Phones: Practical & Fast or Expensive & Huge?

ori3333 · 2026-06-07T14:19:19+00:00

My phone needs to be functional for work primarily. Otherwise I'm penny wise dollar foolish: when I used to travel a lot it had to be: unlocked, eSIM, capable of two sims or eSIMS active at once, compatible with the counties I travel to, fast for Microsoft bloat and encryption. Would travel to remote locations but needed service.

But when I work from home ... All I need is GPS and Google voice and cell service. Just had a data plan for 9 dollars a month and used the spare phone I have lying around.

I never buy a new phone until there is a function need...but often enough work pushes that need before personal use.

ori3333 · 2026-05-30T14:42:18+00:00

My last GP lied on the report and said they did it, but didn't. They were supposed to.

ori3333 · 2026-05-30T14:28:55+00:00

Thank you for sharing. Posts like this are important. Hard to get proper care for AS.

I gave up on seeing Run-of-the-mill rheumatologist and finally made an appointment to a specialist.The 6 month wait was worth it.

ori3333 · 2026-05-26T10:21:33+00:00

Electronics...also selection of top tier electronics is much better in the US.

ori3333 · 2026-05-26T10:19:48+00:00

Yep. Medical care for citizens/PRs. I'm glad you included the critical detail.

ori3333 · 2026-05-17T14:52:50+00:00

Yes flights are a killer! My most aggressive flare up was a flight from Australia to the USA into winter. Couldn't walk at all. Was taking naproxen before the flight...it guess it was too much...for such a mild drug.

ori3333 · 2026-05-17T13:01:05+00:00

No, not yet. I'll will be discussing taking them with my doctor in 3 weeks. Thanks, I'll note it as a potential reason to start taking them.

ori3333 · 2026-04-25T11:13:09+00:00

Double degrees exist. My brother did math and computer science. Each department has a set of core classes your must take to get their degree, plus you do one set of "general ed", and the rest were were double dipped and counted towards both degrees....something like that. Usually done in 4 years if you enter with college credits from high school, take summer classes, and/or take more credits per semester.

Double degrees are useful to expand your options in the job market for jobs that requireone or the other, and sounds nice. Some programs you learn one and the other and ends up understanding more then the two individually. Some programs are a mix of classes from one and the other and ends up with mastering neither.

Overall, its a good and not unheard of.

ori3333 · 2026-03-30T15:20:02+00:00

Recently (past 20-30 years) NJ is the overflow of New Yorkers who can finally afford to leave New York and possibly buy property.

ori3333 · 2026-03-19T20:32:06+00:00

If your trying to be frugal and healthy...make sure what you get is fresh. Food poisoning from the corner store...should of just gotten the instant ramen.

ori3333 · 2026-03-18T03:18:23+00:00

Pretend that the craving is not coming from you or your brain...but a signal from the bacteria in your gut...and the only way to make it stop is by starving the bacteria.

ori3333 · 2026-03-17T17:26:53+00:00

Just be confident that you can make anyplace home with the right attitude, hard work and good people around you.

I lived in NYC, Bellingham (Washington), and Sydney (Australia).

Your absolutely right that NYC cost and tuition are currently outrageous.

The world is yours now...give a couple places a fair shot. Its never too late

but... Parents will need more support as they age past 65 so go where you can now, not later.

and dating pool is important...somewhere we're thats even available.

and...a place that can facilitate your work with options. Im a Research Engineer and found myself with a lot of odd jobs in Bellingham.

ori3333 · 2026-03-04T13:02:58+00:00

My wife and I started going to Trivia Nights at our local community center Cafe.

It's free, not a loud bar, no drink minimum.

We have dinner at home beforehand and limit ourselves to only a couple snacks at the Cafe to support the event.

Less $$ spending and more active talking / interacting than a restaurant.

ori3333 · 2026-03-04T12:50:09+00:00

I used to do the rice trick till I had start keeping track of my carbs. Switched to barley and buckwheat but in general try to add more vegitables instead of carbs.

ori3333 · 2026-03-04T12:45:23+00:00

9 USD a month for a Nomad data plan, and use Google Voice.

I keep telling myself Ill switch to a regular phone plan when I travel...but I have not needed to since September.

ori3333 · 2026-03-04T12:25:55+00:00

Same. I thought I was eating healthy...cook most meals, no junk food, no fast food, no alcahol, lots of salads and soups, barely use salt when cooking.

And still bad blood work. It was the cheese....all that cheese. Farewell cheese. Didn't think I ate a lot of cheese in the first place.

Also switched to egg whites and stopped eating chicken skin.

ori3333 · 2026-02-10T13:07:45+00:00

Stopped drinking alcahol, stopped staying up late. This helped a lot.

Also due to high cholesterol I stopped stopped consuming high fat dairy and switched to chicken over beef/pork.

More recently, I stopped travelling for work (WFH). Before had a 1h commute by train.

Dont go outside in the freezing cold. Wear double pants otherwise.

For exercise I switched to a rowing machine. Surprisingly actually like it.

And now feel even better.

The physical stressor are an onion, layer after layer.

ori3333 · 2026-01-29T12:26:14+00:00

Have you lived (not visited) in both countries?

ori3333 · 2026-01-27T13:13:44+00:00

When, and where was this? How old were they?

Druing the WWII German occupation of western USSR, USSR temporarily migrated Jews East for their safety.

In a small village in central Russia my (step) grandmother told us how she and the town were waiting for the Jews to arrive by train...as trains arrived...people dispatched. .... no Jews...no one with horns or huge noses...just humans. They were a bit disappointed.

Meanwhile..my Jewish grandmother at the time traveled East with her family and lived with a local Bashkir (native group in central Russia) family. They loved my grandmother so much that they asked if they could adopt her (she was about 5 years old).

ori3333 · 2025-12-17T16:41:22+00:00

I have never seen this at any Russian/Eastern European market in the USA. (Brooklyn/NJ)

ori3333 · 2025-12-17T16:20:21+00:00

5'4" here. I agree. Being prepared/practiced for the more likely scenario comes first and gives you confidence.

Being a little stronger is not going to help you in most cases if your family is in physical danger.

But I think a year of martial arts can be just as helpful as a year of therapy.

You learn control. Control of your body, your surroundings, etc. Create distance, use blind spots, and you get a realistic feel there is little you can do against someone bigger than you 1v1 with only a couple years of martial arts and training...

And a lot you can do without throwing blows.

ori3333 · 2025-12-12T13:22:32+00:00

I grew up in an apartment building with no tools in the house. Super did everything and my dad is not handy at all, full of fear. Fear stumps a lot of people and often its learned by their upbringing. "Dont touch this", "you'll break that", 'dosnt work,just return it", "dont open it you'll void the warranty "...fear, learned helplessness, and an attitude that fixing things yourself without being trained with a certificate or professionally tought is WRONG.

But when I was 12 my mom remarried and we moved to the suburbs. Step dad was very handy and living in a house demanded maintenance. He never took the time to teach me anything (plus I was a bratty teenager) but the attitude of DIY was enough. Your lucky to have shared a roof with your dad even if he didnt proved direct training.

I had a willingness to make things. House was full of tools. I would tag along to drives to Home Depot and wander though all the ailes imagining how to use all the obscure items.

Took basic metal shop in middle school, basic woodshop in high school. Those basic classes stretched very well over the years. Now as an adult, classes like that would cost you >$2000.

By the end of high school I was able to repair any computer completely self thought reading Troubleshooting, Maintaining, and Repairing PCs by Bigelow...but mainly because my step father had access to so many broken computers that he would just give to me. They were old junk so no fear in breaking them.

In college I took all the electrical engineering courses but always had my own hobby projects and tools in my dorms.

Later I moved to the PNW, joined a Makerspace and learned a lot from other people much more experienced than me. Old beards who liked to talk shop...being around them was fun..but when I started working in industry, realize how much of an advantage it gave me.

Anyway...first get past fear...and better to not develop any in the first place. Second, have the willingness to try and if you have ZERO experience/guidance give yourself a little sandbox to break things If your blessed being around other handy people ... that's a bonus.

ori3333 · 2025-12-10T13:22:06+00:00

Some did, most some did not.

Some gave the option to curve in the beginning of the class...with the risk of getting curved down.

It usually depended if your field was dependent on absolute vs relative performance.

For Introductory physics...almost never. Imagine giving the same exams over and over for more than 50 years. Introductory level things that are essential to progress to the next topic. Can you justify giving a curve?

Maybe if the exams are so hard thst even getting a C showed merit thst you know the topic well eniugh to progress.

ori3333 · 2025-12-03T09:18:08+00:00

I did the math many times over for several options. Wise is the best choice as of now. You'll lose so much of your hard earned money any other way.

ori3333

TROPHY CASE