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What are your plans for the first six months of 2023?
In December, a lot of people make plans and ask about what you want for the next year. But a year is a long time, and maybe it's not a good idea to have a rigid plan for such an extended timeframe.
Rigid plans lead to frustration when, inevitably, circumstances force us to change our perspective to varying degrees. Dreams are put on hold, objectives shift and adapt.
So I am not asking about the entirety of 2023. I'm asking instead: what do you hope to achieve in the first semester of 2023?.
As usual, anything goes. Big or small, personal or professional. Whatever you want to accomplish is good for this thread.
I'm curious to learn what's on your mind. Cheers! ;)
Some recommendations in gradually increasing difficulty:
@Loire Probably also worth having a reference or introductory text on linear algebra, an undergrad EM text is probably going to assume familiarity with vectors and matrix math.
Continue my theme from 2022. I made headway in all the ways I intended to but only partially.
Plan to keep those going. The one thing I didn't really pursue enough in 2022 was creating music. Though I did find other ways to create (writing, personal site, some other projects) I hope to focus on music for 2023
That's a seriously incredible accomplishment. Awesome job.
Thank you! I have much more to lose but this has been a great start. The best part is I lost it slowly and have kept it off (no more yoyo-ing). Been doing it through calorie counting. Doing it in a way where I can keep it going has really helped. Some facets in case anyone is interested:
(Disclaimer: IANAD, I do not wish to have a discussion about diets, what works and doesn't, etc- I have lost multiple ways and this is what works for me- it's fine if it's different for you)
You know what? Fuck it, I'll give it a shot.
I have a job now, which means I have skills directly associated with growing in my position. Learning those skills will make my life easier in the long run, and might even lead to improvement of my quality of life. (It helps that these are also related to a prior area of expertise.) Basically, I'm going to learn React, Typescript, NextJS, and a handful of associated web technologies... whether I like it or not.
I also live in a different country now, and with that comes a list of languages I must learn in order to fit in. In my case – Belgium – those are French and Dutch, in the order of priority as far as I'm concerned. My boss speaks French, most of the people I meet in Brussels speak French, and while most readables here are bilingual – by law – French is something I already have basic understanding of. So, getting a hang of French. (Fit Dutch in somewhere if I have the energy.)
Between my two magazines, I have something like 20 topics to talk about at length when it comes to New York or the US in general. Growing the former and starting the latter would be high on my list, just behind all the work- and living-related stuff. It's a hobby I nurture, and it's a hobby that nurtures me. (Also, I'm starting to think that translating the magazines into English, for an international audience, might be a good idea.)
I've gained a lot of weight over the last year: partly due to stress and stress-eating, partly due to suddenly lacking physical activity (due to being hovelled up inside my apartment out of fear of being conscripted on the street). So yeah: losing weight. It's going to be a multi-year endeavor, so I might as well start early.
Getting physical updates, like new clothes and a couple of new electronic devices. In my position right now, this is something I have to think about in advance, but all in all, it's a good position to be in, so I'm not complaining. My old iPhone SE (1st gen) has served me well for years, but it'd been a few years before even I got it. (I'm eyeing iPhone 13, or 14 if that loses about 100 € by the time I can afford it.) Also a book reader, because I have a ton of books to get through (many of them about New York, so it's semi-professional in nature) and no conditions to read comfortably in. (Reading on a laptop is no good – I stare at the screen all day anyway – and reading on the SE... Let's just say I want to maintain what acuity of sight I still have.)
FanficGuy is originally from Russia (where they were/are press-ganging men on the streets to fight in Ukraine). He only recently emigrated to Belgium.
This is correct.
Also, to reiterate: they're still "checking documents" of random men on the street. If you don't have an ID with you, you'll be taken into the precinct to "confirm your identity". Unless you're on a list of people not to be forcibly drafted (like, say, a son of a politician), you'll likely end up at the military commisariat (where both mobilization and regular conscription happen), to be filed for "voluntary" military service in Ukraine.
Also also, I wouldn't be publicly talking about dodging draft in a country where I only have thin ice as my footing right now. (Job contract gone, and I'm on the first plane back to... Donetsk, probably, at this stage. Not seeing it happen, but legally, my footing in this country rests on a single document.)
That sounds like a nightmare. No wonder you stayed inside so much, and ended up gaining a bit of weight from stress eating. And oh, sorry. If you want me to delete my comment, let me know.
I don't think you have anything to delete the comment over.
I may have phrased it poorly. What I meant to say was: if I were to be dodging military draft in Belgium, where my footing is thin indeed, I wouldn't be talking about it publicly. I would, however, be talking publicly about dodging draft in Russia, now that I'm outta there and not planning on going back for a hell of a lot of a while.
Oh, hah. Yeah, I get what you meant now. I suck at reading. ;)
I’d like to have some conversational proficiency with Italian. My partner and I are visiting there next year in May, and I’ve been going hard on Duolingo, and I plan to acquire the Pimsleur audio from the library once I get a little further along.
I would also really like to finish my druidry course. I only have a few more lessons left, and then I assume I’ll have to send something in and decide if I want to do the next level as well.
I also really love to revisit this video in December: Your theme by CGP Grey.
Try https://www.languagetransfer.org/ . They are audio courses and completely free and very high quality. I recommend quickly moving beyond Duolingo(the streaks are addictive, but have diminishing returns).
Thank you! I’ll look into this in the new year.
Are you familiar with any romance language? Cause if so, your job will be easier.
But even if you don't, that's a totally achievable goal. Just start, like, right away! Good luck!
I am not! I’ve studied a little bit of Spanish, but I never got to the conversational level. I have a decent grasp on German, but that’s not actually very helpful. :P
For the onlookers wondering why German isn't helpful:
German is a Germanic language, of the same linguistic family as Dutch, Swedish, and English. In other words, one cannot use their knowledge of German to boost their learning of a Romance language, such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, or, indeed, Italian.
Yes, learning more languages helps you learn more languages, generally. There are neural pathways associated with linguistic acquisition that get reinforced. Having prior understanding of a related language, however, helps in different ways: by giving you a half-decent map of the grammar and the vocabulary to help you kickstart the process.
But even with this categorization there are differences:
From my experience, English and Spanish have more ovelap than German and Spanish.
That's because of English's history of borrowing (or being forced to borrow) a whole lot of stuff from Romance languages. French is a notorious "parent" when it comes to a lot of things modern English, including the silent E at the end of many words ("kite", "write", "wire", "dire", "Kate", "Nate" etc.).
We get many tourists here (not Italy) so I have some experience.
My advice to you is to get the basics and don't worry about sounding like a tourist that just started to learn Italian, because that's what you are. People will be touched by your effort to learn their language and culture, they'll know you are a learner and will forgive your mistakes. So yeah, don't worry too much. It's gonna be awesome ;)
I intend to post a yearly theme thread in the coming days. It’s good to think about your next theme early :)
@autumn https://tildes.net/~life/13rp/your_theme_for_2023
Thanks!
I wanna learn how to repair desktop computers.
That may sound like a silly skill to acquire (or too trivial, even), given that most people use laptops and smartphones nowadays, but I really like desktops and I don't ever wanna have to pay someone to fix my main machine. I also lack the fine motor skills to deal with laptops and smartphones (shaky hands).
The main reason to learn this is not money, but I have been bamboozled before and I have trust issues. But maybe I can make some money on the side by helping friends out and building machines for them.
I'll probably look into some structured way to learn this, like a book or a course. I understand most people don't need that, but that's just how I function.
When you say "repair"... What sort of repair do you mean? As in, repair desktops (diagnose OS and hardware issues, have the requisite knowledge to replace a faulty component with a healthy one, understand how to build one from scratch...) or repair the hardware inside a desktop (soldering and other general maintainance of an electronic device)?
I wouldn't wanna mess with soldering a motherboard, no, absolutely not. That is one thing I will always have a guy for. And is that even worth it most of the time?
But rather using the right tools to identify issues, trying a quick fix (something is loose, IDK), replacing whatever is at fault, etc. And building PCs.
Apparently Linus and the Tech Tips have been building "the last guide to building a PC you'll ever need". I haven't seen it – the video is one hour and forty minutes long – but if it's any good, it should help you with the basics of what, where, and how.
Beyond that, I suggest you get yourself a good screwdriver, 'cause if you're gonna go about building and rebuilding desktop PCs, you're gonna be using it a lot. Again, Linus and his Tech Tips have been hard at work making a good goddamn screwdriver, and apparently it's really good.
However, I would suggest you don't stretch for that immediately, and instead get yourself one that's cheap but not too cheap. Get yourself acquainted with the tool and the process, and then, if you feel like you need something better, there's a range of solid, well-performing screwdrivers on the market. By then, you should be able to tell what you like and what you don't like about this particular kind of instrument, and make a purchase accordingly.
In my experience, a Phillips screwdriver (the one with the cross bit at the top, to fit into the cross-shaped Phillips screw) is 80% of what you need to make basic replacement of components in a desktop PC. In other words, it's important to have a good one if you're planning on doing this seriously, but it's far more important to just have one in hand.
If I were you, I'd focus on figuring out the very basics: what's what in a desktop, what does what, what goes where, and whether the thing is essential. I don't have any guides about this 'cause my learning was hands-on, but I'm sure you can find a ton of great guides online. Once you're there, you'll the requisite reasoning library to propel you further: what kind of motherboard goes with with kind of CPU, frequency of RAM vs. frequency of CPU, types of drives, how much power you need for a given configuration...
It's a process, not an exam: start with the basics and go up at whatever pace you feel comfortable. Eventually, maybe buy cheap used parts and build absolute-basic computers, just to see how that works in-person.
Best of luck.
VR has enabled me to consistently exercise and enjoy it in ways I haven't experienced since I played Dance Dance Revolution regularly 20+ years ago. I now need to get my eating under wraps so that I can actually get to be the type of healthy that I want to be. I'm in a bit of a holding pattern for this month, but come January I'm going to use that new year energy to hit some new habits hard.
Also, 20+ years ago I spent a large amount of my time making custom DDR stepfiles for Dance With Intensity and Stepmania. I loved it, and it was awesome and a ton of fun being able to dance to steps that I myself created. Thus, I want to try my hand at making my own custom Beat Saber beat maps. That's going to be my hobby pursuit come January. There are so many songs that I want to rhythmically flail my arms to that nobody has mapped yet.
Sounds like a great plan ;)
I'll be busy adapting to the changes I need to make for my health.
I've had some chronic issues get made worse from the last time I caught COVID, and some new ones have developed as well. None of them are life-threatening, but combined they're pointing to a shorter lifespan and decreased mobility so I am trying to get them nipped in the bud.
I've already started seeing the doctors and things are already underway to understand exactly what's causing these issues, and I have a strategy to deal with at least one of the issues already.
You sound like someone on the way to improvement. Good luck ;)
Yeah, it's just looking at the six or so appointments I have on my calendar so far is a bit overwhelming.
I very much appreciate the encouragement, though. Thank you.
Hm... My main ones are to start a new medication, get a salpingectomy, and move away from Florida. The last two are kinda related - it's becoming more important to live somewhere that isn't Republican to the max, and with Roe gone I don't want to have the possibility of pregnancy hanging over me, even once I'm in a blue state.
It's a bit scary, not gonna lie. The med has potential side effects like minor immune suppression. I've never had surgery before, and my various health conditions make it less routine than it otherwise would be. (In fact, I'm doing this one first partly to see how I handle surgery before I get a more involved one...) And moving will take me far away from my parents, who are still a pretty big part of my support structure, despite living with my spouse.
It's also nerve wracking to consider surgery and moving while trying to avoid COVID. I won't be severely immunocompromised by this med, but I was already high risk.
Sorry, I know this is probably meant to be a positive thread. These are all good things at their core, there's just a lot tempering any excitement.
Thanks! I'll probably have to tackle things in an overlapping fashion, but at least for some of it there's just a lot of waiting around. (Don't see my surgeon for the first time until the end of January, for example.)
Yes, there are so many hoops to jump through with things like these. Keep us posted if you ever need to talk through the process or vent!
I really only have two goals for the first half of next year:
Money UP
Weight DOWN
As I said a month ago, I recently got a pay rise. In theory, this should make it possible for me to save a noticeable amount of money. Unfortunately, that theory isn't converting into practice yet. It didn't help that the short-term shopping spree I mentioned in that previous comment was a bit too enthusiastic! So, I need to focus more on saving money and not spending it for a while.
I also want to continue losing weight. I'm down 8.5kg since August. I'm out of the "obese" range and into the merely "overweight" range. I want to lose about another 10kg next year.
Both these goals are matters of ongoing self-discipline. They both require multiple small good decisions every day, every week, which is hard for me. A relatively small blow-out on one day can spoil a whole week's effort, but the temptation to splurge is always there, so I'm always having to make the same decision to be restrained and disciplined, over and over again.
Anyway, it's time to go eat my cheap salad. :)
Oh shit, you're back! :D
I'm sick and tired of one random date a year should implicate that something is going to need change or plans have to be made. Fuck that I'm not going to promise anything.
(I have nothing against the thread in general)
Hey, whatever works for you, buddy ;)
Thanks and you too :)