Repository Of Useful Things

a close up to just... light shining through those waves, makes me feel faint with exhilaration every time

the chain reaction a single yawn can cause

the sense to recognize something that looks human but is not quite human (uncanny valley)

getting songs stuck in their heads

the urge to sneeze but being unable to do so

not being able to breathe from laughter sometimes

the reactions caused by tickles

acting fairly casual about pain in their most vital body parts (head)

i have a file or folder on my pc that i want to share with other people. let's call it gayshit.mp3

unfortunately gayshit.mp3 is 750mb and im not paying for discord nitro so i need another way to send it

i put it into qbittorrent and it makes a torrent file. this is essentially a very small file that points to gayshit.mp3 so other computers can find it. kinda like a treasure map

i send this tiny file to my friend, who loads it into qbittorrent. their computer takes a moment to find mine over the vast expanse of cyberspace and then (as long as my pc is running and the file is still where it should be), it gets copied from my hard drive to theirs

this is the cool part: if somebody else loads that tiny file, they can download it from both of us. if i'm offline but my friend is on, the third person can still get it. this also means that if two people have separate halves of the file, they can download the other half from each other. as long as some combination of people have the pieces between them, they can all have the whole thing.

crucially this does not require a server!!! you can just upload the file to a few people and as long as they keep it, it's still accessible. as long as somebody, somewhere is still connected, it's available forever. the only way it goes away is if everybody disconnects from it.

this is NOT because of blocking screenshots, it's because of HOW streaming sites use your computer's hardware to optimise performance, which means the thing rendering the video and the thing capturing your screen aren't the SAME thing. so they can't talk together.

Using Pi-hole and Raspberry Pi (on the Raspberry Pi website, really good overview of what Pi-hole does)

Tumblr-archived Twitter thread about one household's experience with Pi-hole (this is what sold me on it. Also the tweets were published in 2022 and Pi-hole is actively being developed, so I think some of the teething problems he mentioned might have cleared up or are at least being addressed.)

Pi-hole website (gives broad strokes of the software and imho is not actually that helpful, however this proves that I am not making shit up)

Pi-hole documentation (read prerequisites carefully, you do NOT need the newest model of Raspberry Pi to run this thing!! You don't even need a Raspberry Pi at all, you can run it on a bunch of Linux systems however I'm very stupid when it comes to Linux and when my options are install and learn a whole ass new OS or spend $$ on a Raspberry Pi and hook it up to my TV with a wired mouse and keyboard I will unfortunately be spending money)

Privacy International's guide to setting up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi (bro this one saved our asses)

You guys can ask me questions if you want but I guarantee I will not know the answers bc I don't know shit about fuck, I just followed the directions and reaped the rewards. It did take us 2 hours to set up bc I'm bad at following directions (and it's kind of complicated if you've been out of the software game for a while like I have), and you do have to be sososo brave about fucking around with your internet provider's configuration. So make sure you eat before you do it!! However it has been so worth it for me so far, given that now all my devices at home are running faster and I'm not seeing any ads while web browsing. We will see what complaints my family comes up with, but I love it so far.

Also!! if you've never heard of Raspberry Pi, which I realize are not all of my followers are lost in the Silicon Valley sauce so you might not have, here's is their website and their page for using Raspberry Pi at home.

I also use Blokada on my phone when I'm not home and have the Windscribe browser extension which includes 10GB of free VPN traffic and has uBlock integrated into it. (AdGuard does technically make things that do this but I like those better; ymmv).

✧ Being poor is expensive. You can't buy in bulk to save money. You pay fees for not having enough in your account. You buy cheap shoes that wear out fast instead of good ones that last.

✧ The math is constant. Every purchase is a calculation. Can I afford this? What can I skip? Is this worth it? Your character's always doing mental accounting.

✧ You get creative. Meals from whatever's left in the pantry. Fixing things with duct tape and hope. Making do because you have to.

✧ Shame is real. Your character might lie about why they can't go out. Make excuses. Hide their situation because poverty is treated like a moral failure.

✧ Small luxuries feel huge. A coffee from an actual coffee shop instead of gas station. Buying name-brand something. These aren't nothing, they're big deals.

✧ You're always tired. Working multiple jobs, irregular hours, the stress of never having enough, it's exhausting. Your character's running on empty.

✧ Future planning is hard. When you're worried about making rent, thinking about retirement or savings feels impossible. You're in survival mode.

✧ Other people don't get it. Friends who casually suggest expensive activities. People who think you're bad with money when really there's just not enough of it.

✧ The system works against you. Need an ID to get a job but need money to get an ID. Need an address to get assistance but you're homeless. Catch-22s everywhere.

Car repairs can be a disaster because you can't afford the repair but you can't get to work to earn money for the repair.

Similar with illness. You only get so much sick pay.

You will pack a lunch for work because you aren't buying outside food. Lunch may be the cheapest cheese and the cheapest bread you can find.

Hobbies are often expensive

You will shop at Goodwill and thrift stores for shoes, jackets, and other critical items.

And you will be pissed when goodwill is more expensive than Walmart

Also you probably know the discount schedule for your local goodwill

Keep in ming that this is not me shaming you, I know you have your reasons, folks. This is just a guy who enjoys clean spaces asking that you start learning now.

Here's what I suggest as an adult who has lived with other adults who didn't have housekeeping skills:

First and foremost, learn about all the places in your house that need to be cleaned and understand how often they should be cleaned. the American Cleaning Institute (I guess that's a thing) has a good article about basic cleaning info. Plus this video on cleaning tips is great!

Learn how to do your dishes. HOT water is the only way to clean your dishes.

Learn how to clean your shower head, especially if you live in a place with hard water. Same goes for your sinks.

Learn how to do your laundry correctly. Even without the whole "separating whites and colors" thing, there are things you need to learn about washing your clothes. Learn what the tags mean, too.

Also, you don't have to use fabric softener and you shouldn't use it on towels or any fabric meant to absorb. (Learn about laundromats) And please learn how to clean out your dryer vent, it's a safety hazard!

Get a disinfecting cleaner for your high-touch areas, especially the gross ones like the bathroom. Just because it doesn't look dirty, doesn't mean it's clean!

Learn how to sweep, mop, and vacuum effectively.

You'll also want to make sure to change out your home's air filters.

TL;DR, here are some cleaning videos.

How to Clean Everything in Your Bathroom

How to Clean Everything in Your Kitchen

Livingroom Cleaning Routine

How to Clean Everything in Your Bedroom