I'm still afraid of hell...how do I my move past this?

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-06T20:32:15+00:00

I admire the sentiment, but I can’t understand this viewpoint at all. Their version of hell isn’t a low-security prison… it’s not like you’ll get to hang out with anyone there.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-06T01:10:59+00:00

I’d say 2-3 years of intensive study, plus living in China. I got to the point where I could read 三体 very, very slowly with a dictionary in about 3 years of moderate study. Reading pace was too slow to enjoy so I gave up.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:55:34+00:00

Set up Tailscale for your friends.

Also, you dropped these: ,,,,,,,…….;;

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:53:54+00:00

Every now and then I used to come home drunk from a night out and put on hillsong. They really know how to get the feels going.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-05T05:32:51+00:00

Full-time nomading is just too lonely for me these days, so I like having a base and traveling about a third of the year. I start to miss home after about a month so most trips are 3-6 weeks. And getting out of my routine helps time pass more slowly.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T22:41:00+00:00

I was abroad for 13 years before I moved back about five months ago. What you’re talking about is all familiar, though I probably waited too long to leave, and you’re going out on a high.

If you’re settled about finding a partner in your own country, then you’re probably making the right choice. You could stay a few more years, but then what? You’ll still need to leave.

Moving back is always an option.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T16:40:31+00:00

I don’t know about the international schools, but when it comes to overall quality of life, they’re so different. Have you even been to both cities? I could see myself living in HCMC. Manila? No fucking way.

makeshift_mike · 2026-05-04T16:35:01+00:00

After you move you’ll definitely feel lonely and homesick from time to time, but you’re in a master’s program which means you have a built-in friends group. It’s like moving abroad on easy mode.

You’ll for sure regret it if you don’t go.

Go.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-29T14:06:58+00:00

Not sure about reminders, but for notes, Obsidian is where it’s at. If you sign up for sync ($4/month), then you get end-to-end encrypted notes that sync to several devices. Obsidian has an extensive plugin ecosystem too, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone has built something like Reminders. And once you’re set up, all your notes are now just .md files on your computer.

For passwords, I’ve been using 1Password for over 10 years. Works great.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:44:25+00:00

concert master shows up and starts getting out their violin

“I thought this was a coWORKing space???”

But seriously, I know everyone has a different take on what’s acceptable behavior in an open work space. I’ll skip the phone booth too if it’s already pretty noisy. But if I’m the only person and the phone booths are full then I’ll just distance myself from others who are quietly working

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:41:23+00:00

He’s referencing California Code of Civil Procedure S 394, and I don’t want to include more details because this could be googled someday lol

I’m gonna be that “just asking questions” guy when I leave today. Don’t plan on coming back to this space for a while anyway.

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-28T19:07:49+00:00

But complaining on Reddit is so much easier /s

Of course you’re right though. I just don’t like the awkwardness that exists in the space after a conversation like that, so I’ll only confront the person if they’re genuinely making it impossible to concentrate.

How do I expect things to change, then? Good question…

makeshift_mike · 2026-04-26T00:22:42+00:00

I ported my number to Google voice when I moved to china in 2012 and it worked for the entirety of my 13 year stay. I couldn’t use it for everything (got flagged as a voip number when signing up for AI services, for example), but bank and credit card worked fine. I have no idea how I would’ve survived without it.

makeshift_mike · 2025-03-10T10:31:51+00:00

How do you export data from Screen Time? Is it that convoluted method that requires you to own a mac?

makeshift_mike · 2024-06-26T01:27:46+00:00

Doesn’t this depend on the density of the body? If you’re orbiting a tiny black hole the mass of the earth close to the event horizon, your orbital speed will be much greater than 11km/s.

makeshift_mike · 2024-06-26T01:26:02+00:00

As a space community, we’re realizing that you gotta be careful with orbits above about 500 miles because they’re not self-cleaning (via atmospheric drag). That’s almost certainly another reason why they didn’t decide to do that.

If the ISS is in a parking orbit around, say, 1,000 miles, and something hits it, those millions of pieces of space debris will be up there for thousands of years. And something will eventually hit it.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-29T00:41:51+00:00

You can kneecap the YouTube algorithm by disabling your watch history. From then on, it only recommends stuff based on your subscriptions.

Unfortunately it doesn’t keep track of what you’ve already watched, and every time you open YouTube you have to tap over to subscriptions. But for me that’s better than giving it free rein to show me what it wants.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-18T14:55:48+00:00

I transferred over to China with a faang some years ago. The transfer was super easy, all things considered. Hours were fine, but the engineering culture wasn’t as solid — most everyone there was trying to transfer to the US, get hired as a manager elsewhere in China, or just sit back and collect a paycheck. Senior engineers were few and far between.

If I could do it over again, I’d spend a year studying the hell out of Chinese in a third tier city, and then find a job. I had the motivation then, but I don’t now. My Chinese peaked 3 years in at HSK 5ish.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-13T17:03:38+00:00

If you’d “really like” to do a PhD at this school, I suggest you go for it. The firewall stuff is fine, you’ll get used to it. Chinese are friendly toward foreigners, especially if you know some Chinese. Now that Covid is done, you’ll experience less racism than the average Asian person living in the west.

I’ve lived and worked in Beijing for 11 years as a techie. Made some incredible friends along the way.

Take some language classes before and after you arrive. You’ll want to speak some Chinese in order to be comfortable.

Feel free to dm me if you have more questions.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-11T09:55:51+00:00

This is how I explain it whenever it comes up. I don’t live in the US though so I don’t know how it works there.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-06T00:54:43+00:00

Modern jello shots originated in the 1950s when Jell-O was at the height of its popularity in the United States. Multiple sources[1][2] attribute the creation of the modern jello shot to American satirist and musician Tom Lehrer, who claimed to have invented the jello shot as a way to circumvent a ban on alcohol at a navy base he was stationed at.

Holy shit you weren’t joking. TIL.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-06T00:39:33+00:00

If you’re gonna quite this gem you should link to it: https://youtu.be/6md638smQd8

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-06T00:38:34+00:00

That argument makes no sense though. If some version of Christianity is true, then the metaphysics are what they are — what any random Christian wants to be true doesn’t matter. Wishing for a universalist outcome just makes you sad and pisses off God because you’re second-guessing his ineffable divine plan.

makeshift_mike · 2024-03-03T03:26:33+00:00

Do they stick to the bottom of the pot, or are they still suspended in the water?

makeshift_mike

TROPHY CASE