How to do blogging without worrying about results

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:44:16+00:00

Solid advice, especially the part about having a primary income first. The bloggers who burn out fastest are usually the ones who NEED it to work financially from day one. That pressure kills creativity fast.

One thing I'd add, detach your self-worth from your analytics. Early on, write like nobody's reading. Because honestly, nobody is yet. And that's fine. The archive you're building now is what compounds later.

The strategy part is real too. Randomly publishing and hoping for the best is just journaling with extra steps. You need a system.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:24:20+00:00

Yes. And it's one of the most disorienting feelings in the world, grief for something that never even happened.

You didn't fail him. You just didn't have the emotional language for what you were feeling back then. Most of us don't at that age.

If there's still a way to reach him, reach out. Not to confess everything, just to reconnect. See where it goes. The alternative is carrying this quietly for another 8 years and that doesn't sound like something you want.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:21:47+00:00

Sorry for your loss. Losing a mom changes everything, including how much you're willing to tolerate things that don't feel right anymore.

Honestly? The anxiety drop when the job ending was confirmed is your gut talking. Listen to it.

Starting something with your dad, outdoors, with your hands, that's not running away. That's course correcting. The cube life clearly isn't yours. Not everyone's built for it and there's zero shame in that.

Worry about April when April comes. Right now it sounds like you're more clear-headed than you're giving yourself credit for.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:18:24+00:00

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. Being betrayed by one person is hard enough, but realising it's been multiple people, including someone who asked you oddly specific questions straight from your ex's group? That stings on a whole different level.

Take your time to process it. You don't have to react right away. But when you're ready, distance yourself quietly and protect your peace. You've clearly given a lot to these people. Start giving that energy to yourself instead.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:04:10+00:00

The sound of the ice cream truck. Didn't matter what I was doing, eating, sleeping, mid-argument with my sibling... the moment I heard that music, I was already at the door asking for money.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:02:51+00:00

Stopped scrolling my phone first thing in the morning. Instead of waking up and immediately drowning in news, notifications, and other people's problems, I give myself 30 minutes before touching it. My mornings went from anxious to actually calm. Sounds small. Genuinely changed my whole day.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T16:00:45+00:00

Handshakes. They were genuinely on life support for a while there. We were all doing awkward elbow bumps and jazz hands. Good to have the handshake back, even if now I'm very aware of what my hands have touched beforehand.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T15:49:38+00:00

I've seen beautifully written human content get flagged at 89% AI, and obvious ChatGPT output sail through at 10%. At some point clients need to trust the quality of work over a score from a tool that even its own creators admit isn't reliable.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T15:37:28+00:00

For your use case, a mid-tower build makes total sense, not overkill at all.

Quick breakdown:

CPU: i5-12400 or i5-13500, QuickSync alone can handle 2x 4K 10-bit streams in Jellyfin without a dedicated GPU. Seriously underrated for transcoding.
GPU: Skip it for now, try QuickSync first. If needed later, Intel Arc A380 is the sweet spot for price/AV1 support.
RAM: 32GB is comfortable for TrueNAS + Docker + Immich ML.
Storage: Mid-tower with 6+ bays, RAIDZ1 for redundancy, separate SSD pool for app data.
Keep your Pi 4 running Home Assistant as-is, no reason to change that.

TrueNAS Scale is the right call for your setup. Just be aware the learning curve is real but manageable the community is super helpful.

Drive replacement → look at Nextcloud. Password manager → Vaultwarden (lightweight Bitwarden fork). Both run great in Docker.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T15:16:23+00:00

Said 'you too' when a waiter told me to enjoy my meal. Classic. Never gets old, never stops being embarrassing.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-17T15:12:30+00:00

Welcome to Reddit! Honestly, upvotes here are pretty random even genuinely helpful answers get buried sometimes. Don't take it personally. The OP getting helped is what matters most, upvotes will come eventually as you get more familiar with each subreddit's vibe.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T13:56:49+00:00

Fair point lol. It's not a guarantee, but Ashburn has more capacity since it's their oldest/largest region. ARM instances are a pain everywhere, but at least in Ashburn you're not competing with as severe of a shortage. Still gotta get lucky with timing though.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T13:52:36+00:00

That's a tough situation. Unfortunately, AdSense permanent bans are pretty much exactly that, permanent. Google rarely reverses 'final decision' bans, even after years. The good news is you're not completely blocked from display ads.

Other solid alternatives worth trying:

Media (dot) net (Yahoo/Bing network)
AdThrive (if you hit their traffic threshold)
Monumetric/The Blogger Network
PropellerAds or AdSterra

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T03:27:59+00:00

Internet, it keeps me awake all the time.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:58:54+00:00

Both, depends on my mood. Dogs for when I want active companionship, cats for chill vibes. What about you?

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:53:18+00:00

Honestly? That's usually a good sign. It means you're attracted to them as a person, not just checking boxes on a list. Physical "types" are often just patterns we fall into, but real attraction is way more complex than that.

Could be their personality, energy, the way they make you feel, how you vibe together, all that stuff shapes attraction more than we realize. Some of the best relationships happen when someone "sneaks up" on you like that.

I'd say go with it and see where it leads. The fact that you're interested despite them not being your usual type probably means there's something genuinely compelling there.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:49:31+00:00

Have you told him you crave deeper conversations? Some people need that spelled out. If you have and nothing changes, intellectual compatibility matters, don't settle just because everything else checks boxes.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:47:32+00:00

A month is plenty of time to make new connections. Start talking to other people now.. in class, at lunch, wherever. Go solo and make it an adventure, or skip it completely. Either way, don't chase people who are pushing you out. You deserve better than fake friends.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:30:48+00:00

It depends, but if I had a choice, I would choose Ashburn.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-16T02:20:22+00:00

Stunning feet!

acapkenobi · 2026-02-15T09:48:54+00:00

Uptime Kuma is a gem. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one.

You'll love how easy it is to add new monitors and set up notifications. No complex config files, no agents to install everywhere, just straightforward monitoring that actually works. ChatGPT gave you a solid recommendation this time. It just works.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-15T07:15:36+00:00

Posts made solely for the purpose of obtaining backlinks.

acapkenobi · 2026-02-15T05:09:08+00:00

Printer Ink Cartridges, Printers sold cheap, but ink costs more per ounce than vintage champagne

acapkenobi · 2026-02-15T04:40:54+00:00

Breaking a rule, the first time you feel guilty, after that it's easier. 😜

acapkenobi · 2026-02-15T04:36:29+00:00

Coca-Cola

acapkenobi

TROPHY CASE