Also me: QualifiedKitten@kbin.social

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 3rd, 2023

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  • I’ve used them in a few rentals. There’s a wide variety of options available that are just bulbs + an app, or bulbs & a hub + an app, so unless you have some unusual fixtures, they can be used anywhere.

    In fact, my last apartment had an unusual fixture: an overhead fixture that had hardwired LEDs in it, rather than any sort of swappable bulb, so I found a cheap overhead fixture that fit standard E26 bulbs, and just swapped the fixtures for the duration of my stay, then switched them back when I moved out. As long as you can ensure the power to the fixture is off at the breaker, it should be a pretty simple swap.


    • Smart lights throughout the house. Mine very gradually dim off in the evening, simulating sunset, which helps convince my body to crawl into bed. They also gradually dim on in the mornings, which helps ease me into being awake. When my routines are strong, I’m often up and out of bed before my alarm (and before sunrise).
    • Exercise. I find that working out first thing in the morning works best for me, but my friend does better with evening workouts. Consistency is much more important than time of day, but maybe don’t expect to fall asleep immediately after working out.
    • Sleep cycles. A typical sleep cycle is roughly 90 minutes, so aiming for a bedtime that gives you a multiple of 90 minutes total sleep time can make the waking up part easier. I used to use the Sleep ad Android app for my alarm because it could try to detect your sleep cycles and would wake you up early if it meant waking you up in the ideal sleep phase.
    • Don’t sleep in. I know it’s a real tough one, but if you can force yourself to get up on a consistent schedule, you’re more likely to be actually tired on schedule also. This one is especially challenging to stick to if you want to get up early on weekdays, but stay up late on weekends. Naps may help here, but it can take some practice to find what works.
    • Bed is for sleep (and sex) only. Don’t hang out in bed, and if you’re having a lot of trouble falling asleep, get out of bed for a while until you’re feeling more tired. This helps your brain form a stronger association where bed = sleep.
    • Avoid caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, etc., before bed. While some of these may help you fall asleep, they often result in lower quality sleep and may make it more likely that you wake up.
    • Limit fluid intake before bed so that you don’t wake up in the middle of the night to pee. *Routine. I think I kinda loosely touched on this in a few other points, but sticking to a consistent routine makes it so much easier to fall asleep and wake up.

    Oh, and if your responsibilities and/or latitude have you regularly trying to sleep during daylight hours, definitely get a sleep mask and/or some good blackout curtains so you can block out the light. Ear plugs may also be helpful if noise is an issue.


  • I still use Craigslist, but it does seem like fewer other people do. I’ve never really cared to get top dollar for whatever I list, I mostly just want to avoid tossing it in the garbage or hauling it to a donation drop off, and it’s worked well for that. I’m currently browsing for a few items, and it does feel cluttered with dealers, even when supposedly limiting it for sale by owner only.

    I tried Offer Up once a few years ago, and for some reason, it didn’t notify me of any responses, so by the time I thought to check it again, I had already sold the item through CL. I refuse to use any Meta products, so FB Marketplace effectively doesn’t exist to me.


  • I’ve used Windows since I can remember… at least since Windows 95, then probably early 2000’s, added OSX into the mix. I currently use an old Mac Mini as my Plex machine, and the computer provided by my employer runs Windows.

    My “journey” began around 2015 on an old Dell laptop that I set up to dual boot Windows and Linux. I tried 2 or 3 distros, one of which was probably Ubuntu, before settling on Mint. I remember having enough minor issues with Mint that I kept booting back to Windows, and eventually stopped booting to Mint at all.

    Then one day, I have no clue what I was trying to do, but I was confident that I knew what I was doing, so I just went for it without pulling up the instructions. Welp, I ended up deleting my bootloader, or something like that, and now couldn’t boot to any OS. I tried using my parents’ Mac to create a bootable USB, but that wasn’t working. I wound up buying and returning a random open box laptop from Best Buy just so I could create a functional bootable USB. I also found help from a very kind internet stranger who walked me through the process to fix my bootloader. They happened to only use Arch btw, so that’s what we used to get my laptop fixed.

    That whole drama really scared me away from fiddling with it for a while, then I just got busy and had no motivation. That laptop is collecting dust and still dual boots Windows (7?) and headless Arch. I’m thinking of fiddling around with Linux again, but most definitely need something more noobie friendly than Arch without a DE.








  • I foster and have 2 resident cats, so I do introductions a few times per year. I highly recommend Jackson Galaxy’s guide. I’ve linked part 1, but there’s 5 parts, the rest are linked within. It’s worth reading the entire thing, because he does a great job of explaining why he recommends each step, which is helpful if you need to modify things a bit.

    You need to figure out a room in your house that can be The Boy’s basecamp. This is where The Boy is going to spend most of his time until Anya can tolerate him, and hopefully isn’t a “high value” space for Anya. Without knowing either cat, I’d say you should plan for a minimum of 2 weeks of very carefully managing the process of introducing them to each other, and probably at least a month before things really settle in.

    Also, make sure The Boy gets neutered ASAP, if he isn’t already!







  • In your opinion, how should they be crediting it? I’m having trouble trying to imagine a good way that it could be credited within the song, and I can’t imagine very many people actually pay attention to the credits for music, especially when so few of us are buying physical copies anymore.

    I’ve definitely experienced feeling annoyed at the new songs, but some have grown on me, and hearing the samples often leads me to add the original to my playlist. I’ve actually been having a lot of fun trying to see if I can name the original artist & song title whenever a new one pops up.


    • When listening to new music, I’m constantly recognizing how heavily they sample older songs that I remember listening to when I was a kid.

    • A night out with friends often ends at 9 or 10p because we’re all tired.

    • A night out with friends often includes a lot of discussion of various health issues and encouraging each to see a doctor.

    • I’m finding myself more and more avoidant of new technology. Or maybe it’s just that I’m getting more concerned about maintaining a little sliver of privacy?