Akratic, I'd love to hear about your experiences with the local expats and how difficult/easy it is to befriend them and integrate into their society.
Also, one suggestion: next time the girlfriend says she doesn't approve of how you spend your time, say you don't approve of how she spends her time. I find that approach works approximately 21-23 days out of the month (and absolutely not for the other days of the month)
akratic's ERE journal
"One ERE related observation is that I've noticed some pushback from my girlfriend when I "waste" a day. An example day might consist of crossfit in the morning, meals with my girlfriend, lots of internet browsing and video game playing, and say 30 minutes of Spanish learning. In my girlfriend's eyes it's somehow not cool to spend a day like this, but I don't see the problem with it. I could be doing more useful stuff, but I don't see that I really need to. It's not a major problem though, more just like a difference of opinion or perspective I guess."
I'm kind of scared about this myself... I've had girlfriends in the past that made me feel lousy about being leisurely. Then the outcome was changed by the observation. I couldn't just do what I wanted, I had to worry about how they would react. It would poison the bursts of output I normally got between periods of leisure.
I worry that no matter how much I get a partner who accepts my ERE that they won't be able to overcome their per-conceived notion that anybody who doesn't work a full time job is without value... The guy who does some detrimental full time job and spends more than he earns is some kind of puritan hero. Meanwhile I'm a louse for finding a way out.
IDK, just rambling, not trying to derail. Anyway, I hope you come to a good conclusion on this.
I'm kind of scared about this myself... I've had girlfriends in the past that made me feel lousy about being leisurely. Then the outcome was changed by the observation. I couldn't just do what I wanted, I had to worry about how they would react. It would poison the bursts of output I normally got between periods of leisure.
I worry that no matter how much I get a partner who accepts my ERE that they won't be able to overcome their per-conceived notion that anybody who doesn't work a full time job is without value... The guy who does some detrimental full time job and spends more than he earns is some kind of puritan hero. Meanwhile I'm a louse for finding a way out.
IDK, just rambling, not trying to derail. Anyway, I hope you come to a good conclusion on this.
-
George the original one
- Posts: 5406
- Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
- Location: Wettest corner of Orygun
> I think the real waste would be to force yourself
> to do something you don't want to do just because
> it will make you "feel productive".
Agree. My comment was aimed more at how to incorporate the present opportunities for entertainment rather than productive-ness. For instance, assuming that learning Spanish is a desireable end, then turning up the wick a bit would seem to be warranted due to the timeline, but if you're finding it a chore, then just cut it out of the routine.
> to do something you don't want to do just because
> it will make you "feel productive".
Agree. My comment was aimed more at how to incorporate the present opportunities for entertainment rather than productive-ness. For instance, assuming that learning Spanish is a desireable end, then turning up the wick a bit would seem to be warranted due to the timeline, but if you're finding it a chore, then just cut it out of the routine.
I make myself feel lousy for leisurely days, so I guess I can see where you're girlfriend's coming from. If you really enjoy days of crossfit/videogames then you might as well take advantage of that 
.
Maybe your girlfriend feels like she's doing an unfair share of the work (regardless of how you share expenses, it could feel this way if she just sees you lying around all day). You could put in an hour per day on your flash game (presumably something you hope to monetize eventually), at a time when the effort would be most visible...
.Maybe your girlfriend feels like she's doing an unfair share of the work (regardless of how you share expenses, it could feel this way if she just sees you lying around all day). You could put in an hour per day on your flash game (presumably something you hope to monetize eventually), at a time when the effort would be most visible...
Honestly, going to Crossfit 4-5 times per week is an accomplishment in and of itself. You've only been there 3 months, right? When you add a freelance iPad app in there, that's more than most people accomplish in a year (pushing paper in an office).
Either way though, I can relate. I'm not FI, but my SO does see me lounging around a lot, reading, listening to podcasts, but that's usually after a short, but intense coding session. I've found that the source of the friction is actually me being around the apartment too much. I've been making an effort to get out and work in coffee shops, so she has some time alone in the apartment. It's easier said than done because I'm definitely more comfortable in my own space when working. In college, I literally never studied in the library. I like to be able to take power naps, make tea, randomly do some pushups without witnesses, etc.
Either way though, I can relate. I'm not FI, but my SO does see me lounging around a lot, reading, listening to podcasts, but that's usually after a short, but intense coding session. I've found that the source of the friction is actually me being around the apartment too much. I've been making an effort to get out and work in coffee shops, so she has some time alone in the apartment. It's easier said than done because I'm definitely more comfortable in my own space when working. In college, I literally never studied in the library. I like to be able to take power naps, make tea, randomly do some pushups without witnesses, etc.
It would poison the bursts of output I normally got between periods of leisure.
This is the major concern for me too.
Suppose my girlfriend and I were to run a race like we live our lives. She would run the entire race at 8 minute miles, no more, no less. I would alternate between all-out sprinting and walking.
I used to beat myself up about the walking. My fascination with akrasia and my online nickname originated in trying to understand and remove all unproductive habits. But I'm starting to think recently that these periods of walking might be *necessary* for me to sprint.
My girlfriend never walks (or sprints?) so she doesn't understand it.
Also, one suggestion: next time the girlfriend says she doesn't approve of how you spend your time, say you don't approve of how she spends her time.
Actually she never stops running her 8 minute miles, like ever. It's weird. She'll spend entire days or weeks exercising/working/catching up with friends/volunteering with seemingly no need to browse the internet or watch TV or what have you. I don't get it. I don't think it's willpower. It's like a complete absence of desire/need to relax or waste time.
Is she implying that she wants a larger cash cushion for future expenses such as a child?
or
The lack of desire to learn the language signifies that you don't intend to stay?
Neither, she's knows we're fine financially, and we're leaving Ecuador in August. By the way, knowing that we'll leave in August is why learning Spanish isn't fun anymore: I'm already at the point where I can interact with like a waiter in Spanish, and I'll never get to the point where I can have a real conversation with someone before August, and we won't be living in a Spanish speaking place afterwards.
Anyway, basically she finds me lazing around all day to be "unattractive". She asks me to imagine what I'd think about a girlfriend that did nothing but watch reality TV and eat ice cream all day.
Maybe your girlfriend feels like she's doing an unfair share of the work
I think this is part of it, but I find it irrational. Basically my skillset is much more lucrative than hers, which enables me to get money without working nearly as hard. I agree it's unfair, but it's more like the universe's fault than anyone else's, and in my mind it doesn't mean I should do more than 50% of the housework. To be honest though I actually do less than 50% of the housework, mostly because I don't really notice/care if the apartment is messy or if there's dishes in the sink. I should step it up here and at least match her contribution.
Honestly, going to Crossfit 4-5 times per week is an accomplishment in and of itself. You've only been there 3 months, right? When you add a freelance iPad app in there, that's more than most people accomplish in a year (pushing paper in an office).
Amen, brother! Just adjusting to basics like doing laundry or buying groceries in a new country takes a lot of work too.
I've found that the source of the friction is actually me being around the apartment too much.
Yeah, I actually think you're right that getting out of the house would get me a surprising number of "points". A coffee shop wouldn't do though: I'm too introverted to get work done in such a stimulating environment. An empty library would work really well though.... I should look into that... although my gut tells me there isn't much available here.
I think the real waste would be to force yourself to do something you don't want to do just because it will make you "feel productive". Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.
This one's tricky. What I like to do is wait until I feel like being productive, then be (really) productive. This can involves long periods of waiting around for inspiration to strike though, and it's precisely this waiting around that my girlfriend doesn't understand. It's like in her head the unproductivity will last forever, despite strong evidence from the rest of my life that eventually I always get off my ass and do stuff. It just can't be forced.
Akratic, I'd love to hear about your experiences with the local expats and how difficult/easy it is to befriend them and integrate into their society.
I'm afraid my experience with this is going to tell you more about myself than about the expats, but here goes. There are two main expat communities here in Cuenca: ~50 twenty-something or early thirty year old english teachers, and on the order of 1000s of 55-90 year old gringos.
The teachers seemingly have more in common with me and are where I've spent most of my effort. The main problem is they are pretty much all Artisan/SP, live in the moment, adventure/experience seeker, partier types. Basically their idea of a good time is to get drunk. They're friendly and open people, and all I'd really need to do to become their friends is to drink with them, but I just can't do it. I get really bored/lonely at social events that revolve around alcohol. I attend the non-alcohol events like ultimate frisbee in the park every other week, or if there was a hiking trip I'd go -- but 90% of the socializing involves drinking, and that's just a bad fit for me.
Then there are thousands of old gringos here, and they have an open-invitation gringo meetup almost every night of the week at different restaurants or bars around town. The stereotype for the gringos is a complete lack of Spanish speaking ability, very little attempt to integrate into the local customs, and lots of money. For example the meetups will be at gringo restaurants with Italian food and $10+ entrees and $4+ drinks, when the locals and the savvy travelers normally eat dinner out for $3.50. The gringos typically live in houses in the suburbs and just come into town for events like this. My girlfriend and I attended a few of these meetups, but just had a hard time finding a good conversation or a person that we wanted to keep talking to. We probably met like 20+ old gringos, but didn't hit it off with any of them. On the coast of Ecuador we were friends with an old gringo couple that was really interesting, but we just haven't found any here in Cuenca.
The thing is I am incredibly introverted (not in the shy sense, but in the preference for time alone sense) so I have really high standards for socializing. I'd almost always rather be alone than with company, unless I can find a really fascinating conversation, or a competitive game with just the right mix of intensity/socializing. So I haven't made that much effort to integrate into either community.
This is the major concern for me too.
Suppose my girlfriend and I were to run a race like we live our lives. She would run the entire race at 8 minute miles, no more, no less. I would alternate between all-out sprinting and walking.
I used to beat myself up about the walking. My fascination with akrasia and my online nickname originated in trying to understand and remove all unproductive habits. But I'm starting to think recently that these periods of walking might be *necessary* for me to sprint.
My girlfriend never walks (or sprints?) so she doesn't understand it.
Also, one suggestion: next time the girlfriend says she doesn't approve of how you spend your time, say you don't approve of how she spends her time.
Actually she never stops running her 8 minute miles, like ever. It's weird. She'll spend entire days or weeks exercising/working/catching up with friends/volunteering with seemingly no need to browse the internet or watch TV or what have you. I don't get it. I don't think it's willpower. It's like a complete absence of desire/need to relax or waste time.
Is she implying that she wants a larger cash cushion for future expenses such as a child?
or
The lack of desire to learn the language signifies that you don't intend to stay?
Neither, she's knows we're fine financially, and we're leaving Ecuador in August. By the way, knowing that we'll leave in August is why learning Spanish isn't fun anymore: I'm already at the point where I can interact with like a waiter in Spanish, and I'll never get to the point where I can have a real conversation with someone before August, and we won't be living in a Spanish speaking place afterwards.
Anyway, basically she finds me lazing around all day to be "unattractive". She asks me to imagine what I'd think about a girlfriend that did nothing but watch reality TV and eat ice cream all day.
Maybe your girlfriend feels like she's doing an unfair share of the work
I think this is part of it, but I find it irrational. Basically my skillset is much more lucrative than hers, which enables me to get money without working nearly as hard. I agree it's unfair, but it's more like the universe's fault than anyone else's, and in my mind it doesn't mean I should do more than 50% of the housework. To be honest though I actually do less than 50% of the housework, mostly because I don't really notice/care if the apartment is messy or if there's dishes in the sink. I should step it up here and at least match her contribution.
Honestly, going to Crossfit 4-5 times per week is an accomplishment in and of itself. You've only been there 3 months, right? When you add a freelance iPad app in there, that's more than most people accomplish in a year (pushing paper in an office).
Amen, brother! Just adjusting to basics like doing laundry or buying groceries in a new country takes a lot of work too.
I've found that the source of the friction is actually me being around the apartment too much.
Yeah, I actually think you're right that getting out of the house would get me a surprising number of "points". A coffee shop wouldn't do though: I'm too introverted to get work done in such a stimulating environment. An empty library would work really well though.... I should look into that... although my gut tells me there isn't much available here.
I think the real waste would be to force yourself to do something you don't want to do just because it will make you "feel productive". Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.
This one's tricky. What I like to do is wait until I feel like being productive, then be (really) productive. This can involves long periods of waiting around for inspiration to strike though, and it's precisely this waiting around that my girlfriend doesn't understand. It's like in her head the unproductivity will last forever, despite strong evidence from the rest of my life that eventually I always get off my ass and do stuff. It just can't be forced.
Akratic, I'd love to hear about your experiences with the local expats and how difficult/easy it is to befriend them and integrate into their society.
I'm afraid my experience with this is going to tell you more about myself than about the expats, but here goes. There are two main expat communities here in Cuenca: ~50 twenty-something or early thirty year old english teachers, and on the order of 1000s of 55-90 year old gringos.
The teachers seemingly have more in common with me and are where I've spent most of my effort. The main problem is they are pretty much all Artisan/SP, live in the moment, adventure/experience seeker, partier types. Basically their idea of a good time is to get drunk. They're friendly and open people, and all I'd really need to do to become their friends is to drink with them, but I just can't do it. I get really bored/lonely at social events that revolve around alcohol. I attend the non-alcohol events like ultimate frisbee in the park every other week, or if there was a hiking trip I'd go -- but 90% of the socializing involves drinking, and that's just a bad fit for me.
Then there are thousands of old gringos here, and they have an open-invitation gringo meetup almost every night of the week at different restaurants or bars around town. The stereotype for the gringos is a complete lack of Spanish speaking ability, very little attempt to integrate into the local customs, and lots of money. For example the meetups will be at gringo restaurants with Italian food and $10+ entrees and $4+ drinks, when the locals and the savvy travelers normally eat dinner out for $3.50. The gringos typically live in houses in the suburbs and just come into town for events like this. My girlfriend and I attended a few of these meetups, but just had a hard time finding a good conversation or a person that we wanted to keep talking to. We probably met like 20+ old gringos, but didn't hit it off with any of them. On the coast of Ecuador we were friends with an old gringo couple that was really interesting, but we just haven't found any here in Cuenca.
The thing is I am incredibly introverted (not in the shy sense, but in the preference for time alone sense) so I have really high standards for socializing. I'd almost always rather be alone than with company, unless I can find a really fascinating conversation, or a competitive game with just the right mix of intensity/socializing. So I haven't made that much effort to integrate into either community.
@spoonman my friend found the apartment for us. He speaks fluent Spanish and had lived here for two years.
You can find some listings on gringotree.com gringopost.com or even craigslist, but anything in English targeting gringos is going to be overpriced.
The person I know with the best deal on an apartment found it in a local newspaper.
You can find some listings on gringotree.com gringopost.com or even craigslist, but anything in English targeting gringos is going to be overpriced.
The person I know with the best deal on an apartment found it in a local newspaper.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Not too much has happened the past couple of months.
I'm still doing CrossFit four times a week and some kind of activity on the weekend like hiking or ultimate frisbee. I've made major progress on my fitness and how I look, but I still have a long way to go.
Over the past few months I got some leisure out of my system by watching all five seasons of the Wire, all five seasons of Parks and Rec, and the last two seasons of The Office. I also played a bunch of League of Legends.
After all that leisure, I did buckle down to do some serious work. I taught myself flash and made a prototype tower defense game based on an idea I've always wanted to see implemented. Once I finished the prototype I showed it to my friend who is in the industry. I was pretty excited about the potential of working with this friend, because he and his partner specialize in the business, design, and artistic aspects of making games, which are exactly what I need to combine with my engineering skills. Unfortunately, my friend has been more successful than I realized, and now employs 21 engineers, artists, designers, etc. Basically it no longer makes sense for him to team up with someone like me and give up equity in the games he works on, when he can just pay salaries to his employees and keep 100% of the upside of his work.
I did learn a lot from the conversation with my friend though. I knew flash was a dying technology, but I didn't know what had replaced it outside of iOS / Android. He gave me the answer: Unity. So now I'm learning Unity, and it's been pretty fun. I'm making a puzzle game that should be demo-able in the next few weeks.
My girlfriend's online business continues to succeed. She's up to 16 regular clients that each have lessons 1-5 times a week. This is almost full-time work for her now, and she's saving a bunch of money here in Ecuador. The major challenge now is to grow this business beyond just her time. We're trying to subcontract out to friends we have here in Ecuador. They're native English speakers and make around $6/hr teaching here. We can charge the clients $20-25 and pay the teachers $12-15 and pretty much everyone wins. That's the theory at least, and I redesigned the website to support multiple teachers. So far though the subcontracted teachers haven't managed to land any paying clients, but it's probably just a matter of time. If this subcontracting thing works, it could potentially be pretty lucrative, as we have 10+ people lined up to work for her business, and there's really no limit to the number of people on the internet trying to learn English.
It turns out my girlfriend's income stream is much more robust than my Permanent Portfolio, which hasn't done so well. Because of PP losses, I've lost 2.25 net worth years, and my SWR changed from 2.61% -> 2.77%. (This is using my Chicago expense level, not my Ecuador one, which is about half as much, but not really relevant since I won't stay here.) I still like the philosophy of the PP though, and will wait a few years before re-evaluating. It's good that I had some buffer I guess, and if the numbers ever look terrible I can just get another job. I hadn't checked my net worth in over a month before I wrote this post, so I guess I'm doing a good job distancing myself from that.
Our plan is to leave Ecuador July 19th, spend the summer with our families in the US, and then fly to Hong Kong via Tokyo around September 6th. We'll probably spend a week in Tokyo, a month in Hong Kong, and then about a year in Thailand or Taiwan or something like that. We're trying to decide which city has the best combination of cost of living, internet quality, weather, people, food, and crossfit.
I'm still doing CrossFit four times a week and some kind of activity on the weekend like hiking or ultimate frisbee. I've made major progress on my fitness and how I look, but I still have a long way to go.
Over the past few months I got some leisure out of my system by watching all five seasons of the Wire, all five seasons of Parks and Rec, and the last two seasons of The Office. I also played a bunch of League of Legends.
After all that leisure, I did buckle down to do some serious work. I taught myself flash and made a prototype tower defense game based on an idea I've always wanted to see implemented. Once I finished the prototype I showed it to my friend who is in the industry. I was pretty excited about the potential of working with this friend, because he and his partner specialize in the business, design, and artistic aspects of making games, which are exactly what I need to combine with my engineering skills. Unfortunately, my friend has been more successful than I realized, and now employs 21 engineers, artists, designers, etc. Basically it no longer makes sense for him to team up with someone like me and give up equity in the games he works on, when he can just pay salaries to his employees and keep 100% of the upside of his work.
I did learn a lot from the conversation with my friend though. I knew flash was a dying technology, but I didn't know what had replaced it outside of iOS / Android. He gave me the answer: Unity. So now I'm learning Unity, and it's been pretty fun. I'm making a puzzle game that should be demo-able in the next few weeks.
My girlfriend's online business continues to succeed. She's up to 16 regular clients that each have lessons 1-5 times a week. This is almost full-time work for her now, and she's saving a bunch of money here in Ecuador. The major challenge now is to grow this business beyond just her time. We're trying to subcontract out to friends we have here in Ecuador. They're native English speakers and make around $6/hr teaching here. We can charge the clients $20-25 and pay the teachers $12-15 and pretty much everyone wins. That's the theory at least, and I redesigned the website to support multiple teachers. So far though the subcontracted teachers haven't managed to land any paying clients, but it's probably just a matter of time. If this subcontracting thing works, it could potentially be pretty lucrative, as we have 10+ people lined up to work for her business, and there's really no limit to the number of people on the internet trying to learn English.
It turns out my girlfriend's income stream is much more robust than my Permanent Portfolio, which hasn't done so well. Because of PP losses, I've lost 2.25 net worth years, and my SWR changed from 2.61% -> 2.77%. (This is using my Chicago expense level, not my Ecuador one, which is about half as much, but not really relevant since I won't stay here.) I still like the philosophy of the PP though, and will wait a few years before re-evaluating. It's good that I had some buffer I guess, and if the numbers ever look terrible I can just get another job. I hadn't checked my net worth in over a month before I wrote this post, so I guess I'm doing a good job distancing myself from that.
Our plan is to leave Ecuador July 19th, spend the summer with our families in the US, and then fly to Hong Kong via Tokyo around September 6th. We'll probably spend a week in Tokyo, a month in Hong Kong, and then about a year in Thailand or Taiwan or something like that. We're trying to decide which city has the best combination of cost of living, internet quality, weather, people, food, and crossfit.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Right on!Over the past few months I got some leisure out of my system by watching all five seasons of the Wire, all five seasons of Parks and Rec, and the last two seasons of The Office. I also played a bunch of League of Legends.
I visited Tokyo 10 years ago and loved it. I stayed there with an uncle of mine, so I wasn't paying much attention to costs. It'll be interesting to hear your assessment of Tokyo as viable ERE city (I'm guessing life must be cheaper in the outskirts of the city).
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Here are some money saving tips if you are going to visit or live in Japan:
Good sushi / sashimi is sold in grocery stores. If the grocery store is not a 24 hour operation they almsot never keep it overnight to sell in the morning. The grocery store I shopped at (Jusco) would mark down the price of sushi , constantly in the last couple of hours of operation in order to get it all out the door. Sometimes I would walk out with a huge platter of tuna, salmon and other stuff for like $500 yen (about $5 USD/CDN). The longer you wait the less selection but the better the price.
Ramen is japanese fast food, it is usually cheap, tasty and quick.
Avoid any restaurant that doesn't advertise prices, it will be expensive but probably good too.
Don't ever take a cab if possible. For transportation biking is great but if you need to go longer distances the surface train is a better price then the subway. The cabs are ridiculously expensive and I rarely ever used them.
Don't leave a tip anywhere in Japan, it is against their customs even if you mean well.
All you can eat is called Tabe Hodai (Tah-Beh-Hoe-Dai) and there are defiantly some great all you can eat Korean BBQ places with great prices and food around Tokyo.
Even better is all you can drink, you couldn't do this in Canada and make money. It's called Nomihodai (Noh-mee-hoe-dai) and is awesome. I couldn't believe it when I was offered this, as much beer as I could drink in a 2 hour period for a flat rate.
The police in Japan can put you in jail and hold your without charge for a long time. Don't piss them off, they are generally harmless but I have heard horror stories. Generally Japanese people are extremely friendly to foreigners and will likely want to practice their English on you. Often they will buy you food and/or drinks as a friendly gesture.
English is spoken widely in the major cities so you shouldn't have to much of a problem communicating in Tokyo.
Good sushi / sashimi is sold in grocery stores. If the grocery store is not a 24 hour operation they almsot never keep it overnight to sell in the morning. The grocery store I shopped at (Jusco) would mark down the price of sushi , constantly in the last couple of hours of operation in order to get it all out the door. Sometimes I would walk out with a huge platter of tuna, salmon and other stuff for like $500 yen (about $5 USD/CDN). The longer you wait the less selection but the better the price.
Ramen is japanese fast food, it is usually cheap, tasty and quick.
Avoid any restaurant that doesn't advertise prices, it will be expensive but probably good too.
Don't ever take a cab if possible. For transportation biking is great but if you need to go longer distances the surface train is a better price then the subway. The cabs are ridiculously expensive and I rarely ever used them.
Don't leave a tip anywhere in Japan, it is against their customs even if you mean well.
All you can eat is called Tabe Hodai (Tah-Beh-Hoe-Dai) and there are defiantly some great all you can eat Korean BBQ places with great prices and food around Tokyo.
Even better is all you can drink, you couldn't do this in Canada and make money. It's called Nomihodai (Noh-mee-hoe-dai) and is awesome. I couldn't believe it when I was offered this, as much beer as I could drink in a 2 hour period for a flat rate.
The police in Japan can put you in jail and hold your without charge for a long time. Don't piss them off, they are generally harmless but I have heard horror stories. Generally Japanese people are extremely friendly to foreigners and will likely want to practice their English on you. Often they will buy you food and/or drinks as a friendly gesture.
English is spoken widely in the major cities so you shouldn't have to much of a problem communicating in Tokyo.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Second sushi from grocery stores in Japan - superior to what you get in most restaurants in the US, large size, and relatively cheap.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
@above: Thank you guys very much for the tips about Asia. I'll definitely use the supermarket sushi one! If anyone knows how to stay in Thailand for a year without a bunch of red tape, paperwork, border crossings, visa runs etc., let me know! Considering I take money from elsewhere in the world and spend it wherever I am, you'd think they'd make it easier for me to stay.
I'm back in the United States now, Maine specifically. South America was nice, but I'm looking forward to going to Asia instead in September. The food and internet in Asia should be much, much better.
== work ==
Besides moving, I learned Unity and made a puzzle game: http://akratic.com/puzzle/
Give it a try and let me know your feedback, if you want. It may ask you to install Unity Web Player, which is like a modern version of Flash and is harmless.
The game isn't completed and there are two major problems that I already know:
- I haven't made a tutorial yet, and level 2 is way too hard. Here's a hint: trap the robot on the left, not the right
- The robot moves infuriatingly slowly. You can disable animations after clicking the options menu #/14 in the upper right
The puzzles get real hard towards the end -- like 15 minutes to solve, not one or two minutes. They're based on a Java app I played when I was a teenager. If anyone can get to level 14 I'll be impressed, and if anyone can beat level 14 I'll be really impressed!
Anyway I was going to clean this up and contact the original creator of the idea to talk about publishing it somewhere, but after finishing coding the demo, I dug into the business side of the industry, and I learned that this game will be hopelessly difficult to monetize. I learned about a game called Puzzle and Dragons which is currently making over $1 million / day, and I shit-you-not I could have coded it up single handedly, if only I had the idea. So now I'm working on a game more in that direction, and continuing to learn the non-engineering stuff.
== politics ==
I'm dispirited by the general reaction the NSA leaks. While reading about these developments in Ecuador, I really thought this was a major event, a turning point, perhaps even to be followed by a people's movement that would make Occupy etc seem insignificant.
Instead since arriving back in the States I've found out that people just plain don't care, or are ignoring the content of the leak to focus on the individual who did it etc., or don't know what's happened, or even think it's good what the government did and how they did it.
I've seriously heard more people talking about the Royal Baby than about this NSA stuff.
I don't want this to degenerate into a politics discussion here in my journal, as I never could see the point in arguing politics online. I just feel like things have gotten out of control with a government monotonically increasing in size and over extending itself etc., and no actual mechanism to reign things back in and fight through the lobbyists or two party system or bureaucrats etc. It's like the Collapse book by Jared Diamond, slowly playing out in front of us.
It might be that this event is less historically relevant as personally relevant, as the moment in time that I lost optimism that the system is going to get better.
At least my own affairs are in order, I guess.
== money ==
It looks like I'm going to unexpectedly inherit $75k from my great uncle's estate! I've always thought FI pursuers spend all this time worrying about things that could go wrong and mess up their calculations, like a medical problem or whatever, when things can unexpectedly go right as well...
Anyway, I don't need this money, but I've figured out a plan for it. First I'm going to replace into my FI fund the amount lost by the Permanent Portfolio recently. Then I'm going to set up a separate hobby fund, one that should throw off say $100/mo, that I'll spend without guilt on wants (while covering needs from the FI fund).
I suppose it's all the same in the end, whether the money is joined into one pile or two, but still I think it'll be good to be able to blow $100 a month without thinking much about it.
I'm back in the United States now, Maine specifically. South America was nice, but I'm looking forward to going to Asia instead in September. The food and internet in Asia should be much, much better.
== work ==
Besides moving, I learned Unity and made a puzzle game: http://akratic.com/puzzle/
Give it a try and let me know your feedback, if you want. It may ask you to install Unity Web Player, which is like a modern version of Flash and is harmless.
The game isn't completed and there are two major problems that I already know:
- I haven't made a tutorial yet, and level 2 is way too hard. Here's a hint: trap the robot on the left, not the right
- The robot moves infuriatingly slowly. You can disable animations after clicking the options menu #/14 in the upper right
The puzzles get real hard towards the end -- like 15 minutes to solve, not one or two minutes. They're based on a Java app I played when I was a teenager. If anyone can get to level 14 I'll be impressed, and if anyone can beat level 14 I'll be really impressed!
Anyway I was going to clean this up and contact the original creator of the idea to talk about publishing it somewhere, but after finishing coding the demo, I dug into the business side of the industry, and I learned that this game will be hopelessly difficult to monetize. I learned about a game called Puzzle and Dragons which is currently making over $1 million / day, and I shit-you-not I could have coded it up single handedly, if only I had the idea. So now I'm working on a game more in that direction, and continuing to learn the non-engineering stuff.
== politics ==
I'm dispirited by the general reaction the NSA leaks. While reading about these developments in Ecuador, I really thought this was a major event, a turning point, perhaps even to be followed by a people's movement that would make Occupy etc seem insignificant.
Instead since arriving back in the States I've found out that people just plain don't care, or are ignoring the content of the leak to focus on the individual who did it etc., or don't know what's happened, or even think it's good what the government did and how they did it.
I've seriously heard more people talking about the Royal Baby than about this NSA stuff.
I don't want this to degenerate into a politics discussion here in my journal, as I never could see the point in arguing politics online. I just feel like things have gotten out of control with a government monotonically increasing in size and over extending itself etc., and no actual mechanism to reign things back in and fight through the lobbyists or two party system or bureaucrats etc. It's like the Collapse book by Jared Diamond, slowly playing out in front of us.
It might be that this event is less historically relevant as personally relevant, as the moment in time that I lost optimism that the system is going to get better.
At least my own affairs are in order, I guess.
== money ==
It looks like I'm going to unexpectedly inherit $75k from my great uncle's estate! I've always thought FI pursuers spend all this time worrying about things that could go wrong and mess up their calculations, like a medical problem or whatever, when things can unexpectedly go right as well...
Anyway, I don't need this money, but I've figured out a plan for it. First I'm going to replace into my FI fund the amount lost by the Permanent Portfolio recently. Then I'm going to set up a separate hobby fund, one that should throw off say $100/mo, that I'll spend without guilt on wants (while covering needs from the FI fund).
I suppose it's all the same in the end, whether the money is joined into one pile or two, but still I think it'll be good to be able to blow $100 a month without thinking much about it.
-
My_Brain_Gets_Itchy
- Posts: 267
- Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 5:29 pm
Re: akratic's ERE journal
@akratic:
Welcome back to the Western world!
Love the look of the game. I got stuck on the second level, I couldn't find the exit
I had a little trouble moving my man and I was hoping my gun would blast the robot to pieces!
Welcome back to the Western world!
Love the look of the game. I got stuck on the second level, I couldn't find the exit
I had a little trouble moving my man and I was hoping my gun would blast the robot to pieces!Re: akratic's ERE journal
Amen.acratic wrote:I'm dispirited by the general reaction the NSA leaks. While reading about these developments in Ecuador, I really thought this was a major event, a turning point, perhaps even to be followed by a people's movement that would make Occupy etc seem insignificant.
When I talk to cow-orkers, it seems like folks just do not seem to care. I get few responses like "My life is boring, if they want to look at it, sure", or "I don't mind, this would further help catch the bad guys" etc. When I mention the possibility that with enough data collected, any pattern could be established, etc - I just see shoulder shrugs. There is a FBI saying "you can incriminate anyone, and to incriminate innocent, it just takes longer"
NSA and govt agencies must be shocked/elated by the lack of public response - power structure to stay in place and could possibly grow stronger!
A relevant Movie http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-lives-of-others
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Agreed about the NSA. We have former Presidents saying we have lost a functional democracy and no one seems to care. The closeness of the defunding vote is something, but not nearly enough, and who knows if it would do any good anyhow.
I remember watching The Piano, where they didn't leave despite all the signs. That is who I don't want to be. In denial of the reality of the horror of the situation. We basically would have more rights to not be murdered by a drone as a European citizen than and American one, certainly for any time outside of the country but that distinction will soon leave with the proliferation of domestic drones. We have no rights when it comes to this country any more.
I remember watching The Piano, where they didn't leave despite all the signs. That is who I don't want to be. In denial of the reality of the horror of the situation. We basically would have more rights to not be murdered by a drone as a European citizen than and American one, certainly for any time outside of the country but that distinction will soon leave with the proliferation of domestic drones. We have no rights when it comes to this country any more.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
That game was fun. I made it through them all. Definitely had to turn off the move animations to be able to play at a reasonable rate. 11 and 14 were the hardest for me. I thought the difficulty increased at a good rate, except for maybe going from 10 to 11.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
Congrats on your windfall and successful adventuring!
Derrick Jensen destroyed my optimism about civilization being at all sustainable.
Derrick Jensen destroyed my optimism about civilization being at all sustainable.
Re: akratic's ERE journal
@MBGI thanks, if I get to making a tutorial, I'll definitely include where the exit is in level two and more about movement
@mxlr650 & CS: yeah... I like how you said it: "we have lost a functional democracy and no one seems to care"
I suppose one side effect of all this galavanting around the globe is that I would be supremely well prepared to expatriate if it came to it. My girlfriend and I even tend to choose the destination retirement cities, as our travel style has more in common with the 70 year olds that want to stay in one place for years than with the 20 somethings who want to check the tourist checkboxes, attend a few parties, and move on.
As far as holding on for too long, that's one thing I probably don't need to worry about personally. On major life decisions I tend to change directions abruptly and with the full force of my being. Starting to pursue ERE, and quitting my job to travel are the two examples in this journal, but it's been the story throughout my life. I believe ERE and FI synergize well with this personality trait.
@C40 Wow, I'm impressed! Maybe you're some kind of puzzle genius. Most of my close friends are nerds from MIT (or similar) and they couldn't swing all fourteen levels. The designer of level fourteen remarked that it took him 1.5 hours to re-find the solution after he'd forgotten it.
@bigato yeah Unity Web Player is not compatible with Linux unfortunately.
I do have two options for Linux however:
1) go to http://akratic.com/puzzle/nacl/ in Chrome for Linux, that's a Chrome native build, although you need to make a tweak in Chrome to enable it, which should be explained on the page
2) download http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.zip and either http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.x86 or http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.x86_64 -- that's a Linux native build, extract the zip to the same directory and ./ the x86 or x86_64 file
@riprarian thanks, I added Derrick Jensen to the "to read" list
@mxlr650 & CS: yeah...
I like how you said it: "we have lost a functional democracy and no one seems to care"I suppose one side effect of all this galavanting around the globe is that I would be supremely well prepared to expatriate if it came to it. My girlfriend and I even tend to choose the destination retirement cities, as our travel style has more in common with the 70 year olds that want to stay in one place for years than with the 20 somethings who want to check the tourist checkboxes, attend a few parties, and move on.
As far as holding on for too long, that's one thing I probably don't need to worry about personally. On major life decisions I tend to change directions abruptly and with the full force of my being. Starting to pursue ERE, and quitting my job to travel are the two examples in this journal, but it's been the story throughout my life. I believe ERE and FI synergize well with this personality trait.
@C40 Wow, I'm impressed! Maybe you're some kind of puzzle genius. Most of my close friends are nerds from MIT (or similar) and they couldn't swing all fourteen levels. The designer of level fourteen remarked that it took him 1.5 hours to re-find the solution after he'd forgotten it.
@bigato yeah Unity Web Player is not compatible with Linux unfortunately.
I do have two options for Linux however:
1) go to http://akratic.com/puzzle/nacl/ in Chrome for Linux, that's a Chrome native build, although you need to make a tweak in Chrome to enable it, which should be explained on the page
2) download http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.zip and either http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.x86 or http://akratic.com/puzzle/steve.x86_64 -- that's a Linux native build, extract the zip to the same directory and ./ the x86 or x86_64 file
@riprarian thanks, I added Derrick Jensen to the "to read" list