5 ms·

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 (w

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.

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.