u/MinSugaSweet

I’ve lived alone for a few years now and I’ve gotten pretty used to it. I think I actually like it.
Got home late from work tonight, changed into my comfy clothes, made myself a drink and had a Trader Joe’s mini chocolate cheesecake. After a shower I sat on the couch, grabbed my moleskine and wrote down a few things from today. Then I turned on the TV and put on The Intern. I haven’t watched it in a while. It’s all pretty simple. Sitting there with something to eat and watching a movie I picked just feels nice. No one asking what I want to watch. No need to work around someone else’s schedule. I can go to bed whenever I want or just sit there and do nothing. Before bed I’ve been turning on my pococo, putting on Nuvole Bianche by Ludovico Einaudi and sitting there for a bit with the stars on the ceiling. I used to think living alone would feel lonely. Now I kind of like having my own space.
Work, food, movies, going out sometimes, then coming home. It’s a simple life, but I like it.

I’ve seen Dreamina show local editing for Seedance 2.5, where you select part of a video and change it without regenerating the whole clip. If you’ve used it, what kind of edits worked reliably? Object replacement, material changes, background cleanup? Most examples show the final result but skip the mask, prompt and settings. Exact steps or screenshots would help.

I’m hard of hearing and I work from home most of the month. Not fully remote, but around 80%. It helps. Office days are harder for me: open office noise, people talking from behind me, side conversations, someone asking a question while walking away. At home it’s quieter, but calls are still calls. Zoom and Teams can be tiring when someone has a bad mic, fades in and out, or talks while typing. I’ve settled into a little routine. At home I usually use my Vivtone Xpure for longer meeting days so the audio is more direct and I’m not switching things around as much. When I’m out, I usually use AirPods for quick calls, errands, or just getting through the day. Neither one fixes everything. It’s just the setup I’ve landed on for now.

I’ve been trying to compare Seedance 2.0 pricing across Dreamina, Higgsfield and Lovart, but every platform uses different credits and plan tiers.

After converting the plans into a rough cost per second, I got:
Dreamina
Advanced: $0.083/sec
Standard: $0.092/sec
Basic: $0.097/sec

Higgsfield
Ultra: $0.155/sec
Plus: $0.221/sec
Starter: $0.317/sec

Lovart
Ultimate: $0.113/sec
Pro: $0.129/sec
Basic: $0.165/sec
Starter: $0.171/sec

On paper, the cheapest plans work out to about $4.98, $9.30 and $6.78 per 60 seconds. But that comparison feels incomplete.

A cheaper generation doesn’t help much if it takes five attempts to get one usable clip. Queue time, failed generations, moderation rejections and unused monthly credits can completely change the real cost.

For people actually using Seedance 2.0, what percentage of your generations are usable without a reroll? I’m trying to compare cost per usable clip instead of just cost per second.

I’m an architectural designer and completely new to AI video.

I’m testing Seedance 2.5 on Dreamina and trying to use its precise local editing tool for small changes to architectural scenes. Things like changing one facade material or replacing a window without regenerating the whole video. I selected the area, described the change and generated again, but the result stayed almost exactly the same. I also tried selecting a larger area and using a more direct prompt.

Does the selection need to cover the whole object? Is there an edit-strength setting somewhere, or does this only work with certain generation modes?

If anyone has a basic workflow that works, please share it.

My grandfather has had the same hearing aids for years, and lately they’re hit or miss. He’ll tap one and say it’s fine. I get why he doesn’t want to replace them. They cost a lot back then, and to him replacing them feels wasteful. But he’s wearing them less now. At dinner he nods, laughs a little late, misses half the conversation, and the TV keeps getting louder. I bought him a basic Vivtone hearing aid a little while ago, I think the model is Lucid508. We just keep it next to the chair he always sits in. He doesn’t wear it every day. Some days he won’t touch it. But sometimes he picks that one up without us saying anything, which is more than we were getting before. Anyone dealt with this? Old hearing aids barely working, but the person won’t replace them.

Been down a rabbit hole reading PUBG audio discussions lately. Some people say IEM fit and seal matter the most, while others swear an external DAC/amp cleans up the detail retrieval. Right now I’m running my IEMs straight off the motherboard, and things get super chaotic the second a fight breaks out. If I crank the master volume, footsteps are easier to pick out, but gunshots and red zones are way too loud and fatiguing. Not sure if this is a hardware issue, a game setting thing, or just how PUBG audio is. For anyone playing PUBG, what actually makes the biggest difference for hearing footsteps clearly during messy fights?

The last few long work trips, I’ve noticed this annoying pattern, I can sleep on the plane, but the first night in the hotel is the part that gets me.
The plane is uncomfortable, obviously, but it is also predictable. Lights go down, people get quieter, I put on my Sleenova mask with the white noise very low, and I can usually sleep for a while. Maybe because there are fewer choices, my body just gives in.
After I land, everything gets messier. The hotel bed is more comfortable, but I’ll lie down and my brain is still running. Local meetings during the day, messages from the other time zone at night, emails I should answer, whatever is happening the next morning. My body is tired but my brain is not on the same clock.
The room adds its own variables too. A little light around the curtains, HVAC noise, hallway doors, room temperature being slightly off. None of it sounds serious, but the first night gets fragmented fast.
I’m trying to think of it as a variables problem instead of just saying “jet lag” and accepting it. Caffeine cutoff, light exposure after landing, whether to nap, when to shut off work notifications, room temp, noise, blackout.
For people who cross time zones a lot, what would you test first? Does sleeping a bit on the plane and then pushing through until local bedtime actually work for you?

I used to think footstep enhancement was just cranking up the mid-lows. But lately,checking out stuff like the Scout Mode on the G6,SteelSeries Sonar presets,and desktop DAC/AMPs like the Fosi C3 with step-sense,it feels like the approach is pretty different.
If the goal is just hearing footsteps easier,how big is the difference between an external DAC/AMP and software EQ,without blowing your eardrums out every time an explosion or gunfight goes off right next to you,has anyone seriously compared these two?

Since graduating and moving to Chicago for work, my sleep has been kind of a mess.At first I thought it was just new job stuff. New city, full-time schedule, trying to act like I know what I’m doing at work. But after a few months I realized I was having a hard time falling asleep even when I was tired. Not up all night or anything. Just lying there with my brain still on. Work stuff, rent, emails I forgot to answer, random things I need to do tomorrow. Stuff that feels very stupid in the morning but somehow matters at 12:30. The last couple months I’ve been changing small things. Coffee earlier. Less heavy food late at night. Trying not to snack out of boredom before bed. Also trying to keep my phone out of bed, because I have no self control with “just checking one thing.” I’ve been doing easy yoga some nights, and slow jogs after work when I’m not too tired. Very low effort, but it helps a little. I also use a Sleenova sleep mask some nights with the white noise really low. Mostly because I like having background sound without touching my phone, and it blocks light. That combo has been nice when I’m already stressed and kind of annoyed for no real reason. My sleep still isn’t amazing, but it’s been less messy lately. I’ve had more mornings where I wake up and don’t immediately feel like the day is already winning.

I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but my brain feels slower lately. I’ve been sleeping badly because of anxiety. I’ll be tired at night, but once I lie down, my mind starts running. Worries, work stuff, things I said days ago, what I need to do tomorrow. Sometimes it’s not even a clear thought. Just noise. Then I wake up tired and feel off before work even starts. The scary part is that I can feel it affecting my job. I’ll stare at a message too long before it clicks. I forget small things. I made a mistake recently that I normally wouldn’t make, and my manager pointed it out. I felt so embarrassed. Since then I keep worrying that people can tell I’m not doing well. I’ve tried calming down before bed. No phone for a while, writing stuff down in my Moleskine, doing a Headspace breathing exercise, or listening to a slow sleep story on Calm. Then I dim the lights. Sometimes I turn on my Pococo star projector and stare at the ceiling for a bit. It gives my attention somewhere quiet to go instead of lying there spiraling. Some nights it helps. Some nights I’m still awake for ages. I’m tired and scared. It feels like anxiety is starting to affect things I need to be good at. Has anyone been through this? What helped?

I’m trying to use my phone less at night, and I’m realizing I don’t know how to be bored anymore.
My evenings used to be videos, games, scrolling, then staying up too late. I’d sleep badly, wake up tired, and get sick more often. I think my body was just tired.
So I’m trying one small change. After work, I leave my phone in another room. I like dancing, so some nights I go to a studio and practice for a bit. I get home around 9, shower, then stay in my room without my phone.That part feels weird. My brain keeps wanting something fast.Now I’m trying slower things. A few pages on my Kindle. A few lines in my Leuchtturm1917 notebook. Yogasleep Dohm white noise. My Pococo star projector on while I’m in bed. Looking at the stars on the ceiling gives me something quiet to focus on without going back to a screen. It’s not exciting, but maybe that’s the point. After a while I get sleepy, and I want my phone less. What do you guys do at night when you’re bored but trying not to scroll?

I’m a SAHM. 6 yr old twins and 10yo.
Summer is really hard for me. My OH works during the day, so it’s mostly me solo-ing. Last week was just brutal. I was exhausted, short on patience, and I absolutely hate not having a routine.
Tonight we sat down and put a list together on our smart family calendar in the kitchen. We wrote down things the kids would like to do, from simple stuff like “bake cookies” and “movie afternoon” to day trips like “go to the beach” or “go to museum”. I specifically circled my OH’s days off so he can take over and I can get a bit of a break.
Having everything up on the calendar has actually been a lifesaver. It keeps me from feeling completely overwhelmed by either too much empty time or too many plans. The kids can just read the calendar themselves to see what’s on for the day, which saves me from constantly repeating myself.
It’s hard to keep things organized during summer, but this does give me some peace of mind. I also sat down today and made a huge list of all the free stuff going on locally and organized it by date, so at the beginning of each week I can check what’s around and decide what we should do depending on energy levels etc.
Also, I have a few friends whose kids get on well with mine. We plan to hang out at each other’s houses as much as possible when we’re free. Two adults and 5 kids is way easier than one adult managing 3 kids on their own, and having adult company to talk to is a huge plus. The kids can just run around and play with toys, and we get to relax a little more than usual.
Summer break is definitely tough. I feel a bit bad for thinking this way, but I am seriously counting down to September 3rd.
How are you all surviving the summer? Any cool activities or tips for staying sane?