This is interesting and may point to X / Twitter becoming more AI-driven in the future (many possibilities). Grok has become my go-to AI -- I personally find it better than (the free version at least) of ChatGPT, paid Gemini, and anything else -- though it does have a lot of problems.
Readit Newstheprop commented on xAI has acquired X, xAI now valued at $80B twitter.com/elonmusk/stat... · Posted by u/rvz
Deleted Comment
theprop commented on Ask HN: How do I escape homelessness after rebuilding my mental health? · Posted by u/gremlinsinc
You're doing excellent. Don't worry about anything. Here are my quick thoughts which are in a kind of Maslow-ian Hierarchy of Needs. You're already on them by getting your mental health in order, nice work.
Immediate Steps:
1. Work. Keep driving full-time or more until you pay off the tires, insurance, car payment and amass some savings. Working a lot will keep your mind focused and bring in income while you start to get other things in life in order and apply for other jobs.
2. Living. There are probably great & beautiful campsites in Utah. Probably avoid hotels as much as you can in order to save money. Sleep in your car or better in a tent at a campsite or in a state or national park (backpack out a bit, pitch your tent and sleep). To take showers and exercise, join Planet Fitness or something similar for $10 / month. If you're not familiar with backpacking, it's easy to pitch a tent. Try sierra.com to find a cheap tent and supplies.
Other Living idea: check out couchsurfing.com. Folks will house you for free.
3. Food. If you camp, you can use a small propane powered stove to cook inexpensive meals e.g. rice, beans, pasta, etc. Eat a lot of nuts, inexpensive fruits & vegetables.
4. Get a Laptop. A laptop will be critical to getting a resume ready & sending it out. Check out Free Stuff in Craigslist, NextDoor, or Facebook Marketplace. Check out real cheap laptops (for less than $100) in Craigslist, NextDoor, or Facebook Marketplace.
5. Internet / WiFi / Unlimited Mobile Data. I recommend visible.com for like $25/month. There are tons of places with free WiFi like libraries which you can use as well.
6. Upskilling / Up-job-ing. To get a new job or learn or other things, you'll need a laptop and an internet connection so first get that. If you already have ready programming skills, then you need get your resume together and start applying and or reach out to your network. Make sure you're in a stable position to work both mentally and otherwise before you start this process. You will get tons of job rejections and it will be disheartening because you're working very hard, so be prepared and don't worry, something will eventually work out.
7. Roommate / Living / Health Insurance --> once you have some savings (a few thousand) and a reasonable stream of income at least from driving, you could look for a roommate situation. If you don't have or lost your health insurance, you probably qualify for an affordable health care act plan (off-schedule) and can get that -- list income very low and you won't have to pay much. You could try Medicaid, but I think the affordable care marketplace is probably simpler and you plan anyway to have income soon.
8. Networking. I highly recommend networking with other professionals in your field in your area. One good way to meet them is to join relevant meetups and check for other events. Some meetups on specialized things like ML or online privacy, etc. can have really excellent and relevant attendees you can network with. These are all generally free.
9. AI/ML work. If you already code, you can start tinkering with the AI platforms and such to get some experience. I'd look for a job with your current skills and simultaneously keep learning -- after you get a bit stable via the current driving job.
Those are my thoughts. Feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any resume editing help (ChatGPT is probably a more effective editor than me :-). I'm not in your area, but hopefully other folk in your area are messaging you already with some potential job opportunities. Focus on small steps, small wins. Good luck, you are and will make it.
theprop commented on Ask HN: I am at crossroads in my life. Pursuing my own idea or a full-time job? · Posted by u/hpolatyuruk
Go for #2, but first spend a month or two seriously investigating potential startup ideas. Make it your job, 60 hours a week, to brainstorm ideas, research competition, create simple MVPs, etc. You likely haven't put as much effort into potential startup ideas as you have into your regular job, so don't feel inadequate or hopeless if you haven't stumbled upon the right idea yet.
In my experience, #1 never really works, especially if you are unsure of what the project will be in the first place. You have two years, which is more than enough time to build and test at least a half-dozen serious projects. If none of them work, go get a job with an awesome new portfolio.
This is a good thought too :-). Decisions...decisions...
theprop commented on Ask HN: I am at crossroads in my life. Pursuing my own idea or a full-time job? · Posted by u/hpolatyuruk
I'd look for a partner. It's very hard to be a solo founder and it sounds like you're not sure of an idea/market, etc. I'd also start keeping a list of problems you face/solutions i.e. ideas for a possible product to build. It's very, very hard to build a business. If you're not sure, don't have a partner or idea, I wouldn't recommend you get into it just yet. I'd recommend you look for a company you're really interested in and get to know a market, how their business runs, etc. You may meet other potential partners there (co-workers) and you'll get to know a business niche, etc. So I'd recommend 1. for now. Also, differentiate when you start between a business and a project: a business really has revenues/a model to grow quickly while a project is something you build more for fun that may or not generate revenues or go somewhere. Projects can become the biggest businesses (google, facebook were started as projects), but you don't necessarily want to bet your savings on that initially. Just some random thoughts...hope they're helpful, good luck and congrats on the previous 11 years of dedicated, rewarding work it sounds like, nice!!!!!