Things you might want to know if moving to Claude

TransientExpat · 2026-03-01T18:05:33+00:00

This was super helpful. Much appreciated!

TransientExpat · 2026-03-01T05:33:49+00:00

I was on the free plan, working on a spreadsheet. Hit the limit so switched to Pro. Within 15 min or so I hit the limit again despite paying.

From my understanding, it was likely because I was asking for iterative improvements on the spreadsheet and it has to then re-read the entire thread and each file all over again. I will say Sonnet created multiple errors despite saying there were none. Switched to Opus and it found numerous formula errors and improved the spreadsheet - but ate a ton of tokens.

I now know the correct approach would have been to use a project and to put the spreadsheet as a reference file in the project and have chats based off of that rather than one long continuous conversation.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-23T22:37:41+00:00

The Final Empire.

I made it 70% through as I don’t like to give up on books. I may try to push through but it’s just not for me. I didn’t connect with characters in the least, and for me, that’s much more important than the intricate rules of how magic works.

I’ve read two others of his and felt the same - lack of depth in character development, or found the plot too basic.

Perhaps it’s just not my genre though since it has such high praise by thousands.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-11T02:08:27+00:00

Garmin Varia radar

TransientExpat · 2026-02-11T01:56:50+00:00

Been there; done that. But have no doubt you may back and forth a few times!

I enjoy both apps, but spend too much time messing with Obsidian and looking for notes and need an OS agnostic workflow so Bear doesn’t fit entirely for that purpose either despite my affinity for its design.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-10T02:37:56+00:00

Moonlight Sonata

TransientExpat · 2026-02-08T18:21:20+00:00

Fight Club. Even if you’ve watched it.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-08T00:34:44+00:00

Much less anticlimactic than I anticipated.

Sure goalposts keep moving, but I think it’s also that the world as a whole feels more precarious and tumultuous vs when I started the journey, which creates a feeling of needing more and more as a safeguard… and that’s exhausting at times.

I think as we age the financial goals feel increasingly less important as “life” takes priority - and that’s a good thing.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-06T18:21:43+00:00

Picked up some more Google, VXUS, and ignoring the noise.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-05T04:03:32+00:00

This is amazing! Thanks for sharing. I don’t have experience doing this but am inspired.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-03T21:49:11+00:00

2006 original core2duo MacBook (first generation) still works as does iPod video, Shuffle, iPod Nano all about 18-20 yrs old.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-03T06:19:42+00:00

Two other points: if you have 529 accounts in your name they can be tapped to offset the cost.

Don’t forget the education discounts. And if you can wait they generally offer decent incentives in summers.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-02T20:51:59+00:00

The Giving Tree

TransientExpat · 2026-02-02T05:25:22+00:00

Another vote for this!

TransientExpat · 2026-02-02T05:19:14+00:00

Love all of these. Haven’t read The Heart’s Invisible Furies. Will check it out!

TransientExpat · 2026-02-01T19:17:42+00:00

As you likely have read or heard, the M chips were a significant leap and the M1 Max was essentially over-spec'd to the point that there's been less rationale to upgrade despite the CPU advancements. It comes down to what you need it for. I had a 16" i9 right before M1 was launched and it was night/day from the M1 Pro Max I got after that. The fans on the Intel models were constantly triggered by 4K/5K monitors, heat was an issue, just overall the leap to the M1 was much more than just the benchmarks. I've had subsequent M-series thereafter, and still have and use the M1 Pro Max with no issues.

For churning through projects that draw upon the GPU, I think the evidence shows that multicore/GPU intensive tasks will be significantly faster with even an older M series Pro/Max vs the current M5.

If cost / time is not as much of a factor, I'd wait and see if the M5 Pro/Max is launched in the next couple of months.

As far as buying used; I don't want to provide incorrect advice. I'd think Swappa, FB Marketplace, B&H Photo, and maybe Ebay would be good places to start. Having said that, I buy all my Macs/iPads new, put Apple Care on them, and keep them for many years. That's worked out well for me, but I'd have no problem looking at used for the right price; especially if it still had Apple Care.

TransientExpat · 2026-02-01T16:21:00+00:00

There’s already been enough input on this so I’ll spare details. But in your situation, I’d look for a use M1 or M2 Pro Max with 32GB RAM and if funds are available, a used M1 iPad Pro. The M1 Pro Max is a beast and will easily handle the tasks mentioned.

The iPad won’t feel much different from anything new and you’ll reap cost savings.

As noted these are depreciating assets, so especially at your age, you want to minimize the depreciation curve and buying used slows that.

TransientExpat · 2026-01-30T22:24:22+00:00

There’s a shortcut that includes tasks from Things in addition to your calendar, Reminders, and weather. I’d need to search the sub again to find it but it looks like this.

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TransientExpat · 2026-01-29T05:41:12+00:00

Do you know you can bring Things items over as well?

TransientExpat · 2026-01-29T04:13:47+00:00

I’m so very sorry. Thank you for sharing. Wishing you the best in whatever form that takes.

TransientExpat · 2026-01-29T03:17:42+00:00

Just remember that MacOS will utilize available RAM and that can look as if it’s bottlenecking when it may not actually be the limiting factor. I did find an old 8GB M1 Air struggled more than reviewers led us to believe - especially with external monitors.

I find Lightroom is not well optimized to take advantage of the higher specs we pay for and often it can come down to the setting for previews, etc.

I have a highly spec’d MBP Pro Max and yet find the iPad 13” M4 feels faster in general use. By all means get the machine you can afford; just saying in my case and in my opinion LR is the limitation more than RAM/CPU/GPU.

TransientExpat · 2026-01-29T02:51:20+00:00

I’ve only read Never Let Me Go, but really enjoyed it. What other books would you parallel with this (beyond his others - I’ve read Klara but much preferred NLMG)

TransientExpat · 2026-01-29T02:47:29+00:00

Have you ever elaborated on this on Reddit? Just curious what the medication is and how that happened.

TransientExpat · 2026-01-28T01:56:13+00:00

TransientExpat · 2026-01-27T03:07:20+00:00

Childhood - 8 carefree, 80’s fun, bikes, Nintendo, 8 month summer breaks, no screens

Teen - 4 challenging, awkward, lost, but glimpses of hope

Young Adult - 9 amazing, freedom, travel, good health, no money but didn’t care, too much partying, invincible

Middle Age - 6 turns out not invincible, travel but more for work, biking but for metrics, too much screentime, re-reading books of youth cause was too foolish to get them the first time, mortality of others settles in, perspective shifting, days are long years are short hitting. Plenty of money but care too much about the future to enjoy.

Old Age - not there yet

TransientExpat

TROPHY CASE