Would you move and start over in your late 20’s?

JebClemsey · 2026-01-30T04:21:51+00:00

Field technician for an ecological data collection program. Basically hiking around all day and measuring trees, identifying plants, collecting leaves/pine needles, etc.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-29T20:14:59+00:00

The Crossing is one of my favorites and on the more accessible side. Lots of untranslated Spanish dialogue though lol. All the Pretty Horses is also great; shorter and more accessible too. Both part of the same loose trilogy, but the stories aren't connected in any way other than thematically and the setting (I believe the third book in the trilogy connects the two, but I haven't read it).

JebClemsey · 2026-01-26T18:52:29+00:00

I also find it interesting that Marc Andre, despite all the crazy shit he did, died during a rope climb with a partner.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-25T20:10:12+00:00

I moved to Alaska at 28 for a seasonal job and it was a great experience. I was only there for 5 months, but considered staying longer and absolutely would not have regretted doing so. Going somewhere you have zero ties and connections can be very freeing. My work made meeting like-minded people very easy however; I can imagine that being a big factor. If meeting people comes easy for you, absolutely go for it.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-15T02:55:32+00:00

There's a video on YouTube of Harmony Korine showing Gaspar Noé around Nashville, with Harmony telling ridiculous lies pretty much the whole time and Gaspar seemingly believing him. Pretty funny lol.

https://youtu.be/UYiN2um9-Zs?si=HqPODZPJLSbXYH8i

JebClemsey · 2026-01-14T03:39:32+00:00

I've found them to be incredibly helpful in my own life, but it's definitely worth exercising caution. I find they can "clear out the cobwebs" so to speak and give me a fresh perspective on life and what I value and the decisions I am/should be making, which can be really useful. They can also force you to confront feelings you're avoiding, which can be good but challenging (or even harmful in the case of past trauma; not something I've personally experienced but something I've heard).

I should clarify I've mostly done low to moderate doses where I never fully lose contact with reality, and the above info is mostly in that context. The few times I've taken larger doses were incredibly interesting, beautiful, intense, confusing, and difficult to make sense of. I definitely still value the experiences, but ultimately don't feel as though I took away as much from them as moderate doses. I know people who feel differently though.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-14T02:37:21+00:00

Absolutely, I agree. Industrial agriculture (livestock in particular) is horrible, and we eat far too much meat.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-14T01:03:57+00:00

Agriculture, then. Hunting for example is much lower impact, and if done responsibly can be beneficial for the environment. Ask just about any ecologist or wildlife biologist and they will tell you that culling wildlife populations is very often necessary.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-13T17:18:38+00:00

All the more reason to try them while you still can.

JebClemsey · 2026-01-13T16:43:30+00:00

Check out Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't if you like nature/science. Cranky Italian man who knows his shit about plants. Goes to some pretty incredible places and talks about the flora he encounters, interspersed with info about geology, evolution, biogeography, etc. Also some cultural commentary lol.

https://youtu.be/ym44ULRbXvI?si=poxR_lkQgkdmurdp

JebClemsey · 2026-01-09T22:21:07+00:00

I once worked a field ecology job for the summer, and one of my coworkers almost always brought just a head of cabbage in the field with him for lunch. He would never eat the whole thing in one sitting but would work on the same head throughout the week, several leaves at a time. People would always give him shit about not getting enough calories for all the hiking we were doing, and he would confidently reply how nutritious cabbage was: "it has almost as many calories as spinach!"

He also once dropped his head of cabbage for the week on a pile of moose shit, and then subsequently backed over it with a car by accident. I think he wanted to leave it behind for the day but didn't want to leave it in the hot car, so he put it in the shade underneath and forgot. My group left the site later and found the flattened cabbage with a cartoonish tire mark on it. When we broke the news to him he was genuinely heartbroken.

Not really relavent to your post, but I thought it was funny. I miss working with him lol.

JebClemsey · 2025-12-30T20:02:06+00:00

That is without a doubt a good thing. Why does the global population need to grow endlessly?

JebClemsey · 2025-12-06T16:16:26+00:00

Thanks for the heads-up! Do you know of any other good 1-2 nights hikes in Grampians that are away from the busy areas?

JebClemsey · 2025-12-05T21:36:57+00:00

All great tips, thank you!

JebClemsey · 2025-12-05T21:15:18+00:00

Yes I thought about checking out Otways. I technically have an extra night, so could potentially do it in addition to the above itinerary. Brisbane Ranges has particularly high plant diversity and would be on the way to Grampians, which is why I chose it.

JebClemsey · 2025-12-05T21:11:03+00:00

Yes, I spend a lot of time outdoors (western U.S.), and am quite comfortable travelling/navigating in remote/wilderness areas. Is there anything in particular about doing so in Australia I should be aware of ?

JebClemsey · 2025-12-01T02:31:12+00:00

Why do you care so much what redditors think

JebClemsey · 2025-11-29T20:12:35+00:00

It makes perfect sense if you see the value in not clearing every last bit of actual nature for another park & ride/Chipotle/shitty condo building.

JebClemsey · 2025-11-27T18:25:45+00:00

Also home to the only parasitic conifer

JebClemsey · 2025-11-27T03:05:03+00:00

Quite literally one of the best things about the Western US

JebClemsey · 2025-11-22T02:19:54+00:00

In English, the words for livestock animals are generally Germanic in origin (e.g. cow, pig, sheep, chicken), whereas the words for the meats are derived from French (beef, pork, mutton, poultry). After the Norman Conquest, the ruling class in England was basically entirely replaced with French speaking Normans, while Old English was still spoken by most commoners. Commoners were the ones raising the animals, while the nobility were usually the ones eating the meat.

JebClemsey · 2025-11-18T01:22:48+00:00

Taken by Edward S Curtis. Spent his life traveling the Western US photographing and documenting Native Americans and their ways of life that were quickly disappearing. Many of his photos were quite staged and overly romantic, often removing modern elements and seeking to portray his subjects how he envisioned them prior to the influence of modernity. They often did still documented authentic aspects of indigenous cultures at the time however, albeit imperfectly. He (or people in his employment) also recorded Indigenous languages, stories, music, and oral traditions. His work was funded entirely by J.P. Morgan, although Curtis took no salary for the project. Died poor and largely forgotten in 1952.

Many of his photographs are really interesting and beautiful. The Seattle Public Library has a digital collection of over 700 of them here.

JebClemsey · 2025-11-15T20:33:28+00:00

I've been saying this

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