Conveniences, automation, safety plans, etc. Everyone loves winging it and having piles of chores, but then they complain about life being hard, but then they don’t change anything
A ton of automation and ‘convenience’ being sold is terribly thought out or makes life more complex than not having it.
Smart bulbs are way more work to set up than they are worth for me, a light switch works fine. Cruise control is nice, but lane assist drives me nuts with all the false positives. Generally the overwhelming number of chores comes from just having too many things in the first place.
Fewer, simpler operating things are more enjoyable for me than a lot of complex automated things that don’t do what I want them to do.
ton of automation and ‘convenience’ being sold is terribly thought out or makes life more complex than not having it.
People burning alive in Teslas because we don’t want those unsightly door handles comes to mind.
I also hate push buttons for things like starting the engine or shifting the gear mode. Please let me physically move something instead of pushing a button more than once so I don’t have to take my eyes away from my surroundings in a parking lot.
I had to get a rental car for work earlier this month. It took 10 minutes of YouTube to figure out how to turn the goddamn parking break off. So convenient.
InTuItIvE dEsIgN
I have smart switches, mostly because I’m a tinkerer and build and repair things for fun. I work in IT, so I don’t trust any of this. But the switches work like normal for people not used to it. While I also have a button that turns all the lights off in the whole house at once.
My main automations are basically timers. They turn lights on and off at sunrise/down. And one that turns on my backdoor lights when my garage door opens.
As for cars, I totally agree. Adaptive cruise control is the extent of the smart I want in a car. I’ve had too many false positives where the car will automatically apply the brakes when it didn’t need to. And not once where I was in danger of crashing. Once on a bend in the road where a car was parked on the side and another where an RV had pulled to the side on a turn out to let people pass and the car freaked out because it didn’t realize the road turned.
I’ve also had it nudge the wheel too often when I’m purposely hugging one side of the lane because there is construction or a car on the side of the road.
I think automation in general has been in an awkward stage for a while, maybe analogous to adolescence or puberty. At some point our immediate world will become truly automated, able to sense what we need or want and provide it with very minimal setup and instruction, like a cocoon of personal convenience. Right now it’s more like a 19th century vision of a house of the future with pulleys and wires everywhere - we haven’t gotten rid of the pulleys and wires, we’ve just moved them into apps.
At some point our immediate world will become truly automated, able to sense what we need or want and provide it with very minimal setup and instruction
This will never happen for me because every single instance of ‘user friendly’ I can think of is the opposite of what I want. Yeah, I don’t notice the things that work, but I notice a lot of counter intuitive automation that does the opposite of what I want it to do.
Not to mention that some days I want an app or process to function one way, but on other days I might want it to function the opposite way, depending on my needs. There is no mechanism for the app to guess which way I want it to function, if such a change is even possible without reconfiguring all the settings.
I have that my android phone ditched the ability to swipe up in three spots and replaced it with a single swipe up you have to hold to do what I could do with a quick swipe before. There is no reason they needed to remove a perfectly functional and simple option to add one. They kept the option to have three buttons at the bottom to take up acreen space, why not have three options?
A ton of automation and ‘convenience’ being sold is terribly thought out or makes life more complex than not having it.
Yeah, not EVERYTHING is an internet controlled dishwasher that locks up when updating so no one can hack it.
Smart bulbs are way more work to set up than they are worth for me, a light switch works fine.
Not everything is Philips Hue™®© overcomplicated overpriced nonsense with hubs and accounts and crap. Off brands are much easier. I love being able to just switch the light off from my phone without having to get up, and turn it on without needing to reach for a switch in the dark. Or better, have them turn on automatically at times I’d be needing them. Or have motion controlled lights that only turn on if motion is detected between sunset and sunrise times.
Cruise control is nice, but lane assist drives me nuts with all the false positives.
My electric scooter has that, and I don’t use it, seems too risky especially in an area where people without cars are hated more than literal terrorists.
Generally the overwhelming number of chores comes from just having too many things in the first place.
Not entirely wrong, but everyone manages to overcomplicate the simplest chores possible.
Fewer, simpler operating things are more enjoyable for me than a lot of complex automated things that don’t do what I want them to do.
The best automation solutions are the non-electric ones. It can be as simple as having an easy routine like only scooping cat litter whenever you use the toilet.
Your bottom line makes no sense. If you are scooping your cat litter it isn’t automation at all.
I think they’re saying you’ve mentally automated it by combining it with another activity. Offered as an example of the simplest type of “optimization mindset” that could be construed as automation.
I could be wrong, I don’t have a cat.
You’re correct.
If you like automation and don’t want to rely on the cloud (aka the big data corpos) then you could try our lord and saviour Home Assistant.
🙌 Praise Home Assistant 🙌
I opened the thread thinking, “this has to be a bait post where the op just soapboxes about how much better at life they are than everyone else, and argues with literally everyone offering perspective” and I’m glad to see I was not wrong! Boy if your replies aren’t some of the least self aware, most elitist stuff I’ve seen here so far.
I dunno man, why doesn’t everyone with actual problems just ahh, buy an Android phone, learn how to program or do whatever the hell else you think everyone should be doing to just simply live the obviously better life that you have?
Oh wait, not everyone has the same opportunities as everyone else, and so not only may these options be unavailable to a lot of people, they may also be completely useless in solving someone’s difficult life.
You sound like a Tech Bro in their early twenties who landed a sweet job out of college (that they didn’t pay for) and wonders why people choose to be homeless. And before you try to correct me, that’s what you sound like, so unless that’s the persona you wanna give off, maybe try to listen to what people are saying instead of trying to find out how they’re wrong.
Do you really think people with “difficult lives” are so stressed out because they forgot to take the garbage out multiple times? Seriously? Christ 😂
Good its not just me.
Thank god my smart phone can spell sanctimonious for me, its made my life so much easier.
Oooh, what a beautiful word! It’d fallen out of my vocab. Thanks for that.
I opened the thread thinking, “this has to be a bait post where the op just soapboxes about how much better at life they are than everyone else, and argues with literally everyone offering perspective” and I’m glad to see I was not wrong! Boy if your replies aren’t some of the least self aware, most elitist stuff I’ve seen here so far.
bruh what. I’m just traumatized, not elitist.
I dunno man, why doesn’t everyone with actual problems just ahh, buy an Android phone, learn how to program or do whatever the hell else you think everyone should be doing to just simply live the obviously better life that you have?
That’s ONE solution out of countless. I’m saying anyone can make a solution that works for themselves whether it’s tech based or not.
Oh wait, not everyone has the same opportunities as everyone else, and so not only may these options be unavailable to a lot of people, they may also be completely useless in solving someone’s difficult life.
Everyone has the opportunity to improve their lives. If you’re working and making money then you can make your life exactly the way you want it to be. It takes time and effort, yeah, but it’s not impossible.
You sound like a Tech Bro in their early twenties who landed a sweet job out of college (that they didn’t pay for) and wonders why people choose to be homeless. And before you try to correct me, that’s what you sound like, so unless that’s the persona you wanna give off, maybe try to listen to what people are saying instead of trying to find out how they’re wrong.
Nah I’m a 27 year old who was locked away for 20 years, and I’ve only got to live and experience life for 3 years. I landed a sweet job at ✨ Amazon ✨ I do love technology (well, technology that isn’t stupid) and I think “homeless” should mean primarily renting an apartment. Having zero shelter shouldn’t have a word, it shouldn’t be a thing.
Do you really think people with “difficult lives” are so stressed out because they forgot to take the garbage out multiple times? Seriously? Christ 😂
That was quite literally my family. Or, is. Is my family. Yet they refuse to just… Take out the trash earlier so they don’t need to remember right before they sleep like the countless months of consecutive weeks of forgetting. They complain about having no time for anything but refuse to order online instead of going to two Targets, two Costcos, Bj’s, Walmart, Stop & Shop, Walgreens, Aldi, Lidl, and five international stores in the same day for fifteen hours, back to back Saturday and Sunday, and having to wait until Monday night to sleep. You know, to buy the same things you could buy from Amazon or from those stores as a delivery order. There are other things they can do that they just don’t do, and blame me, the person wanting things to be easier, for ALL of the problems caused by them not wanting to change because God didn’t make lazy people. God STILL didn’t drop a tree on me or kill me with lightning like I demand every day. Stop trying to impress a concept.
Do you realize that every bit of your comment just validated everything the other person said?
Bro I’m fucking insane
You really are lmao…
Yeah, being spit on and manhandled by adults as a 7 year old kid every other day in “school” does that to you. You’re broke? But your shirt has a man on a horse! You’re rich and spoiled. How could you have ran out of soap months ago when you’re wearing a polo ralphy whatever shirt? Maybe get less Airopostale and buy soap, so easy!
Yeah, thing is, my mother would spend a couple of grands on stupid ugly brand clothes, while screaming at me to shut up about body wash and juice. It’s “why do you come to school smelling horrendous” AND “why do you think you deserve body wash when there are people who have nothing?”
Today I wear ZERO brands and I finally get to shower with soap, drink juice, and brush my teeth with toothpaste. Childhood is the worst part of life.
JuST oRdEr onLinE
You HAVE to realize that there are people who can’t even afford the groceries in the first place?! Not everyone is your mom wasting money on stuff they can’t afford! Some people don’t have it in the first place!
After this I’m convinced you’ve never seen a single actual difficult day in your life, sorry. To say that you’re “traumatized” by having too much food in the fridge and spending too much money on buying stuff is fucking hilarious, though.
I know that obviously. Those people aren’t doing that crazy shit. But they can make life easier with planned meals and an easy routine, why deliberately make your life harder?
And this just reminds me of how that fucking bitch took so much food from food banks and never used it ffs. Every Monday a church had an open pantry, that bitch forced everyone to go stand in line separately to get extra. I hated standing in lines so I’d spend every Monday at a library until 7pm and take the long way home for 2 hours. I never actually saw the pantry or what came from it, just the line.
I was abused and neglected as a kid. I had brand name clothes, but smelled bad and only ever ate top ramen and cup noodles. All of that wasted produce was that woman’s. DRINKS were never available. No juice, tea, etc. If I was thirsty I would pretend to shower or wash my hands and drink the bathroom water.
I was institutionalized for a disorder I never had. That woman lied to get me in the institution, and they made me stagnate and regress. I’ve only lived 3 years of my 27 year life. No one believed I was neglected because mommy is rich and I have clothes with old men’s names on them. They’d assume the 8 year old kid is at fault for having no lunch, no signed permission slips, bad BO, filthy hair, etc. Like I chose to be that way. How can I be suffering when my shirt says Abercrombie? Neglect from rich parents is horrendous.
I couldn’t buy my own body wash until I started doing paid surveys at 15 years old (lied my age on PayPal and the site) and dog sitting at 17 on wag & rover. Before that, I used to steal the trial sizes and stretch them as long as I could.
So I’m fighting CPTSD and trying to cut ties and move out. Praise Amazon.
What are you talking about? Do you think convenience is free?
It costs the same amount as overcomplicated lives. And if you’re saving so much money by living on cup noodles and 4 hours of sleep a week, you wouldn’t have much time to use it.
Because all those nice-to-haves and conveniences in vehicles make it harder and more costly to repair.
Today a classmate showed me the mechanism for the gas door opener her company manufactures (assembles). It’s a bunch of rods, a motor, a control board, springs, cables, etc, that run throughout the vehicle.
The fuel door on my '99 Cherokee?
A hinge and a spring.This is obviously one small example but i feel that this example of over-engineering for very little benefit extrapolates well.
Imagine just not having a vehicle lol imagine spending less than $1000 once and being able to get around oh right that’s horrible we should buy huge metal boxes that require government licenses that cost so much, and fuel that costs oh so much, and complain about not having money. Right, that bitch on a bike is the reason why you have no money, not the fact you spend ten times the amount you accuse young people of spending on Starbucks on an inferior travel method. A developed country is not where the poor have cars, it’s where the rich use public transit.
Wow, you’re miserable. Good chat.
You would flatten a child to wait in a McDonald’s drive thru a minute earlier but I’m miserable on my scooter and bike okay sure Jan. Imagine riding a bike in a park, that’s so horrible, you should ride a fake bike with a video of a park instead. Those TVs should have fake wind as well. And while you’re at it, project a fake window gif onto your wall. Cars ruin cities.
Dude, did you miss a med, or something? There’s unhinged, and then there’s whatever the fuck i just read. A ferret on meth wouldn’t be able to keep up with this line of “reasoning.”
No I grew up neglected by family, abused in an institution, and dehumanized by society until I changed my name 3 years ago. I also hate cars.
A developed country is not where the poor have cars, it’s where the rich use public transit.
Tangentially, this cracker of a quote is from the mayor of Bogotá IIRC. It is very accurate and I’ve often used it too.
It is absolutely not safe to ride a bike in my city. I live in a third world country and the roads are not lit well, and the busses ride in the bike lanes as if they were not there.
In fact, the bike lane on the cities main road through the city put the turning lanes in the bike lanes, so good luck not getting hit by a car from behind.
Honestly in my area cyclists are hated more than Osama bin Laden so I can sort of relate to it being unsafe. I know being in a car would be way worse for my mental health though. Do what’s safe and easiest, and never forget what car companies stole from you. Cars ruined your city, so big companies can get more money. Big companies selling an inferior travel method. Cars are primitive, reliable eco friendly public transit is the future.
Bruh… What
Cars are unnecessary money pits that can be replaced.
When you’re stuck in traffic, think about how that is normalized.
Huh?
I don’t think people are, but the major factor is cost here - both in money and time. Getting a maid, a nanny, a dog walker, paying extra for delivery, paying for apps, more expensive automation products (e.g., hue) etc. etc.
All of this costs money, and a lot of time to research & test. Not everyone has that.
Yeah but those aren’t the only choices available. Hue is literally the Cybertruck of smart lights. It’s fucking stupid. Instacart is counterproductive. You’re still tethered to a phone instead of just being able to relax or do something else like walk your own damn dog. Amazon fresh now costs more, but it’ll pay for itself when you’re not spending more than the monthly fee to buy gas to commute to a store to buy the same things for the same markup. And even if it costs more, time spent NOT doing something stressful is worth it. Ditch that stupid ass costco membership it’s fucking pointless buying bulk produce to eat less than 5% of and throw out the rest. Definitely worth commuting for hours! So stupid.
My first smart strip light required some research I quickly did when I impulse bought it for same day delivery. The WS2811 strip needed a compatible controller and the controller needed a power supply. Bought those three things so easily as a complete newbie, set it up with Alexa and my fire TV so I could control it with the TV remote and my phone and everything. The controller I had was ass though, was only hue (actual hue, not the brand) based with no saturation. I bought a WS2811 compatible Alexa compatible 16-million color controller for like $16, and now my strip has 16 million colors. Oh, and I never need to worry about leaving it on or turning it off. It turns off automatically 5 minutes after I leave for work if it’s on at the time.
Automating labor without ensuring it doesn’t impact people’s ability to obtain needs and wants is objectively worse than them continuing to work
I’m not talking about work as in jobs, I’m talking about housework. Everyone has at least five jobs, taking care of their home is four of them.
I’ll complain endlessly about the state of modern society, with social media and constant screen bombardment. But the other day:
The dishwasher was running.
The robovac was running.
The washing machine and dryer were running.
The magic litter box was cleaning itself.
I sat back and cracked a beer.
Yes, this is the way. Watch TV. Play a game. Play an instrument. Sleep. Write stories. Draw. Do online courses. Make a game. Create jewelry. Visit a park. Lay around and do nothing. LIVE. Why spend this time manually doing what a mindless robot can do?
Now go further. Use Amazon Subscribe & Save to buy non-Fresh groceries automatically every month. It can be set as frequent as every week to every 6 months. Set and forget. Sell your car. Spend more time for yourself instead of trying to impress God.
Eh. Fuck Amazon and fuck Jeff Bezos. Use your free time to go to a farmers market and buy staples from somebody who’s not a shithead.
Use my free time to go to a farmers market to buy produce from finance bros who bought from costco and are selling it at a markup acting like they’re “foreign” alongside “handmade” jewelry bought in bulk from Temu and AliExpress? I’d rather use the service that gave me a job and the opportunity to grow even more. I didn’t need a degree or diploma to work at Amazon. (I graduated high school, it’s just that the diploma has a gross embarrassing ugly birth name that I wish to cut out of my life) I didn’t need references or anything else that would have brought my horrible past into relevancy. And I’ll be able to take college courses all free, and I get $$$ this holiday season on TOP of overtime pay. All of this opportunity given to me, a rando who went to hiring.amazon.com and picked up an available shift. I have no merit. (well I do but I hide it lol) I’m a loser. A mistake. Scum. Yet I’m making $22/hour bringing in $1000 a week after taxes with 55 hours. Tell me more about this shithead who is much worse than actual scammers on the street manipulating your empathy to sell overpriced “organic” “fresh picked” produce bought from costco.
You’re calling out vendors at farmers markets as “finance bros” while simultaneously on a tangent defending Jeff fucking Bezos?! What color is the sky in your world…?
Gray
Smooth, predictable operation requires forethought, planning, and willingness to stick to a process. It’s not nearly as fun as living in the moment and improvising.
It’s fun having peace of mind though. It’s fun being able to binge movies without suddenly realizing you forgot something important. It’s fun being able to nap without waking up in a cold sweat because you forgot to take out trash for the tenth week in a row. It’s fun being able to forget the time and get immersed in hobbies.
Oh, I completely get it. It’s a battle of delayed gratification versus instant gratification. I can take care of business now and have stress-free fun later, or I can have fun now and let future-me deal with the consequences.
Or you can have fun now and have no consequences.
I am going to come across like a condescending dick here, but real talk: Does Amazon have an EAP for access to counseling or therapy? If so, and you’re not leveraging it already, I think you would benefit from doing so.
I agree with some of the sentiment you present in this thread, if not all aspects/means (the points about simplifying aspects of your life in general are well taken), but if you’re not trolling even a little bit it sounds like you’re suffering a lot.
We need to grind for a sense of pride and accomplishment.
They feel the need to grind. No one needs to grind.
I like cooking, I like gardening. Husband likes washing the cars. Sure I like convenience - live about a mile from work so can easily get there without a car, have a Roomba, hire for biweekly cleaning so we can have weekends. But some sorts of activities you think of as inconveniences may be stuff other people enjoy doing.
Is your planning theoretical at this point? Your responses sound like you haven’t actually implemented these plans.
I hate automation to the point of being a Ludite. We’re chasing our own tails. Every new luxury becomes a necessity we can’t do without and we become enslaved
Because a human who doesn’t move their body becomes miserable and unhealthy. Zero is not a good level of activity.
Yeah because you move your body sooooo much sitting in a car and walking slower than a newborn snail in Costco, instead of working out at a gym, walking at a park, playing Just Dance, walking your dog, etc.
Can you explain the walking speed of a “newborn snail in Costco?” How many legs do newborn snails have…?
Slow.
I’m saying, Costco customers are moving slow as shit because the store is crowded. When they could just order online instead of buying a membership for the privilege of basically sitting in traffic with shopping carts.
You don’t NEED to pay yearly for Amazon prime. And at the time I made multiple accounts and used the free trial on each. AND gift cards from surveys apps.
A job externalizes the motivation to keep moving. That matches our brains’ evolution. It’s easier to get out of bed every day for a job than it is for going to the gym and playing Just Dance.
The answer is simple. Propaganda. For probably thousands of years, religions have preached that hard work and sacrifice are virtues. They of course only pay off in the next life.
Every day I curse out every religious leader I know of. I tell them to strike me down with lightning or a tree. Every day.
I still never got hit by a tree or lightning.
But like… why? Isn’t that a waste of time, something you hold dear? That gives these religious leaders a lot of power over you, for you to practically be praying to every one of them, every day, probably spending more time praying than actual religious people are…
Unless you’re just saying you do, to look edgy on the internet…? But who would do that…
It IS a waste of time so I do it while getting dressed, just cursing out religious leaders as I throw on sweatpants and an Amazon branded hoodie to head out for work. This way no time is wasted. I find it funny and it boosts my mood for the day.
All of you writing cogent arguments and being philosophical should step back and realize this whole thread is an unpaid advertisement for amazon subscription groceries written by someone who thinks they were saved by a job there.
I’m glad this is the top comment because lordy have mercy, what is OP on about.
I don’t think i was saved. I was saved.
And it’s not only about subscribe & save, but other solutions. I just feel super alone like everyone wants to have hours of chores instead of making them easier. There are solutions that cost nothing, like having an easy routine or combining a chore with something you do every day. Like, just taking out the trash earlier in the day costs nothing. But family insists on keeping themselves awake waiting until 11:59:59PM to take out the trash which takes hours because one person keeps over-overbuying produce and never using it all. Like, buy less of it, and take out the trash earlier. That SAVES money for fucks sake
I just feel super alone like everyone wants to have hours of chores instead of making them easier.
Why do you care about how other people choose to spend doing their chores? You seem angry for things that don’t affect you. Focus on your own life.
They agree with that family’s mother.
