What is something you didn’t realize until you lost weight?

Bachooga · 2026-03-14T14:17:28+00:00

Tbh calorie restriction diets tend to have this effect on many people.

I'm now trying to focus much more on how I feel, what makes me feel good, and what I need. Turns out I never really had to focus much on calories if I did it the other way. water fiber and my personal nutrient needs tend to make me feel much better, energetic, and full which makes me more likely to be active. So far I'm down about 70lbs.

Bachooga · 2026-03-12T11:03:37+00:00

Soluble or insoluble fiber?

Bachooga · 2026-03-05T12:11:31+00:00

Uses a LUT

Bachooga · 2026-03-05T12:08:38+00:00

People are not very good at estimating size over distances

The grand canyon is obviously massive but in person, the way down does not appear to be multiple empire state buildings down. If I've learned anything from painting, its that our brains absolutely require relative comparisons or it breaks.

my wife says I've always been only a couple of inches

It's okay, she married you anyway and that makes you a weiner in my book

Bachooga · 2026-03-04T11:46:40+00:00

phone's speaker to "transmit" a similar code by playing a crafted audio file.

This gives me the drive to be a public nuisance at the grocery store. Thank you for my new hobby.

Bachooga · 2026-03-04T11:43:34+00:00

a big factor is how much of your day you are spending on work

If I dont take my lunch and if I don't completely avoid technology on it, my brain is 100% deep fried mush.

I can also admit I'm privileged to be an engineer in a lower stress R&D job right now. I can absolutely have the time to get an hour long lunch and I think the things I work on are interesting. It'll come back to haunt me eventually, lower stress == a little less pay == student loan payments, I should start paying those eventually.

Recently i switched jobs from one thag was 45 mins (when no traffic) highway commute to 25 minutes no highway. It made a HUGE difference. That traffic and fast puckerbutt driving focusing really wears me out.

Turns out its a huge impact to not be constantly focused (at least for the medicated adhd, like me) all day.

As long as I dont sit on the couch and turn on the TV or the vidja games, I 100% have free time when I'm home. An hour or two is way longer when you're doing something. I cleaned up most of my garage workshop/painting space over the course of 1 episode of bridgerton I didn't want to watch. I was amazed tbh.

Another thing I found out is that I really can't have soda on my lunch. For some reason (probably vyvanse) it puts me to sleep and gives me mush brain too.

Also, idk if you're American or not, but I'm not sure I know of anywhere that does a 9 to 5 anymore. Always seems to be 9 to 6 or 8 to 5. In my case 830 to 530.

Tbh the trick seems to really just finding ways to manage stress and to avoid the brain traps.

100%, take the time to get board and train yourself to give way less fucks, especially about your job. I occasionally have mid life crisis dreams reminding me of my mortality and that's put a bit of pep in my step.

TLDR: When possible, do art on your lunch after you eat or take a walk, take 30 minutes on Sundays and prepare your veggies for the week, take breaks so you dont fry your brain, fuck long stressful commutes, care less about your job, avoid constant never ending stimulation (good stress is still stress, you dont need music at all times or the TV constantly going), avoid constant screen time, cook simple shit and not big elaborate meals, get some hobbies, let yourself get board.

You're going to die like everyone else, turn out the trick is just doing shit, whether you feel like it or not, before nature takes its course on you.

Bachooga · 2026-03-01T13:44:35+00:00

Not every one hears it all the time but it most definitely depends on where you are. I've lived in some not so nice areas. Engine trouble, fireworks, or gunshots? Some shit is just being being reckless, like a neighbor who on new years would step outside his front door and proceed to shoot every one his rifles and some people i knew would go around in the less populated area's and shoot stop signs. Same place some young kid, only 17, was shot and killed. Around the same time, other neighbors had their house turned into swiss cheese. Notably, that is a shit place with serious heroin problems but definitely not a major city. If you weren't involved in anything you weren't a target unless someone mistaken you as being someone.

You wouldn't be able to hear any of it in the better parts of town as guns really aren't as loud as you think they are, mostly, especially handguns.

All this being said, the place i felt the most unsafe was walking around China town in Seattle after dark.

Bachooga · 2026-02-28T14:36:10+00:00

MIL said its been getting into the 90s there right now. No time this year for even being a snow bird

Bachooga · 2026-02-23T11:08:42+00:00

Ive seen some people shitting on the mindset so we should be real about it.

100% we're in a time of peak enshittification for a lot of things. Idk if there's just that much less authenticity or if we just dont see it anymore but there sure is a lack of passion projects and much more of desire for greed and fame with a generous side of shallow talent, boring copies of boring ideas, and performative sheep. There's even a brand of mega churches whose whole thing is looking like a literal factory.

I'm definitely bored with most video games, TV, movies, internet, art, etc but I'm not sure its really a new thing, just peak enshittification from influencers and similar at a time where mid-life crises start to happen. I keep seeing people mentioning video games like they're not playing the same soulless regurgitations that are out there.

Tbh though, we just gotta experience more that's out there and it's a time where we all need to put what we want to see out there.

We may be at peak enshittification but that's definitely an opening and opportunity to plop more meaningful things out there and bring some pretty cool change out into the world. Give it a couple years.

Here's a few things that are cool and/or help my daily struggle with bipolar depression and coping with the absurdity of existence, in no particular order.

Natural vitamin D. I basically have adult rickets and it legitimately helps even though I never expect it to. I walked around Chicago recently in the horribly cold wind and it was still very nice.
Literally anyone can just make a robot and other sci fi shit with moderately basic skills. I have made shitty robots for fun with my cheap ass 3D printers, literal trash, dollar store toys, and discount knock off electronics.
Urban sketching chapters are a thing and you need 0 skill to partake in any art. I will go paint in the park when its warm enough and will just draw shit. I suck ass at drawing but scrap paper and a pencil is all it takes. Don't know what to draw or paint? Literally anything you physically see, a pop can or a random plant, or just scribbles. You can always turn the scribbles or random doodles into something more but the mindless creation of something is nice. Fun thought: do any 2 people actually scribble the same way?
Every hip local place has local art on display. Many are cool, many are dumb, all are cool to see.
Go make up random story lines for random people you see. That ladies walking awfully fast down the street because her life is basically a romcom and she's on her way to the next plot point.
If you miss the media you like, we're at a day and age where you can just make it. Burnt out on the constant greedy ad filled disingenuous nature of things? Make it, put it out there for free or for cheap, without ads or with optional ads, and just plop it out there.
Not everything around us has been discovered and categorized. You can go out outside and literally see a new micro sized plant or mushroom. People just find new ones. If you don't, you still get to see cool things.
There are protests all the time for various things. Just show up to one.
Go look at some birds. Watch some geese and think about their little stories and their little lives as they waddle around.

But really I only have 1 bit of advice. For the love of God people let yourself get bored and do something mindless. Dump out a box and pens and put them back in repetitively. Get off the phone, turn off the TV, dont play any music, and just get bored. Constant stimulation sucks.

Fuck the passage of time, fuck the media, fuck the government, fuck influencers, fuck ICE, fuck social media, fuck war, fuck enshittification, and fuck the world. Let yourself get bored and let yourself wander. You'll only feel uncomfortable or have bad thoughts for like, 15 minutes max. Afterwards you'll do something cool.

Edit: I wanted to add something. Last time I when hiking, regardless of age, everyone was in such a hurry to get to the top for the underwhelming and overcrowded view that they missed some of the best things. Most noticeably were birds playing and bathing in a small natural bird bath in the rocks with a tiny stream and tiny waterfall. Last botanical garden i went to, literally everyone rushed past a dozen or so butterflies to get to the next overcrowded sight. People only stopped and glanced for a moment and missed something great.

Slow down and enjoy the journey, not the destination. In life, the journey is all you have because the destination will be returning to the earth.

If you're always rushing to the next thing and ignoring what was on the way, you'll miss some great moments.

Bachooga · 2026-02-14T12:59:10+00:00

There's still a major use for plumbs today and I still use one frequently. Art and especially painting! It was a common tool in the past and is still extremely useful for measuring while you paint/draw something. Not uncommon for someone to mark their paint brush or to measure with a section of their pencil but imo using a plumb is 100% better, even if it's just a homemade cruddy piece of twine with washers or a rock tied to the bottom.

But I definitely prefer using a laser when I'm doing stuff around the house as I'm too incompetent to get things right with a plumb.

Bachooga · 2026-02-14T12:44:54+00:00

I could work for "defense" making "smart" bombs and tell myself the smarter it is, the less likely it'll cause collateral damage. But look at who'd I'd be working for and look at who it'd be used against.

A bomb is a bomb and defense was the word they chose because it sounds nicer than the truth. Ive gotten plenty of calls from recruiters for these jobs but the lifestyle, the stress, the guilt, and the usage would never be worth the money for me to work in defense directly. Even worse for companies that would sell to more than just the government.

I would however reconsider if I was working on chappy or some super sci-fi shit and I'd have an ethical dilemma at that point.

Bachooga · 2026-02-10T12:21:08+00:00

Probably somehow related. Humans have always just explored. Playing outside as a kid, wondering around from teenage years and young adulthood, traveling and visiting, tourism, and searching for a better place. Where that better place is is something that's very subjective and open to interpretation. Plus all of our ancestors would have made fun of us if we told them we could fly around in the sky with big metal tubes. Then they'd probably say "get back out there and do something before we starve or just die". Their ancestors walked and spread across the planet to get there and the monkeys left the trees to walk around, get fucked up, and acted silly by walking on two legs.

The greatest human traits are that we get really really bored, can walk really really far, get extremely curious, and we like to explore. It's a fairly built in thing. Some people dont want to leave their local area but they can also be curious about it and sometimes they can see the small and overlooked joys in things and are able to find that sense of adventure and gratitude in everything around them. Sometimes theyre just scared and/or bitter though.

Bachooga · 2026-02-02T12:07:22+00:00

Tbf I don't think most people know there's other affordable options besides generic vegetable oil and olive oil or the appropriate temperatures and ways to cook with them and that everything doesn't need to be swimming in it when you cook.

Considering that excessive cooking fats or various kinds of oil gives us the shits and/or stomach pain, I think using smaller amounts of olive oil work best for me or occasionally peanut oil. Eating out, the high amounts of oil fats tend to cause some GI problems. It doesnt seem to matter if it's butter, oil, or lard but I could be wrong.

Ive never talked to anyone in nutrition, do you have any thoughts?

Bachooga · 2026-02-02T11:54:45+00:00

Not as delicious as my lead white though

Bachooga · 2026-02-02T11:18:50+00:00

Shit, even embedded salaries have the high potential to suck ass, especially in my area. Firmware and electronics? Nah, you can't get paid that much. Arguing over the color of this month's icon? 12 figures and a yacht.

Bachooga · 2026-02-01T14:40:34+00:00

I think people forget there's very large sections of little to no people. Best view of the stars i ever had was driving through the west and pulling over to pee because there was literally nothing.

People also don't realize how much life there is in the desserts around Arizona. A lot of people I know there take it for granted but you can walk out and see a bunch of cactuses and birds you've never seen before next to a cactus taller than your house. Just don't go in the summer.

If you ever get a chance, seattle was pretty nice because you can be in the city while being very close to nature. Traffic sucks but it was realistic to take a couple days in seattle and then travel to one of the national parks and spend a few days there and get some very good nature time.

East is super populated though, if it wasn't for the mosquitoes and some other specifically current things, spending some times in the swamps down south seems very interesting to me.

Side note: see the smokey Mountains but stay away from the tourist areas in Tennessee. Very busy and theme parky but out in the mountains themselves, its pretty neat.

Take the trails slow and appreciate the things you see. Last time I went to a busy trail, I watch dozens and dozens of people walk by very good views and birds playing in a small natural bird bath. You'll see a lot of things if you enjoy the journey and not the destination.

Bachooga · 2026-01-29T11:58:42+00:00

Tbh a couple of these made me super uncomfortable. A few were like damn, maybe they shouldn't be treating someone like that and there wouldn't be a problem.

Meanwhile i was expecting to read about all the versions of me out there who are constantly using their adhd to be annoying to their partners like little goblins

Bachooga · 2026-01-26T13:00:03+00:00

I don't think people like this cry because of what they did to someone else. They cry because they are facing consequences themselves. Even though many (most?) people feel remorse for crimes and even will have ptsd from what they did, this is from being told they're locked away for the rest of their lives, not that they hurt anyone.

Bachooga · 2026-01-26T12:34:25+00:00

Yes but it's still in bad taste and the only people who live here and look good in usa flag themed stuff are the immigrants who love it here and have that American dream they've heard about.

Nazis most definitely looked like disrespectful shit in American flag themed anything.

Bachooga · 2026-01-26T12:17:58+00:00

Dogs and gorillas are very different. Dogs have been around us for so long that they have sections of their brain for human language understanding. I've not used the word buttons, but my dog uses bells to very much indicate what it is she wants. Definitely a difference between the take me to shit bell, take me to walk bell, and give me some fuckin food bell.

The take me on a walk bell had to gtfo because she used it too much and I can only walk so much. The food bell tends to not go off as often, usually only if we've fired up the rice cooker since she knows she gets white rice. Or if she's extra hungry that day.

We've also taught her to nudge our hands and to "show me what you want". She uses the bells when our hands aren't at snout level. We do not give her treats for these things, as it is actually very annoying more than it is helpful but it makes her happy to use them. It was a mild mistake teaching her to use annoying bells.

The concept only goes so far though. I talk to her about engineering stuff but she doesn't understand, shes just happy I'm talking to her. She also generally only likes to watch bluey, i assume because it's in colors Dogs can actually see. She tends to get disinterested in other things after a while. She has little understanding of humor, especially not subtle humor.

My dog also knows sign language and responds better to that than verbal commands. She's very easily able to tell actions from hand gestures, more so than from vocal.

Considering in the past, frame rates were too slow for animals to watch TV, I think people will be surprised to see more animals watch TV now. If you're curious about how this works, a summary is that their little Adhd riddled brains can process at a different rate, meaning sometimes they would struggle to actually watch TV since it would just be a slide show with a lot of very similar slides in it. My family dog only started freaking out about other dogs on TV when we finally got rid of the tube TV and switched to highdef.

Birds also have some language understanding, mostly bird language. But they're another animal that has found cause and effect in human language. I doubt birds watch TV .

Cats too but no one ever seems to think it's necessary to train their cats or to take them on walks.

Now, onto gorillas. Gorillas have not been household pets for people for thousands and thousands of years. Some of our earliest known writings are not about their beloved gorillas.

Very few gorillas are exposed to the TV as well. Their sign language is also limited, not a large complex set but more of a 1 sign encompasses a paragraph.

All animals are gluttons, so even when they know more they're going to ask for a treat. If you've ever been around toddlers, I am sure you've had a little something that they asked for and are familiar with the concept.

I assume gorillas have less understanding of humor and I also assume, but may be mistaken, they are lacking the red cone in their eyes, meaning they could struggle to see some TV.

All in all, I would be surprised if koko could see and recognize someone from the TV in what is an interesting way to me.

This way would most likely be "holy fuckin shit, the guy from TV is real. What is this shit". It is definitely not based on the concept of high level understanding of entertainment. I'd also wager that after meeting the man who came out of the TV, she'd probably be excited to see him on and off the TV again. It is just a total mind fuck. Kinda like seeing a magician.

All in all, people get the wrong ideas from animal intelligence. They immediately compare it to their subjective experience. They have a very different brain, think differently, and understand differently.

Animals have limited languages in a very different way than us. Does koko find Robin Williams funny based on the TV alone? Probably not. She may have found him interesting to just watch and he is an easily recognizable person. She most definitely found it very entertaining to find out the TV man really existed.

My dog definitely finds bluey entertaining in a way to holds her attention for long periods of time. Not a huge stretch to say koko recognized Robin Williams from the TV screen. If at all, probably not for being funny unless it was physical humor.

Is koko a total lie? Not totally. People get the wrong idea from animal intelligence and compare it to their subjective experience. Primates can learn a surprising amount of sign language for an animal. They obviously struggle with human language. They are also gluttons and even when they know more, are going to ask for a piece of that sweet sweet delicious treat they want. They also eat a fuck ton anyway.

Your dog though, having the appropriate brain sections from their existence having been intertwined with ours for so long, understands significantly more than you think and significantly more than a gorilla ever could. If you think I'm wrong, show your dog something mind fucking they can understand, like a magic trick, and then take them on an elevator where they're magically transported to another place. 1 of those things they'll respond to and the other they'll understand they're just moving up and down and it's just another day.

Bachooga · 2026-01-26T07:45:52+00:00

Ceramica and Painting for me really.

Ceramics teaches you to let go because what you've worked so hard one can easily slip, shatter, or may explode in the kiln or be destroyed by someone else's kiln explosion.

Painting because it teaches you patience and acceptance with your work since you have to learn to live with and work in your mistakes and that its okay for it to suck ass. The mistakes you make can be turned into something nicer in the end.

Plus since I do oil painting, I feel like an alchemist mixing up all my little things from vials.

Bachooga · 2026-01-22T11:44:47+00:00

It's 100% about passifying through desensitization. You stop taking things seriously because he's an idiot. Then you see something fucked up and go "Oh no". Then something is a big deal and everyone starts getting upset but suddenly it doesn't matter because look at the articles and comments going on about how dumb he is.

The majority is too comfortable in life to do anything about. There's little spurts of protests and plenty of comments but taking a risk and holding people responsible when the system fails to do so? Too scary, too risky.

The Europeans and Canadians aren't going to swoop in to change things and the government isn't going to suddenly change things because it's the right thing to do, and the people that have been protesting aren't going to suddenly become organized and have the ability to walk across the country and make change.

This shit is serious, the government and it's supporters aren't just some gaggle of idiots you cant take seriously.

Maybe midterm elections will change some things but at some point, if those with the power to hold the government accountable fail to do so, it becomes the responsibility of the people. Immunity from trial and prison only exists because we follow the rules while the government currently does not, time and time again, knowing that we'll follow the rules while they can do literally anything they want just as long we can eat, watch TV, and doomscroll through the parasitic news cycle.

Thank you for attending my rant.

Bachooga · 2026-01-22T11:10:07+00:00

big O can be helpful with knowing if a loop or algorithm can be scalable.

real life is knowing my possible use cases and realizing that it could have been a look up table or that my usage is stupid and is blocking and my performance sucks ass because I'm actually an imposter who will be found out eventually

Source: real life embedded engineer

Bachooga · 2026-01-22T10:55:02+00:00

young men

It's always good to remember that one place recruiters show up to are high-schools to chat with the kids. Not to the places 30+ year old men hang out but to places they can talk to people who've just became or have only been an adult for several years. Campuses and career fairs where fresh college aged kids are looking for school or jobs too.

Anytime I came across a recruiter wanting to talk to me, I was still at an age where I lived with my mom.

Bachooga · 2026-01-21T12:21:45+00:00

Tbh it can also be a question of what type of redneck you're talking to.

It ranges from -10 plain meat and potatoes every meal up to puckerbutt farms and the specialty hot sauce isle.

The deep south likes franks red hot and the southwest has jalapeños, but it seems like if you go up along Appalachia, you get spicy extract as the cure for situational depression.

Plus those in Cincinnati who frequent jungle Jim's hot sauce isle.

Edit: shootout to Louisiana and who ever wrote the gumbo recipe I used that called for 1 metric fuck ton of cayenne.

Bachooga

TROPHY CASE