nord/mullvad, bitwarden, claude code (max), openai, youtube music, google drive (for the storage space).
Got a few lifetime payments too for various desktop utility apps
I pay for other ones on an as needed basis, but my tools change based on what i'm working on. Usually always have a render and supabase plan going for various hosted toy apps.
The Sound ID is amazing. Been using it for a few years now. I usually just keep it on while I'm hiking and it identifies over a dozen birds in 20-30min, nearly all of which I've eventually verified are in the area.
The photo ID feature is okay, but I assume that's because the photos I take on my phone of far away birds is too pixelated.
I actually want a similar ID feature frog species; i hear a lot of croaking
I use cline + Anthropic and Google models with a custom .clinerules for frontend react + typescript. I manually tag relevant files into context
- Gemini 2.5 pro tries to fix and refactor my entire codebase unless I aggressively constrain it, which is too much work. I've written it off as unusable for coding, but can be fine for educational purposes
- For AI IDE coding, I narrow down the scope of what I ask so Gemini 2.0 Flash or Haiku can handle it. I've haven't seen better results switching to paid models.
- For generating large swaths of code, I recently went back to copy/pasting into Claude Projects, with my github project hooked up and relevant files added to context. For a moderately complex component, it usually takes 5-15 generated versions to work, though I end up adjusting my specs a bit in the process. This is still faster than using the agent. Claude Code might get similar results, but I already pay for Anthropic so haven't tried it out.
- If I'm picking up a new library, concept, or pattern, I usually chat with Claude to level up my knowledge. The "Plan" mode in cline focuses more on task execution than skill development.
Echo this. We paid a lot for 24/7 postpartum nannies, au pairs, and other kinds of nannies. Good quality liquid formula so my wife could catch up on sleep. Various appliances, strollers, car seats, toys, etc. There is some narrative out there that throwing money at the problems is cheating, missing out on bonding time, not as good for the child, etc. It's pretty much all lies, in my opinion to make some people feel better about not being able to afford these things. Years later, we have healthy young children and have loving relationships with them. But almost equally as important, my wife and I had lots of time to relax, recharge, and take care of our physical and mental health.
I worked these obnoxious high pressure tech jobs for many years, and now is when I get to reap the benefits.
For my personal todo list, about 50, but a lot of them are small (send an email to X) or non-urgent (return a package, pay a bill) so I don't lose track. I don't add routine tasks like laundry/cooking/etc. In a given day i get 5-15 done. I find having more tasks really helpful because I can take a quick glance and realize i can stack chores (ie: easy to return a package if I'm grocery shopping nearby).
For my work todo-list, maybe 10, but i get 0-2 done every day. Unlike my personal tasks, I only put important (my internal definition of p0s and p1s) or aspirational tasks (learn X) and actively cut anything i realistically won't get to.
Not OP, but as an American consumer, what i would like are:
- better labeling on products i buy to know they didn't contribute to the deforestation. Ideally these products are cheaper (or at least not more expensive) than unsustainably produced ones
- more accessible/cheaper tourism opportunities so I can visit the Amazon as easily as possible. I would like to know my tourism dollars go to conservation efforts
- wrt narcotrafficking, investing in campaigns to legalize drugs in America (along with the rehab/support facilities). I suspect much of the illegal drug supply chain will disappear if the drugs were simply legal.
Yes, and maybe some networked cameras out in the middle of it. If people could interact with it remotely like that they might have a wider appreciation. I’m thinking cameras on gimbals and solar powered with wireless internet one or another way. Perhaps have them track motion or something. Night vision.
If I'm a citizen and want to sponsor my parents to get green card, do they have to spend 6 months/year in the US? Is there a way around this requirement? Life abroad is better for them so 6 months/year in the US is a lot, but having the flexibility to come and go would be nice without having to deal with visas.
The short answer is no, they do not have to spend at least 6 months a year in the U.S. We have many clients whose parents essentially live in two countries. Certain easy steps just need to be taken in advance.
I struggle with exactly the same problem; reading (and also playing the piano in my case) feels like a low value-generating activity. My time is more and more limited over the years, and I find myself needing to ruthlessly prioritize how I spend it. This has led to a constant re-evaluation of my values, and have roughly concluded (atm) that instead of reading, I should be sleeping, socializing with friends and family, exercising, outputting/hacking around for fun, or learning about something at work that can make my workweek easier. Or just decompressing cognitively, sometimes in the form of time-restricted TV/games.
Ultimately, after having read/listened to ~200 mostly non-fiction and fantasy books in the past several years, the ROI is non-zero but not that high relative to the other activities mentioned. I think this is partly a byproduct of the times and the culture I'm in (mid-career engineer in silicon valley), where priorities shift a lot towards career and financial successes. Personal output tied to network, skills, and work has a much larger influence on these priorities over a much shorter time frame than reading arbitrary books. If I lived somewhere else or didn't have money needs, I can see my priorities shifting more towards reading. It's not ideal, but I've come to accept this reality. Reading isn't something I have to do, nor is it always the most rewarding activity.
I try to still read every now and then, especially if there is a focused book aligned with my immediate interests, but I've also come to accept the fact that I may not finish a lot of books and that's okay.
I've also come to believe that most books have too many words for my taste given the relative paucity of ideas, and I'm under no obligation to read every word just because an author wrote it. I need to be my own editor of the content I consume; outsourcing this to the writers/publishers makes less and less sense. If I'm bored, I skip a chapter or three. Or I may read a synopsis online and if it is interesting, then I dive deeper. I have to prioritize how I read, not just how much I read. I actually find this makes the reading experience more enjoyable since I spend less time on the parts that feel "boring".
(I have the same attitude to TV/movies; some episodes are not a great use of my time so I scene skip and increase playback speeds).
I've also found myself listening to more audiobooks instead of reading. This is particularly helpful when I drive, do late-night stretches, or cook and it doesn't consume additional time.
I wish circumstances were different and I could just go outside in the shade of a tree and read all day, but at least at this point in my life letting go of the pressure to read definitely has had more stress-relieving effects than actually reading.
Got a few lifetime payments too for various desktop utility apps
I pay for other ones on an as needed basis, but my tools change based on what i'm working on. Usually always have a render and supabase plan going for various hosted toy apps.