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estilos

4 karma · joined November 15, 2017

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estilos··on Ask HN: What Do Hackers Eat?
Pescatarian, but very little dairy or fish, really. I live by the sea and can buy fresh on the piers or I'd probably skip it.

More detailed fruit and bread for breakfast, salads or soups for lunch, and a highly variable dinner. Usually healthy but I like to buy what I feel like that day and make it, rather than plan the whole day out.

estilos··on Ask HN: I have constantly fallen prey to office politics. Need Advice
You seem to be getting a bunch of criticism; so I'd listen to them. I don't like you might translate to "hey - can you improve your communication skills", and I'm rewriting your code to "this works, but is unmaintainable" etc.

Sure, some people are just jerks, but not usually consistently. So when someone doesn't like you, defuse the situation and ask what would help instead. You win listening points and also improve at whatever you were maybe messing up. And with people who are just being mean, you make them realise it.

estilos··on Ask HN: Do you have any backup plan?
Many. At the moment I have a salary as my main income, so I live only on the amount of money I would get on benefits if my company collapsed. I use the rest of the money to reduce my expenses and provide security. I own my house, grow a fair amount of my own food, sew my own clothes, and use almost all my 'effective income' for fun things. It wasn't tough to start, since it's a pick up from my student days and I just haven't increased my expenditure, only reduced my costs.

I wouldn't make so much myself if I didn't enjoy it, but I do so it happens to work for me. I pay for others to do things I don't like, like laundry and heavy housecleaning.

My startup expenses come out of the other free cash I have, so it wouldn't hurt my lifestyle if my businesses failed; I wasn't going to use that money for living anyway.

Health is my main focus, now. I've bought a very accessible house on purpose just in case, but unless the whole country collapses I'm fine financially now until I die, and I'd kinda like that to be a while off.

I was doing something more typical initially, but honestly, just work out what you want your life to be, and then work out how to do that without it being super risky. Much happy.

estilos··on Ask HN: What do you do to avoid back pain?
When not in work: weights, or swimming, or rowing - something that strengthens the muscles that you don't hate and will do.

When in work: make sure your desk is set up sensibly and your chair is decent, but if your back still hurts, stand up and work like that.

estilos··on Ask HN: How do I choose between software engineering and data science?
depends, but 6 figures seems pretty normal if you're good but not in charge of anything in particular? dev salaries are lower here, maybe? but I started in data on the same salary that my been-devving-6-years girlfriend is on now after 3 raises.
estilos··on Ask HN: Do you maintain two laptops for work and life?
I am currently, but this is more for the post-employment universe :)
estilos··on Ask HN: Where do your peers hangout online?
twitter, mainly.
estilos··on Archaeologists explore a rural field in Kansas, and a lost city emerges
yeah - exactly that. Or just arrest them any time they visit, really.
estilos··on Ask HN: How do I choose between software engineering and data science?
maybe it's dependant on country but where I am in europe this is drastically untrue, and data scientists are paid (including stock) far more than software engineers.

It's also worth noting that although every position I've applied for has asked for a PhD my one year masters has sufficed in every case.

estilos··on Ask HN: How did you learn python?
I wrote a version control system for academics in it for a course in college with no training in it and a 4 week deadline. Then I forgot about it for a year or so and when I'd picked up and played around with 10+ languages in college under similar circumstances, I remembered it was nice and switched all my hobby projects to it. I think a year later I got a paying job using it, and properly "learnt" it by working through getting awesome at something I'd screwed up or done imperfectly in a code review every week.
estilos··on Ask HN: What's your daily fitness routine?
I walk 8-10km a day and swim 1km 3 times a week. In the winter I add in yoga or cycling and reduce the walking a bit cause it rains.

I don't do any gym weights atm, but I'm currently renovating a house, so I end up spending one day a week carting building material around.

estilos··on Millennials What is more important? Saving for short-term or long-term?
I prefer long term; I've my pension and house sorted at 30, and will be able to retire early.

But I live pretty cheaply, and earn a decent income. When I'm saving for something short term (a holiday, new tech, etc) I usually just pick up a couple hours extra work, or don't over-pay into my savings/mortgage that month. I think if that wasn't the case saving for the shorter term, more experience-based things would be the priority in actually enjoying life.

estilos··on Ask HN: How much money would you need to feel comfortable never working again?
Somewhere between €600000 and €1000000, with the higher number being if I wanted to have children. But my personal expenses are pretty low.
estilos··on Ask HN: What were/are you doing at age 25? What would you change?
I'm 30. 5 years ago I had just quit a job I hated and moved internationally to work in another industry for a while.

Advice: quit faster. I've got a hang of it now, but quitting (relationships, jobs, hobbies) that are getting you down is the best.

I've learned quite fast (only started working in industry at 23) what jobs I like and don't like, been involved in 2 startups (didn't quit those - they just didn't work out), and am now a manager in a job that lets me work on my startups in my ample free time. I also own my own home, and have a really sweet girlfriend.

estilos··on Ask HN: What podcasts are you listening to?
Fiction:

Welcome to Nightvale (community radio for a friendly-creepy desert town)

The Hidden Almanac (ursula vernon trice-weekly 5min gardening and saints)

Non-Fiction:

RadioLab (sciency stories)

Bad With Money with Gaby Dunn (notionally personal finance, actually social commentary)

The History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps (does what it says on the tin)