Many people have things like “Buy me a cup of coffee” buttons and such like on their sites or GitHub repos, and good for them – most of the time, they deserve it. For example – here’s mine 😉
I’m asking for a little (and a lot) more than that. So, with that in mind, I’ve listed below several ways that you can help me out if you are able to and you consider me a worthy cost.
The Sob Story
Hey there. I’m a disabled war veteran with 3 operational tours of Iraq, and one of Afghanistan.
Broken Back
As unlikely as it seems – I broke my back in 2000, it wasn’t discovered until 2010(ish) in which time I had completed many operational tours, physically demanding career courses, many runs ranging from 5km all the way through to 100km, and several competitive swims.
Leaving the Army
Eventually, the pain got too much & I left the Army. after the business I left the Army to start failed – I turned my hobby and passion into a career and started as a Freelance Web Developer. This then turned into a career as a Software Engineer at Sky Bet.
The Operation
All was well, and I had my operation to put a couple of rods in my back. After the time recommended by the surgeon, I wanted to get back into running, and so I did a couple of really simple, really slow runs.
Laid-up
Within two weeks, I was off of work, never to return. Within two months, I was laid-up in bed. Things steadily got worse (and are still getting worse).
Physical Problems
Currently, I have to spend around 20 hours a day laying in, or on, my sofa-bed in my Living Room. I can’t stand (or sit) for more than 10-15 minutes at a time until I need to lay back down for 30 minutes to an hour or so. I can’t get upstairs much, and by the time I do get upstairs, I need to lay on the bed.
Mental Problems
I have to sleep in the sofa-bed anyway, as I have a very poor sleep pattern due to my continuing pain levels and continued use of morphine; co-codamol and gabapentin. I also cry in my sleep due to my PTSD from my 1st tour of Iraq, and my 3rd tour of Iraq, which was a part of a bomb-disposal team.
The Eternal Struggle
I’m now on a continuing search for something I can do that will allow me to earn a living; get away from state benefits, and regain my self-respect and dignity.
My Wife is Our Saviour
My Wife is a full-time Primary School Teacher, which also involves around another 20 hours a week marking and planning at home. Then she has two more part-time jobs, all in order to support our family. This obviously makes me feel very bad.
Enter HASSCASTS
I’m just hoping that HASSCASTS is the idea that will allow me to take some of the pressure off of my Wife, and allow me to earn a living by documenting my hobby and journey through the world of Home Automation.
HASSCASTS YouTube Channel
At first, I thought that YouTube was the ideal platform, but it took too much out of me to create the videos. I did enjoy it on a certain level, but by the end of the process, I was putting too much pressure on myself to grow faster than was good for me.
HASSCASTS Blog
After the YouTube Channel didn’t receive an update for about a year, I decided to concentrate on the HASSCASTS website/Blog, which had received no attention for a similar amount of time.
The Blog is easier to maintain, as I can do this laid down, I don’t need to stand in front of cameras all the time. I don’t have to spend hours each day, setting up and tearing down all the video lighting and green screen (as it’s obviously in the Living Room).
Any Help Welcome
So, with that in mind – any help you can offer will be much appreciated. For example, I already pay for ProtonMail, but if somebody else was generous enough to take that pressure off of me, there would be more money coming into the house and so I’d be one step closer to financial independence.
How you can help
Recurring & one-off subscriptions
| Service | Monthly | Annually | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog2Social Pro License | EUR 8.25 | EUR 99 | Content to social media manager |
| YoastSEO Premium License | — | GBP 89 | SEO Analysis manager for content |
| ProtonMail Plus Plan | EUR 5 | EUR 48 | Secure & private web service |
| ProtonVPN Plus Plan | EUR 8 | EUR 96 | Secure & private VPN service |
| Website Firewall | — | USD 299.99 | Website security |
Amazon Wish List
I’ve set a couple of public Amazon Wish list, one is for equipment to make my life easier, the other is for equipment to review and then use as normal
Amazon wish list – review then use
Donations
Motivation
If you’re unable to provide any of the above, but you still want to help, why not just send me a shout it and maybe share this page with your friends; family and followers? Firstly, I’ll appreciate the thought and you never know: one of your friends or family may be able to help me with a specialised service.