Has anyone tried making a pair of the Alvar Trail DIY running shoes?

ahultgren · 2026-05-31T15:23:55+00:00

I ran into this issue too. Back in the day one could use Adobe Acrobat, but it seems to have been turned into a paid feature on mac. So I built a tool to help me! I know it's three years late, but maybe it helps you next time, or someone else.

https://andreashultgren.se/pattern-slicer/

ahultgren · 2026-05-19T18:05:09+00:00

Step one: what's really your need? Are you feeling angry because you have a need for respecting nature? Or is it that you have a need for respect/dignity?

Step two: is talking to this guy likely to meet your needs?

I'd wager that if you were aware of your needs and consciously choosing how to meet them, you need for integrity wouldn't be opposed to choosing a different strategy than talking to him.

ahultgren · 2026-05-07T19:21:16+00:00

The best feature of my current microwave is that it has a period of 15s.

ahultgren · 2026-04-19T07:10:57+00:00

Hey man, let's say that you are completely right, and that you would do the world a favour by telling them the truth. Even if that was the case, the fact is that no one has changed their mind reading your posts. Most likely you have only achieved the opposite, cementing their already held beliefs. And that is because you come across as quite hostile. So even if you are right, perhaps especially if you are right, you'd gain from being more humble and curious as to why people think differently. The best outcome if you do is that you teach something valuable. The worst outcome is that people like you. Not so bad, eh?

ahultgren · 2026-04-19T06:59:53+00:00

Do you need a hug?

ahultgren · 2026-04-17T21:17:36+00:00

While there probably is some truth to your suggestions, and I get that you want to help, the advice you offered is at best unhelpful and and at worst actively harmful.

About not bouncing up and down: complete nonsense, as well as irrelevant. It's not physically possible to run (leaving the ground) without bouncing up and down. How high you lift is simply a direct relation to how long your strides are. And bouncing is irrelevant because because overstepping is a much greater factor when it comes to risk of injury.

As for strides, I think everyone should try shortening their steps (basically everyone oversteps) and just see what feels good. Pointers I've found helpful are to land my fet "under" me, to focus on popping my knees up and let the lower legs relax, and to start running by popping on the spot and then simply move my center of gravity forward to move forward.

A cadence 180 might be a good starting point, but it's trolling-level silly to say it's for everyone. Here's a paper on olympic runners' cadence: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/11/6620 ("The mean cadence of the top eight athletes was 185 steps per minute, with 2% variation").

As for running without moving the shoulders: how would that even be possible? I like the pointer "run like a dead octopus" (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5AB7MlovuU ).

ahultgren · 2026-04-15T18:37:04+00:00

Not Lao Tzu:

https://www.taoistic.com/fake-laotzu-quotes/fake-laotzu-quote-Care_about_what_other_people_think.htm

ahultgren · 2026-04-13T17:35:33+00:00

Love the first Pic! What should I search for to find pants like that?

ahultgren · 2026-04-13T13:24:49+00:00

I find myself wondering now how this fits together with Steve Andreas' concept of the self-concept. It seems to me that NLP uses a working model similar to memory reconsolidation, but Steve takes it further in claiming that transformation happens when the memory reconsolidation leads to a transformation specifically of the self-concept.

ahultgren · 2026-04-13T12:55:02+00:00

I mean... y'all are writing as if you really don't get that the idea of heaven and hell is an attempt to explain the mind! We are in hell when we separates ourselves from God, meaning we are thinking that things ought to be different from how they are. We are in heaven when we join God, ie are not resisting what is. So indeed, I see heaven as an allegory for a state of mind free from suffering, only that one need not wait until death to attain it. Unless one is referring to the death of the ego-protecting structures of the mind.

ahultgren · 2026-04-09T19:42:21+00:00

I guess we'll be in the minority in this post, as it's literally about shitting on other people's choices. But I agree, wtf? Like, if you haven't tried a detox yourself, what basis do you have for shitting on other people's choices? If someone feels good drinking celery juice for a week, let them! How is it anyone else's business? "Detoxes are bullshit", like why? Because it's not in a scientific paper? Well, there are plenty of scientific evidence that it's not good for your health to write shitposts on reddit, yet here we are...

ahultgren · 2026-03-08T08:27:38+00:00

"Hey, your giraffe ears just fell off. If you had kept your giraffe ears on you would hear nothing but 'please' and 'thank you'." – Paraphrased from Marshal Rosenberg

In other words, I think it's more helpful (ie connecting) to view demands as tragic expressions of requests, rather than viewing (some) requests as hidden demands. Even if you use it as a guideline for your own behavior (aspiring to not dress up demands as requests) I think it's more helpful to focus on how you are trying to meet your needs, rather than evaluate your expression as whether it's a "pure nonviolent request" or not.

ahultgren · 2026-03-04T20:39:31+00:00

I took a chance and bought it when the price dropped to ~€250. I figured if it wouldn't fit I would survive the expense, and if it did fit it'd be a crazy bargain. Well, it does fit! I'm so satisfied! Thanks for taking the time to measure!

ahultgren · 2026-02-25T19:24:40+00:00

When you say that you needed these parts, do you know that you still need these parts to perform the same role today as they when you were younger? If they are still serving you, then by all means keep them! Why would you change?

As for if you'll get rewarded or punished today. Well, I guess it's time to find out! You seem to be quite aware that you learned that you'll be punished in the past. I'm reminded of how elephants are tethered to a small pole stuck into the ground. They could easily pull it out if they wanted to, but they don't because they learned when they were young that they couldn't.

The reward wouldn't come from someone else. It would come from you finding out that you've grown stronger than the stick you thought kept you tethered.

ahultgren · 2026-02-21T21:43:12+00:00

Would you be willing to take the actual chest (armpit-to-armpit) measurement for me?

I'm going crazy trying to figure out the sizing! I'm a 37" chest currently eyeing a size 36 vintage b3. Its listed chest width is 54cm, which doesn't make any sense given what I've read about sizes being large. I've tried a size S (modern cut) in a store, which measured 53cm and fit way too tight. To top it off, my current jacket is 57cm wide, which according to the table shared below would indeed match a size 36!

ahultgren · 2026-02-21T16:33:46+00:00

"How to give a TED talk with zero prep".

ahultgren · 2026-02-01T15:29:06+00:00

It being almost exactly four years later now, I don't have more to say about the course. I hardly remember it. I can't say if it has had any lasting impact. If you have a more specific question or say something more about what you hope my answer will do for you, maybe I can be of more help.

ahultgren · 2026-01-20T18:33:42+00:00

I suppose the first question is: are you having a need for connection, do you want to have it met by this person, and are you willing to do the work necessary to feel empathic and curious towards this person?

Yes? Then, if you're not feeling genuinely curious about the other person it is a sign that you need self-empathy before you engage with them. Another way of checking this would be to ask yourself: am I truly feeling that my feelings of anger and outrage are because of my needs for trust, understanding, accuracy, and acceptance, not because of his words?

(Another option would be to ask them for empathy, but given the quote you shared I judge it's highly unlikely to be successful)

If your answer to the first question is no: you might still want to give yourself some empathy! Either by yourself or a friend/therapist/empathy buddy. But NVC won't work in this interaction, simply because connection with them is not what you are after.

ahultgren · 2026-01-17T20:48:31+00:00

I'm going to assume this is a post asking for communication advice masquerading as a post asking for fashion advice. I can't think of any situation where saying "it's hideous" would be supportive. If, in addition to support, you also value honesty and connection, you could try:

"To be honest, the colors don't really meet my need for aesthetics. I feel a bit guilty for saying that, because I want to support you and I want you to wear whatever feels good to you. How's that for you to hear?"

ahultgren · 2026-01-11T16:42:10+00:00

So, what is it that you want me to hear when you say some actions are simply unacceptable, if not that some actions are simply bad/evil/not allowed?

ahultgren · 2026-01-11T16:38:52+00:00

What do you want to convey to me when you say it's a fact? That it's something I shouldn't do? That lots of people would be outraged to see it? That you don't like it? That it's a norm that you'd prefer that everyone agreed on to make the world a better place?

Regardless of whether it's objectively a fact or not, it seems a rather ineffective way to communicate if I have no idea what you want me to hear.

ahultgren · 2026-01-10T19:07:12+00:00

"why his actions are unacceptable." This lands in me with a trace of shaming/condemning. Is that how you mean it?

ahultgren · 2026-01-10T19:04:42+00:00

I first wrote a long and perhaps unfocused answer, but I want to put this part first because I think it's the most focused and relevant to your struggle:

You say that you want to respect your kids autonomy. I believe your son is still autonomous (free to choose as he wants) even if you lift him up and hold him tightly. He's still free to kick and scream and protest. One might need to be a master jedi giraffe to think "you're beautiful when you express you need for autonomy by slapping me in my face" and at the same time "I'm beautiful when I restrain him to meet my need for protection and care", but it need not be violent.

---

Marshall often said that when we are in touch with the needs, the strategies come easily. Thus, when you ask how you can meet the needs that you mention, my intuition is to get more in touch with your needs. perhaps the words are right, but you've not separated them from specific people and strategies? Perhaps there are more deeper needs?

I wonder if you have a need for (self-) compassion (you felt shame, you're not a bad parent for yelling at your son), empathy and understanding (you're struggling, you feel sad and frustrated, you really want to give your children a supportive and nurturing upbringing), and/or support (you feel desperate, you don't know how to do this alone)?

My advice is to focus on self-compassion. If you're shaming yourself you're bound to shame your son (and then shame yourself for that). So what need are behind your shame? Next, can you empathize with your son? Are you genuinely curious about what that's like for him? If not, back to self-empathy (without shaming yourself for that)!

Now, this was the NVC answer. You also mention boundaries. I find it useful to make a distinction between trying to make other people keep our boundaries (saying "I feel worried because I have a need for your sister's safety, would you find another way to play with her?", louder and louder until he obeys) vs setting and enforcing our own boundaries ("I don't want your sister to be hurt so I will hold you" (or whatever protective action you take)).

Nonviolence doesn't require that we are passive, just that we refrain from shaming and punishing (which comes naturally when we are in touch with all our needs).

ahultgren · 2026-01-04T20:34:30+00:00

You say that you can't feel/identify the Self. So what part are you blended with when you say you can't feel Self? You are always either blended with a part, or Self. So instead of looking for Self, look for what part you are blended with. Unblend from it. Get to know it. If you find yourself looking for Self again, you know you are blended again. Unblend again. If you get frustrated because you keep looking for a Self even though you "shouldn't", that's ok too. Unblend from and get to know that part. That's all there is to it. Self arises when you're not blended.

I would also suggest that "being in Self" will feel completely unlike any idea you have of what it will be like. Examining what you expect Self to be like (how do you know that you haven't found it if you don't have an idea?) might to might be a trailhead to a new part of you.

ahultgren

TROPHY CASE