


The Mindful Technologist - On the intersection of Spirit and Tech.
• Software Engineer
• Cybermonk
• Meditator
• Silence-seeker.
📍 Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand)
Meditation #Consciousness #Mindfulness #Minimalism #Nature #Buddhism #FOSS #OpenSource #Linux #DistractionFree #CalmTech #HumaneTech #SolarPunk #eBike #YouAreTheAlgorithm [#ArtificialIntelligence](htt

@umamiwasbi Getting hired for what exactly?
My gut feeling is it might decrease your chance of getting hired by an average soul destroying big corporate, but increase your chances of being hired by a better company that values autonomy and people who think differently.
This can be applied to many other aspects of how you come across. Better to be genuine and let that exclude you from the bad roles, and improve your chances with fewer but better ones.

As a fully remote/flexible/async SW developer contractor paid by the hour, I have a different situation than most.
Personally I do not install any work apps on my phone because I could easily end up "doing work" that I don't really get paid for.
When I work, I sit down at my actual PC intentionally, I start a timer, and I bill for my time that I take doing work only.
I avoid any work that I need to respond to outside of that and I make this fact known to anyone I work with.

@binarybomb @fne8w2ah A long time ago I used Pocketcasts which is very good but not open source.
FOSS options are AntennaPod or Podverse depending on your needs.
AntennaPod is very popular but Podverse is newer and rapidly developing and it includes a great web player. I'm using Podverse currently, which works with or without an account.
You could also use any RSS reader, and just use Podverse to search and find podcast feeds to subscribe to.

@fne8w2ah IMO there is little reason to use a big platform for listening to podcasts. I would recommend https://podverse.fm/ or just any old RSS reader which doesn't need any account nor is in any danger of being shut down ever.

@MargotRobbie I used iPhones for 7 years when they first came out. Almost always kept it jailbroken where possible. Eventually switched to Android and I found I could do the things out of the box, that previously required jailbreak with iPhone. Around that time, Android UX had caught up to iPhone as well. Custom app stores (F-Droid), custom launchers and more.
Eventually got sick of Android too. Now I use #lineageos (only a subtle difference) and now I feel like I actually own my smartphone.

@AlmightySnoo
I see this from another angle. The 99% average people using stuff like this and judging people based on the color of a txt bubble simply are not worth hanging with. I mean the whole reason I use Lemmy and mastodon and not the platforms that the 99% use is for this reason. Let your honest choices filter the crap from your life.

IMO it sucks to be running or working in big tech companies. And now that suckiness is leaching down into their products and end users. The are all trapped by their own desire.
Why? well at the top of the company you got people who have sold investors a "line goes up forever" fairy-tale, cracking the whip on CEOs to make it happen.
Most tech peaked in usefulness and now its mainly weaseling around trying to make the line go up.
Better to back out of this shit show like Homer into a hedge.

Yeah I thought ads are worthless too, as everyone I know just blocks them. But that's when I realized the people like us who block ads ARE the 10% they now neglect! the other clueless 90% of masses are the ones they are after. There are so many more of them and they are so much easier to monetize
They gave up on us because we are too smart and they cant squeeze anything out of us.
IMO that's why we have to accept that its time to leave and build our own better internet lol

Call me a conspiracy theorist but the amount and intensity of data they must get out of this is huge. They will know all the accounts that are anti-spez which they can monitor and algorithmically demote (soft censorship).
Reddit, like most captive-tech these days, is shifting to optimizing only for providing endless distraction to the 90% of mindless hoards which are easy to monetize.
I suspect Youtube will be next in line to squeeze the lemon, now that they are trying to block adblockers.

I mainly use FreeTube on PC and NewPipe on phone, not to avoid ads, but I just find it a much nicer and more peaceful experience (free of recommendations, Shorts etc).
I actually do pay for YouTube Premium family subscription, but its mainly to protect my less tech-savvy family and friends from ads, and to avoid seeing ads on my Android TV projector.

Sure, the light is actually a LED video light panel that I use for videos, but it doubles as a desk lamp. I set it to warm white and bounce it off the wall and dim my screens to roughly match the brightness. I don't have big eyestrain issues but I certainly find this more comfortable to look at in the evening. I like it better than having all the room lights on too.

Same Cybermonk setup during daylight...
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/mediaattachments/files/110/749/309/885/476/960/original/a2c9481c63371f38.jpeg
Cybermonk floor setup in dark mode


Cybermonk floor setup in dark mode
100% remote WFH. I also record videos, audio, drink tea and meditate here. 100% Darkmode 😎
I mainly sit on the floor, and occasionally stand, thanks to a Limber desk which easily lowers from standing to floor height. It was not easy at first but has worked wonders on my back and hips over time, vs a chair.
Links to some of the gear and software I use, on my site.
https://vijayprema.com/credits/

Perhaps scarier are AI models that contain deliberate embedded censorship and avoidance on training on content that goes against its creators interests, like some anti Big-tech content I post

I understand that many could be worried as this may effect their livelihood etc. However this could benefit me personally, even though I still don't like the idea 😅 . I am OK with a bot scraping what I post, for AI training, as I want the things I talk about to spread far and wide (including being embedded in AI models), even if it means it's stripped of any hint it came from me. I suspect that the more people know about my ideas, even stripped of source, the more likely they are to join me.

@nostupidquestions
It is great! I just wrote a post about it: https://vijayprema.com/using-lemmy-from-my-existing-mastodon/

(https://lemmy.world/c/nostupidquestions) Can I post here from Mastodon?
@nostupidquestions Can I post here from Mastodon?
I think its a popular but not well answered question right now.
I want to know whether I can create a post on Lemmy, by just using a mention from Mastodon.

Nextcloud
Miniflux
Gitlab
HomeAssistant
Wallabag
Ghost (for my personal blog)
Umami analytics
Searx NG
OnlyOffice document server
ntfy
Lychee
LAMP Stack
TheLounge (IRC web client)
Cockpit (server manager)
RSSHub
Jellyfin
Adguard
On an Intel NUC in my closet.