On Friday, I started a 30 day experiment where I "upgraded" my smart phone to a mostly dumb flip phone. This is day 4 of that, I'm loving it way more than I thought I would.

[–] Volkditty@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I saw one of your earlier posts or comments about that...glad it's working out for you! I have been tempted to do something similar. I'm practicing leaving my phone at home or in the other room at times I know I don't need it or really want it. Started running without headphones, too, in a effort to disconnect a little more.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 2 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks! So far, so good, anyway. I'm only on day 4, but liking it so far.

I still use the smartphone (on wifi) in the mornings when I let the dogs out. Mostly just to catch my daily Pokemon and play my daily word game while I drink my coffee. Then it gets put away.

Had a bit of trouble getting my work MFA moved off of it, so I still keep it semi-nearby in case some random thing decides to try push notification instead of prompting for a code, but other than that, it's been smooth sailing.

I don't know that I could run without music, lol, and I no longer have any discrete MP3 player that still works.

[–] Vent@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

This is an intriguing idea, but how do you navigate to new places? Surely not MapQuest?

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Believe it or not, before phones had GPS, I actually had a decent sense of direction 😆 (now, I can't get out of a paper bag without GPS)

It's got a map app and GPS which seem to work. I did replace the stock Google Maps with Organic Maps, though. Haven't tested it beyond plotting a course to the grocery store, but that worked well enough. For the purposes of my experiment, I don't consider that cheating since I did have maps/navigation/GPS on my flip phones in the past (though they relied on cell towers for positioning).

I figure if I commit to the dumb phone life, I'll grab a dedicated GPS unit for my car like I used to have (assuming those still exist).

[–] Vent@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Might even consider getting a cheap Android phone and using it as an in-car navigation/music system. Then get a plan like https://tello.com that lets you pay $5/mo for just 1G of data. Idk how much it costs now adays, but I remember needing to pay for map updates on those dedicated GPS systems, so the cost may be comparable to keep a fully updated map, plus you get traffic and music with a phone.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 1 points 3 weeks ago

I do have a house full of old Android phones, lol. Rather than piling up in a drawer, a while back I re-purposed them into IP phones and keep one in each room. I suppose I could part with one haha.

There are some offline map programs that work well, but I'm not sure if the routing works offline or not. I did learn recently that many contemporary "dumb" phones can do wifi hotspot, so that's always an option if I do need to give it internet for navigation.

[–] superkret 6 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I hosted an art gallery / techno party at a non-profit organisation I volunteer for. It's a club for alternative cultural events everyone can afford. We're talking 5€ at the door and 1,50€ for a beer, at a 10 hour event with multiple DJs and life bands.
It took 4 weeks of preparation to create a concept, book artists, DJs, techs, a caterer etc.
On Friday after work I drove to the club to prepare it.
We built a video installation, mounted a free-standing vertical canvas to practice graffitti, hung 20 artworks, tested sound and light equipment, etc.
I was back home at midnight.

On Saturday I drove back at noon to finish preparations, then ran the show, which went from 6pm to 4am the next morning.
I was back home at 9am, after working 37h on a weekend.

It was the first time I did any of this, and since my partner was sick, I was doing most of it alone. One of the most exhausting weekends of my life.
But twice as many people showed up as expected, and it was a complete success.
Even though an art exhibit doesn't exactly fit our usual 18-24 year old audience.

[–] Vent@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That sounds amazing! Any suggestions on how to find local events like this? How was this marketed?

[–] superkret 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

We primarily market over word of mouth, a self-hosted web forum and Instagram.
I've never seen a club like this anywhere else, that's why I became a member and devote up to 20h a week to keeping it alive.
It's a wonderful oasis in our capitalistic hell-scape.

(There's a pool behind the yellow door 😁)

[–] Truffle@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago

My mango tree sprouted new healthy leaves

[–] Vent@lemm.ee 3 points 3 weeks ago

Shapez 2 released (in early access) and it is 🔥🔥🔥

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 2 points 2 weeks ago

It's a small thing, but I'm happy that the mandarin seeds that I've planted a while ago are sprouting. Eventually I'll use them to graft into Malena (my Sicilian lemon tree). The end game is to have Malena producing multiple fruits; she already has a grafted rangpur branch.

The tree herself also made me a bit happy. Replanting her from a vase to the ground stressed her, but now she's all like "I have more space for my roots! Who cares if it's winter? Time for new growth!".

(In case anyone wonders, the tree is named after a movie character.)

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago

A tiny pleasure that made me much happier than expected this week, was when I got a big box of fruit gummy packs all to myself...

Something as a little kid I would only imagine having.

photo of box

[–] artemisRiverborne@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I went to a martial arts class and for the first time in a while belly laughed

[–] Tracked@sopuli.xyz -1 points 3 weeks ago

Nothing really. I just got drunk