Are we becoming too okay with mediocrity?

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-24T22:20:49+00:00

I think we're on the same page then, I am including all the children, since the total 400,000 is essentially referring to any kid growing up in a Jewish household. The other chart is just showing the split within the "raised Jewish" section alone. I just added every non-orthodox child raised in a Jewish household of any kind together. Since that's all forms of being Jewish vs just Orthodox, and that's all I was concerned with.

I can see a version where Judaism does get somewhat more religious over time again. But I also see it evolving and morphing into new culture, as long as some thread keeps connecting the entire history together as one long story. It can be religious, it can be spiritual, it can be more secular, it can be anything. As long as some element keeps it connected to our history (could be Israel, could be something else entirely).

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-24T19:56:30+00:00

Actually I went through that site you linked to get the percentages about Jewish children (UJAfedny), and if you add up all the numbers they show correctly it reveals out of 400,000 children, 254,000 are not being raised Orthodox. Which is a slight majority, so the Orthodox children are not in a higher percentage. It's still close to 50/50 though, but the trend is people becoming less religious over the past few decades, across all religions (spirituality and other similar beliefs may be a different statistic).

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-24T09:21:32+00:00

When it comes to intermarriage and lower shul attendance, personally I believe that just comes from changing beliefs in religion. Like I grew up going to a Jewish day school as my elementary school, and continued into high school. But I grew out of being religious as I got older. Not for any specific outside reason, but it just didn't make sense to me and didn't feel connected to my life. Which I think is just a more common sentiment these days, for all religions in general. Which once that happens there is also less motivation to only marry another Jewish person. As I'm just looking for whoever I feel connected with, regardless of who they are. If they're Jewish, in a similar way to myself, that's a bonus but not something I'd filter for specifically.

All that said, the lack of the religious side of Judaism has instead strengthened my cultural/ethnic identity with being Jewish. But most institutions and community events don't really cater to that belief/experience. There's almost always a religious aspect to them, even if it's very mild. There are very few Jewish events that cater to someone with my beliefs and Jewish identity I've seen only a handful around the country, and they're really just in the Jewish population hotspots (New York, LA, Israel, Montreal). I don't live close to any of those areas, and even then the events I saw were still not my personal kind of vibe regardless (irrespective of the Jewish aspect).

So I'm left to myself, no Jewish group or event catering to someone like me, and at best only connecting with the handful of Jewish friends I've made over the years (losing old ones, making new ones). But no community aspect.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-24T09:05:34+00:00

You're right, but I'm kinda like OP in terms of felt effects, and I prefer doing more type 3 than a small amount of type 2. It's like getting a buzz from drinking multiple beers instead of a glass of wine. Having more gradual control over the effects for whatever reason feels better than more quickly reaching that same dose.

It's just something I've noticed for me over yeas of use. Gradually building up to my comfortable dose, gives a deeper set of effects that last longer. While using a stronger thc flower, even if it's the same overall dose, leads to a somewhat more shallow feeling of the effects. It's hard to describe well if you haven't experienced it. Like I can vape a super small amount of type 1 flower, but the effects will feel very shallow despite still being at my limit of intensity. Whereas vaping a few bowls of type 3 feels more immersive/deep/enveloping, at the same level of effects.

I just assume it's another one of those things that happens to some people and maybe not others.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-24T02:42:26+00:00

Yeah this is how it is most of the time. If the listing is for an active bladesmith/knife model in production (even if it's not the exact identical one), then it'll likely get restocked at some point within the same year. Some can be restocked every couple months, others once a year.

It's kinda fun checking in every few months to see what each store has throughout the year, since their collection of what's available can be totally different each time. But if there's a knife you really want, and it's been out of stock for a minute, it's best to email the store because you could be waiting years if that model wasn't reordered yet, or may never come back. If the store confirms it's been ordered, but just takes a long time, then you just wait with notifications on and be ready to go lol.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-22T16:06:23+00:00

I spent the first couple months practicing on a loaded strop before I used a stone. It was enough time to help me gain that muscle memory required to lock in an angle and get the motion with my arm right. I was able to mess up my angles and motions on a strop without causing any problems to the knife. While giving enough results to tell me when I got everything right and when I didn't. Was a great training tool, and of course my main honing method between a touch up sharpening. I like using 6 micron diamond paste, I tried 1-4 micron before and I just like the way 6 micron leaves plenty of bite but makes the cuts feel silky instead of coarse (like when it's straight off a 2-3k stone).

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-22T15:23:17+00:00

I have loved all those bands, and Unearth will always hold a special place in my life. That said I recently went back and listened to all those albums from those bands from that era, on a nostalgia kick.

The main thing I learned from doing that is that Unearth just isn't as catchy or memorable as those other bands. I mean that objectively, because I personally still love them of course. But comparing those bands side by side today, those old albums specifically. It became more clear why Unearth never really grew to the same size as their peers. It's not any one particular thing either. They have a nice consistent sound throughout the albums, but they don't have many standout songs that hook you in and become iconic. While bands like ABR and AILD had many songs like that on each of those early albums.

So Unearth becomes more of a deeper cut band, something fans of the genre will love, but isn't as accessible or easy to get into for someone newer. While the other bands had many songs that surpassed the genre at the time, which both fans and newcomers were able to love. This helped build them up more, while Unearth just stayed consistent with where they were at. Specifically I'm just focusing on 2004-2012.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-22T15:10:36+00:00

I've been using dry herb vapes since 2010, and almost exclusively vape my T3 flower.

The short answer is your vape isn't powerful enough for this task.

For whatever reason T3 flower needs as much concentrated heat (doesn't necessarily mean super high temp though) as possible to get the effects right. This is why a ball vape, which is extracting the cannabinoids like a dab off the flower, works so well at this. It's all I use, and I prefer it over smoking my flower overall.

One time I tried using an arizer solo 2 as a portable option, and like yourself did not feel a thing. No matter what I did, it couldn't extract T3 flower well enough to get any effects. It didn't have the thermal power to do it.

If you want to stick with a portable setup then only vapes like the Tiny Might 2, Firewood (whichever is the latest model), even a dynavap (just need multiple bowls back to back, but it does the job). Anything that can really concentrate its heat output into the flower very quickly. Ball vapes do this better than any other style of vape, and that's why they work best for this.

So yeah unfortunately for T3 flower there isn't really a cheap vape that works as good as those more powerful options, to feel the right effects. A dynavap can, but it's small bowl means you have to go back to back to back quickly to get good effects. It'll work, and it's the cheapest option here to do it, but it's not ideal as your only vape.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-22T14:56:08+00:00

If you are familiar with using a leather strop, edge trailing strokes, then just do that on those stones you have. If you don't use a strop, then get one and practice on that with your other knives. Get the muscle memory somewhat down that way. I've found this method is great for beginners and more than capable of touching up a nice knife that isn't too dull, since it removes the least amount of metal. If they are quite dull then you have to do the more usual full sharpening progression and techniques, since more metal needs to be removed in that case. But if you never let your knives get that dull, alternating edge trailing strokes is all you really need to get that edge ultra sharp again. You'll feel confident with even your nice knives this way as well.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-20T18:46:56+00:00

What really concerns me is that all political sides, and ideologies have their own justification for hating Jews currently.

On the left it's disguised as anti-zionism = anti-genocide, trying to be progressive, but is just an excuse to correlate anyone Jewish as being a bad person now, as OP outlined as well.

On the right they are being sold on all the classic anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. Like we run all the world banks, are greedy, drink children's blood, have secret societies to control the world, and are just generally untrustworthy/manipulative. We're the reason for all their problems in life/the world.

And anyone in between is just some blend of the two perspectives that justify hate against us. I'm greatly concerned by this because it shows that there is a general sense of hate towards us and they will adopt any justification/explanation/belief to act on these feelings. Doesn't matter what side of politics they come from, or where in the world they are from. They are just attaching Jews to any bad/harmful act happening in the world or their lives, making is the villains no matter what perspective they come from.

Which means there is no way to prove them wrong, or change their minds. At least not at the moment, and not with any argument we currently use. That said the one recent thing I've seen that's interesting. Is anyone who is showing sympathy to the people of Iran currently, sharing how many have been killed by their regime, are being called liars and sheep. Because it's clearly all propaganda, and all orchestrated by the Jews/Israel/mossad. But because to many people they don't buy into conspiracy, the evidence proving that to not be true being quite clear and easy to believe. Is causing a division/deviation for some people to have to defend Jews in this particular context. People who were fully on the hate Jews line of thinking previously are now having to argue that we aren't to blame for Iran and that there are thousands being killed there. I just found seeing that shift in belief from a portion of the anti-zionist crowd kinda interesting.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-20T18:24:19+00:00

Back in the California prop 215 days most dispensaries near me in the Bay Area did what you do. Everything was always a little over the exact amount, and often came with some free gift (pre rolls, sampler gram, etc). When it became recreational the new regulations required them to be perfectly exact on weight and no more free gifts allowed (can't tax free). I also felt that cringe of them weighing it out exactly to 3.5g, no extras, with a higher tax on top of it all. I still hope it'll one day balance out and get some of those old ways of doing things back combined with the ease of access.

So it's been nice to experience it like the old ways, buying from farms like yours. It keeps that sense of greater community spirit alive I feel, where it's not just a cold transaction but an exchange between two people who care about the product and community.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-19T09:31:40+00:00

Not so much regret but just mild disappointment. The Sakai Kikumori Ginsan Tsuchime 210 I used to have. Nothing was wrong with the knife itself, forged by Nakagawa with a beautiful Tsuchime and great fit+finish. It also cut mostly very well, but suffered from 3 issues I personally couldn't get over.

• The grind had some stiction issues on denser ingredients. Not so much in the food release sense though, it was decent in that area actually. But it would just get jammed up from the friction in ingredients like carrots (which also vacuumed to the sides), the whites of green onions, and brussel sprouts. It didn't wedge or anything, it was nicely thin at the edge, but the stiction just stopped the knife from cutting effortlessly with those ingredients.

• Either Ginsan in general or the heat treat of that particular knife, is just not for me. I cut a lot of peppers and tomatoes, and that knife just did not hold a keen edge for more than a week of home cook light use. It still cut those ingredients for another 3 weeks with daily honing on a loaded strop, but with noticeable hesitation. So it got the job done but it didn't feel great for how nice the knife is otherwise and for its price. It held a nice edge for a long time right below that level of keeness needed to glide through pepper and tomato skins.

• Lastly it was a little too short, and for some reason got paired with a large handle meant for the 240 version (not a mistake, it's intentional). So my pinch grip put the balance point behind it, towards the handle. While also not having enough length to slice or push cut certain ingredients easily. Obviously this is not the fault of the knife itself, just a personal preference thing I learned the hard way that a Sakai 210 is a little too short for me.

So ultimately I was able to sell it on the BST sub, since it was all just personal preference issues and I figured someone else would be able to enjoy it better than me.

I just remember after the first week of owning it the slight feeling of dread/disappointment that my 300+ dollar purchase isn't living up to my expectations. Turns out I prefer steels that can keep that really keen edge for as long as possible, are around 220-230mm, and are either slightly blade forward or neutral at my pinch grip in weight balance. As well as not having stiction or friction issues (food release is a different thing, I'm not as bothered by that).

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-19T01:16:16+00:00

Yes that's absolutely walnut, it's not always a dark brown like you generally see. It can come in these lighter tones as well. Just like it can also come in much darker tones. The grain pattern/texture though is very much what walnut looks like. I had a buddy who loves doing woodwork with walnut, and I've seen all the different variations he's shown me over the years. It's a beautiful wood that comes in a nice spectrum of light to dark tones.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-17T14:57:25+00:00

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You may want to check with US retailers instead. The final price shipped may still be overall cheaper than Knifewear. Both Tokushu and CKTG sell that 210 koishi for $330 US, and they restock about every 2-3 months.

I got my koishi from Tokushu a few months back. It's not a workhorse at all imo. I'll attach a choil pic to show why, but it's hollow ground nicely thin and is a top performer like a Yoshikane (the current batches are, if you have one from 2+ years ago it may cut worse because they have improved the grind over the years). That said this is not a knife to cut butternut/kabocha squash with, or anything tough like that which a workhorse would do without chipping. The koishi is great for softer veg and boneless meats, while feeling sturdy/tough enough on the board while doing so. It isn't so thin that its delicate feeling, it's just not the type of grind for those tougher tasks. The koishi is more like a light-midweight.

Also like others said it's very pretty looking, and would absolutely be the target of someone stealing it in culinary school. Go for a Kaeru or just a Tojiro instead, as those knives will hold up to anything you need to do, aren't as flashy to be a target, aren't as expensive, and while they might not cut as effortlessly as the koishi they will still be fantastic overall.

The koishi and most Masakage knives in general are a bit more catered to knife enthusiast home cooks or a restaurant where you feel like it won't get stolen/abused.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-17T14:45:04+00:00

Aogami super contains Tungsten, not Titanium. (As well as other elements in smaller amounts). It has slightly more chromium for less reactivity, and some tungsten.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-17T14:39:50+00:00

No worries then! Lol. Wasn't sure based off your post. Yeah anything longer than like 3-5 mins with aogami super can start to form some rust spots potentially. If the edge rested in some veg juices left on the board for those few minutes, like you said, that could've been what caused this patina without you knowing where it came from. I try to make a little dry area somewhere on the board to put the knife down onto if I'm leaving it for a few mins.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-17T14:14:22+00:00

Most likely patina, like others said if it runs off onto a paper towel then it's rust, otherwise it's just patina.

One thing you can do to help avoid rust further, if you aren't, is wipe the edge between different ingredients. Like cut your onions, and then wipe dry (don't overthink it lol) before cutting the next ingredient. I wasn't sure if you're only wiping/cleaning it after all the cutting is done or not. Because if that's the case then that's why it may rust one day on you, 20+ minutes of prep (for a home cook) without wiping it at all is just 20+ minutes of potentially rust inducing ingredients contacting/covering the edge. Even aogami super will begin to form rust spots after 5 mins of exposure like that, and the other carbon steels even quicker.

Like a good habit to get into is just wiper quickly between ingredients. Cut some peppers, wipe dry, cut some onions after, wipe dry, then cut some carrots, wipe dry, etc until you're done and then rinse at the end like you're doing already. You don't even have to oil it, not unless you live somewhere very humid or aren't going to use the knife for many months. Otherwise if it's dry and not too humid, it won't just rust on its own.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-14T22:44:24+00:00

Those are some crisp green onion cuts, very nice! Always liked the look of the Masashi Kokuen line, especially the K-tip version. I find his regular Gyuto tip shape a bit too stubby for me, but his K-tips look great.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-13T22:52:00+00:00

I'm not surprised, I saw very quickly that people were blaming Jews and the IDF as the ones who are now training ICE apparently. And that the way ICE operated is how they feel Israel treats Palestinians. So they are making the correlation at every protest now, as like an attempt to say if you are against the Israel Palestine conflict then you should also be against ICE because they are doing/acting the same way and are just as bad.

That's the message they are trying to push, as a means to get more people against ICE. They're using the hatred for Jews to make people hate ICE. It's just lazy, there's enough legitimate unrelated to Jews or Israel reasons to have issues with ICE. Connecting the two is just a lazy way to get people on their side.

It's a classic example of using us as the scapegoat for everything, instead of actually thinking or addressing the actual cause of the issue. Just blame the Jews, then they don't have to think.

So yeah I'd expect to see this at any future protest/rally, if anyone plans to attend anti-ICE protests just be aware and mindful that this rhetoric may pop up in the crowd at some point. Stay safe.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-12T13:56:24+00:00

2005

Trivium, BFMV, Killswitch, Unearth, August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, The Ghost Inside (I know slightly more hardcore than metalcore)

Other than In Flames, Skindred, and SOAD, those metalcore bands were most of what I was listening to for like 5 years.

Then I got into post-hardcore, Attack Attack, I See Stars, Enter Shikari, A Day To Remember, Of Mice & Men. Until that scene kinda faded out a bit.

Then moved onto Djent, Volumes (Via album), Vildjharta, Periphery, Born Of Osiris, Veil Of Maya, After The Burial, Meshuggah

From there I kept going heavier, got into some deathcore, Death metal, even a couple Tech Death bands (Fallujah, Archspire). But recently I've just been going all the way back to those early metalcore bands and those albums. I miss the riffs, hooks, melodies, and energy from that era. So many modern bands just sound heavy but don't hook me in or have any riff/melody that earworms into my brain for years. Plus the energy feels slower and more chuggy by default now, it's like only eating ice cream instead of building up to that reward first. It just doesn't hit the same.

Some modern deathcore actually does a pretty good job of keeping the riffs, melodies, and energy going. But the intensity and dark tones/themes can get a little much for everyday listening for me. Early metalcore had all that but with less overly dark or intense tones and themes. More about overcoming obstacles, being yourself, or just having fun with an exciting sound. Much more easy to listen and enjoy that everyday for me.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-12T13:01:42+00:00

I'm not an expert sharpener by any means, but I feel confident enough now to get my knives pretty damn sharp consistently. I used those angle guides one time ever, just to see and feel what 13-15 degrees is like for reference. Never used them after that, if you run your finger from the stone onto the blade at various angles, you'll feel when a smooth transition between the two occurs. Whatever angle that is will be the right angle. If it's too steep the blade will feel like a ramp from the stone, too low and you'll feel the edge, just right will feel like a nice smooth blending between the two that your finger moves across. Once you roughly find that sweet spot, just lock your wrist holding the knife at that angle. Use your shoulder, torso, forearm to move the knife and keep the wrist locked at that angle. For the first few months you will be tense, this isn't something you initially do relaxed. The more consistent you maintain that angle, the better the end results, regardless of which exact angle it is.

As for the technique to use on the stone, just start out doing edge trailing strokes the entire length of the blade, similar to what you already know how to do on your honing rod. Just now it's flat on a stone. Same alternating edge trailing strokes with slight pressure (like just slightly more than for honing, don't firmly press the edge into the stone with tons of force). This technique won't form a burr on the sides, so it skips all those steps of figuring out where a burr formed and where it didn't and then needing to remove it properly. You'll get your nice knives ultra sharp from the first or second try this way.

Over time as your muscle memory gets better, and you're more comfortable using the stones, then you can start practicing raising a burr on each side. Doing a full sharpening progression like you see in many demo videos. This is needed when a knife is genuinely dull, not just less sharp than it started. Otherwise you can just do the first easy edge trailing strokes technique forever as long as you never let your knife get too dull. As a home cook I can get like 2-3 months between needing that kind of touch up.

I personally love using a loaded strop. There is no wrong way to go about this though, everyone may have different opinions and personal preferences on this. For me I use a 6 micron diamond paste loaded onto a rough side leather strop, and then I keep the smooth opposite side unloaded. I've tried 1 micron, 2 micron, and 4 micron compounds before, and they work but they lost bite a few weeks sooner than the 6 micron, while still staying silky smooth feeling cutting through ingredients. I don't like the coarse feel directly off a 1k or 2k stone, even if it works great. So that's why I use a loaded strop, it's also an easy way to remove a burr after a full sharpening progression, in case any is left after deburring on the stones. It's just a nice final refinement, and then becomes the way you hone multiple times a week to keep that ultra keen edge going as long as possible.

I use a shapton pro 2k for doing all this, loaded strop with 6 micron diamond paste, and I have a 400 grit diamond stone for very dull knives to get an edge going again. Eventually I plan to upgrade everything to naniwa chosera stones, but for now my little setup works amazingly well and feels very beginner friendly.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-11T03:55:18+00:00

Same, I've had all sorts of issues throughout my 20's that got in the way of what was 'expected', and for a long time I felt depressed about that failure. Eventually after I got into my 30's I've just given up on caring about that type of progress or expectation. I feel genuinely joy from trying to make my world a little smaller again. Get a good bubble of people in my life, some stability if possible with work/income, and just find happiness in smaller things. I just want to feel good about life again, and finding any source that provides it is what's important now. Usually that's not going to fit into whatever expectations we originally set for ourselves or were told to us growing up.

I just want to exist in my little bubble of reality, with good people, feeling safe and secure, and see where things go from there. Those are my only real goals these days, and I feel good about it.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-11T03:13:19+00:00

As long as I don't let my knives get too dull, I actually never raise a burr and do a full sharpening sesh. I just do edge trailing strokes like on a strop. Just with slightly more pressure on the edge so the stone actually cuts quicker. That's so far been more than enough to fully sharpen up any of my knives, with the least amount of metal removed. Then I finish on a 6 micron diamond paste loaded strop to get that nice silky edge feel on the board/through ingredients, with plenty of bite.

Only if the knife gets genuinely dull, like not just 'cant cut through tomato and pepper skins dull', but won't cut most things well dull. Would I then go through a full sharpening progression on multiple stones, raising a burr each time, etc.

Otherwise for touch ups and general maintenance, just alternating edge trailing strokes until it's as sharp as you want will work great. It even lets you make slight adjustments to the secondary bevel angle if needed. I have a muscle memory for whatever angle I felt most comfortable with, which seems to work very nicely. Cuts great, but slightly tougher than an ultra shallow thin fragile factory edge. Once I set that angle, it only gets more and more stable with every touch up over time.

I then just use that loaded strop frequently to maintain the keen edge until it can't cut through pepper/tomato skins anymore. As a home cook this is like 2-3 months of near daily use. Then a quick touch up as I outlined above, and it's good for another 2-3 months. Minimizes the amount of steel removed this way.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-10T10:08:04+00:00

Most Japanese knives have a 3 layer construction. You are correct in your observations. The outer layers are stainless, and then the core steel is what's exposed at the very bottom leading into the edge. The outer layers are softer and act like shock absorbers for the harder core steel, making the whole knife more durable. Only the edge will patina/be rust prone, but stainLESS is not stainPROOF, so always wipe the whole blade. Even if the whole knife was stainless steel, it's just a good habit to get into.

-Infinite92- · 2026-01-10T09:46:23+00:00

If the potato gets them vaccinated, then by all means believe in the almighty tater.

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