and adjust that mirror.
When adjusted properly if you can see a car in your rearview mirror, you shouldn’t be able to see that car in your side mirrors, but as soon as a car is no longer visible in the rearview mirror it should be visible in one of your side mirrors. Then when it is no longer visible in your side mirror it should be in your peripheral vision.
It takes some getting used to, but once dialed in and you’re used to it then it makes changing lanes a breeze. It also helps at night if someone behind you has bright lights because you’ll only see them in one mirror instead of all 3.
I learned this on cracked.com! I don’t remember how long ago it was, but I wonder if they had a similar source.
I’m not sure if I saw it in the same place, but I saw the same recommendation long ago and have stuck with it ever since.
I don’t rely on it for changing lanes though. It absolutely helps situational awareness, but I always turn and look.
Honestly I didn’t find this online but I’ve always done it this way. I’m happy to learn others think the same.
Using an ad blocker
the internet is insufferable without it, and many people (including some IT people) seem to not even mind it. it blows my mind.
Even with an ad blocker it’s insufferable though. Every time a page ask me to sign up for their stupid newsletter I want to punch a hole in my screen.
ublock origin has a few lists named “annoyances” or something that arent enabled by default.
enabling them gets rid of almost all of the popups and i cant live without it anymore.
this includes cookie nags and all the miscellaneous stuff they throw at you.
I don’t use an ad blocker. I do mind ads but I also want to adhere to the social contact: I subject myself to ads for the free content.
we pay with our data already
Middle clicking links to open in a new tab
Using chip clips when you can tuck one side of the bag in and roll the other down.
You can also hold Control and left click to do the same. Then just Control+Tab to cycle through your tabs.
Buying another box, bag, etc. of soap, toilet paper, tooth paste and whatever long lasting product before it runs out. It doesn’t expire (fast), therefore I always have a second, full bag as a buffer, and as soon as I have to open the second one, I put it on the shopping list so there is always a buffer bag and I don’t get annoyed if I still forget to buy one or it’s out of stock.
It’s been years since I had to use some weird substitute for toilet paper.
It’s the old prepper adage: two is one, one is none.
But three is two, and two is one, with one is none, then I need to buy four more. But wait there’s more; because five is four!
Interesting, I know this one with beer.
Use https://fallingfruit.org/ to get free, fresh food. Maybe once a week ill hit up the fruit trees and get a huge amount of free citrus, mangoes, almonds, loquats and fresh herbs (lemongrass, rosemary and lavendar mostly). There is also a ridiculous amount of olive trees on public land in my city, if I had the time and inclination to brine them properly I could probably make 20kg a week during the fruiting season. But I could never use or even give away that much olive.
I havent paid for limes, lemons, oranges or mandarins in years and I consume at least a couple kilos a week.
Near me it only shows dumpsters of supermarkets. Great initiative though
