I used Fastmail until they randomly deleted a large chunk of my emails and the support followup was abysmal (one email a day around 4am EST) with no ability to recover, explanation or apology on their part.
It was the push I needed to set up a Mailinabox instance. It was a breeze to install and has been working great since I spun it up four months ago.
Emails were deleted August 23rd, across a wide variety of folders, all at the same millisecond (when I later pointed this out and how difficult it would be for me to do this accidentally, they did not comment).
Noticed on October 4th. I'd noticed some emails weren't turning up in searches but I chalked it up to my bad memory until there was one I knew for a fact should have been there. It was Oct 22nd by the time we got to any sort of conclusion, which was basically "there's nothing we can do for stuff that far back but I'll try to restore any recently deleted emails we can find". Getting details/logs/info from their support, even after they escalated to a higher level, was like pulling teeth.
They restored a bunch of things I'd actually deleted but they were all stuck in Draft mode, took till Oct 31st for them to sort-of fix that mess.
I set up the Mailinabox somewhere in that period. I still have my fastmail account because I wanted some overlap to test the MIAB before committing, and I'm getting ready to fully pull the plug before my next billing cycle.
It was a good lesson in setting up regular backups and not trusting any provider. I found Fastmail great to use until that experience, and I could see them being useful as a relay to send through trusted servers, but not worth my money to deal with the terrible support.
This is really unfortunate. I've been using Fastmail alongside Gmail and thought about switching over completely to the former at some point, just haven't come around to doing so yet. I'm glad you shared these details -- always good to know how organizations respond when things don't go as planned, as opposed to what's stated in their marketing materials.
Where are you hosting Mailinabox? I've always wanted to use it instead of gmail/fastmail but all I find are the generic use DigitalOcean, etc tutorials and I'm wondering what somebody actually using it has it set up with, what are the specs? Thanks in advance!
I had an extra Linode instance (Nanode 1GB: 1 CPU, 25GB Storage, 1GB RAM) laying around that I'd previously tried to manually set up a mailserver on. So I just reset it to the OS/version Mailinabox specifies, ran the install script and followed the rest of the instructions (https://mailinabox.email/guide.html)
It really doesn't need much, and the guide is very complete. Took me a Thursday evening plus some waiting for DNS propagation.
I've used my laser cutter to cut a mask for acid etching when the laser itself couldn't etch the material needed.
How thick is the rubber you use for sandblasting? Could it be laser cut to reduce the pain of making the mask? It sounds like you've exhausted all workable options but my curiosity is piqued.
The only issue I see is typing fast could get frustrating given what I experience just typing on my kindle. Though maybe the applications and user habits would adapt around it to limit keystrokes and be more efficient.
Or they'd just attach a small digital output screen akin to those old typing machines that you'd then push to the main screen when done. Still wouldn't use much of the battery at least, but would look ugly.
the main issue is the refresh rate. A while ago there was a kickstarter for the Hemingwrite [1] which looked to be heading down the right path.
It's surprising to me that the Yota phone [2] design didn't catch on. Having both a normal screen and an eink screen would be a killer feature, since most of what I do with my phone is text based and doesn't require any color.
It's not beneficial, it's just how it is. I worked a job in Japan where one employee was late delivering a project, so his manager spent literally his entire day standing over his shoulder and berating him loudly for not getting it done sooner and being a failure. As you might imagine, this did not help get the project done sooner.
Personally I think the deeper reason they don't kick Breitbart off is because they can't be seen to be vulnerable to pressure from activist campaigns. If they kick off Breitbart, it sets a precedent for the next time an internet shitstorm gets whipped up over a controversial organization.
Are sure it's me and not you? I have a 13 year old kid, and he still can't figure out that if he doesn't turn in his homework on time his grades will suck. :-)
Prefrontal cortex is still developing in 11 year olds which means they're not great at understanding consequences of actions or making complex future plans.
Not to be the "prodigy" kid, but I began game programming at 10 years old because I wanted to know how games worked. I tried to buy a Visual Basic 5 book from Borders before my parents gave me "Beginning Programming for Dummies" instead.
Not sure why these people don't believe that Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts can't tell the weather.
You're right about compensation, but cost of living in our major cities is nothing like NYC. I live in the capital and pay under $1000 for two bedrooms very close to downtown. You can get a swanky condo penthouse here for less than a one bedroom in Manhattan. Or split a nice house with two other people for $400-600 each.
Friends in Toronto pay around $2000 for two bedrooms in the middle of downtown. Haven't checked in a while but fairly certain Montreal is somewhere in between. Those same friends were paying more than $3000 for less space in the far end of Brooklyn.
Vancouver is crazy but sort of a special case especially when compared to nearby Seattle, but it's the only major city that is so close to an American metropolis.
And that's leaving out the free healthcare and abundant green space which is a huge boost to my QoL.
I don't think the COL argument works any more. Toronto is at Brooklyn levels (if not higher). Montreal was better, but got worst when Toronto passed new legislation for rentals and rental properties.
The "free" health insurance - which your taxes pay for - is great for some things but non-existent for others (e.g. routine oral care, routine optical care, physiotherapy required by something other than work, etc). Realistically, you need extended health insurance if you're not elderly, disabled, or on some sort of social care.
Now the nice thing about taxes in Canada is that you won't be taxed at anywhere near the highest bracket. As a Canadian software developer you're looking at around 50% of the salary as your US counterparts [1] which means you'll be in one of the medium tax brackets.
It isn't off the bat if the rates are very different. Which seems to be the case: 50% doesn't seem to be in the highest bracket in Canada, according to the OP.
Good points. Though I think the inflation from foreign rental/investment property ownership is semi-temporary - you can bet Montreal is going to pass similar laws soon just as Vancouver and then Toronto did.
There's never going to be one factor that gets you out. It's a combination of tools working together that makes it livable. For me it's meds, exercise and social contact.
Meds might help your present chemical situation but they're not going to change the mental ruts & habits your brain has formed (eg. I'm stressed, I want a cookie/beer/etc. I made a mistake, I'm so stupid).
Therapy can help you understand and notice those patterns, why they formed, and what you can do to gradually correct them, but you'll have a hard time if you're going uphill against your brain chemistry.
And of course, like physical pain, in some situations mental illness is a signal the body is sending that something in life isn't right. I've had some serious depressive episodes evaporate as soon as I broke off a toxic relationship (personal or professional).
It was the push I needed to set up a Mailinabox instance. It was a breeze to install and has been working great since I spun it up four months ago.