7 ms·

“Alexander the Grate” on living in the “interstices of the infrastructure”

75 points by whocansay 6y ago

forgotmypw17 6y ago
I've been living largely outdoors and currency-free for several years. (I don't like the word homeless for many reasons.) I've been indoors for a few months (with friends) since Corona started, since there are few places to work on a computer now. I'm open to questions here, if anyone is interested.
- m3kw9 6y ago
  Where do you usually defecate?
  - bigdict 6y ago
    Check their profile for an answer.
  - forgotmypw17 6y ago
    I look for a bathroom which I can still access and use that. This can either be a public restroom or a friend's place, lately. When I was going into this lifestyle, I was worried about it, but it's largely a non-issue. When out in nature, I prefer to shit in the woods. It's an experience everyone should try, there's something primal about it I can't quite explain. I don't use toilet paper because I think it's rather gross. Prefer to wash my butt clean right after.
    - m3kw9 6y ago
      How do you wash your butt? That sounds even harder.
      - forgotmypw17 6y ago
        I use water, either sink, bidet, or natural body. If it's not possible, I use wet paper towels or toilet paper to wipe clean, but this is rare. For the last couple of years, I almost never use soap for anything, including my butt, except washing my hands.
        graham_paul 6y ago
        > or natural body What do you mean by natural body?
        Zalastax 6y ago
        Natural body of water!
        forgotmypw17 6y ago
        As another commenter said, it means natural body of water, like a creek, stream, river, lake, ocean, etc.
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  Well, my first question is, why? Why do you choose to live that way? [Edit: Or do you do so not by choice? From your post, I gathered it was by choice, but maybe I shouldn't assume that...]
  - forgotmypw17 6y ago
    I transitioned to this lifestyle gradually over the course of several years, starting with apartment-job-cat, through couch-surfing and short-term rentals, living out of a van, and then finally total freedom. I chose to do it because I wanted to have more control over how I spend my time. I realized that I was spending most of my time on someone else's schedule, building someone else's dreams, rather than working on my own. I also have a very high priority for sleeping. I generally sleep for as long as I want to, which sometimes means several times per day. This does not mesh well with having a job.
    - elboru 6y ago
      How do you sustain yourself? How do you afford food?
      - forgotmypw17 6y ago
        In the beginning, I just lived more minimally. Now, I rarely think about food. I just don't. Whenever it appears before me, and it's of quality, I eat enough to be full. Otherwise, I don't think about it. It has opened more time for me to think about programming and other things I actually want to think about. I no longer have to think about what I'll get for lunch, spend time getting there, wait in line, pay for it, etc.
        thechao 6y ago
        I think the question still stands: how do you afford food? Also, what happened to the cat?
        6y ago
- the_other 6y ago
  You mention elsewhere in the thread you like to think about code. - Do you make it? - How do you keep a machine powered? That actually seems harder to me at first glance than keeping yourself powered - what do you make? - I associate computing with “urban” and “industrialised”; like ... I assume we need the economics of The City (and to a degree its infrastructure) in order to build and run computers. I’m fine with the use of computers in “earthy” locations like farms and cafes, but their construction and typical use seems “urban”. If you’re still with me and this hippy way of talking, what does it feel like to work with computing whilst living unbound from The City?
  - forgotmypw17 6y ago
    Yes, I make the code myself. I keep machine powered anywhere there is AC outlet. There are still quite a few around, but I'm now relying on friends for workspace. I'm praying that soon my project will be appreciated enough that I will be welcome in more spaces. I make a web-based forum system, ultra-compatible (mosaic, netscape, ie) and decentralizable (everything is stored as downloadable text files) Computing while untethered from urbanism feels well-rounded to me. I am an animal/spirit, of this soil, water, plants, dirt. I am also an intelligence, and the 'net is where intelligences come together these days. So I feel like two essential parts of me are getting what they want.
Daub 6y ago
I was homeless for a period of time that extended to my first year at college. Was honestly not a bad life. I learned something fundamental... that one can get used to anything except being cold. I would go to sleep when the parks closed, around 10. Cold would wake me up at around 3 or 4 in the morning, and grab some more sleep around mid day. It’s one reason why homeless people have dogs... they serve as hot water bottles. One thing it left me with is that it changed the way I walk through the city. For most people, streets are places they use to get from one place to another. They do not inhabit them as places in themselves. For me and other homeless, they were our homes. This changes how you walk a street... gives you something approaching a swagger.
- alexpetralia 6y ago
  This change in perspective is really interesting. Would love to read more if you wrote about it elsewhere.
  - Daub 6y ago
    Thanks for taking an interest. If you don't mind, I can share a few reflections here. > One thing it left me with is that it changed the way I walk through the city. On this subject... I recognize this same quality in the people of the working class district of Vietnam, where I now live. For them the gap between the public space and private is very narrow. This is common in Asian countries, where so much commerce is done on the streets. It is hard to define, but easy to recognize. Perhaps one reason why I feel so at home here. > I learned something fundamental... that one can get used to anything except being cold. Related to this topic was the importance of regular shelter. In that time, I slept in three places: a large doorway of an opera house, a bush in the middle of a large public park and under a bridge. Of these three, it is the bush of which I have the fondest memories, to the point where I even now I sometimes look at it on Google maps when I need reminding of who I am. Inside was open, clean and mostly dry. Living on the street reduces one's life to prime values, and the need for regular shelter is one of them. For me the regularity was as important as the shelter (hell... I had plenty of bushes to choose from!). It was the atomic beginnings of my sense of home. Odd to look back on now, when I am actively planning to design and build my own house. As for how I had found myself in that situation, it was around 20% unfortunate circumstances, and 80% low-level thinking on my part. At the time, my only response to situations that gave me harm was to avoid them. I had not yet figured out how to construct situations that benefit me. It was this failure of consciousness that led to to the streets, and the day I left the streets was the day intentionality came into my life. I was in McDonalds, ordering a Fillet-O-Fish. When I handed over my money to the guy serving me, he refused to accept it and gave me a look I can only describe as beatific... like saintly glow. It took a while for me to recognize that this was a look of pity. "Why on earth is he pitying me?" Behind me was a wall covered in mirror tiles. As I turned to go, I caught sight of myself in these tiles, and I saw myself for what I had become: a disheveled monster. That very evening I went home to my fathers house and started to take college more seriously.
awinter-py 6y ago
if I had not been alexander I would have been diogenes
scudd 6y ago
I pass this guy (as well as the other guy across the street under the VRE bridge) every time I go for a run on the mall. I was very surprised to click this article, and think "wait I know this place". I've always wondered how long they've been there. Alexander seems to get up and move around during the day, but the other guy I've never seen out of his chair. Feel bad for these guys situation, and glad to hear they're keeping on. This is the spot for anyone curious. Like the article touches on, there is an irony in these guys living on the street half a mile from the United States Capitol building. And the google maps photo has the other guy who stays under the VRE bridge. https://www.google.com/maps/place/349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washington,+DC+20024/@38.8857275,-77.0228402,430m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89b7b79d333099a9:0x58eef8bbb4190434!2s349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washington,+DC+20024!3b1!8m2!3d38.885722!4d-77.0219415!3m4!1s0x89b7b79d333099a9:0x58eef8bbb4190434!8m2!3d38.885722!4d-77.0219415 https://www.google.com/maps/place/349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washing...

75 points by whocansay 6y ago

I've been living largely outdoors and currency-free for several years. (I don't like the word homeless for many reasons.) I've been indoors for a few months (with friends) since Corona started, since there are few places to work on a computer now. I'm open to questions here, if anyone is interested.

m3kw9 6y ago
Where do you usually defecate?
- bigdict 6y ago
  Check their profile for an answer.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  I look for a bathroom which I can still access and use that. This can either be a public restroom or a friend's place, lately. When I was going into this lifestyle, I was worried about it, but it's largely a non-issue. When out in nature, I prefer to shit in the woods. It's an experience everyone should try, there's something primal about it I can't quite explain. I don't use toilet paper because I think it's rather gross. Prefer to wash my butt clean right after.
  - m3kw9 6y ago
    How do you wash your butt? That sounds even harder.
    - forgotmypw17 6y ago
      I use water, either sink, bidet, or natural body. If it's not possible, I use wet paper towels or toilet paper to wipe clean, but this is rare. For the last couple of years, I almost never use soap for anything, including my butt, except washing my hands.
      - graham_paul 6y ago
        > or natural body What do you mean by natural body?
        Zalastax 6y ago
        Natural body of water!
        forgotmypw17 6y ago
        As another commenter said, it means natural body of water, like a creek, stream, river, lake, ocean, etc.
AnimalMuppet 6y ago
Well, my first question is, why? Why do you choose to live that way? [Edit: Or do you do so not by choice? From your post, I gathered it was by choice, but maybe I shouldn't assume that...]
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  I transitioned to this lifestyle gradually over the course of several years, starting with apartment-job-cat, through couch-surfing and short-term rentals, living out of a van, and then finally total freedom. I chose to do it because I wanted to have more control over how I spend my time. I realized that I was spending most of my time on someone else's schedule, building someone else's dreams, rather than working on my own. I also have a very high priority for sleeping. I generally sleep for as long as I want to, which sometimes means several times per day. This does not mesh well with having a job.
  - elboru 6y ago
    How do you sustain yourself? How do you afford food?
    - forgotmypw17 6y ago
      In the beginning, I just lived more minimally. Now, I rarely think about food. I just don't. Whenever it appears before me, and it's of quality, I eat enough to be full. Otherwise, I don't think about it. It has opened more time for me to think about programming and other things I actually want to think about. I no longer have to think about what I'll get for lunch, spend time getting there, wait in line, pay for it, etc.
      - thechao 6y ago
        I think the question still stands: how do you afford food? Also, what happened to the cat?
        6y ago
the_other 6y ago
You mention elsewhere in the thread you like to think about code. - Do you make it? - How do you keep a machine powered? That actually seems harder to me at first glance than keeping yourself powered - what do you make? - I associate computing with “urban” and “industrialised”; like ... I assume we need the economics of The City (and to a degree its infrastructure) in order to build and run computers. I’m fine with the use of computers in “earthy” locations like farms and cafes, but their construction and typical use seems “urban”. If you’re still with me and this hippy way of talking, what does it feel like to work with computing whilst living unbound from The City?
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  Yes, I make the code myself. I keep machine powered anywhere there is AC outlet. There are still quite a few around, but I'm now relying on friends for workspace. I'm praying that soon my project will be appreciated enough that I will be welcome in more spaces. I make a web-based forum system, ultra-compatible (mosaic, netscape, ie) and decentralizable (everything is stored as downloadable text files) Computing while untethered from urbanism feels well-rounded to me. I am an animal/spirit, of this soil, water, plants, dirt. I am also an intelligence, and the 'net is where intelligences come together these days. So I feel like two essential parts of me are getting what they want.

Daub 6y ago

I was homeless for a period of time that extended to my first year at college. Was honestly not a bad life. I learned something fundamental... that one can get used to anything except being cold. I would go to sleep when the parks closed, around 10. Cold would wake me up at around 3 or 4 in the morning, and grab some more sleep around mid day. It’s one reason why homeless people have dogs... they serve as hot water bottles. One thing it left me with is that it changed the way I walk through the city. For most people, streets are places they use to get from one place to another. They do not inhabit them as places in themselves. For me and other homeless, they were our homes. This changes how you walk a street... gives you something approaching a swagger.

alexpetralia 6y ago
This change in perspective is really interesting. Would love to read more if you wrote about it elsewhere.
- Daub 6y ago
  Thanks for taking an interest. If you don't mind, I can share a few reflections here. > One thing it left me with is that it changed the way I walk through the city. On this subject... I recognize this same quality in the people of the working class district of Vietnam, where I now live. For them the gap between the public space and private is very narrow. This is common in Asian countries, where so much commerce is done on the streets. It is hard to define, but easy to recognize. Perhaps one reason why I feel so at home here. > I learned something fundamental... that one can get used to anything except being cold. Related to this topic was the importance of regular shelter. In that time, I slept in three places: a large doorway of an opera house, a bush in the middle of a large public park and under a bridge. Of these three, it is the bush of which I have the fondest memories, to the point where I even now I sometimes look at it on Google maps when I need reminding of who I am. Inside was open, clean and mostly dry. Living on the street reduces one's life to prime values, and the need for regular shelter is one of them. For me the regularity was as important as the shelter (hell... I had plenty of bushes to choose from!). It was the atomic beginnings of my sense of home. Odd to look back on now, when I am actively planning to design and build my own house. As for how I had found myself in that situation, it was around 20% unfortunate circumstances, and 80% low-level thinking on my part. At the time, my only response to situations that gave me harm was to avoid them. I had not yet figured out how to construct situations that benefit me. It was this failure of consciousness that led to to the streets, and the day I left the streets was the day intentionality came into my life. I was in McDonalds, ordering a Fillet-O-Fish. When I handed over my money to the guy serving me, he refused to accept it and gave me a look I can only describe as beatific... like saintly glow. It took a while for me to recognize that this was a look of pity. "Why on earth is he pitying me?" Behind me was a wall covered in mirror tiles. As I turned to go, I caught sight of myself in these tiles, and I saw myself for what I had become: a disheveled monster. That very evening I went home to my fathers house and started to take college more seriously.

awinter-py 6y ago

if I had not been alexander I would have been diogenes

scudd 6y ago

I pass this guy (as well as the other guy across the street under the VRE bridge) every time I go for a run on the mall. I was very surprised to click this article, and think "wait I know this place". I've always wondered how long they've been there. Alexander seems to get up and move around during the day, but the other guy I've never seen out of his chair. Feel bad for these guys situation, and glad to hear they're keeping on. This is the spot for anyone curious. Like the article touches on, there is an irony in these guys living on the street half a mile from the United States Capitol building. And the google maps photo has the other guy who stays under the VRE bridge. https://www.google.com/maps/place/349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washington,+DC+20024/@38.8857275,-77.0228402,430m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x89b7b79d333099a9:0x58eef8bbb4190434!2s349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washington,+DC+20024!3b1!8m2!3d38.885722!4d-77.0219415!3m4!1s0x89b7b79d333099a9:0x58eef8bbb4190434!8m2!3d38.885722!4d-77.0219415 https://www.google.com/maps/place/349-371+7th+St+SW,+Washing...