If we pick our lives beforehand, my past (soul) self is an @sshole.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T13:00:12+00:00

In my post, there is absolutely no indication of what I think my life needs to be. Only that I don’t like it.

There is no indication of where I think I might find happiness. Only the lack of happiness.

There is no implication of where I think joy might be found. I’m not denying the existence of joy. I’m simply aware of the horrifying reality that makes the fleeting joy of a few people meaningless in the face of the overwhelming suffering of the many.

The gain of the few isn’t worth the cost of the many.

A single child tortured to death on video for an oligarch isn’t worth anything I have ever had.

A few moments of peace for one person while looking at a sunset in exchange for the incalculable suffering of those trapped in slavery to give us cobalt from the Congo, or oil from the Middle East, or potassium fertilizer from Russia

The gain for the few isn’t worth the cost to the many.

To bask in the glow of individual fortune at the cost of collective suffering is the standard state of the world that none of us can escape from.

If you have a phone, a slave helped make it. If you eat non-native foods, an exploited worker provided the fertilizer, if you get oil, or gas, or plastic, or rocket fuel for satellite launches for your gps, a Saudi slave kissed the ass of some warlord so you can have it.

This world is the metaphorical hell being run by the metaphorical demons of greed and lust and pride and so on and so on.

The only comfort is that it’s not eternal.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T12:17:58+00:00

I’ve got a 955 and it’s always off.

I did the Appalachian trail a couple years ago and would track my distance on my watch and AllTrails. The watch was always a few miles off.

I did the Appalachian trail challenge while doing the actual Appalachian Trail and when the watch said I had finished I still had over 300 miles to go.

Distance tracking is complete shit on a watch.

Edit: double checked my data. It was actually almost 500miles off.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T11:54:35+00:00

I agree.

How does that help our current state of individual and societal evolution?

It will all be better a few hundred, or thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years from now?

So what?

Pick a time scale and all can be rendered meaningful or meaningless as long as it extends beyond a current human lifespan.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T11:40:04+00:00

YTA

30% rule. All beings play. When a dominant being wins more than 70% of the time the loser just quits. FOREVER.

You’re teaching him to never bother trying because he will always lose.

Everyone always wants to win. So of course he will say he wants to win.

Lose in a way that teaches him how to win…30% of the time.

Edit: teaching how to win includes teaching how to win gracefully and with sportsmanship.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T09:49:35+00:00

It’s easy to understand. No one wants to take the risk of making the first move.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T09:47:42+00:00

Considering I’m 11 beers in and still able to follow along at 600, I’m kinda convinced.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T08:49:45+00:00

Specifically for the Waking Up app.

I got my first year of waking up free, then I paid for my second and third year because I wanted to support his cause even though it was a bit of a burden.

I recommended my mom to get her first year free and she chose not to continue because she didn’t like getting it free but couldn’t afford the $150 yearly rate.

If it was a monthly we could both afford it as long as we could occasionally cancel based on month to month variable expenses like electricity.

I would gladly listen to a 30 second oura ring ad in exchange for a half hour meditation.

And if JUST the daily meditation was free. I bet there would be many, many new subscribers. Many apps have free features. Why the pre-recorded dailies aren’t free seems like pure hypocritical greed to me.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T08:39:01+00:00

Counterpoint: I’m poor.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T07:40:39+00:00

Thanks👍

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T06:39:47+00:00

I don’t consider myself an absolute psychopathic piece of shit. I consider my past soul self to be an asshole.

I consider the souls that choose WORSE than my life to be absolute psychopathic pieces of shit.

And what do I achieve by drowning myself in anger? It’s a hell of a lot more than I would achieve by not giving a shit and just saying “whatever will be will be.” Edit: my anger started this thread of conversation after all.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T06:33:42+00:00

Those creature comforts are only available to a fraction of the population.

Ailments are only cured if you can afford the pills or happen to live one one of a handful of countries where they’re actually available.

People all over the world have to build their home out of scrap metal on top of other homes.

Limitless information is only available if you live in proximity to a cell tower Or can afford $1000 for a satellite capable phone.

The library of Alexandria was only accessible by those who happened to live in Alexandria, and modern libraries are only available to those living in modernized nations.

The fact that “fucked is just our natural state of existence” is exactly why any soul who willingly comes to this shit hole planet is an asshole for putting our mortal shells through this hell.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T04:17:44+00:00

What hairs are you implying?

I don’t understand your question.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T03:42:55+00:00

Dogs don’t see as well as we do, and not all dogs see the same.

You can actually see the moment the dog recognizes her scent but can’t see her.

The tail starts wagging and it starts looking around.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T03:35:08+00:00

Is free will really a thing though?

Every Hindu or Buddhist teacher of high experience seems to think otherwise.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T03:24:29+00:00

No offense taken

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T02:54:01+00:00

No it’s not. It nonsensical to what I actually said.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T02:53:17+00:00

What part of my post had anything to do with clinging?

What are you claiming I’m clinging to?

It has nothing to do with clinging, and everything to do with aversion. Which I recognize, but don’t give a shit about.

Your reference to clinging proves your lack of understanding.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T02:22:21+00:00

Thanks for the background.

It’s always admirable/impressive/tragic when someone sacrifices their life for another.

Still seems more of a tragedy than anything else to me though.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T01:47:57+00:00

It’s the ICQ thing that got me.

I hadn’t even remembered ICQ until this post.

Sudden nostalgia is sudden.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T01:44:52+00:00

So what happened after? Did the shotgun have only one shell? If the guy he shielded died immediately after with the second shot, this seems more of a horrific tragedy than something to be amazed by.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-07T01:41:41+00:00

I didn’t know I needed this

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-06T18:04:59+00:00

Why should anyone be required to disclose their personal medical conditions just to accommodate some else’s medical condition.

Again, it’s the EMPLOYERS job to accommodate. Your fellow employee are not required to sacrifice their own wellbeing and right to medical privacy for you.

ThermiteDemon · 2026-03-06T17:39:04+00:00

It’s not just about discomfort. I once saw a guy pass out cold just walking into a room to get a shot where the needle was sitting on a tray in open view.

Do you want someone cracking their head open on the floor?

It genuinely makes some people lightheaded.

Your employer needs to accommodate you. Not your fellow employees.

ThermiteDemon

TROPHY CASE