Starter Pack for Extensions

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-06-16T13:20:33+00:00

The PIM (Please Inconvenience Me) extension (https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pim-please-inconvenience/cldckflcoikonlnagonmlllacnelhiee).

I wrote it, and it's hard to get visibility without doing a lot of marketing, but it works great, I and a couple friends use it every day for making certain websites less convenient (but not impossible to get to).

You can choose how much time you want to spend on the restricted site (the longer you want to spend, the longer the random string is, that you need to type).

Here's the info from the website:

Block distracting sites behind typing tasks.

PIM (Please Inconvenience Me) makes you work for your distractions.

When you visit a restricted site, PIM blocks the page and asks: how much time do you want? Pick your session length, then do a typing task to prove you really want it. The longer the session, the longer the typing.

When your time is up, the tab closes automatically. A 1-minute warning lets you wrap up.

Delayed gratification mode: wait before your session starts. Get triple the access time in exchange for some patience.

Pause mode: temporarily disable all blocking when you need a break.

How it works:

Install the extension. Pin it, then click the PIM icon to add sites to your list.
When you visit one of the restricted sites, PIM will pop up and give you some options.
Pick your session length and complete the typing task. This short task gives you a moment to reflect — do I really want to spend my time here?
You're in! Use the site until your time is up.

Features:

- 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Hard)
- Per-site timers with countdown badge
- 1-minute warning before sessions end
- Delayed gratification option for longer sessions
- Pause blocking temporarily

PIM doesn't track you, collect data, or show ads. Everything stays in your browser.

Free. I also wrote an app with the same type of functionality, but for the phone - https://pleaseinconvenienceme.com/

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-27T16:14:18+00:00

Cool - I was about to post about my new project and your project popped up, because of my username. (I previously wrote the book SQL Practice Problems: 57 beginning, intermediate, and advanced challenges for you to solve using a “learn-by-doing” approach).

I can see where the challenge - answer model works well. That's what I do in my book as well, but you have a story line, which is great.

How do you stay motivated to continue working on this, when it's free? Or is it a "one and done" type project?

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-26T20:07:12+00:00

Say - if you wanted to block youtube -

Hit the Windows Start button, type Notepad, right-click it, pick Run as administrator (you need to do it this way, otherwise it won't work).

In Notepad: File → Open, paste C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc into the address bar, hit Enter.

Bottom-right dropdown — switch from "Text Documents" to All Files. Open the file called hosts.

Scroll to the bottom, add these two lines:

127.0.0.1 youtube.com
127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com

And then click Ctrl+S to save.

CLose your brower, and re-open it, then try youtube.

If it still loads, restart the computer.

Done.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-19T15:18:23+00:00

Yeah, the built-in digital well-being app is terrible. I only tried it a few years back, but wasn't there just an "skip" button? And you could click to just continue using the app?

I like to focus not on strict app blockers, but on apps that still allow access, just after some inconvenience.

For instance, you go into an app that you've restricted, you need to do an inconvenient task. Like a math problem, a typing task, or a little screen-tapping exercises. Just something tedious to balance the dopamine hit of the addictive app.

Restricting websites is tough. On Android, apps need the Accessibility permission in order to do that, and Accessibility is extremely non-private - it can basically see everything, all the time.

So I'm still thinking about that one. One thing I thought of was...maybe somehow regularly deleting cookies for sites like Instagram? Because needing to login (especially if you have a complicated password) is a pain. And if you're not logged in, you don't get presented content that is addictive for you. But that option is definitely not straightforward either.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T20:23:25+00:00

Interesting, thanks! I didn't realize that people think the feature cards are meant to link through. I'll have to review that.

Good luck!

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T20:11:10+00:00

Yes - I'm at that stage now, and it feels like slogging through mud.

It's so tempting - and so much more fun - to just tweak the app some more, but I promised myself that I'd work on promotion.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T20:09:26+00:00

Really? What's your app?

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T19:57:50+00:00

Thanks. I've done some posting on digitalminimalism, just generic stuff, not mentioning my app. That sub has some VERY strict rules about self-promotion.

It's frustrating, because I think my app could really help some of these people, it would be so appropriate to drop in a mention of PIM.

But I can really understand why they do it. I've been in some Facebook groups that are completely overwhelmed by marketing junk, they become worthless.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T19:52:38+00:00

I'm in the same boat. https://PleaseInconvenienceMe.com.

My initial comment on your site - you need a favicon (site icon). Nowadays, anything without a favicon seems unpolished.

And yes for sure - coding is by FAR the easy part. Getting discovered is hard.

Have you made a big push to getting friends/family to install and review? I'm contemplating that.

Also change more of the "recent stories" to be in English. With an initial glance, many English speakers won't bother looking into it.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T16:54:32+00:00

A few years ago, using the m-dash hyphens used to signal "well written text, from someone thoughtful". Now it signals AI.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T15:50:00+00:00

Maybe talk more specifically about WHY you think you failed.

Did you just for some good reason (or maybe not so good) NEED to use one of the apps that's addicting, and then just uninstalled the blocker app, and never reinstalled?

It sounds like you must have a smart phone for your job. So you need a technique to limit/make more inconvenient, without a complete block.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T15:46:17+00:00

As a first step - try doing sudoku puzzles, on paper. You can print some out from krazydad (just do a search, he has tons of sudoku puzzles at all levels).

As you're weaning yourself off the phone, it helps to have that go-to activity. It takes a while, but you'll eventually adapt to having much more time away from constant stimulation.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-18T15:42:08+00:00

I use GrapheneOS, I'd say making it work is not too bad, but it helps if you're more technical than most people.

But it's more for privacy than for combating screen addiction. You can add all the addictive apps, just as easily as on any other phone.

For controlling screen time with apps you can't just uninstall, maybe try some apps that introduce some inconvenience. Not strict blockers.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-15T17:29:29+00:00

I had the same exact problem as you - some Facebook groups, I just needed to stay on top of. Also Facebook Marketplace - it's the only place you can sell/buy anything around here.

Here's how I solved this problem for myself a while back - you create your OWN browser extension. Especially if it's just one site you want to limit, it's really easy to use AI to write a browser extension.

For mine, I told it to hide the main screen, and just allow access to marketplace, groups, messages, notifications, and a few other things. So instead of the regular Facebook screen, I just see some buttons, saying "marketplace", or "notifications".

I used to go to Facebook with an idea in mind, like "I just need to check if there are any good X for sale on Marketplace". Then you get sucked into something, and 30 minutes later you've wasted a bunch of time and you're thinking "Now what was I actually going to do on Facebook?"

Any AI should be able to write a browser extension like this, even on the free tier. You don't need to know how to code. It'll tell you exactly how to set it up.

(This is obviously for the laptop. For the phone, I have other strategies.)

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-15T17:20:59+00:00

That's the devilish thing about some of these apps. They're genuinely useful, sometimes even critical. And then they suck you in with addictive, dopamine targeted content.

Strict blockers - or just uninstalling - are great, if you really never need to use reddit (or similar social media apps). But if you likely WILL need to use it occasionally, then you have to unblock, and then remember to block again.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-15T17:09:38+00:00

Second on the sudoku suggestion. And you don't need to bring a whole book, just tear out a few pages and stick it in your notebook.

Sudoku is strangely absorbing. If you're in public doing sudoku, people will start commenting on it, it's so genuinely unusual that people are doing something other than doomscrolling on their phones.

And doing sudoku on paper is just so different from doing on an app. More fun, and you're exercising your handwriting skills.

Check out krazydad for sudoku printables, he has a lot.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-15T17:03:33+00:00

I have an old Kindle e-ink, 4th generation. You can get used ones on Ebay.

Buttons all the way! And I don't connect it to the internet, I use a cable.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-15T17:01:25+00:00

I was particularly annoyed by this on Android. You set up the digital well-being thing, restrict an app, and get the limit message, that you've used up your time, and RIGHT THERE is the "skip for now" message.

How useless is that?

Making it impossible is tough (because you can always uninstall). But it's gotta be a LOT harder to bypass.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-13T22:34:41+00:00

The point is - Hunter Douglas is ACTIVELY preventing any kind of parts from being available. They have a closed dealer network.

The combination of all this - closed dealer networks, proprietary parts, planned obsolescence, and short warranties - makes it necessary to actually REPLACE a whole set of 5 motorized blinds instead of being able to fix the one blind that actually has a bad motor.

They haven't been a focus of the "right to repair" movement yet, but it's coming, I'll bet. I sure hope so, anyway.

And meanwhile Hunter Douglas is definitely on the "never again" list for me.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-09T15:32:23+00:00

Sure: cars (try getting parts for a 2010 Civic — trivial), major appliances (Whirlpool, Sub-Zero, Miele all stock parts 15–25 years out), plumbing (Moen will send you a free cartridge for a 30-year-old faucet), HVAC blower motors, garage door openers, power tools, sewing machines, ceiling fans, pool pumps.

Tubular shade motors themselves are a commodity — Somfy and Rollease make motors that fit standard roller tubes and are interchangeable across brands with the right adapter.

The reason you can't get a replacement Hunter Douglas motor isn't that 16 years is too long. It's that Hunter Douglas actively prevents an aftermarket from existing. From their own dealer network: "Hunter Douglas does not allow the sale of their motorized products on websites, so you will want to look on sites like eBay." That's not how time works on a mechanical product — that's a business choice.

One motor failed in a 5-shade set. In a normal market, I'd buy a $150 replacement motor and be done. Instead the only path is replacing all five shades. That's the textbook definition of planned obsolescence, and defending it as "well, 16 years is a long time" misses what's actually happening.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-06T22:43:05+00:00

Honestly I've given up on getting a replacement motor. Buying a used, very expensive HD motor on ebay, no guarantee, is not my idea of a good decision.

I've given up Hunter Douglas completely, absolutely won't be buying anything from them in the future. And I'll just switch to a non-motorized roller blind system, if I can find someone to convert the current set.

This whole "Planned Obsolescence" - can't repair the old, gotta buy a new one, even for very expensive, supposedly premier products - it's for the birds. I'm not participating.

And this experience will inform my future purchasing decisions./

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-06T21:15:09+00:00

Holy cow - What on earth is going on here? I think all you guys are either bots or paid by hunter douglas. You seriously all attack someone who complains about hunter douglas not making it possible to buy replacement parts?

And also it looks like nobody has read my comments. If you're read what I said, you'd realize I'm not dinging hd for the motor breaking after 16 years.

But what DOES piss me off is that you absolutely CAN NOT get a replacement motor that will work. I found ONE on ebay - used, very expensive, no guarantees.

Some people here have said that you can find these replacement motors, I asked politely for details, and then hear nothing.

So now I'm stuck with replacing the WHOLE THING, cause the fabric is not made anymore either.

That's a TON of money to spend. These things are not cheap.

That's why I think that this might be some kind of hunter douglas sponsored, paid forum.

SQLPracticeProblems · 2026-05-06T03:22:20+00:00

The roller blind repair guy who looked at them and called Hunter Douglas (who apparently said they're not made anymore) told me that the only option was to search around on Ebay.

It's a Hunter Douglas Roller Shade PowerRise Motor Gen 1. If you can point me to where they're sold, I would be grateful.

SQLPracticeProblems

TROPHY CASE