r - random

I read nonfiction almost exclusively.

To be specific, I read manuals, papers/essays, and documentation. All of it concerns computing or mathematics.

I'm going to take up ancient history again soon as well, to add some variety.

I recently got back into computers and tech due too browsing Lainchan so there's that.

I also use guns and am trying to learn a bit of electronics with an arduino.

That's about it for true hobbies. Usually my main time sink is work followed by school.

Much like >>17738 I read almost nothing but non-fiction. Fiction is nice and all but at the end of the day you get nothing but a cheap thrill. I do follow a few manga series but that's about it.

Oh, and I also like learning what I can and looking for learning resources just in case I ever need them down the road. I can vouch for edx, some stuff is a hit or miss but overall a very good place if you want a University type education on very specific topics.

find memes, find happiness

Recently, I've been trying to focus on becoming a better programmer. I've been really fascinated by programming for a couple years now, but my skills haven't really grown much due to either being swamped with work or other hobbies constantly getting in the way. It disgusts me when I think about how much time I've wasted, this past year especially.

Like others in this thread, I enjoy reading non-fiction, although I haven't done that in quite a while either. I really need to find a way to balance everything.

like others here i read a bunch, fiction or no, doesn't matter. i try to get a good mix of books from my local library when i'm there. come to think of it most of the non-fiction stuff i read is on computer or online and largely related to work. speaking of computers i play around with non-work related programming things while surfing.

joined a social cricket team after a sportless winter. summer time also equals beach time. do some volunteer work and quite enjoy the people i meet doing that. nightlife where i am is dire so i tend to look forward to good stuff thats on. same goes for more formal events, which for me is really classical concerts. rpg/board gaming with friends. hiking with the missus and/or friends. not big on tv or movies but i'll watch the odd series here and there. zone out and listen to music if i need a break from the world.

>>17743
>cheap thrill

yeah because you are probably reading bad fiction.

I play a ton of video games, and read a little, less than I should, but more than I have for the past few years. I also do I lot of world crafting for tabletop games and making campaigns for GURPS and 5e. I thing games are my real passion.

Reading, watching film are two

One of the things that has begun to interest me more recently is the concept of "working" on your own terms for the benefit of others, simply because you enjoy it. Free software is a great example of this, groups of people can contribute to a centralized system the benefits everyone. I really want to try to apply the themes surrounding free software to other, more physical things. There isn't much I personally can do (I'm a NEET with not even a highschool diploma) but I was wondering what lainons thought of working for the common good (In whatever way, programming, any sort of activity that benefits some sort of community) I think that this, or something like it is the "path to happiness" I have been looking for, I have problems with more of the self-serving drives that are common (Money, sex, etc. doesn't interest me) I actually hold this as sort of a disability in some regards, it makes it difficult to be able to do certain things, most of the motivators in our society are based around these things, and as I'm sure many lainons can attest to, motivation is critical. Without the desire to work you really can't make anything of value.

While this apathy has crippled me in some regards, I hope it will allow me to move towards something that I now value even higher, which is the success of humanity as a whole, not a group of individuals. I don't really consider myself a socialist, more someone who has been forced into playing the role of socialist. It isn't that I myself want others to share with me (as seems to unfortuantely be the major motivation with lots of socialist movements) It is that I myself want to work for the benefit of society.

I began to ramble somewhere in there, so here is a tl;dr

I would like to work in some capacity for the greater good (at least as far as I am able) and I was wondering if any other lainons felt similarly?

>>17768
To be more specific, I want to make shit, ideally with other lainons. My dream would be something along the lines of the KC warehouse plan, a space where I could help out other like minded people with whatever they want to do. This seems like a sort of dream right now, but my real goal is to do something, anything with my life. I'm stuck in a place where I don't really believe any of this matters, but I don't think that that fact inherently means that it's pointless to do soykaf . Being able to wake up with some lainons, either physically or over the internet, and start work on a project of some variety would be my ideal world. I'm kind of useless for most things, but all sorts of people make the cogs in the machine of production run smoothly, and I'm good at cooking, cleaning, and repairing electronics. I could work as support staff (read: qt meido) for a dedicated group of programmers, or something similar.

My problem is that my dream fundamentally differs from the current reality, because right now, there is no way for me to benefit society by working, only corporations. There is a huge difference between working for the common good (my dream) and working as it is now (my reality)

I could do a thankless job as a janitor in a tech company, but why? For what purpose? So a bunch of other people can put out some software that's sole purpose is to make more money to create more software to make more money in an endless masturbatory loop of cash flow from the bottom to the top.

Now, I can say all these things easily, because my food and drink and bed are secured, and I desire none of the things that increased cash flow would bring (Except by a donation of sorts, starting the idealistic lainchan makerspace). I guess what I am trying to say is that as a NEET, I am well suited, and I can't really blame other people for working. I guess I'm just looking for justification, other people that want more from life than a 9-5 job and a comfy house. I really want to make shit, truly make things, for whatever purpose. I want to make an omlette for a lainon so he can stay up late and finish his program, I want to fix holes in clothes so we can afford nicer servers for hosting, I want to participate, in any way I can, in something more meaningful than what is available to me now.


I guess what makes me sad is how far away all of this is. Nothing of what I want from life is readily available, and I guess part of this is whiny and childish, but this soykaf shouldn't be as hard as it is.

I rambled again, but I don't really have a tl;dr this time. I know (or at least fervently hope) some of you feel the same way I do, and I just need to know that there are more of you out there who are upset with the way things are, and want change. I think that even if I don't know you, and even if I never meet you, if you want the things I do, and if you feel the way I do, I can work towards making my goal a reality.

And, if I somehow make it, then I'll be sure to post here and give you guys a call.

>>17768
>>17769
I feel similarly.

>>17769
>>17770
Same here. I'd recommend you read these:
+ In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell
+ The Soul of Man Under Socialism by Oscar Wilde
+ The Abolition of Work by Bob Black

>>17769
Maybe I just want to work, not motivated by money or social success, but for the creation itself, I don't want to work to prove that I'm good. I'm interested in and love a lot of things, but I still fail to enjoy my life. I often feel like I could do so much, that I could learn anything, but I never actually do, I give up before I even start, always exhausted, and find myself right where I was before.

What you described to me is wholly idillic, all I could do are just candles to a sun, when it can be combined with the efforts of others, and that sun of ascending increase is so beautiful, a hand reaching towards infinity.

I wallow, entirely alone, in all the inadequacy and the can not-s. I whine, but still adhere, do half-hardheartedly what is limited from the beginning. All those possibilities I was so confident in are now naive and stupid, all the things I've said are wrong, all my love is false.

>>17769
Pretty much how I feel.
Have you ever watched one of those sci-fi about a ship's crew, where each crewmember has their own strengths and weaknesses, and they all work together to achieve something, like Firefly or Dark Matter?

I want a real life version of that.
I want somewhere that I work where I'm not expected to be a mindless drone sucking up to customers, churning out the same pointless web pages or enterprise software day in and day out.

I want to work with people who I can be honest with. In the real world ,as it is right now, I have to put on a guise, pretend to be a normal well-integrated member of society who doesn't have any worries about the corporations we're producing revenue for, or political grumblings.

I want to work in a space where I feel at home, where I can work on things that are important. We need to think of a way to make enough money to get by while doing this and I would drop everything to make this a reality.

video games until my fingers bleed

Playing Chess and reading philsophy / science stuff are pretty much my only hobbys atm

>>17768
>>17769
>>17773

Something like this is my dream also. I would like to live together with some nakama in some lab. Spending days, working on cool projects/experiments that seem interesting at the moment. Not worrying about meeting deadlines or making profit. Just making cool stuff when and how we like.

We would be making stuff for other people too, for money(and for free sometimes), because we still need some money to pay for electricity, food, water. And also for our projects. But we would accept only the projects that are interesting or really matter.

>>17735
learning stuff.

reading:
- (actual) books
- pdfs
- websites
- man pages
- etc

experiments:
- timesink os
- coding
- exploitation (red team)
- social engineering
- soldering (circuit bending)
- etc

entertainment
- (vintage/retro) video games
- movies/tv
- shows (concerts)
- art exhibits
- etc

>>17735
Just be careful with videogames. I've spent most of my childhood playing games as my only hobby and now it has became painfully apparent what a waste of LIFE it has been.

I'm not going to debate the validity of gaming as a hobby, because is up to each gamer to say if spending whole weekends leveling on some RPG or playing LoL is actually harming his life. If you tried to debate with me when I was addicted, it would've been pointless anyways.

>>17768
>>17769
Everyday I went to my job when it was dark in the morning and many times came home when it was dark again (because overtime) not having time for anything other than studying a little (about performing better at such job) and sleeping. I got money and every month I bought many expensive things... I'm not happy and I doubt it is possible to be happy without a purpose, whether it is to have a happy family or to work in whatever higher cause you like; I think you're more right than wrong.

I would really like to have somewhere to point a motivated individual like you and say "go work on that", but I don't know. Just remember that many people fantasize about doing stuff, but never get down to do it. And then they get old and die.

The thing is, according to what I've been reading, that it appears that the first step to getting great at anything (and being able to effectively collaborate to the greater good) is to decide on something. Then the second step would've to spend a lot of time getting better at that something. And I don't know more, so good luck.

I used to play games non stop but since I've started my uni course I've stopped cold turkey out of a fear of fuarrrking up and pissing about never getting anything done. I pretty much just do work for uni, watch talks about computing and maths,and shit, make toy programs and sit on lainchan

So I guess the thing to do would become a sort of martyr for the cause, and to work that thankless job, earn money, and begin my dream. The problem is that I gave up a long time ago. I don't have the money or the desire to get a GED, go to college for years, get a job, work for years, and then start living. Maybe that makes me lazy, I don't know, but I'm not strong enough to martyr myself.

I've been thinking about how to fund this for a while (Because, unfortunatly, this is going to need money) and I've thought a lot about how money functions in society. I'm not necessarily opposed to buying and selling as a concept, my issue is with the reasons behind the buying, and the people doing the selling.

To dream some more, I would love to open a bakery. Just make affordable bread, delicious bread, and sell it. Running my own business, making money that way would be fine in my opinion. I would still be working for myself, and for the customers I served, even though money was changing hands.

However, once again we find ourselves foiled by the concept of money. Artists have always struggled with this, the problen of being paid to create. Now, however, we live in a time where that struggle has moved to something as traditional as running your own business. Large corporations, conglomerates, have killed the ability of the common man to own and run a business. How could one possibly start a bakery? Mass production will always oustrip you in quantity, and running a bakery as some sort of handmande tribute to quality would just end up living on pretentious fuarrrks who simply must spend large amounts of money on "artisinal" bread. I, as a dedicated (at least somewhat) individual should be able to produce something of quality for a reasonable price. However, the same problem that exists with bread exists with all things. Everything has become BIG. No single person, NEET or otherwise, now has the capital required to start a business, and that is a problem. The worst part is that it's one I don't know how to fix.

>>17790
Move to a small medium sized down with a few small towns within a hour. Learn how to make websites. Make websites for really small business by flipping through the white pages and finding which ones don't have one. Charge 200$ up front for 3 pages (Home, Menu/misc, about us/direction) and 50$ for each additional page then 20 to 100$ a month for upkeep, maybe even do some social media stuff for an extra fee for them. Also consider getting a part time job, ideally for somewhere that's flexible, or a night job at a hotel where you can be on a laptop and do your other stuff. Use any leftover money to buy stocks with dividends. Wait 5 years. Open bakery in one of said small towns where everyone knows you already as the guy that does the websites.

>>17790
You seem depressed, or at least confused.

>I don't have the money or the desire to get a GED, go to college for years, get a job, work for years, and then start living.
>Maybe that makes me lazy, I don't know, but I'm not strong enough to martyr myself.

The world owes you nothing. You provide something of value to people and they'll pay accordingly. A idea could be the one in >>17792, but that's not the only option. If you don't put any effort into this, then obviously you will find yourself working a job eventually, which depending on the country it may not be so bad actually and could help you get the money you need for your project.

>No single person, NEET or otherwise, now has the capital required to start a business

And that's how it is. Not only about the money, but many things are the result of the work of many people collaborating together with their skills. That's why getting together with people who share your interests and goals is so important.

Anyways, do you even are able to have fun? If not, what do you do with your time?

Well, I'm a CS major so I spend quite a bit of my time on subjects of that nature. I also read a lot, particularly books about anarchism, philosophy, history, and a bit of sci-fi and fantasy. Also a fan of D&D, particularly AD&D 2e. Outside of that, I play video games occasionally and go on lots of walks.

Because of >>17794 but mostly because I want to write more, I feel I should explain a few things about myself (I was trying to avoid making this a blog thread, but oh well)

Yes, I am depressed, but from what I gather a lot of you here are, I'm also a Schizophrenic (This is how I get those sweet sweet NEETbux)

I don't have fun, and I don't do anything with my time (I sleep 14 hours a day, and only listen to music and occasionally post on lainchan while I am awake)

I guess part of my problem is that I am both legally and mentally incapable of working (at least in our current society) so making money traditionally is pretty much out of the question, and NEETbux really only supply enough income for basic needs.

Sorry I got tired halfway though, I'll finish this post later.

>>17799
Okay, I figure I can at least do this with my life (Hopefully someone finds these interesting)

My problem isn't that I am unwilling to work, it's that I'm unable to work as work is in it's current form. As you may have figured out by now, the truth is that I know exactly what to do to be happy, (or at least what would make me happy) the problem is that it is utterly unnatainable in the current climate. I've decided I'm not lazy, I'm definitely willing to work, and willing to work hard, I just see no point in working for nothing. I suppose I can't blame people for working, (without my "gift" of mental illness I would probably do the same) but you must want more from life than to effectively waste 10 hours of your life a day for a pittance of cash. I may be depressed, and looking for happiness, but do you not feel the same way? Are you content with the way things are?

Again, I don't have a solution, and I don't think anybody does, but I can't accept things the way they are now.

As pathetic as I am, I make a nice omelette, so if anyone does actually put together a lainchan collective, I'll cook and clean the place.

Oh I forgot to mention, I do have one hobby and that is drinking (which I am about to partake in) So, this will probably be it for me for a while, have fun lainons, and I wish you the best of luck.

>>17799
>>17801
>(Hopefully someone finds these interesting)
I enjoy reading your posts, but they need less images.

A Lainchan collective sounds like it would be a nice cult for a while, but I doubt it would last or even begin.

>>17802
>but they need less images.

But anon, this is an imageboard.

>>17803
You're 1 of 4 people posting images in this thread.

I'm just saying. You don't have to have an image with every single post you make.

>>17804
Don't bully the schizophrenic baker. He drinks and sleeps all day so that he can fight da system! xD

>>17805
Oh, I'm a Schizophrenic Baker, and I'm okay,
I drink all night and I sleep all day.

>>17806

He posts all night and he sleeps all day!

>>17735
I try to appreciate art... Or I try to learn something new about computers once in a while.

I dont have any hobby as far as I know. Although I was really about to say that programming is my hobby - in this very moment Im really pissed with the work I do at my office, and with the programming classes I have at my university.

I tried to learn to play guitar in the middle of this year, but I didnt go too far as I got overloaded by the excess of working and study I got. But, at least Im planning to be productive as much as possible at these vacation that is about to come. Im considering to learn drawing or photography. Im trying to have a hobby which is not too much related with the work I do. Im trying to have a hobby as an escape from my boring working routine.

I've been taking up surfing but I'm really bad and my incompetence frustrates me.

I read a lot, but that's not really a hobby. I watch movies, but that's not really a hobby. I play some video games, but that's definitely not a real hobby. I play guitar but I've played for 10 years now and have only bothered to learn like 5 songs. None of which I can play right now without refreshing myself. I know a lot of chords/patterns though. So that's not really a hobby.

I guess I don't have hobbies. I wouldn't consider programming/tech stuff a real hobby, it's for money or educating myself towards practical ends.

I need a hobby. I think my lack of hobbies ties into my depression and general nihilistic outlook. Just no passion, man. I should be passionate about SOMETHING, anything. And it's just not there. No part of the divine in me. Feels broken. And I feel I'm too old at this point, if there was something, it would have called me.

>>17809
He puts on woman's clothing, and hangs around in bars!

>>18257
You could go play the guitar right now.

>>18259
I'm too drunk.

>>18260
Does being drunk prevent you from playing or does it allow you to not play?

>>18261
Thanks lain, I'm going to play some guitar.

So many lainons here that just want to live and do what they like. Even better, so many souls that sound so generous, but have no outlets.

I'm here with you guys.

Life is pretty much about doing what you want. Life is about drawing on Papa John's stupid face on the pizza boxes, playing instruments badly or decorating your piece of soykaf car, just as much as getting a freakin' degree. I don't want to buy a bunch of dumb white people soykaf and I never want to have to look at an advertisement again. I want to learn, but I want to do it without being part of the students-are-profit mindset of America.

Is this the only way we kind of people can connect? Do you guys just, like, want to hang out sometime and build something?

I'm sad now.

>>17782
We both do literally the same thing.

>>17735
These days, all I do is study and DJ, usually alone in my room.

I don't really like anything except Chemistry and electronic music, but both of those are wonderful things.

Play video games
Watch anime
read books/comics/manga
hangout with friends
Its the little things that keep me happy, but at the same time it makes me depressed that I'm not really going anywhere in life, but I am leaving for the military in a few months so maybe that will help clear my head and make me feel better about my life.

>>18347
It's funny sometimes the people on here feel more like artists than a bunch of computer science people. not like drawing artists, just kind of at heart I guess.

>>18404
The prospect of money and making it on my own makes me feel better

>>18407
Perhaps this may interest you then.
http://www.paulgraham.com/hp.html

>>18347
>So many lainons here that just want to live and do what they like.

Is that so hard to believe? I just want to be able to do my own thing without society in general calling me a waste of space. Like everyone here I want to learn, to explore, to grow, to experience this thing called life.

I'm willing to work but it's insane when I'm looked at like a psycho when I don't want to stay more time at work for a few extra dollars.

>>18407
The more I think about it the more I'm on the side that thinks everything that deals with actually creating has an artistic aesthetic side to it.

Mathematics, programming, hard skills like welding. It's just a way we either see, shape, or manipulate the world. What's more artistic than that?

>>18366

8 year mil here, it add problems, even when you haven't killed anyone. You'll get healthier, but the groupthink can be psychologically stressful. You will get soykaf for liking anime/manga. Fortunately, depending on where you go, you might find a few friends who like it to.

In short, once you get in the military, you will spend your term thinking about all the amazing things you can do when you get out.

>>18409
Yeah it actually did, really neat. Especially bit about how a lab is perfected before it is carried out, but software like a painting is built upon and slowly reaches "perfection".

Dont entirely agree about pseudocode though, there is certainly some merit in getting a clear idea of how you are gonna go about making anything before you jump straight in. Of course you could say like a painter you just get an idea in your head, but thats hard for many at first with programming. Kind of like how in most beginner art classes you do a light sketch before messing with paints.