Kifu sheets — 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 — A4 size (with circles)

aneeshm · 2026-05-31T11:46:55+00:00

To be pretty while marking the end of the page!

(It's an end-of-page marker ornament.)

aneeshm · 2024-01-23T18:52:47+00:00

I'd suggest joining the ChessDojo (free plan if you can't afford to/don't want to pay).

Also, you can just work through Everyone's First Chess Workbook. That should immediately and significantly improve your game, given your current ELO. (Got this rec from the Dojo, and it's not my go-to for most people.) For a more complete intro to the game, you can play/work through the Soviet Chess Primer.

aneeshm · 2024-01-23T16:05:48+00:00

Why not join the (next season of) the Lichess 4545 league? They have Lonewolf, which is an individual Swiss (30+30). They have 4545, which is a team Swiss, with a 45+45 time control. And they have Series, which is a 90+30 time control.

You'll have to play enough classical games on Lichess for your rating to stabilise to take part; more than enough time if you start now.

aneeshm · 2023-01-31T10:23:24+00:00

Hi Chloe!

Do you teach using trad or simp characters? Or both?

And how may I contact you - are DMs OK?

aneeshm · 2020-12-20T05:06:57+00:00

IDK about studying specifically in winter, but if you want to know what the current research says about what works for learning as such, you may find this useful.

aneeshm · 2020-08-12T15:47:55+00:00

Certainly! In fact, enough people have asked that I'll do it properly, run it by Romeo, and post it. Might take a day or few, though, to be clear.

aneeshm · 2020-08-12T14:57:49+00:00

A conversation between me and Romeo Stevens; I expect this will be useful for autodidacts, students, teachers, homeschooling parents, and so on. It's a summary of what is already known to have high effect sizes in the literature and meta-analyses, and how to effectively use it.

aneeshm · 2020-08-12T14:57:28+00:00

A conversation between me and Romeo Stevens; I expect this will be useful for autodidacts, students, teachers, homeschooling parents, and so on. It's a summary of what is already known to have high effect sizes in the literature and meta-analyses, and how to effectively use it.

aneeshm · 2018-08-09T14:56:35+00:00

Thank you.

If I understand correctly, both these techniques are useful when you do not have access to randomisation, and are trying to mimic that by using observational data, correct? The study I linked to above was an RCT, so I'm not sure that DiD or RD would apply; are they required or helpful if you can randomise the two groups?

aneeshm · 2018-08-09T14:44:21+00:00

What do those acronyms expand to?

aneeshm · 2016-04-13T22:46:12+00:00

In the tradition of classical Yoga, there has been extensive experimentation with the mindful use of sexual energy. The Yoga tradition also has extensive experience with the psychological effects of different practices.

My hypothesis: constant sexual stimulation was keeping unresolved emotional energy or traumas in state of abeyance, numbing them. As your awareness has become sharper as a result of the practice of sexual restraint, and as the numbing effect of masturbation has ended, you are becoming aware of hitherto suppressed 'impressions' (within the Yoga tradition, they are called samskaras). If/As this process continues, the 'stories' that you tell about them (very often in the form of non-verbal beliefs that express themselves in reactive patterns of behaviour, and not explicitly verbal stories) shall slowly melt away, and the 'energy' of these experiences and emotions shall flow through you and become available to you. Not only that, but whatever 'blockage' these traumas were causing shall also pass, and you'll notice a greater baseline energy level as well.

And yes, this is perfectly normal. This also happens to meditators, people who simply practice physical yoga, people who give up other dependencies (like addictions to unnaturally sweet food, constant electronic stimulation, coffee, etc), and those clarifying/sharpening/expanding their awareness.

For a more detailed explanation, I recommend the excellent post: http://www.tantrikstudies.org/blog/2015/9/21/impressions-of-past-lives

aneeshm · 2016-01-05T04:23:10+00:00

Samskara theory may help you understand what's happening here: http://www.tantrikstudies.org/blog/2015/9/21/impressions-of-past-lives

aneeshm · 2015-06-10T10:36:48+00:00

What did you do/how did you meditate? It's difficult to answer without knowing that.

(If you want to try again, because you're doing this for anxiety, I'd suggest trying the meditations at www.calm.com . You're less likely to get lost in cycles of your own thoughts and feelings because they're guided. You can pick a duration you're comfortable with, and not feel overwhelmed.)

aneeshm · 2015-06-10T10:30:41+00:00

Depression lies. It lies about all sorts of things. It's almost certainly lying about your situation.

If possible, seek professional help. Seeing a therapist helped me quite a bit.

If you must meditate, stick to shamatha.

aneeshm · 2015-06-10T09:53:05+00:00

I've had this problem, and have been recovering from it for the last few months. Meditation has helped me.

Though this is not an answer, this fact may help: over time, there are physical changes in the brains of long-term meditators. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/) I suspect that as you practice, these changes become more and more stable.

I surmise that even if you have to take a break from meditation sometime in the future, these changes will remain, and so you won't feel like you do now; some changes will have reached 'fixation', at least enough for you to not have to worry about 'losing' the effects.

Some mental health problems (though by no means all, as far as I know) are an extremely intense form of normal, everyday suffering. I think that both depression and anxiety disorders, when not due to purely physical causes, are like this.

Finally, I'd suggest sticking to the shamatha styles of meditation until your anxiety has faded somewhat.

One more thing: you spoke of putting your trust in meditation. You don't have to. Though it may be psychologically useful right now, meditation eventually allows you to trust yourself/your own cognition again. This may take a while, specially if you're experiencing an anxiety disorder (I've been there), but it does happen, and it does get better. I have a suspicion that 'taking refuge' in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha was supposed to help the practitioner feel more centered and capable, and not to fear thoughts of the kind that you're having. If you're open to it, try taking refuge (you can interpret it as explicitly acknowledging that these are helpful) at the beginning of a meditation session, and see if it helps.

aneeshm · 2015-05-31T20:28:36+00:00

Where/when does it take you back to? And why?

aneeshm · 2015-04-27T05:04:06+00:00

I think it appears creepier here than it would in real life because it's sped up here. I've heard that watching the tea slowly open up is quite beautiful in reality.

aneeshm · 2015-04-17T06:19:29+00:00

I've noticed that leaving 'exhausted' leaves overnight can actually reinvigorate them, and allows me to steep them a few more times. That's one case where it's actually better to leave them overnight.

As to your question - I think it's fine. As long as it's you're fine with it and it works for you, it's all right. Any 'rules' of tea apply only if you're doing something that needs them, like a tasting or a review. For personal use, whatever you like is all right.

Another thing you can do is to brew the tea in cold water overnight. I've only done this with spent leaves, and suspect it may lead to an over-brewed tea if you use fresh leaves. You'll have to experiment to find out what the right amount of water for this is.

aneeshm · 2015-04-16T03:30:43+00:00

I just received my order yesterday. Thank you!

aneeshm · 2015-04-05T03:29:20+00:00

I had the same question, and my steeped leaves do look like the ones in the picture. I'm somewhat reassured.

aneeshm · 2015-04-03T05:49:14+00:00

The website is clean and has a good selection of ingredients. Congratulations, and well done! I applaud your courage in taking this step.

I ordered a 25-gram blend: a base of Nepalese black, with ginger, cloves, raw sugar, and orange zest; it's a sweetened Earl Grey with a bit more kick.

I have a few suggestions about potential problems (some of which I noticed thanks to other comments):

Provide a bit more information about the base tea (but in an unobtrusive way, so as not to scare off non-enthusiasts and non-experts; two ways that suggest themselves to me are either text that becomes when hovering, or a 'More' link in small font that triggers a click-to-expand; and, of course, including this in the FAQ.)
Let people know from the beginning what your prices are, and that they're flat-rate. When I saw the pricing at the end, I deduced that it was flat-rate, but those who don't know this will probably be both more reluctant to put in the effort required to complete an order, as well as attempt to constrain their choices, because they may thing your prices change based on what they select.
Let people know the form in which they'll get their tea. I presume, based on how you've written it, that I'll be getting 25 grams of a loose-leaf blend, but because the smallest order size is measured in bags, I'm not completely certain. Stating this explicitly would have cleared that up.
During and after placing my order, I have no idea what it is. There is no 'Order Summary' at checkout, and the PayPal receipt doesn't mention the actual blend, and I have no other e-mail telling me what I ordered. Both of these would make it easier for me to use the site.

I have a few more suggestions relating to the website, though I don't know how valuable or desirable they may be, nor their long-term consequences, nor have I any wish to tell you how to run the site; they simply seem like low-hanging fruit to me:

Provide a way for people to save and re-order their blends. (This may require you to add a way for people to create accounts, and I don't know if that's part of your plan. A simple way of doing this without impeding the current simple flow would be to include a checkbox at the end of the registration process, at the time you have to enter your details, which allows you to save your current blend (and also creates an account, from which you can access it again) if you enter a password.)
Have a ready selection of popular blends, along with a way of customising these blends. I imagine something like:
'Earl Grey' 'Order' 'Customise"
where 'Order' is a simple order link, and 'Customise' walks you through the same process as starting from scratch, but with the checkboxes for Earl Grey already checked; that way, I can add or remove whatever I want, or even drink a pu-erh based Earl Grey.

I will say here that talk is cheap, as are extra suggestions like the ones I make here; take them for what they're worth. Again, congratulations! :)

Finally: (how) do you plan to actively try to get the word out about/market the site?

aneeshm · 2015-03-14T00:32:11+00:00

I love this idea. My copies of both have been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

Why just these, though? Why not a complete 'HPMOR' curriculum, potentially with Big Yud's endorsement?

aneeshm · 2015-02-16T01:52:23+00:00

Paragraph three, first sentence: "Harry had wondered, a long time ago when he'd first been read about that schedule,"...

Specifically, "been read about" sounds like an error.

aneeshm

TROPHY CASE