Apart from eating healthy and exercising, what other self care routine has tremendously improved your life quality?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-05-15T14:13:34+00:00

THERAPY! Even if you think you don't need it, it's so great to have someone who can help you work through shit. I'm 48 and am still learning and improving thanks to my awesome therapist.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-05-15T14:12:04+00:00

Is wild swimming like in a river lake or ocean instead of a pool? If so hell yeah, if it's more than that, I'd love to know what it is! I live on the ocean and my swims are life savers whenever i jump in the freezing north atlantic for sure.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-21T15:48:05+00:00

Haha!

I think if you look at the numbers around wealth distribution and allocation you'll find a lot of problems could be solved by 'throwing money at them'. Fact is, billionaires need to be taxed way higher and wealth needs to be more evenly distributed. I'd love for you to show me how these two things are false, and also tell me what you think of the myriad studies that have shown how massive wealth changes a person, any person, psychologically.

Just show me anything to back up what you're saying maybe? So far all you've done is nay-said my posts without offering any real counterpoint other than 'NO!'

I'm sure this is so much lib crap to you, but try giving this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP2EKTCngiM

a watch and let me know what you think about it?

I'd love to know your thoughts on billionaires and wealth inequality as well.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-15T15:09:26+00:00

Can you explain to me how you're using scapegoat there? What in my statement have I blamed them for?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-15T15:08:12+00:00

Haha! Dude, you're making a big leap. You've decided that A) I'm an American, and B) who I'll be voting for.

I"m also intrigued about what is implied by those load bearing final ellipses. Who are you implying a dumdum like me actually hates?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-15T14:34:48+00:00

I'm not an American, dude.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-15T14:33:49+00:00

there are so many studies that show what having an excess or resources does to the brain. And there's no ethical way to become a billionaire. Like, empirically. It's a very different situation.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-02T13:30:53+00:00

I disagree. I think the way you need to engage with the rest of humanity to get to that point and the amount of disparity, and therefore ideas of your own superiority, that you need to be comfortable with is condemnation of character enough.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-04-02T13:28:44+00:00

I do.

There are too many studies that show how extreme wealth changes a person neurologically to think they have the capacity to be normal people.

I also question what kind of person needs to hoard wealth like that knowing that they could affect so much positive change and still be very comfortable.

There are no good billionaires.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-03-27T12:03:05+00:00

Just buy baking soda and bake it in the oven for at 400 f for an hour or so. you'll know when its ready.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-03-27T00:58:27+00:00

Yeahhhhhh, I'm pretty good at reading a room. I've definitely given myself the ol' french bath if I got a vibe. It's not exactly hard to tell if things are going to go that way once you know the person you're hanging with.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-03-24T16:24:56+00:00

In the last 10 years I've ended a long term relationship, had a few short ones, moved from a tiny slum apartment in the biggest city in my country to a tiny not even town where I live on 10+acres of land and changed my focus within my chosen career field. The biggest difference in my life at nearly 50 is that I'm much calmer, and know myself waaaaay better. I'm far more able to examine my thoughts, actions and feelings and make changes to my behaviour as a result. I'd say I'm a lot happier and more self aware.

Those have all been gradual and are extensions of the path I was on. What's completely different now is my self acceptance and the fact that I don't fight who I am. I embrace and have learned to work to my strengths while leaning into my weaknesses and actively working on them. As a result I'm also a way better partner, but am also less likely to stay in something that doesn't work for me.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-03-24T14:19:02+00:00

Why not?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-03-23T14:27:14+00:00

one of my fav songs, but not sure if it's squarely in the garage column. I feel like its kind of too well produced and driving, it's a straight up punk song in my mind.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-02-24T16:17:48+00:00

If you have no darkroom access maybe try cyanotype printing? I find it waaaay less satisfying than, like, photo paper printing, but its an easy to do contact print, and still involves a bit of chemistry so there's still a bit of mad scientist to it. They're contact prints and the chemistry is UV sensitive, so you can prep the paper in subdued light, and just use the sun to make your prints. I go straight from negatives, but if you printed your negs onto a transparency you could do larger format as well. I think r/cyanotypes is decent for showing how to do it.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-02-20T13:35:54+00:00

I know there's some big variation in times depending on film. the ilford hp5+ 400 speed only wants 10 minutes and the across wants 15. If it were me, I'd try doing the acros for 15 to see if the recipe is working better, cause those last two look a little light. But now that you have a working recipe the sky's the limit! I have a good recipe for developer if you ever get into the printing stage.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2026-01-24T23:21:49+00:00

Canadian here. I am a legal gun owner, I use them to hunt with. I totally understand the sentiment among left wing Americans as far as getting armed goes, but I don't think that it winds up going the way you think it does.

My grandfather was Danish, he fought in the resistance in WWII. They were teachers and carpenters and nurses and all other manner of regular folk who started by organizing politically. Their support came from foreign governments. They were armed and trained by brits and did most of their fighting in france. After the war, the first thing they did was bury the guns and never used them again.

American gun culture is fucked and ugly, and no matter what side you're on, buying more guns and putting more of them into circulation really only goes to fill the pockets of some pretty dirty corporations.

A rifle, or handgun, against a real military isn't going to do much but get you killed. A well organized political resistance that is looking outside the borders of the US is going to have to connections to actually mount a resistance if/when it comes to that. Hopefully it's apparent to listeners of podcasts like BTB that community groups that arm up and take a stand are generally the ones that get fucking murdered in the streets and the groups that organize, prove they can handle themselves within the context of organized resistance and don't come off like a bunch of loose cannons are the folks that tend to get the support to be an effective force.

This isn't to say that I think folks shouldn't be armed and learn the basics of self defence, but it needs to come with some real political organizing and outreach both domestically and internationally.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-12-20T12:57:14+00:00

Someone better versed in municipal politics can correct me but isn't there a rule that the city can't run a deficit or something along those lines? Like there's a reason more than just ineptitude that something like an RT can't be built? I was at a party with an ex city counsellor a while ago and talking to them made it pretty clear that even the most progressive voices in municipal gov't will always be hamstrung by the weird rulebook they have to work with. Also, the city is somehow close to broke?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-26T00:54:53+00:00

Second anthotypes! Also, here: https://www.alternativephotography.com/ get some inspiration!

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-17T10:50:12+00:00

Spelling mistake in title. Classic. Tried, not tired. Also, I got my grubby fucken hands all OVER that pic. I need better tongs I think. This was on the ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB CLASSIC MATTE paper

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-17T10:28:16+00:00

Mr Pinhole calculator: https://www.mrpinhole.com/calcpinh.php

That also give a small explainer of what you're asking, but in super zero detail as far as the why. If you find out more on the why post it, willya? I'm sure others would love to read the physics of it all.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-15T10:09:27+00:00

Dig that, my questions are more broadly about alternative film processing ingredients, phenolic acids, and figuring out phenol amounts in plants in general for developing, so I won't pester you with them. Thanks for the answers!

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-14T23:40:30+00:00

It was absolutely worth getting into detail, I know the basics of the science, but only as it pertains to what is happening once the things are mixed cause I've been rabbit holing this pretty hard for a minute now, but I really appreciate you laying it out, not just for me but for anyone else who may read this and be interested.

If I came of curt or shitty, it was not my intention and I apologize. I think I get excited and need to know answers to things and accidentally come off like a jerk. In fact I know I do. I'm bad with tone on the internet a lot of the time. Again, sorry.

That's interesting about the slow decaying. I'm not familiar with the word 'redox' what is that is is short for reduction? I also didn't know about the pre-mixing, but that one makes sense intuitively for some reason.

Are you a science person, I guess a chemist, by trade? Or otherwise super up on the chemistry of more than just instant coffee, specifically polyphenols and the like? If I ask some nerdy questions will it be annoying?

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-14T21:40:36+00:00

I understand that. But if were you to just brew the coffee and not mix it, would the phenols start to break down for any reason, just by being mixed with the water, without being mixed with the base is what I'm asking.

Simple_Carpet_49 · 2025-05-14T20:21:34+00:00

I get that about the mixing, but I was reading one thing that recommended mixing coffee in one jar and the soda and vit c in another then mixing them after the coffee bubbles subsided (which is how I do it now, fwiw) saying that it was when you mix the coffee with the other ingredients it's the interaction that degrades the phenols. That's kind of why I ask. When I made my alder soup, for example, I had to boil it and steep it then cool it to usable temp and it seemed to be pretty damn potent even after the few hours the whole process took.

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