I directly skipped to finding a solution to that "problem". I literally found myself browsing amazon for monitor stands that can be folded and easily mounted in a van. What happens if I break hard? Hmm... I came up with requirements for a monitor stand suitable for use in a van. For a moment, I remember being depressed about the zero number of perfect solutions for this "basic" use-case.

Now I'm convinced that I'd never give-up my home-office for a van-office until serious advancements are made in the monitor-stand industry.

You didn’t see VESA mounts in your Amazon search that allow you to screw the stand into the monitor and into a solid surface (desk or wall) with an articulating arm that allows you to adjust the monitor’s location!?

Most of them had reviews about how hard it is to make them stay in place with heavier monitors. I can't even imagine what happens if I forget to fix them very carefully before moving and break hard while moving.

But then, of course, I am half-joking. I actually did find myself doing that research but after realizing the sitcom scene I put myself in, I gave up quickly: I don't even have a driver's license, and I'm researching the monitor-mount situation for a caravan-life?!

When searching here in the US with query “vesa monitor wall mount” I find a bunch of ones which would be secure and work well (multiple of which I own). Maybe that’s not the case where you live (assuming you’re either European or Aussie based on the phrase “caravan-life”, but guess that’s not an accurate assumption possibly).

I'm gonna guess Europe based on the "no drivers license" comment.

Your guess is right, I'm living in Germany. But I think I'm in the minority here - I really don't know any German who is in their twenties without a driver's license. I'm not German though and I used to have a license back in Istanbul, which is not valid in Germany. I didn't bother getting a license here because you can get a Bahncard from Deutsche Bahn, which covers 90% of one's public transportation needs. Maybe it's a similar story in other European countries but I think most people still get a license just in case.

not sure if serious or not; but just move monitor back against wall it's attached to and strap it down while moving. Generally solved issue in the RV industry with TVs.

Surely if you're customizing a van for #vanlife you can figure out how to build your own monitor-stand.

> I gave the original post to my wife and her first question was “How’s the guy coping to live alone?”

My knee-jerk response is, "blissfully."

I live with my wife, a 19 month old, and two cats. I love them, but I would love, love, love to spend a week entirely by myself - going to bed and waking up on my own schedule.

Introverted Dad with a wife, two daughters, two dogs, and two cats reporting in. Wife and kid #1 are both high energy. I love my home life, but there is definitely some part of my psyche that is drained by it.

I took a couple of days to drive to the middle of nowhere in Oregon to see the eclipse by myself. My goal was literally to be as far from other people and as solitary as possible for the whole trip. (Not exactly easy given the expected crowds, but that was my hope.)

I slept in the back of my truck and barely spoke to a soul in 48 hours. It was absolute bliss.

I'd like to figure out to get a little more of that solitude in my life, but it's hard. Anytime I'm out recharging my spiritual batteries, my wife is at home solo-parenting with the kids draining hers more than twice as fast as usual.

Pics and video of the eclipse:

https://imgur.com/gallery/AWPxf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8PDDX1vnXM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsuxK81KnPw

We should start a club, one where none of us meet up in person :)

There might be some sense in that - pool together resources to rent or lease a large area to camp in, with centralized things like hot showers or kitchens with refridgerators, and maybe wifi, but otherwise mostly just spread-out campgrounds where people can go and not be bothered, but not so cut off as to be worried about breaking a leg and getting eaten by a coyote.

A commune of solitude if you will.

We could call it a peculiune, given that "commune" comes from the Latin word for things held in common, and "peculiaris" would seem to be its antonym.

What do kids want? Your soul. How much do they want? All of it.

I love my daughter. That's the truth of it though. Sometimes it makes me you happy and you want to give and give and give. Sometimes it makes me you unhappy and you want to curse them for their wretched selfish neediness. It doesn't matter though. They'll take and take.

Of course I was the same way with my parents so it's all fair enough. But like you say, sometimes I find myself humming Hungry Heart ("I got a wife and kids in Baltimore Jack, I went out for a ride and I never came back") and just wishing they'd all just leave me along for a week. A day. A couple of minutes.

I did this for one week last year. I was in the alps, doing some snowboarding, some work and some reading. It was great. Especially being alone in a country where I didn't speak the language well enough to hold casual conversation for too long.

Was still happy when my girlfriend arrived after a week though. But that one week was indeed 'bliss'.

My girlfriend and I broke up a 15 year long relationship approximately one year ago and while I did enjoy having time alone back when we were together, after so much time I still can't stand being alone as the default. I miss the sharing, the laughs, the little moments (good or bad!) that seem insignificant but that turn out to be core to the relationship, that no friend seem to be able to replace. While I do enjoy some activities briefly, everything I do retrospectively seems like an attempt to escape and drown out the drone of loneliness. Being able to share is such a catalyst to any experience that things feel sort of pointless: does a falling tree make a sound if no one's around to hear it? Maybe I'm still getting over that break up, maybe I should just fake it till I make it. Really, I don't know.

> Maybe I'm still getting over that break up.

You almost certainly are. Fifteen years is a long time, longer than my parents were married. You didn't have a break-up; you went through a divorce. A year sounds like the minimum amount of time it would take a person to deal with it. I wish you the best.

I am sorry for your loss.

> That is why we, coders, are different from other 99,99% of population of the Earth.

Not sure if that's coders or autistics (to be clear: NOFI).

That is an interesting point. I didn't even take the lonely factor into account.