My dream is to own my own business (just kidding--own several businesses), but I'm currently experiencing financial hardship. After frantically looking for work for over a year with a network that let me down, I finally managed to find part-time work at a local nonprofit.

But I want to keep the foot on the gas (quite literally). Looking for a good business podcast I can listen to on my drive. I've listen to some in the past, but the quality of them has gone down. Oftentimes the guests are showboating, with like 30 seconds of helpful nuggets in the middle. Or I'll roll my eyes when I see the guest is some Dr. Oz-like green juice prophet.

Yes, I realize podcasts need to make money. I fully accept that if a podcast is free, ads are unavoidable. I simply skip past them.

Previous podcasts that have fallen out of favor with me: University of Adversity, School of Greatness, Achieving your Goals with Hal Elrod, Mel Robbins, Entrepreneurs on Fire, and How I Built It (where each episode just sounded like a 50-minute commercial for WordPress).

Looking for ones that focus on becoming rich, but also ones that talk about how to bolster a network and overcome hardship. Somewhere along there.

Any ideas?

Before you start throwing 💩 , hear me out...

I'm a huge fan of the fediverse...it's returning to the original design of the Internet...where everyone can communicate freely and openly and corporations have a very difficult time pulling anything creepy that LinkedIn/Twitter (yes, I'll still call it Twitter)/Facebook does.

But I sense a huge frustration with businesses that want to network with others but feel their hands are tied by these walled gardens.

I figure, why not make the fediverse business friendly?

Right now most people on Mastodon/Lemmy/etc. seem to be more of the anarchist/weekend hacker types. So part of my concern with this is that it would taint the fediverse with a bunch of spam. But by the same token it would also help grow the job market and provide opportunities for people that they may not have had on LinkedIn. Of course, I'd stress for anyone on the site to operate in a community-first mindset.

So, some question...

1. Would this type of instance be met with disgust? I mean, obviously the great thing about the fediverse is that you can block servers you don't want on the network, but having the instance blocked would kind of defeat the purpose. 😅

2. If you're excited by the idea, what things would you like to see? In my own armchair brainstorming, I thought joint accounts would be a good idea, as well as analytics.

3. Suggestion for already-existing platform? Can't find a good one that would be ready-to-go to build off of. There's friendica, but I'm not much of a fan of PHP, and it seems to not have great adoption, either.

Title says it all. Does anyone have any bosses you worked for where you felt they were the epitome of epic leadership?

As a Christian most of the circles I'm around are pretty chill...no stone-cold fundamentalists. But I have been around people (and even had family members) who are 100% convinced that rock music is evil and will lead people to engage in witchcraft and draw pentagrams all over their home.

The root of the belief is that rock music uses drums, which are used by voodoo tribes in Africa to entrance people.

Along a different track of thinking, from where did rock music originate? Slaves. They created the guitar because slave-owners didn't allow them to make music with drums.

So then is "rock music is evil" sort of an echo of that attitude?

Yeah, I'm a programmer and I've got the itch to create one. DEAL with it! 😝

That said, open to suggestions...I realize that most dating apps have--shall we say--less than desirable people on it, but I'm concerned more about the way the platform operates.

For me, I think the dating app world is a hodgepodge of garbage. I've been on a lot of the common ones (and I'm willing to pay for one), But most of them are strictly an app--no web interface, and fully closed source and a privacy nightmare...or online but they block you if you even think about using a VPN (because obviously only criminals use VPNs).

So from a technical standpoint REST-based dating apps are best, because it can start on the web (and remain on the web), then a smartphone app could be built on top of it. Then again, my aim isn't to digitally violate my users, so I've probably lost that game. 🤣

So, what about you folks? What would your ideal dating app look like?

One thing I've found is that I have kind of a fear of repetition. Usually this manifests at work if I'm in a job that's repetitive. I have this kind of out of body experience where it's almost like I wonder how long I've been there and how many times I've done the thing.

And in college I always tried to sit in a random seat for lectures. Any time I felt I sat in the same seat more than once I would start to feel anxious.

I've somehow been able to cope exercising, not sure how since I take a few laps around my block when it's still dark out. I think it might be that I set a timer? I'm not sure, but there are times when I get that anxiety when I repetitive exercises.

I've been trying to research online for ways of coping, but I'm not finding much. The link I posted seems to be just an article on phobias in general, and "dittophobia" sounds like something someone just made up.

As a Sci-Fi fan I've been a huge fan of shows like Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, Terminator: TSCC, Star Trek, etc. I keep hearing Babylon 5 is awesome.

I was too young at the time to watch the series when it was on. But then as an older teen/ young adult I decided to give it a try. Everything was so cringe it was hard to get through 3 episodes. IMO the whole vibe was "safe..." maybe even a bit corny--not the intense, exciting, politically-tense space opera that I was told it was.

So maybe the beginning episodes are just world-building? What do other people think?

Title is basically it.

For me, it's usually coffee, or anything spicy, like cayenne pepper. Apple cider vinegar usually does it, too.

I'm someone who craves (and thrives) on intimacy and closeness. I'm never been afraid to be vulnerable (I'd actually had to learn that I shouldn't be vulnerable with everyone). I love it when someone is really passionate about something, even if that thing bores me to tears. I love hearing about peoples' hopes, fears, dreams, opinions...

But I often feel like people hold me at arm's length. Like they say, "OP, I like you, you're interesting, but stay right there."

And it doesn't seem like it's a matter of following the "relationship journey" either. It seems like eventually I hit a wall of someone not wanting me to come any closer. And it hurts.

Being neuroatypical I do realize I have an intense personality so people may not know how to interact with me. That may be part of it.

Anyone else experience this? How do you cope?

Steve: turns on lightsaber

Steve: Hm...what does the green plasma taste like?

I'm wondering if it's financially worth it to cover the $5/mo membership.

I post Medium articles fairly regularly, and each email update shows I get ~500 reads total.

Is that enough to cover the $5/mo? Would it be a wise financial risk?

Are people willing to share their readership and total MMR?

Edit: shouldn't have shared my financial situation; was interested in data/advice only.

I mean, seriously. I was stupid enough to take on the burden of student loans. At least give me the dignity of having the responsibility of paying them off.

I post videos, content, or articles almost daily on my social media to show tech companies that, yes, I'm the guy you need on your tech team since I know my stuff.

But each time it feels so...blah...because nobody ever reads anything I write. At least, nobody with money (despite me writing FOR people with money).

I recently asked people to submit questions for an AMA on databases. I got 3 questions back. I think I'll use my local LLM app to generate a few more.

But it felt like...what's the point? Even when I record and publish the video, so far nobody's ever engaged with my last 100 posts. Why would they do it for this one?

Anyone else feel this? How do you cope or overcome?

I'm in tech and working with a guy on a very small project, but I'm definitely not able to make ends meet (thankfully family & friends have pulled me out several months lately). I've also been looking for a stop-gap job until I find a tech company that actually knows how to hire. But even that seems to be really difficult.

Like most ADHDers, I have a processing disorder. Grocery stores trigger panic attacks. Monotony also triggers it. I'm also not good with detail-oriented tasks (so that leaves something like electronics manufacturing off the table).

But I am a hard worker. No matter the pay, I will go above and beyond for my team to get a job done.

I'm scouring indeed and Craigslist trying to find something I can get in the interim.

For other ADHDers, what has your experience been doing a receptionist job? Is it ADHD hell? Or am I over-blowing the mistakes I'd probably make into major catastrophes? I realize it all depends on the employer. But what stories do people have (positive or negative) who have been receptionists?

No, not what I've said what others say makes you awesome (though if they're supporting arguments, that's fine).

What do you say makes you awesome?

For me, I'm highly creative and imaginative. I'm unusually playful for an adult and refuse to grow up. Life's too short. I use humor to rise about any obstacle or any situation.

What about you? Let's brag about ourselves!

I'm sure lots of ADHDers know what I mean. Situations where you're not meaning ill intent, but the way that a situation turns out makes it seem like you're the bad guy/girl.

How do you handle the situation without seeming like a victim or that you're making excuses for yourself? Do you explain the situation or just accept it and hope that enough time will reveal your true character?

I'm ecstatic I was able to capture this!

Thunderstorms are rare for my area due to the standard weather pattern. When the do pop up they last for a half hour--max-- before either dissipating or moving on. For me, doesn't matter what I'm doing, I drop what I do to watch the thunderstorm. They're always exciting, beautiful, and mesmerizing.

I usually jog this early in the morning, but was sitting on the can for my pre-workout deposit when I heard the first rumble and decided it wouldn't be wise to head out. Instead, it was dark enough I figured a time exposure was possible, so I set up my camera on a tripod in my bedroom, set it to bulb, and tried a few times to get a flash exposed.

I got another bolt as well that illuminates more of the details of the cloud formation, but I love the way that this one arcs.

Anyone else love trying to capture lightning exposures?

What do cell phones look like in the year 2144?

Obviously they won't have a screen anymore. They'll be pop-up displays. So if you're sitting on a train and your romantic partner sends you a steamy selfie...guess who has an audience?

Has this annoyed anyone else?

If they're tactical screens, that makes sense. But I still don't think transparent displays on personal devices will be a thing in the future.