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Next time something breaks, try repairing it. Pull it apart and look for whats broken, google if you need info or ideas on fixing the problem, and go for it. Worst case scenario you can’t fix something that wasn’t working, best case scenario you’ve saved something from the scrap pile. Either way you’ll have a little bit of knowledge you didn’t already, maybe some skills
Unless it has to do with electrical wiring or anything dangerous. Part of learning to repair is knowing your limits!
Some things are very dangerous even though for inexperienced they might not seem so. Case in point: the microwave. It has a powerful capacitor and if you try taking it apart, it might shock you even when disconnected from power
Never fuck with a microwave, you’re asking to become the path of least resistance for that capacitor to unload through.
Adding to that, capacitors can take a very long time to discharge. They can still do serious damage after not being connected for months
I can’t count the number of expensive things I’ve been given for free or cheap-as-free, and fixed it with 0 to 1 easy steps.
It’s astounding how easily people give up on things.
Touch typing.
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Programming started as a hobby for me as a teenager. I always “liked computers” so thought I’d give it a try. I never intended to make a career out of it because it seemed so hard at first, but over a decade later, I’m decently accomplished in my field and get paid bank for it.
As a hobby, it’s fantastic. You can add in missing features to open source software you use (including the one I’m posting this to right now!). You can make your own little apps to fill niches you haven’t found an existing program for. You can automate boring stuff from other work. You can make mods for certain types of video games. Or if you’re really ambitious, you can even make a video game (but I gotta tell you, video games are hard and need much more than just programming – I do not recommend making video games as a goal unless you’ve thought out just what that involves).
If you make a career out of it later, cool. But even if you don’t, it’s a fun and rewarding hobby that costs almost nothing. As long as you have a computer (preferably not a mobile phone, though it’s technically possible to use a phone), you can program. Hardware doesn’t generally matter. Any cheap laptop works. All the tools you need have free and often open source ones you can use. You only need to pay for web hosting if you make a web tool and want to share it with others.
Meanwhile my dumbass has been trying to be even remotely functional with programming. A degree and a software dev job later I still don’t think I really get it.
That happens to us all. My first year I felt useless. Once I started running projects and getting the opportunity to actually design our framework, I got a lot more confidence. The first project I ran I was not prepared for. But I improved in confidence so much while I did it.
Imposter syndrome affects us a lot. But even if you’re a shit dev, remember this: we literally do magic. Think about it for a moment. We write words in an esoteric script to convince electricity to create things that didn’t previously exist. Even the worst wizard is still a wizard. And the best part is that they can improve! There’s so many resources out there to improve your skills. It might not be for everyone, but I love my job.
I actually got my first real project a few weeks ago after over a year here and just completely screwed the pooch on it. I had like 2 methods written but no functionality after a week with it. I don’t know if I was asking the wrong questions or what but the product owner which was one of our senior devs really had me struggling.
I’m finishing up on a course this week that covers a few things that my school didn’t cover and then I am gonna start working on my own project to hopefully get my bearings straight. I don’t really have one in mind but I’m considering a messenger app or ye ole student registry type app that a lot of people start with.
Hey, we all start somewhere. I remember the first time I broke prod I was freaking out. I skipped lunch and a company event with my boss while we figured out what happened, and we had a few major customers who couldn’t use our software all morning.
Screwing up is what makes us devs in my opinion. When the shit hits the fan and the fire flares, that’s when we find out our real mettle. I like to joke that I moonlight as a fire fighter lol.
Keep at it and I promise you’ll get your confidence when you have that major breakthrough and fix a complicated problem with a simple solution.
If you’re gonna work on a personal project I suggest doing something you want that isn’t easily accessible. Something everything out there is subscription based or something. Do something fun that you will actually use. That helps you stay motivated.
Thankfully what I mostly do right now isn’t gonna break anything major but I have had a few after 5 calls from product owners because certain things in our software that is custom configured for each client might have been done wrong(it’s kind of common enough that it isn’t that big of a deal) and it’s mostly a quick fix and from lack of communication. Where I struggle with is that I am first to call for support issues and I still don’t quite know the software or the industry like the back of my hand.
The small project I am rolling around in my head is probably already made but I want to be able to create a chat app that has full E2E encryption with chat history/room deletion based on if the chat hasn’t been active for a few hours or whatever. Sort of encrypted chat but with the killswitch of a VPN. But I don’t know if it already existing matters as much as the experience I would get from just doing it.
Also thanks for the encouragement. Lately especially I have been beating myself up because I should really be further along than where I am.
Learn a new language. Tons of free resources online. Borrow books or audiobooks from your local library. Make friends with others interested in learning and teaching each other new languages.
This
This barely qualifies as a hobby, but at some point I decided to learn how to count in binary on my fingers. It’s handy if you need to hold a number in your head for a bit and can’t write things down, or to count past 10 visually on your fingers for somebody. There are probably YouTube videos on it. I literally can’t remember where I learned, but I practiced a lot when bored in church. It’s relatively non-disruptive and practicing can eat a decent amount of time.
0 materials. Just takes time. Literally free.
I practiced a lot when bored in church
I’ve heard church frowns upon non-binary people. But I had no idea they convert people to binary counting.
I did the same when Masahiro Sakurai explained how to do so when revealing Byleth for Smash Bros. Ultimate. It’s come in handy a few times when needing to count things out, and honestly can be a fun exercise for dexterity to just count to 31 on each hand.
Lear how to cook. Just grab a simple online recipe, a bottle of your beverage of choice and try cooking something. It’s a really simple and useful skill acquire.
Agree. The number of people I know who “don’t” cook blows my mind. 75% of my repertoire takes less than 30 minutes of involvement to cook. It’s cheaper, healthier, and a great zen thing that’s totally different from my day job.
For those trying to get started, do a meal kit that involves cooking, and start there. Not having to buy ingredients or plan things out makes it less intimidating.
Having cooked professionally for the last 15 years, I take this for granted sometimes.
It amazes me how many people can’t cook anything more complicated than kraft dinner. I don’t mean to rag on anybody, but it’s a skill you really need to learn if you don’t know how. You’ll save a ton of money and there’s a lot of simple dishes that can impress people.
You’ll save a ton of money
idk dude, kraft dinner is pretty cheap.
Recently i picked up an electric smoker and oh boy it’s been life changing. If you want to be the “cook” in your family this is the easiest way.
Take your meat of choice and smoke it. Make sure to tell everyone how long it took to smoke so they know to tell you it tastes good
Clothing repair. Patch, darn, replace a zip or button. Expand that to full sewing and it isn’t free but you’ll save a bucket of money, have clothes that are exactly what you want, and don’t disintegrate in 6 months
This is an animated site for teaching you how to tie different knots.
With a piece of string and perhaps a few wooden dowels, you can teach yourself a variety of useful knots for different needs.
Thank you for this rabbit hole.
If you have a patch of soil with good sun exposure you can learn how to grow your own food. It’s not free but you can be very thrifty while doing it. Huw Richards has published a nice book on the cheapest ways to garden.
Even in a pot on a balcony you can grow a blueberry bush. They’re pretty hardy, nice looking, no thorns, the flowers are good for pollinators, and you’ll be able to pick and eat fresh berries. One little bush won’t produce enough at one time for a pie, but at least they don’t get moldy like strawberries.
In the days of YouTube Tutorials, there’s nearly nothing you can’t learn (up to a certain level of course)
Mental math. People overcomplicate how difficult things are but quickly calculating numbers and percentages is a super useful skill that’ll save you a lot of time.
programming
Seriously. I’ve written little things (batch files, scripts, python programs) over the years which saved me so much time at work or at home. Teach the computer to do the repetitive stuff so I don’t have to.
It’s not free, but you have to pay for it no matter what, so it kinda is, but cooking. Everyone should learn the basics of navigating a kitchen and the basic terminology.
Singing and dancing are both learnable free. Art in general tends to be cheaper. Usually anyway.
Intellectual skills are all fair game, there’s wide availability online. You need to start with Information Literacy though, to kinda unlock the rest. Otherwise you’ll waste too much time on bullshit.
Can you expand on what you mean by information literacy?
You can teach yourself how to change the oil on your car simply by watching YouTube videos. And then all you need to buy are a few basic supplies, and you’ll be able to change your oil for life. Oil changes are either absurdly expensive (dealership) or done half-assed (Jiffy Lube), so doing it yourself gives you a job done right for pennies on the dollar.
And if you find that you have a knack for it, you can teach yourself more basic maintenance jobs like changing brake pads.
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