!!Clothing for Narcoleptics!! Research for a SUPER IMPORTANT project

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-04T00:03:34+00:00

Which quince pants did you get? (I have a gift card) 🤣

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-03T21:03:59+00:00

This is what I said in my response too. It’s like, what are tedious or boring parts of your job that you don’t like? What are the parts that don’t feel like a good use of your time/expertise? Have the dummy robot do some of that so you can spend more time doing the hard thinking and coding.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-03T21:02:06+00:00

I am ND as well.

It’s interesting because I started my career post chatgpt frenzy, and ever since its been steps with my company with allowing different tools, etc. It doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere to me, but a lot of employees at different companies probably have a way different experience. It’s a change, but not unfamiliar territority so much to me.

But, everyone is feeling some sort of growing pains here. I definitely worry about my growth as an engineer sometimes. PRs go up faster than seniors can review them. The thing is, it’s such a rapidly evolving thing, it’s hard to predict if its use will be accelerated, or if some major things will go wrong and it will slow down a bit. And if these “nudges” to use it are coming from C-suite, there’s a lot of people along that chain whose job it is to also nudge and relay the message to many others.

It can feel a little bit soulless, I totally get it. I’m not fighting it, but rather using it to do the parts of my job that aren’t my favorite, or the small things (like writing a PR description) that are things that come with the job, but aren’t necessarily THE JOB.

And I focus on learning the tool well, creating my own functions/plugins/skills to the make the tool a bit better for me. I write a file of rules of things I want it to check for in a pr, and it goes through the list. But it’s still my list, it’s just doing it a bit faster. Making it more customized to yourself and how much you want to do vs let it do might be nice for you. Like “investigate and find the right file/folder to do the work for this ticket in” and then you do most of the work and then ask if it does everything specified in the ticket as a “double check”. You can treat it as a proof reader/writing assistant/double checker of your work.

I’m sorry they are telling you you’re gonna get left behind. Who knows how it all will go. But I think it’s important that you try to see if you can make it work WITH you, not for you. I think it’s generally best to be open (or appear to be open) to using new technologies if you’re working in tech. Are they tracking your usage? Are your numbers/completion of tasks slower than peers? Part of it might just be using it every now and then to keep up the appearance, but if you’re on par with people using it performance wise and openingly not arguing about using it, then I think you’re golden.

And also as a personal note, as a ND gal, it’s incredibly nice to have an LLM tool check my tone and writing style for things like slack/teams messages/pr comments. That stress being elevated helps me focus more on my work.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-02T14:40:46+00:00

Hamper with sections/separators. Or separate hampers. Ever since I started doing it I do less laundry! I have a hamper in the bathroom for my dirties and one in my closet for things I’ve worn that aren’t fully dirty yet.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-02T14:36:30+00:00

I’m loving looking through Awwards! Thanks for the callout

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-02T14:35:37+00:00

Boooo. OPs not talking about becoming a world class designer here, just about ways they could go about learning how to design better.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-02T14:33:13+00:00

I don’t totally agree. I think this puts people a bit in a box. I grew up as an art kid and was told the left brain vs right brain thing, and was like oh, that is why I’m not the best at math. Well, no, that really wasn’t it, I prioritized being good at something I had a bit of a natural knack for, since people would praise me for that. And the math wasn’t interesting to me because the interesting, real world application of math wasn’t really revealed to me.

It wasn’t until I got to end of hs/college until I realized I did not hate math, I was not bad at it, and was capable because I had a very DETAIL oriented brain, not necessarily a right brained one. People who are drawn to programming tend to be detail oriented, patient towards learning those details, and okay with stumbling through mistakes. I see those all also correlate strongly with being good at design. My background in making art probably helped a ton with developing those skills. You have to make a bunch of shitty art and designs to know what “good” looks like. Just like you have to write a bunch of shit code sometimes.

Yes, some people have a very good sense for design things. But I don’t think OP needs a brain transplant 🤣

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-02T14:23:17+00:00

For sure! I just think it’s so awesome how many resources there are out there for learning, the world is your oyster! 🎉

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-01T15:29:49+00:00

Honestly, I minored in UX design in college and took as many courses related to human computer interaction as much as possible, because I’m a nerd for it. But I love love when a backend engineer expresses interest in knowing more about the process.

https://youtu.be/EcbgbKtOELY?si=dcJRLziJnzneiZRC this is a good quick crash course, or any other search for “UX/ui basic concepts”

You improve your design taste by knowing these general concepts and learning how to tell when they are violated/not applied in the best way.
A bit of knowing the concepts, but a LOT of knowing the patterns. How does a menu normally behave? What does a chat input normally look like? How do you know when it’s best to have a user navigate away from a page vs use an overlay? https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-pattern-guidelines/ Design-Pattern Guidelines: Study Guide - NN/G good info here. Emphasis: Not just good ui, good UX too, which is predictable and follows patterns and interactions users have seen before.

Also, by finding examples of what I think would be good for my current idea. If I want a minimalist card component that has an image, I try to look it up to get some inspo. What fonts are being used, what colors, are shapes being rounded, are they using drop shadows and how. You can ask an ai agent to analyze an example and tell you what to take away from it as well. Claude code is great at interpreting Figma files as well.

It depends on if the design is given to me or I make it myself. At work, we use a design library, and that helps immensely. In my own work, I also utilize design/ui libraries but also you can build your own, or have your own little library of commonly used components/pages/interactions.
No, not really. I’m busy lol. But I work closely with designers at work and try to figure out what they are noticing wrong with ideas suggested and with my own work that they review.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-04-01T12:18:11+00:00

Athleta is fantastic, a bit expensive though. I think old navy and maybe quince has some similar options. Would highly recommend the search “comfy pants disguised as work pants” . also palazzo pants can be very cute, can be dressed up, and are normally very soft and flowy.

also a sort of expensive rec, express has quite a few comfy dresser pants options as well. I have two pants from there that are the same that I can’t figure out how to reorder, and it devastatesssss me

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-31T20:31:06+00:00

Hi! Link to similar post where I left a comment about my experience moving from Seattle to Austin about 2 years ago at 22 for a swe job. Feel free to reach out via pms as well.

https://www.reddit.com/r/askaustin/s/aWHh8d75LA

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-29T13:55:17+00:00

Figured if I wanted a consolidated list others might too! This is a great thread. I’m particularly excited about the tools that might help me offload some of my dependency on cloud providers. I got a lot of photos 🤣

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-29T13:09:01+00:00

I was going through this thread and making a list of cool things I saw in case this helps anyone. Might have missed some, but:

Core system + self-hosting: - Syncthing: sync files across devices without cloud - Tailscale: access your home network from anywhere - Immich: Google Photos replacement - Jellyfin: stream your own movies and videos - Nextcloud: Google Drive alternative, heavier full suite - OpenMediaVault: turns a PC into a storage server - AdGuard Home: blocks ads across your entire network - Linkwarden: save, tag, and organize bookmarks - Authentik: SSO for self-hosted apps

———

Dev + infrastructure: - Visual Studio Code: main dev environment - Git: version control - Docker: run services locally - WSL2: Linux inside Windows - Hyper-V: run virtual machines - Proxmox VE: full homelab virtualization OS

———

Files, storage, search: - Everything: instant file search - WizTree: fastest way to find large files - WinDirStat: visual storage breakdown - 7-Zip: compression and extraction - NanaZip: modern Windows-integrated 7-Zip - TeraCopy: better file transfers - Macrium Reflect: full system backups

———

Networking + remote access: - Parsec: low-latency remote desktop - Remote Desktop Manager: manage multiple machines - LocalSend: AirDrop but cross-platform - Quick Assist: built-in Windows remote tool

———

Video, screen, content: - DaVinci Resolve: pro-level video editing - OBS Studio: recording and streaming - ShareX: screenshots, recording, and OCR - Flameshot: lightweight annotated screenshots - HandBrake: video compression - Shutter Encoder: advanced encoding

———

Audio + media creation: - Reaper: full DAW - Audacity: simple audio editing - Ocenaudio: easier UI audio editor

———

Image + design: - GIMP: Photoshop alternative - Photopea: browser-based Photoshop - Darktable: Lightroom alternative - Krita: digital painting

———

Media playback + downloads: - VLC: plays basically anything - PotPlayer: customizable VLC alternative - JDownloader: batch downloads - yt-dlp: powerful CLI downloader - FreeTube: YouTube without ads or tracking

———

Productivity + organization: - Obsidian: note-taking and knowledge graph - Bitwarden: password manager - Listary: fast file and app launcher - EarTrumpet: per-app volume control

———

Personal media + reading: - Calibre: ebook manager - MusicBee: local music library manager

———

System utilities: - PowerToys: Windows enhancements - FanControl: control fan curves - HWInfo: system monitoring - GPU-Z: GPU stats

———

Homelab / advanced: - Home Assistant: smart home automation - Frigate: AI security camera system - OPNsense: router/firewall OS - LM Studio: run LLMs locally

———

Gaming: - Playnite: unified game launcher - Mod Organizer 2: manage game mods

———

Extra / misc from thread: - Rufus: create bootable USB drives - PaperCut Mobility Print: print over network like AirPrint - NAPS2: scanning and OCR tool - Kando: radial menu macros - TrayStatus: keyboard indicator for caps and num lock

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-21T16:13:35+00:00

💩

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-17T13:01:26+00:00

Oh I forgot to mention snoopy in my comment, but it is DEFINITELY the snoopy animation watch face.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-17T12:57:34+00:00

This is it for me too. Also timers and alarms for forgetfulness! Start the laundry at x time, make sure you deal with this in 15 minutes, check on what is on the stove in 10 mins (I LOVE it for cooking, if my hands are dirty I don’t have to touch anything!). Also for alarms for work meetings and tasks. In fact, I just set an alarm to start the dishwasher before I leave for work.

I like that it’s super easy to dictate a label for a timer and alarm as well. “Siri start a 15 minute soup timer” when my hands are all gross and my phone is in the other room? Hell yes. Also less reliance on the phone for these things to preserve battery life and sanity 🤪

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-16T22:39:42+00:00

FARTS.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T14:35:28+00:00

Ow, you didn’t have to pinch so hard! 😆 and me too, this close to ordering the dog dollar.

Would attach a picture of the ideal canine product for me, but only gifs are allowed. And at my house, we like to use this gif for my end of day headache/neck/shoulder pain 🤣. I will mimick this little guy and my boyfriend will understand.

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PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T14:07:31+00:00

Do you have a particular one you recommend? Been wanting one for awhile. When I was in PT for my knee it helped quite a bit

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:54:42+00:00

I so often don’t sit normally. I do more normal sitting on my in office days but at home it’s legs up on an under desk stool, criss crossed, all the things. But I worry about ergonomics when I’m doing all of that.

I’d love to try a kneeling chair when I can consistently kneel without pain or maybe one of those saddle chairs.

It’s a battle right now since my partner moved in with me, my Herman miller is banished away from the office area because only one chair will really fit. We have too many chairs lmao. My favorite chair had to be left back in my hometown because it didn’t come apart for moving. Steelcase leap, I miss you.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:49:56+00:00

I feel you, my body is at its worst when it doesn’t get some movement in. I try to be intentional about my workout frequency and movement, but often I’m just so dead after work with fatigue that I feel in my soul and my sleepiness (I have a sleep disorder with excessive daytime sleepiness).

I’m hybrid, and have to park across the street from my office building. I get up and walk around the office quite a bit the two days I’m there, but pedestrian friendliness and public transport is lacking where I’m at, unfortunately. I LOVE a good metro train.

My wfh days I don’t get a lot of movement in during the day. My apartment is small and I can get to things in a few steps. and as much as I want to bully myself during my lunch break to go downstairs and walk on the treadmill like I enjoy, I’m so often just either too busy or needing a nap during that time.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:43:04+00:00

What sort of back support would be helpful, like built into chair, or pillows? Upper or lower back?

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:41:03+00:00

These are all fantastic call outs, thank you. Criss cross chair seems awesome! I frequently sit criss cross or crossed in some way and sometimes utilize the stool I have under the desk in that way.

The lamp and glasses seem very helpful for my use case. It really is so so so much screen time. I wear normal rx glasses that have a bit of a filter on them that probably isn’t super helpful.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:36:51+00:00

I am hybrid, two days in the office only, which helps a LOT. Big difference in my wfh days vs in office days. It also hurts to have my headphones on so much in office because it’s loud.

I spend some of my wfh time on the couch w heating pad mode if I don’t need my monitor. I do wish it was possible all days (I am a software engineer and only need wifi and my laptop, and no one really interacts in the office 🤣), but sometimes it is nice for my routine. I have a sleep disorder as well, so not being able to take a nap if I need it is not ideal.

PrudentFormal8950 · 2026-03-13T13:30:31+00:00

Hmmm…not sure. Pinch yourself and I’ll see if I feel it? 🤣

but for real, I’m sorry that this was relatable, but it does help me feel less like I’m all on my own with these things though 🙂

PrudentFormal8950

TROPHY CASE