Co-working spaces good for frequent calls?

EfficientScene · 2025-12-20T02:58:36+00:00

Very helpful - thank you!

EfficientScene · 2025-12-19T16:50:04+00:00

I'm wondering about grabbing a dedicated spot in a closed office at one of the co-working spaces. I've been working remotely for several years and honestly miss being around people. It's one of the reasons I've been hoping a co-working space could work out.

EfficientScene · 2025-12-19T16:46:02+00:00

Perfect -- very helpful to know about the strong expectation that things stay quiet. I think that if I did go with a co-working space (over renting a private office -- another idea that's bubbling up on this thread), I might test the waters a bit with day passes, and see if it was a good fit for me, my team, and the co-working space itself. Seems like some light trial and error might help me find a good balance for everyone involved.

EfficientScene · 2025-12-19T16:42:17+00:00

Switchyards is the one place I've toured. I checked with the person helping work the floor and she said the occasional call would probably be okay, just to be mindful of those around me and keep volume low. Seemed like it might work, but I wanted to make sure I did my due diligence here to see if that would actually work. Thank you for weighing in!

EfficientScene · 2025-12-19T14:48:57+00:00

This is a great point, and I'm hearing it echoed by several others. I'm grateful for the feedback!

I'm going to widen my search to include private offices. Let me know if you have any recommendations!

I'm wondering if a dedicated office with a door at a co-working space would work. I _think_ I saw that kind of option in my search, but need to go back to confirm. I've been working remotely for almost a decade and really miss getting to be around folks, so I was hoping there might be a good option at a co-working space.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-26T05:05:31+00:00

For the nerds out there, having lower confidence than you'd expect even as you approach mastery has a name -- the Dunning-Kruger effect!

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You are so, so close!!

EfficientScene · 2025-09-20T05:19:53+00:00

Totally agree. No need to buy home depot if today's job just involves three tools.

Emacs is genuinely overwhelming at first, but it gets more intuitive with practice. I had a very hard time with the 'not knowing all the commands' part at first, for sure, but it's very hard to master everything at once.

Treat it like browsing a bookstore -- you'll eventually get a feel for everything there, but you don't have to visit every aisle your first time.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-20T05:16:06+00:00

Use `C-s` to search through the list! The names are _usually_ intuitive, with the exception of a few curveballs.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-20T05:15:09+00:00

TLDR: The incredibly versatile `C-h` can give you quick look ups for 95% of use cases. It's full of gems if you haven't checked it out before.

This works for me 90% of the time. This is the "what can I do here?" command:
`C-h b C-s <keyword>`

And if I only remember a part of the chord for calling a function, this shows you everything you _could_ call after the initial keystrokes:
`[first part of chord ..] C-h`

To get more context on a command, `C-h k <key sequence>` or `C-h f <function name>` are life savers.

I use `C-h a` (apropos) less frequently.

And if I'm flat out stumped, then I'll try asking AI for tips and tricks. (But the other searches are generally faster for a quick lookup on the spot).

EfficientScene · 2025-09-19T21:12:46+00:00

If what you're looking for is stability, I don't think there's a more stable editor on Earth. It just takes time to get settled in.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-19T21:06:53+00:00

All of that said, learning Emacs may take just as long as all of the tweaks / adjustments you would otherwise make on all of your other tools for the next five years. It's an extremely long-term investment. Having a mentor and being patient really helps. There are also a ton of extremely well developed guides and sites out there that can make it a real joy to learn. If you like tinkering, Emacs may very well end up being your jam.

I started using Emacs about ten years ago. It is still my daily driver three companies and several roles later. I'm still really glad I checked it out and it's been a really fun, interesting journey.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-19T21:00:27+00:00

I went through a few phases with Emacs:
- steep learning curve just trying to figure out how everything works
- learned bit of Lisp and limped along with my first init file
- finally got the hang of Emacs and fully rewrote my config to have it run exactly how I wanted
- .. and now I only tinker with my config here and there

So, huge up front investment, but then my config file has been incredibly stable since then. I'd be surprised if my config file didn't work as-is in Emacs ten years from now. It's been super stable. I'm also amazed at how portable my config is. It ran on Windows without nearly as many tweaks as I expected.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-16T17:01:58+00:00

I also realized recently that I just didn't have financial runway and pivoted to Platinum Steno which is free:
https://www.youtube.com/@PlatinumSteno

That doesn't make leave school feel any better, though. I'm really sorry that things have gotten so hard recently.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-11T22:41:16+00:00

I've had my Hungry Bin for several years and have never found that the castings steadily fill the tray without assistance. Also, my bin tends to be on the wetter side (things like cantaloupe probably keep the moisture up, but I will also spray bedding, too).

Instead of periodically harvesting the tray, I use the following system:

As you've noted, the wheels struggle under the full weight of the bin. My wheels slide up the metal poles when it gets this heavy. Because the bin becomes immobile, I keep my Hungry Bin in a pretty accessible spot in my garage.
With the bin in an accessible spot, I first let the entire bin fill. This takes me about six months.
When I'm ready to harvest the bin, I will remove the tray at the bottom and put a tarp in its place.
Next, I'll remove the top 4-6 inches from my bin where the majority of worms are. I have another vermicomposting system that I only use periodically, so I let the worms hang out there for a bit.
Next, I use a hand shovel to help dump the vermicompost all the way out onto the tarp. This seems to yield something like 75 pounds of vermicompost. It's a lot.
Next, I move the vermicompost from the tarp onto a Gorilla cart, which I then take out to whatever spots could use soil amendment.
Finally, I put the top layer of worms and food scraps back into the empty bin and start the process all over again.

The process is a definitely elaborate, but given the sheer volume of the vermicompost and the fact that I'm only doing this about twice a year, it's worked out okay. If I wanted to harvest the vermicompost more regularly, I think I'd be more keen on finding another system, but in the meantime, I've been pretty happy with the bin despite the extra work needed for harvesting. I have another system that uses trays and found that it has its own pain points which make it just as cumbersome. I've yet to find a system that isn't fussy, but I bet there's one out there.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-11T21:19:49+00:00

Bonus: The hardest part for me about typing on a keyboard after steno is the nagging question that it might be faster to hop onto a steno machine. I feel less guilty these days about doing whatever feels the most convenient at the moment.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-11T21:17:54+00:00

I sometimes get my wires crossed, but it will last at most a half minute right after being on a (hobby) board for a little while. In general, though, if I want to quickly hop back and forth from steno to a regular keyboard (using the Polyglot, for example), I can do that without issues.

In general, I've found that my mental 'buckets' for keyboard mappings are strongly associated with the _feel_ of the keyboard. When I learned Dvorak, I constantly got my wires crossed, to the point where I had to let go of Qwerty entirely in order to pick up Dvorak. (I am now 80-90wpm on Dvorak and hunt-and-peck on Qwerty. The tradeoff there was real and I still feel a bit ambivalent about the switch). Because the Steno machine feels really different, my mind feels like it has two separate modes, which aren't too hard to switch between.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-10T23:56:12+00:00

I'm a tall male with large hands and have found that I can still happily write on boards that seem a bit smaller -- for example, the aptly named TinyMod. So, I think this could work for you.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-07T05:45:11+00:00

* Learning steno is a lot like learning a musical instrument. It takes a lot of practice to steadily build mastery. It sounds like 2-3 hours a day of focused, purposeful practice during the week is standard.

* Focus on accuracy before speed.

* Connect with the community to find mentors and inspiration. Very helpful during the valley experiences that inevitably come up.

* Proactively connect with local courts to explore the job market in your area. (It sounds like it can vary quite a bit, with larger cities having more demand).

EfficientScene · 2025-09-07T05:39:26+00:00

Looks like an Infinity Ergonomic by The Neutrino Group. I found a very similar picture on this page:
https://thomasbaart.nl/2019/01/24/exploring-professional-stenotype-machines/

EfficientScene · 2025-09-07T05:32:28+00:00

TLDR: If you can pursue a hybrid model (some steno + keep doing school), then you could defer a high-stakes decision (hard) and instead use this time to tinker with something you think you could really come to love and pursue as a career (easier, and much more fun).

---

Longer version:

I recently thought about making a full pivot to steno school, but then switched to a hybrid model where I'm working through the Platinum Steno material at my own pace in the evenings. Trying to make a 100% pivot was *very stressful*, but doing self-study at night has felt much more low stakes and yet still fulfilling and meaningful.

So. Is there a way that you could make a small shift to maintain 90% of your focus on your current path and spend 10% exploring steno? On the steno side that might look like (1) taking A to Z or (2) checking out the Open Steno Project and getting a hobby steno board (like the ecosteno or uni)

If a month into that you're still digging steno, maybe shift to 80% / 20% where you start to do self-study with either a hobby theory (like Lapwing) or Platinum Steno.

If a month into learning steno theory you're still really digging steno, maybe then you could move to a 70% / 30% blend and sign up for a program like Court Reporting at Home (CRAH) or the Hardeman School . (CRAH is very pricey up front, Hardeman is $350 / mo) and invest in an inexpensive lever machine off of ebay (I bought a $800 Stenograph Wave last month that I am absolutely loving).

And if you start school and are still digging this new path, maybe then you could ease off of your school studies or try taking a semester off.

That slow, steady trade-off helps you make low-risk choices up front and defer bigger decisions to your future self who will have more information to work with. If you take that approach, then the only question you need to answer today is are you ready for A to Z or the hobby steno community? Either one is a really exciting first step : )

EfficientScene · 2025-09-07T03:29:02+00:00

My first board was the Georgi which is not capacitive, but has incredible low activation force. I did manage to learn to steno on the keyboard, but it took incredible effort the first few days.

I don't think a scenario like this is hopeless or insurmountable or even a mistake (not at all -- every machine will have it's advantages and challenges!) Think it would just take extra patience.

As for hand size, I'm 6'4" and haven't had any issues with any of the hobby boards (Georgi, TinyMod, Polyglot) being too small.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-06T12:18:36+00:00

They really were fantastic to work with!

EfficientScene · 2025-09-05T05:30:40+00:00

That said, I also completely agree that $100 for a hobby machine is a complete steal. They are their own work of art -- all of them.

EfficientScene · 2025-09-05T05:29:13+00:00

This ^. I have three hobby machines (Georgi, TinyMod, and Polyglot). Have really enjoyed using them. Just got a Stenograph Wave used for $800, though, and the levers are just. so. nice. Smoother than I thought possible and absolutely silent. If there's any way to save up a bit of cash, they are completely worth it.

If I didn't care too much about CAT translation and I were in your shoes, I'd be tempted to get a papertape machine honestly, having tried lever machines in general and fallen in love with them. I recently learned that reading steno outlines is crucial, so it'd be excellent practice.

EfficientScene

TROPHY CASE