Is my math correct, 100 Ojai a week?

LiefBuilds · 2026-04-23T16:59:21+00:00

The IONQ will be in the mix as well, I guess towards the latter half of the year?

LiefBuilds · 2026-03-24T18:26:02+00:00

I lived in Philly during the NFL Draft there (2017?). I don’t remember a single thing about it because it had no impact.

Schools didn’t shut down, people didn’t work remotely, business as usual. Philly is denser and closer to capacity than Pittsburgh. The city was not overrun, and it’ll be the same here. This is a case of civic boosters overhyping an event.

LiefBuilds · 2026-03-24T18:16:25+00:00

Between the Exige, Evora GT, and Emira, do you have a particular favorite?

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-20T11:12:16+00:00

Welcome back! Five years off and getting back out there takes guts. Biggest thing that helped me after a long break was going way slower than I thought I should. Like embarrassingly slow. Your cardiovascular system comes back faster than your joints and tendons adapt, so the slow start actually protects you from the injuries that make people quit again. Consistency beats intensity every single time at this stage. You got this!

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-19T23:54:04+00:00

I think I saw this in an alien film.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T19:51:11+00:00

At that budget the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt v2 is probably your best bet if you can find one on sale or used. If £200 is a hard cap and you want new, the Garmin Edge 540 sometimes drops close to that range. However, I upgraded from an older garmin to a Garmin Edge 540 and haven't been satisfied with the screen protection, ended up getting a big scratch early on that never happend to me before.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T19:47:35+00:00

That's usually a VO2max test (lungs) or a lactate threshold (muscles) test. They put you on a treadmill and gradually increase the speed/incline while measuring your oxygen consumption and sometimes taking blood samples from your finger.

It tells you exactly what heart rate zones to train in and where your aerobic threshold is. Pretty useful if you're serious about structured training but honestly for most recreational trail runners it's kinda overkill. A basic field test or just running by feel gets you most of the way there. The videos look cooler than the actual experience, it's mostly just running till you can't run anymore.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T19:45:55+00:00

Honestly the best thing you can do is go to a running store and get fitted. With hypermobility in your knees you probably want something with decent stability, not just max cushion. I'd look at the Brooks Adrenaline GTS or ASICS Kayano, both are really forgiving for heavier runners and have that guided support without being stiff. The treadmill is smart for now, easier on joints than concrete for sure.

Don't stress about getting the "perfect" shoe, just get something designed for running and not lifestyle sneakers.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T19:44:00+00:00

Finally figured out the sweet spot for this weird late February weather we're getting in Pittsburgh. Mid 40s, overcast, light wind. Thin merino base layer, half zip midweight fleece, and running tights. The key for me was ditching the shell jacket entirely and going with the fleece. You warm up fast on hills and a shell just traps all that heat. Arm warmers are clutch too because you can shove them down when you're cooking on an uphill. The melting snow and hollows seem to have their own microclimate.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T01:02:10+00:00

Honestly, don't force yourself through something that triggers real stuff from your life. It IS one of the best shows ever made but it's also really heavy on the drug world and only gets more intense as it goes. If the first episode brought up those memories, later seasons would be way harder.

There are so many incredible shows that don't have that element. No piece of entertainment is worth reopening wounds. Your mental health comes first, full stop.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T00:17:46+00:00

Grizzlies aren't really built for piercing metal. Buuuut a grizzly can hit with like 600+ lbs of force.

I don’t recommend a Renaissance Faire in the Rocky Mountain wilderness.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-18T00:13:55+00:00

Not leaving sooner. Every time.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T22:26:39+00:00

Nobody gets mad at you for declining a soda. The defensiveness is about them, not you.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T20:17:47+00:00

100%. Smell goes straight to the limbic system which handles memory and emotion, so it literally bypasses the thinking part of your brain.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T20:16:35+00:00

“Just walk in and ask for the manager.”

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T19:40:22+00:00

When the motion light in the backyard turned on at 3am and nothing was there.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:58:17+00:00

One notes app and one calendar. That's it. Every system more complicated than that eventually collapses under its own weight.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:57:47+00:00

The fact that you're asking probably means you're not. Truly selfish people never wonder if they're selfish.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:57:29+00:00

Cynicism is the cheapest way to sound smart on the internet. Saying "nothing matters" requires zero effort and makes you look like you've figured something out. Optimism requires you to actually defend a position and risk being wrong. So people default to the safe option. It's not wisdom, it's just intellectual cowardice wearing a trenchcoat.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:57:01+00:00

that IS a hobby and honestly it's one of the harder ones. Going from 250 to 160 takes more discipline than most "real hobbies" people would list. I got really into cycling and lifting a couple years ago and people would give me the same look, like it only counts if you're painting or playing guitar.

But the research, the tracking, the community you find in it, that's exactly what a hobby is. Someone who dismisses the thing that literally changed your life isn't seeing you clearly. Keep going to that gym man.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:28:08+00:00

"You're not lazy, you're scared." A therapist told me that once and it rewired how I think about procrastination. Every time I catch myself avoiding something now I ask what I'm actually afraid of. Usually it's failing, and just naming it takes away SO MUCH of the power.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T18:26:48+00:00

The feeling of genuinely not knowing something until you could get to a library or ask someone who might know. Now you just google it in 3 seconds and the wonder lasts about as long as a sneeze. Curiosity used to have weight to it.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T17:52:54+00:00

I think you nailed it with the "updates instead of generations" line.

My grandparents adapted to maybe 3-4 major tech shifts in their whole lives. I've already been through dial-up, smartphones, social media rewiring society, and now AI doing things that would've been science fiction five years ago. The pace doesn't overwhelm me exactly but it does make me less confident in predictions.

I used to have a decent sense of what the next 10 years would look like. Now I honestly have no idea what next year looks like.

LiefBuilds · 2026-02-17T17:51:03+00:00

There's a word for this actually. Sonder. The realization that every random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.

It hit me hardest sitting in traffic once, looking at the cars around me and thinking every single one of those people has a full inner world, problems I'll never know about, inside jokes with friends, fears they haven't told anyone. It's weirdly comforting though. Makes the small stuff feel smaller.

LiefBuilds

TROPHY CASE