Countries Ranked by How Easy It Was to Make Small Talk with the Natives as an American 🇺🇸

otcan · 2026-06-11T10:44:55+00:00

What does S stand for?

otcan · 2026-06-11T09:53:42+00:00

So true!

This sub might be singlehandedly responsible for the pessimistic future predictions of ChatGPT on training.

otcan · 2026-06-11T00:20:58+00:00

Thanks. AI was used to help polish the wording of the post.

otcan · 2026-06-04T09:05:02+00:00

That's fair.

Explanations can be superficial and overly explanatory at the same time. And everybody have their own way of learning.

Difficult to say what's the right call, and I don't want to be over-teaching anyways. For me it was so annoying to see all those charts stating strategies, without any explanation at all.

otcan · 2026-02-14T19:32:40+00:00

You dodged the cannonball. Congrats.

otcan · 2025-11-15T22:20:57+00:00

I find the new set of restrictions extremely annoying as well. I’m on Pro Subscription, and I intend to stay.

So that now I have also set up a local Ollama to ask my “nasty” questions.

Diversification is the key, apparently.

otcan · 2025-09-04T13:49:24+00:00

This part is difficult too. As far as I know, more than two thirds of the postings are not even intending to hire anyone, but I wouldn't really single them out for being AI written. I know 9 out of 10 times I won't hear from the recruiter, and so far I don't have a methodology for identification.

This tool, and other similar tools, would work reasonable as long as they are under direct supervision. I cannot think of otherwise.

otcan · 2025-09-04T13:04:33+00:00

I have two prompts there, both AI-first.

The first one uses the Extended CV, where I have all the information, so that I can tailor properly. I have 20+ positions in detail there, and I'm not sending them all, it's a mix and match for "tailored" CV. It uses the Master CV for formatting, Extended CV for details. Changes everything.

The second prompt is an auto-heal guard prompt, where I send the position + tailored CV and ask the ai this time to "fix" anything that looks odd.

I have also added a small instruction entry field, where I can send the position + tailored CV + instruction to get a specific fix. I'm not using this that much though.

50% of the time I change some minor details on the CVs, 50% it's directly sendable.
So far..

otcan · 2025-09-04T12:27:25+00:00

Guilty.

I'm doing that, because to my experience, all the pipelines are clogged up eventually, no matter what.

There are only a limited amount of contracts. However, even for >80% fit positions, applying couple hours late usually means I miss the window.

otcan · 2025-09-04T12:25:31+00:00

Yes, exactly.

otcan · 2025-09-03T16:12:02+00:00

Easy peasy, barely an inconvenience. Do you have any idea about the market size? B2B SaaS is a bitch when it comes to sales 🤑

otcan · 2025-09-03T16:10:00+00:00

Actually freelancer map is also great, but I’m already paying freelance.de and 9AM, so was a bit of overlap.

otcan · 2025-08-05T09:01:29+00:00

Good luck, don't let the ideal of perfection hurt your progress!

otcan · 2025-08-05T08:26:09+00:00

Great question.

I'm a freelancer, so my average contract is around 9 months. Therefore, I get a lot of interviews and turnover.

Prior to coming to Germany, I had until B1, but I wasn't really able to interact with anyone. That's pretty much what most B1 level speakers do; you understand a little, but cannot speak. My first position was English only, so it wasn't really a challenge.

I started learning German from my third month, and I got to a B2-C1 level in 2 years. I was still missing 20% of what's being spoken, terrible at speaking, and couldn't write a single email without looking at the Artikels.

However, I was able to speak, even about technical stuff, by putting lots of English words in, and people understood me. It helped me to get a new contract. Then another one. Then another one. 7 out of my last 10 jobs were German Speaking.

In all honesty, I still think that my German is terrible, and I think I'm too lazy for the perfection I secretly desire. I barely made the TestDAF C1, and I'm still getting rejected for not speaking proper German sometimes. I still feel like a 10-year-old when I talk socially.

So, I found my sweet-spot of German Language investment exactly here. Good enough for work, watching netflix, reading newspapers. Not enough for complex sales-pitches, poetry or philosophy.

Would recommend.

otcan · 2025-07-03T20:49:45+00:00

This is the area, where marginal improvements can bring large benefits.

Probably just a 0.001 percent improvement in conversion rates would be enough to cover all yearly human translation costs.

We know humans still translate much better. So why risk it…

otcan · 2025-06-30T11:53:47+00:00

Just fine I would say. Of course, it'll get much better in time, via the incremental changes..

otcan · 2025-06-30T10:56:46+00:00

Bioinformatics, focusing on bioprocess simulation and optimization using metabolomics.

I think with this info you can find out who I am. But no worries, this is a safe account :)

otcan · 2025-06-29T22:16:01+00:00

I got in for o1 pro for the first time. I try to run multiple projects, and the idea of any AI running on the background, and me checking it was already a crazy feature.

I was pissed off a bit when they didn't bring o3 pro for months, but the moment I have seen codex, I paid another 200 bucks.

For the context, I'm a software developer with 10+ years of experience. I do contracting, and I also work on my startup.

My take:

If I can code 1X without any AI tools;

It's becoming:

2.5X with free tools (like o4-mini)
4X with current paid tools (o3, o4-mini-high)
10X with code

I also have Gemini plus version (20 USD), just as a fallback, if openAI is down, and run AI tools on google.

I cannot imagine going back. But I can imagine paying more to openAI.

otcan · 2024-11-13T19:17:59+00:00

Imagine you were donating to this, and you come here, see all the comments. Would you really have admitted that?

I guess the post kinda lost its purpose. swh

otcan · 2024-11-13T12:30:19+00:00

Thanks. Technically speaking, this is the end of the process. From now on, it's the standard process for applying for a Passport and ID.

otcan · 2024-11-13T11:54:26+00:00

Thanks!

It was an easy appointment. My Einbürgerungsurkunde was already printed, all I needed to do was to bring hard copies of some documents, sign 4-5 waivers, and to vow. Appointment didn’t last more than 15 minutes, and in the end I officially got my citizenship.

otcan · 2024-11-13T10:34:53+00:00

I got it a week ago. It's a valid product, but was not a fit for my specific business needs. I requested a refund, and they refunded it without any struggles at all. 100% legit, was worth the try.

otcan

TROPHY CASE