So, what do you do?

[Wolf-Rami]

Hi, I’m Tomi (49 years old, turning fifty in the end of summer) from Turku, the fourth largest city in Finland.

For seven years in a row Finland has been chosen as the happiest country in the world. We also have very high suicide rates and politically we’re violently torn into two camps which I guess is happening everywhere in the world nowadays.

In my case the happiness part is probably true. I’m very content with my life at the moment. I own a second hand book shop that also sells second hand vinyl, video games, movies, comics, roleplaying games, guitar pedals and basically anything that interests me enough. Just yesterday bought a Maschine MK1 from a customer and put it in our storage room. I love my job, I love my girlfriend, I love our dog, I love my life.

I was 23 when I drank alcohol for the first time. Never tried any drugs, never been interested in them. I’d rather listen to death metal on vinyl. Abstinence of certain things somewhat defines my personality. I don’t do drugs, never even tasted coffee, I don’t fly, don’t eat meat or any other animal products and try to leave as small mark of myself when I eventually leave this state of being. Working in recycling pop culture fits perfectly with my ethos. I guess I’m somewhat of a modern leftist hippie in my world views.

Try to tinker with my synths at every chance I get but for the last month or so Zelda Tears Of The Kingdom has won every time I’ve had some free time. It’s the perfect video game and I enjoy it immensely.

[mishpult]

40 years old from Bulgaria.

Living in Oslo now, Rotterdam and Sofia before.

Got wife and a kid, love them.

From an art family - mom piano teacher, cartoonist father, cello sister.

I’m a graphic designer with awards and stuff, currently working in a major nordic firm.

Got into music while in NL, in the first wave of hardware revival with the volcas and electribes.

As a 90s kid from eastern europe, did a lot of crazy stuff in my youth years. I’m happy with the things I’ve seen and done, allowing me now to enjoy a more settled life in a frictionless society. Doing a lot of calisthenics, cardio and hikes, cooking once a week, and playing elektrons for fun.

We have a small crew here in Oslo and we actually started to play in bars and small clubs, but pandemic killed the momentum and now everyone is too busy. Low-key trying to get back on the circuit.

Visited elektron HQ couple of years back, very cool, also been to Cuckoo’s studio - equally cool.

[hausland]

Doesn’t sound half bad my man, cherish that life!

[Azzarole]

@lowph

I wish the Internet wasn’t such a hostile place, and I wasn’t so concerned with privacy and information security, because it would be fun to participate in a thread like this for real, but the reality is I’m too paranoid to share personal info on the web.

I feel the same. I‘ve shared some personal stuff on here at times and then later thought that was way too personal for a public internet forum.

I appreciate everyone participating though, it’s nice to know more about the people who make up this community.

[J3RK]

I do a lot of information security work, I don’t have any major social media accounts, but I figure sharing a bit on a forum like this isn’t all that risky. I didn’t post more than anyone could find by googling my name

Definitely good to keep security and privacy in mind, but sharing some interests, and your general area of the world isn’t going to give anyone more to work with than tracing your IP and doing some googling.

Anyway…

[david_hays]

@matteblacksmoke

@david_hays

i might have been a liberated parasite at some point in my life.

exactly what do you mean by this

bit of an obscure inside joke i guess. a couple decades back in the age of myspace when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. some north-amercian anarchists who were working for labor-union’s (all three of them, probably) were calling themselves ‘liberated parasites.’ (it really means something in a biological context, i assume) I never exactly worked for a labor union exactly. but found myself working for a not-for-profit organization that survived off the donations of others, so i figured it was pretty much the same idea.
not at all my work, but a trip down memory lane:

Liberated Parasite Blues by the secret life of teenage girls

now as for doxing paranoia goes apparently ‘david hays’ is a common enough name combo that i get so much misdirected e-mail for so many people who share that name. i’m not overly worried about that, except there might be someone who works in the computer graphics entertainment industry here in Los Angeles who shares my name. and one of his tech-bro buddies started a tech bro free market libertarian list-serv (as they do) and used my e-mail address. so i not so kindly (and less and less kindly) asked to be taken off their group e-mailings in a manner that probably definitely alienated that other david hays from that maybe friend/collogue group.

i imagine i might not want to let that guy get too much more information on me, but then again, meh. if you work in IT and can’t figure out your own e-mail address (the list-serv stuff was far from the only time i ever got e-mail for that guy) you get what you get.

in short hi i am david and i can be a bit of a passive aggressive asshat.
cheers

[Kegeratorz]

I work at a college as a janitor even though I feel like I’m smarter than most of the people who go there. Sometimes I see an equation written on a blackboard like half an equation and… I just figure it out.

[cutlery]

Do you also get in fistfights with first year history graduate students?

[Kegeratorz]

Yeah, anyway. My best friend is Ben Affleck…

[matteblacksmoke]

Well I guess my thread got merged with this one. I was hoping to have more of a “life outside of work” type of conversation. This one started as more career focused. Shrug.

@MaxB

Maybe we can open a Discord server to go more in depth, for the ones that are actually interested

@RayTPKC

EZbot’s discord is good for that reason. Chill vibes with less aggro posters. Don’t see “What’s next for Elektron?” As often there KEKW

I’ve been looking for a discord like this but havent found a good one yet. You really like the EZbot one?

@Naboo

NW US must be an amazing place for motorbikes. What are you riding?

Is it illegal to ‘split lanes’ in your part of the of the us? In the uk we call it filtering and is completely legal. Can’t imagine riding in lane like a car.

Lane splitting is legal in California and a few other states. Now that I’m in Oregon, I can’t lane split. Drivers get very hostile, so I don’t risk it. Just one of many ways the US is backwards compared to some other places. There have been many efforts to legalize lanesplitting, but theyve all been shut down at some point.

@Wolf-Rami

For seven years in a row Finland has been chosen as the happiest country in the world. We also have very high suicide rates

amazing how this can happen.

@Wolf-Rami

In my case the happiness part is probably true. I’m very content with my life at the moment. I own a second hand book shop that also sells second hand vinyl, video games, movies, comics, roleplaying games, guitar pedals and basically anything that interests me enough. Just yesterday bought a Maschine MK1 from a customer and put it in our storage room. I love my job, I love my girlfriend, I love our dog, I love my life.

You have the life I want!

@mishpult

Doing a lot of calisthenics, cardio and hikes, cooking once a week, and playing elektrons for fun.

I just joined a gym for the first time in four years. I forgot how good it feels to push your body. What kind of exercises are you doing specifically? I’m just scratching the surface of jogging with my dog a bit but Ive never really stuck with running for more than a few weeks.

@david_hays

bit of an obscure inside joke i guess. a couple decades back in the age of myspace when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. some north-amercian anarchists who were working for labor-union’s (all three of them, probably) were calling themselves ‘liberated parasites.’ (it really means something in a biological context, i assume) I never exactly worked for a labor union exactly. but found myself working for a not-for-profit organization that survived off the donations of others, so i figured it was pretty much the same idea.

That’s amazing. I’m not sure what the rules on elektronauts are for political discussion are but i’ll just quickly say that I am sympathetic. Lol, your name story sounds annoying.

I can defintiely understand why people wouldnt want to share much if any personal info online. I’m more worried about giving out my phone number, since I get so many spam calls that it’s a bit of a problem.

[NisseJ]

And my best friend is Chuckie…. Maybe we are the same person in the multiverse?

[david_hays]

@matteblacksmoke

I’m more worried about giving out my phone number, since I get so many spam calls that it’s a bit of a problem.

i do like the kids and keep my phone on do not disturb 24/7. few people are on the by-pass list. guess not everyone can do that tho.

[Kegeratorz]

@david_hays

keep my phone on do not disturb 24/7

This sounds like heaven! My phone doesn’t stop! Work/family/spam! Rinse and repeat, It’s maddening!!

[captain8]

lol the look on his face says stop snitching

[MaxB]

@matteblacksmoke

Well I guess my thread got merged with this one. I was hoping to have more of a “life outside of work” type of conversation. This one started as more career focused. Shrug.

I also noticed this, so i kinda just did the same lol.
For me it’s also not “I am a Mechanic” it’s “I work as a Mechanic” same but different

I think balance between work and free time/ hobbys is super Important, thats why I just work from Monday- Thursday / 32 hours.
Friday/weekends are mostly spend for Music, going for long walks in the forest and just enjoying time with friends or myself

As a kid everyone was meeting with friends almost everyday. I still love having them around as much as possible, even tho everyone has less time for this these days.

[matteblacksmoke]

@MaxB

I think balance between work and free time/ hobbys is super Important, thats why I just work from Monday- Thursday / 32 hours.
Friday/weekends are mostly spend for Music, going for long walks in the forest and just enjoying time with friends or myself

You sound just like me. I just went down to 32/hours week for a pay cut. I feel much happier. I wish more people aroudn me would do this so that it was accepted as the norm.

[PhilF]

I’m Phil, I live in Derbyshire in the UK and I’m a climate change / social justice related community organiser - which basically means that I set up climate infrastructure projects - repair cafes, community energy projects, citizens assemblies, climate emergency centres, sustainable travel projects, local food etc. I do this at a local, regional and national level. I’m a trained facilitator specialising in transformational governance - those who do the work get to make decisions about the work and I’m an advocate of system change.

[matteblacksmoke]

@Naboo

What are you riding?

I am riding a gray 2015 Yamaha FJ-09. It’s my third bike and definitely my favorite. My last one was a yellow, 2005 Suzuki sv650s. I loved that bike, too. My first was a 2015 KTM rc390. I still have it, but never ride it.

You?

[Naboo]

Need a thread for motorbikes

Triumph Legend. Was in my dad’s shed for 20years so had it fixed up and carbs cleaned etc. Only done 3500 miles.

[MaxB]

The difference between 5on/2off and 4on/3off feels insane.
You get 1 day off for 1.33 days of work, instead of 1 day off for 2.5 days of work. But you still get 80% the money

I’m doing this since 3 years now (on of the best decisions I ever made)
most of the people I know understands how amazing it is. but no one even asked their boss if this is possibe for them…