Not much time. I've almost naturally fallen into a rhythm of wearing the same 4 shirts to work M-Th and Friday is jeans/casual. I alternate between a few pairs of pants. So, less than a minute is spent deciding and looking for my work clothes. Going out, I tend to wear whatever is top-of-stack, weather permitting.
It shows mastery of the language, one could argue. With the tools available today it makes development a lot faster and easier. Functions have tooltips on how to use it, you can scroll through the available functions, libraries imported, and more. While it is unpleasant, it is an exercise that demonstrates your independence from dev tools.
The only time I've used my personal computer for remote work was when it was freelance/independent contractor work. The companies I've worked remote for have all provided a computer for remote work. The main reason is usually information security. The companies need to know that sensitive data is not being stored on my personal computer - I shouldn't have access to it if I'm not working for them.
This goes for homebrewing (beer/wine) too. If you can make oatmeal you can make beer, but if you want to make the same beer exactly the same over and over it is very complex. The fact that Budweiser tastes the same all over the US and is made in 12(?) different locations is a testament to how good the brewers are (even if beer snobs don't like it).
As for coffee, even the foam on top of an espresso is complex.
Congrats! I've been working on a personal project now for a couple months that I originally conceived 2 years ago. It is still difficult to stick with but it is getting easier the more progress I make.
I saved a lump of money for the short-term and took a very long vacation. I have a bit saved for the long-term from before, but now the focus is long-term saving.
The company didn't want to invest in my department but kept setting higher expectations. It caused the team to be overworked and understaffed. You couldn't focus on a project because you were always needed somewhere else. The people in my department were great but their hands were tied. The pay wasn't great and there were some other less important issues, too. I've seen a number of people leave since me, but turnover was always moderate.
I was in a similar situation. I took a break from work and rediscovered the reasons I got into software. Then, I went back to work after a nice long break.
My advice:
Don't just save money, invest it in an S&P 500 index fund.
Time is going to fly by and if, like me, you put money away each month, the interest will be a nice reward to yourself and give you new opportunities when you start to look for them.
This is so true from my experience working for companies using PHP. You can advocate all you want to clean up code, but in the end, if it doesn't create a new feature its not going to happen.
I always felt that working out was a hassle. My parents tried forcing me to work out with a trainer multiple times and it never worked out. Then one summer I worked out with a friend a few times and that got me going to the gym a few times a week for about 2 months where I abruptly stopped. Fast forward 3 or 4 years and my parents, being worried about my health, got me to start working out with a trainer. What was different this time is that I built a friendship with the trainer, and I was paying with my own money and didn't want to waste it.
I don't care much for socializing while I work out, but knowing people there and having friends who I can workout with, discuss weightlifting with, and do competitions like warrior dash and tough mudder is what really made the difference to me. It wasn't an easy start and required a lot of self discipline to show up. But if you have the discipline and can motivate yourself to get in the routine and make friends while doing it, it becomes much more enjoyable and the chore quality goes away.
I think the fascination comes from an early introduction to Japanese culture, even if we're not aware. Japan probably has the largest cultural footprint in America for Eastern countries. A lot of cartoons I watched growing up were Japanese anime. Then there was Pokemon. And Nintendo. And Playstation. And the Mario Brothers. The list goes on for geek entertainment. I think the question could be juxtaposed with "Why do other countries have a fascination with Western culture?" - Hollywood, our entertainment industry. Or why is Soccer/football the most popular sport in the world? - people have access to it all over the world starting at an early age.
Most books I read come from personal recommendations, a friend tells me they liked a book and think I will like it. If I read it and like it I might read others from the author.
Free books (and on sale <$1.00) are also an incentive and have more often than not resulted in me buying other books from the author.
Serendipity in book stores - not very frequent because bookstores are not close to me. I recently bought 3 books from various bookstores while looking at what was available. One I had been meaning to read for years the other two were by authors I knew of but had never read.
Random Internet reference, I read Stanger in a Strange Land because of the SO answer "You don't grok vi" - I wanted to grok grok.
Travel inspired, I read some Hemingway because I was going to Spain.
edit: Online reviews are like social media comments, bring some popcorn. If I want to read criticism about a book, it will be from a more reputable source. But, that is not to say I won't read a book with bad reviews from a more reputable source. Their negative spin might make me more curious.
At my current job, 2 years, we have a bug that existed before I joined. However, I was able to provide an alternate solution to it. Its hard to quantify the time spent on it because it was always around. When it became a main focus it probably took me 2 weeks to get an alternate solution.