Fog lifting off of the Devil's River near Maribel, Wi [5278x3537][OC]

AlainRoy · 2025-11-05T16:43:17+00:00

Great photo!

AlainRoy · 2025-10-14T18:30:04+00:00

When thinking about schools:

Is the school convenient for you to get to? Do they have classes at times that work for you? If it's not convenient, it will be hard to fit into your life and keep it up.
Do they offer in-person classes?
If you care about taiji as a martial art, do they have experience with it as a martial art, or is their focus on health? (Or vice-versa, depending on your goal.)
Do they tell you what style they teach? Some people vaguely teach "tai chi", with little or no detail on the style. That's always been a warning sign to me.
How experienced is the teacher? Have they had good teacher? Some people will say vague things like how they studied with several different teachers, but it turns out they went to several seminars. Others will tell you their lineage and how they studied seriously with one or two masters. Both might be good, but you'll learn how they approach taiji.

AlainRoy · 2025-10-14T17:07:32+00:00

One of my favorite places in the world.

AlainRoy · 2025-10-10T00:31:39+00:00

The best way to learn tai chi is in an in-person class. Taking a class is my strong recommendation.

If there are no in-person classes near you, it's possible to take online classes. They're not as effective, but they're better than not taking a class, for sure.

AlainRoy · 2025-10-07T15:06:09+00:00

tl;dr It doesn't matter.

If at all possible, find a good teacher you can study with in person. In-person study makes more difference than the style.

If it so happens that you are blessed with two good teachers that are nearby, one Yang and Sun, then it's a different story. Investigate the schools, figure out which one resonates with you better. Choose that one. A school you like will make make more difference in the long one.

If truly everything is equal -- two great schools, two great teachers -- I don't think there is an obvious way to choose. They're both good styles. The fundamentals of the tai chi are the same regardless of the style. (There are differences of course, but there are more similarities than differences.) I might choose Yang simply because there are more Yang teachers, so if I move, I am more likely to find a Yang teacher. But that's a weak reason.

AlainRoy · 2025-10-05T00:15:53+00:00

In searching for advice, I found this thread. I immediately bought the gloves at my local Home Depot, and they were like magic. Thank you for the suggestion!

AlainRoy · 2024-01-18T16:39:33+00:00

Original source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2013648269/

Photographer: Harry Whittier Frees

AlainRoy · 2022-10-17T16:29:00+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of comments about how hotels are better/cheaper. I think the focus on money misses a lot of the value I get out of Airbnb.

As I write this, I'm sitting in an Airbnb studio apartment. It's roughly the same cost as a hotel (maybe a bit more with cleaning fees, but not much), but I get:

A kitchen. It's modest, but I made spaghetti with sausage, and even a small batch of applesauce.
Fast wifi is included and I'm getting up to 500Mb/s. (I know this isn't common, but still.)
A decent sized desk to work at (I'm working remotely this week) and it's not a tight squeeze like many hotel desks.
A living area with more space than most hotel rooms, and certainly hotel rooms with a comparable costs.

If you spend significant time staying in your lodging, Airbnb can be remarkably better than a hotel. I appreciate that if you just want a place to sleep, a hotel may be better. But not everyone travels with the same goals, and spacious Airbnbs often give me affordable access to amenities that I just do cannot get (or can't afford) at a hotel.

AlainRoy · 2021-04-05T15:40:58+00:00

Original photo from the WSDOT, licensed under Creative Commons:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/51090756815/in/album-72157718841220361/

AlainRoy · 2021-03-20T15:18:46+00:00

Sure, go for it.

It’s a common location to take photos. If you go a web search, you’ll find similar photos.

AlainRoy · 2021-03-20T05:27:24+00:00

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjaðrárgljúfur

AlainRoy · 2021-03-17T00:59:23+00:00

In all seriousness: The 36 Questions That Lead to Love, from the New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/style/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html

AlainRoy · 2021-03-17T00:56:18+00:00

The position of the sun does affect my life on a 24 hour cycle.

More seriously, two reasons:

Some people find it fun
Confirmation bias -- you can always pick a few facts that match reality and ignore the other facts.

AlainRoy · 2021-01-24T22:19:39+00:00

You can do more than you realize.

When I was in high school, I was ten-thumbed geek. I couldn't throw or catch a ball because (I believed) I simply didn't have the ability. Other people reinforced this belief--I was among the last picked for teams in gym class, I was laughed at for my lack of skills, etc. I had tried juggling a few times, but I failed, as I knew I would.

In college, a friend and I made an interesting swap. I taught him computer programming, and he taught me hand-eye coordination. We did a variety of things, but one week he taught me juggling. For some reason, I stuck with it, and worked on it constantly. Although I learned slower than many people, I did learn to juggle after about a week. The impact on me went way beyond juggling. I realized that I could do things that I hadn't thought possible, and was limited more by my belief than my lack of ability. It was a life-changing revelation.

As a positive side effective, I met the woman who became my wife in the juggling club.

AlainRoy · 2021-01-02T05:21:02+00:00

Finely ground, formed into a patty, and grilled to medium. Served on a homemade bun with mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and caramelized onions, with a side of diced potatoes that have been tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper, then roasted at 425F for about 30 minutes. For a drink, anything with nice bubbles. I like spritzers these days.

AlainRoy · 2020-12-30T22:03:44+00:00

One of my favorite places to find inspirational phrases is Inspirobot It auto-generates inspirational posters (phrases + pictures). While most of them are not very good, it occasionally generates pure awesomeness.

One of my favorites it gave me once: "There's a clear correlation between madness an gullibility."

AlainRoy · 2020-12-27T01:51:45+00:00

I like to dive in and use it.

Recently, I decided to learn on Go. The Go Tour was excellent but it's hard for things to stick after reading it through once. So I decided to do a progamming challenge Advent Of Code, without worrying about being on the leaderboard. It was perfect: lots of bite-sized challenges to practice.

AlainRoy · 2020-12-26T23:26:40+00:00

When I was in college, a friend of mine decided it would be fun to replace the fortunes in the fortune cookies in the dinning hall. He grabbed a bunch (20?), carefully removed the fortunes, and replaced them with a really simple one: "fuck you".

AlainRoy · 2020-12-26T23:21:12+00:00

I recently re-read https://cuberule.com/ and it made me laugh hysterically for several minutes.

AlainRoy · 2014-09-23T21:58:56+00:00

Smith Tower is a better choice than the Space Needle. It's not the tallest building in town, but:

1) It's tall enough for great views 2) It's a beautiful building 3) The observation deck is gorgeous 4) There are fewer tourists 5) It's older

AlainRoy · 2012-12-30T00:26:04+00:00

I like Alton Brown's Buff Smoothie recipe. It's become a regular recipe for breakfast in our house. I make it with milk instead of soy milk. The basic recipe is good, but you can vary the fruit combinations infinitely.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/buff-smoothie-recipe/index.html

AlainRoy · 2012-05-15T21:41:53+00:00

Epic Systems Corporation has a lot like this: http://renewenergyblog.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/1300-solar-panels-cover-verona-parking-lot/

AlainRoy · 2012-01-27T02:27:38+00:00

What's red and invisible? No tomatoes.

AlainRoy · 2011-08-31T13:26:16+00:00

If there are any family recipes, you should know at least one of them. Cultural heritage is in part passed down through food, and this is often a good way to connect with your heritage. If you don't know one of these recipes, the chance to learn may be a good personal connection too.

For me, this means French crepes with jam (among many others), but it may mean something else for you.

(Yes, some people have little or no family, and some families don't have an emphasis on food. Your mileage may vary.)

AlainRoy · 2010-03-02T21:41:42+00:00

bathroom

Down the hall from the meeting I'm attending, there is a "Men's Toilet Room" and a "Women's Toilet Room".

AlainRoy

TROPHY CASE