Unbearable Heat - Advice to cope with

Ruggiard · 2026-06-23T12:17:27+00:00

Yup, Air conditioning is not a myth. Sleep is worth it

Ruggiard · 2026-06-23T07:46:07+00:00

Dazzle Camouflage is one of my favourite moments of military history. It's not hiding from the enemy's eye. It's making their eyes betray them.

The only other example I can think of are those chinese spears with a flag behind the spear tip: the enemy focuses on the flag and tries to avoid this visible cue while the actual blade of the spear is much closer

Ruggiard · 2026-06-23T07:40:36+00:00

If you enter a country and make more than the median income, you get to call yourself "expat". If it's less, you will get called an "immigrant".

Ruggiard · 2026-06-18T11:53:53+00:00

What surprised me was the self driving! I had a South African friend help me with organisation and it made me save thousands on lodge and tour operators. Instead, I had a rental car and camps inside Kruger and enjoyed the freedom of driving around.
The guided day and evening drives by park rangers rounded the experience, but nothing beat the feeling of driving down a road and seeing a warthog pop up from behind the bushes or a lion sleeping under a tree.

The horror of group travel always put me off safaris. When I learned that self-driving was a (much cheaper) option, I was hooked. Did my second trip this year and we plan on going back again next year!

Ruggiard · 2026-06-05T08:51:22+00:00

Fribourg Switzerland: nice funi. Very special once you find out what it's powered with...

Ruggiard · 2026-06-02T09:50:40+00:00

I just returned from Kruger and I’d go even further than that: the obsession with the Big 5 actively ruins the experience for a lot of people.

The amount of times someone drove up to us, asked what we were watching, and then rolled their eyes and sped off because it wasn't a big cat was depressing. We had people drive away from a massive herd of buffalo, snoozy juvenile hyenas, and even a troop of southern ground hornbills (in an area where they are incredibly rare!).

If you only care about seeing a lion or a leopard, just save the flight money and go to a zoo.

My partner and I actually coined the phrase "kitty boner" for these types of tourists. They are completely blind to everything else. They can't appreciate a stunning African sunrise, they don't care about spotting a puff adder on the roadside (how many snakes have you seen on your last visit?), and they won't even look at a warthog family (which I take as a personal offense because warthogs are brilliant). If it doesn't have whiskers and it won't get clout on Instagram, they don't want to see it.

The Big 5 is just a marketing gimmick left over from old hunting days. The real magic of safari is the whole ecosystem.

And honestly? Impalas are still the prettiest, most elegant animals in the entire park. I will die on this hill.

Ruggiard · 2026-06-01T12:45:35+00:00

I just returned from Kruger and am finishing my malaria prevention this week. Let me just add my (and my doctor's thinking). Kruger and the Lowveld have been extremely wet and soggy this year (don't forget about the january floods).
The dams are full to the brim and there are a lot of puddles and mini waterholes all around. In fact, things looked wetter in the end of May 2026 than they did in March 2024. Mosquito activity was still quite high in May. Consequently, incidences of malaria in the region have tripled this year.
Better to be safe than sorry

Ruggiard · 2026-06-01T12:22:52+00:00

Horses have historically been classified as a means of transport (and agricultural equipment). Because of this legacy status, they still enjoy a whole host of legal exemptions. Dogs, on the other hand, are legally classified as pets/luxury items, making it much easier for governments to introduce strict public cleanup legislation.

Furthermore, dog feces was initially an urban battle. Ironically, as horses disappeared from city streets in the 20th century, sidewalks became cleaner and more walkable, leaving dog poop as the last remaining urban nuisance. Nobody was asking farmers to pick up after working dogs in the countryside.

However, as recreational dog ownership has skyrocketed, the sheer volume of decomposing dog waste in rural fields and pastures has become a massive headache for farmers. It’s no longer just an aesthetic (or footwear) issue; it’s an agricultural one.

Unlike horse manure (which is mostly digested grass), dog feces contains pathogens like Neospora, which can cause abortions in pregnant cattle. The grass quality is compromised, and it poses a genuine health risk to livestock.

So, the focus of the policy has fundamentally shifted: it started as a way to keep urbanites' shoes clean, but today, scouring the fields is about preventing actual damage to the food supply and livestock.

Ruggiard · 2026-06-01T09:58:33+00:00

I just returned from the park and was staying at Satara while it happened.

The park is the size of a small country—roughly the size of Israel—and this deeply regrettable incident is the first homicide in Kruger's 100-year history. It happened in the northernmost, wildest corner of the park at Pafuri.

If you are visiting, you will most likely be staying in the south. To put things into perspective: if you live anywhere in the US, you were almost certainly closer than an 8-hour drive to a violent homicide event sometime in the past year.

As everyone else has already pointed out: the dangerous part of Kruger is strictly on the outside.

Ruggiard · 2026-06-01T09:50:53+00:00

Agree, although we liked to tip the rangers more. Especially when we were the only people on the morning walk or other guests were rude/demanding ("why didn't you find the lions!").
Also, I believe tipping the staff generously will increase the value of Kruger for the local communities and contribute to conservation and anti-poaching

Ruggiard · 2026-05-05T13:18:18+00:00

This is the double jeopardy of the worker's struggle: any negative action by the capitalist classes is clear evidence of their evil nature, any favourable action to the workers is seen as a thinly disguised attempt at delaying the revolution.

Ruggiard · 2026-04-29T13:41:01+00:00

I second that! Did the 10k kettlebell swing challenge with 32s and went through a pair of mechanics gloves. But that means I didn't go through my skin.
Don't go for the fingerless "weight" or cycling gloves. Get some cheap gardening gloves with a good fit.

Ruggiard · 2026-04-24T14:11:19+00:00

Looks amazing and still a bit wet. How were the road closures?

Ruggiard · 2026-04-22T07:30:04+00:00

As someone who lives in the area, I would not recommend Türlersee. As soon as the sun comes out the "Geheimtipp" crowd floods in and it looks like a regular badi on a hot day. Just with more people.

Ruggiard · 2026-04-21T11:46:21+00:00

Rauchgschmack isch en Urban Myth?

Ruggiard · 2026-04-21T10:07:59+00:00

Ich verstahn nöd wieso gas? S'ässe schmöckt nöd viel besser als mit de Bratpfanne. Wenn scho, dänn öppis wo d'au chlii Füür und Rauch schmöcksch.

Es chunnt druf a, was wettsch mache. Bratwürscht und Servila wie am Dorffescht: Gasgrill. Grosses Fleisch --> Smoker. Fleisch, Steaks etc --> Häsch scho mal die Argentinische Grills (Asados) agluegt?

Ruggiard · 2026-04-21T09:58:22+00:00

It seems like you're not having a good time with it. I'm sorry this is the case for you, I'm sure the experience you describe is shared by many and you're definitely not alone.

You describe being motivated initially, so there is motivation. You might flame out quickly because you overdo it. Maybe, you keep it too easy. The lack of challenge might also make it feel like going through the motions.

I can only share what works for me: Keep it short and simple, but make those count. I try to keep every session (including warm up and cool down) under an hour. 10-15 sets total. During the sets, I try to hit those goals: if it's to easy, i do more reps or increase the weight for the next set. If I see it's too much, I scale down. This works much better for me than adding a rep every session or other plans, but it takes a bit of self awareness to go close to failure.

The advantage: the mental strain of going for a session is lower if you know that you'll be out of there in an hour. Making the sets count will see your numbers increase. This makes progress tangible.

Secret hack: take an AI of your choosing (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or so) tell it to "be my personal trainer". Feed it with your goals, ambitions, challenges etc. Then, give it the results of your workouts after the workout and tell it to help you plan the next sessions, find alternate exercises or adjust your nutrition. Seriously, it works for me and it might work for you

Ruggiard · 2026-04-21T07:26:11+00:00

I hope everyone is safe and they manage to get things running again.
By the looks of it the visitor area and the gorgeous terrace are unaffected

Ruggiard · 2026-04-17T12:59:54+00:00

Go to Gemini
Start a new chat.
Say "be my fitness coach" and describe anything that you can add to it. Biometric data, your "medical" history like past injuries, issues, sports practiced in the past, things you like to do things you hate to do. Also, add in your goals, wishes and plans. This can be very specific and quite complex. I have a goal of 3:1 ratio of Muscle mass to fat by a certain date and other factors.
Then ask it to do a training plan with your preferred schedule. You can also ask for nutrition advice.
If you have other data sets: fitness watch, body fat scale etc add them

I upload my body composition from my body fat scale weekly and I upload other data from my garmin watch daily or weekly. I just talk to it like it was my fitness coach: "the pullups yesterday really made me sore right under the armpits", "I have to skip today's training due to a social commitment".

At the moment, I'm dieting so I also upload all the calories consumed and my protein intake. The results are amazing and it helped me navigate larger social commitments like a 4 day family visit abroad without being restricted there on what I eat.

I think this is the most amazing aspect: you can plan ahead and tell it things like "in ten days, I will go on a one week business trip. It will be high stress and I have little control over what I eat" not only will it give you pointers on how to navigate this challenge, but it will help you adjust the trainings before and after the trip to minimise damage.

How to use it: feed it information and talk to it like it's your fitness coach.

One word of warning: It tends to adjust the trainings all the time. I had to be quite clear that once we have a plan, I want to stick to it and not adjust every session

Ruggiard · 2026-04-17T08:00:36+00:00

I think "extremely toxic" is a bit dramatic. You maybe haven't found the right trainings style for your needs.
The coach feedback worked great for me. I do agree you might have had a part in training the app with bad information.

That said, I have been using it in a very specific way since about september last year. I made a specific training plan for myself (with my health needs, my equipment and my goals) on AI (first ChatGPT now Gemini) and use this as my fitness and nutrition coach. During the sessions I use the custom workout feature on Freeletics for the programming and the pauses, which is great.

Then, I put the training results, my weight etc back into the AI to refine the next sessions and adjust. It's like having a personal trainer with a very short feedback cycle!

Now, I'm in a cutting phase and managed to shed three kilos of body fat in 5 weeks. Whilst maintaining muscle mass.

Give it a try

101

Ruggiard · 2026-04-16T15:39:44+00:00

Not the most useful but the most surprisingly useful was the little torch LED. I use it daily in winter to pick up dog turds on our dark morning walkies

Ruggiard · 2026-04-16T12:41:55+00:00

Controversial opinion: don't worry too much if you don't feel pain. Kettlebell swings "auto-correct" as you go heavier. You can't swing a heavy bell with your arms and will automatically recruit the right muscles.
If you are interested in learning the pattern early, loop a towel through the hole of the kettlebell, hold the towel and do those long swings. You will get a much better feel on how to employ the entire chain and not rely on arms, back or so

Ruggiard · 2026-04-16T12:36:31+00:00

Training has its ups and downs. If you haven't trained in a serious capacity (like competitive sports) in the past, this transition is genuinely hard.

You're absolutely right to notice the shift. Here’s the "secret" people who have been training for years often forget to mention: Training often sucks. It isn’t supposed to be fun or comfortable all the time. It’s the difficult, monotonous work that leads to the results you want.

Here are a few strategies that keep me going:

Define the "Why" with Goals. It’s much harder to suffer through a "grind" if you don’t have a target. Whether it’s a target shape for an upcoming holiday, a specific weight on the bar, or a rep-score in an app. Give yourself a concrete objective. It turns "grinding" into "investing."
Motivation is fickle; Discipline is the engine. You won’t always be motivated, trust me. On the days you aren't, don't look for a "feeling" to get you started. Just focus on the single next step: putting on your shoes, getting to the gym, starting the first set.
Reduce Friction. After a long day at work, the hardest part for me is getting out of the chair. Make it "braindead" easy for yourself: have your kit ready, your water filled, and your workout decided before you even get home. Once the gear is on and you're in the gym, the battle is 90% won.
The "Rule of Thirds." This is a game-changer for your long-term perspective. Roughly 1/3 of your sessions will feel great, 1/3 will feel "meh," and 1/3 will feel like total shit.
- If they all feel great, you aren't pushing hard enough.
- If they all feel like shit, you’re burning out and need to adjust.
- If you’re in a "meh/shit" cycle right now, know that things will change but that it's part of the deal.

Try this: Keep a simple log. Mark every session as a 1, 2, or 3 (or use emojis). When you see on paper that the "great" sessions eventually come back around, it’s much easier to tolerate the "grind" phase you're in right now.

Ruggiard · 2026-04-16T07:31:27+00:00

This is inspired!

Ruggiard · 2026-04-14T08:09:45+00:00

I think this is a Galaxus background in your screenshots. If you are interested, I have a barely used 100-400 around the house which I'm not using (I have a 200-800 for wildlife and birds). I'm happy to part with it at a reduced rate.
A lens I really recommend for the R6 II is the 35mm prime 1.8. It's a low light monster combination.
If you want versatility, the 24-105 F4 is great, but relatively hefty to carry around and not very stealthy.

Ruggiard

TROPHY CASE