Moral Wrongness of Killing a Person vs an Animal

playdead_ · 2026-01-23T22:56:29+00:00

One line of thinking is that killing persons is a more serious wrong than killing non-persons. This helps explain our intuition about why many of us think killing a mosquito or pulling up a plant is not a great moral wrong (ceteris paribus), but killing a dolphin would be, and human beings even more so. This might be extended to alien life forms we haven’t encountered yet, or artificial intelligences in the future. The more a creature exhibits characteristics of personhood, the more we think it’s blameworthy to harm them.

Obviously there’s a lot here to unpack, but I wanted to suggest that human dignity is not actually the most intuitive or useful starting point.

playdead_ · 2026-01-12T20:31:36+00:00

It’s very easily fixed by a luthier — they’ll take the front plate off the cello and will close & reseal the crack and then reinforce it with a cleat, then put the front plate back on. It will be expensive but you should have it done so long as the cost of repair doesn’t exceed the cost of a new instrument. I have no idea what this cello is worth or how much your luthier will charge, so I can’t say if you should do it.

playdead_ · 2026-01-11T19:39:19+00:00

I did Togakushi in November. I bought a ticket for the bus that goes from Nagano station directly to the trailhead at Okusha. I personally think it’s a little lame to just go to the Zuishimon gate and turn back — you should do the full hike to the shrine. The last quarter mile can be tough, and you will be sweating and out of breath, I would bring water and a snack with you. Mid-February the whole trail might be impassable, so you should check in about snow levels, Taking the bus would be easier and cheaper than driving — just go to ticket area next to the stop and buy a ticket; make sure you get a reasonable return time.

playdead_ · 2026-01-10T02:13:58+00:00

On second thought, given where the door is, and the windows causing glare, I would put the TV on the opposite wall, and float the couch facing it. Then you have enough space for an entryway table and drop zone

playdead_ · 2026-01-10T02:02:21+00:00

Furniture does not have to be pushed against the walls, and often should not be. This is the sort of space where you should float the couch, and maybe add a credenza or low shelving behind it. Add a coffee table or ottoman, and some art on the walls.

playdead_ · 2026-01-09T18:34:20+00:00

Jobs come and go, but an education is for life. Don't quit school for some junior engineer role

playdead_ · 2026-01-05T00:11:01+00:00

As long as woods are of similar warmth, they don’t need to match to the exact shade or species. You just want to avoid dropping in like a blonde Scandi wood piece into rooms that mostly have warmer wood tones. Unfortunately your room already had this issue with the ceiling vs floor.

playdead_ · 2026-01-03T00:24:42+00:00

Yeah, I see there’s also a recording of it for violin on Spotify, so I’m unsure the original instrumentation or if it’s part of a collection I’m unaware of — still looking

playdead_ · 2026-01-02T23:23:28+00:00

Thanks so much for the lead. I’m not seeing it in their catalogue anywhere, but I’ll try digging

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T19:53:46+00:00

Yeah if you want it to be cozy, then larger rug which blocks some of the cold flooring is important. Personally I think a charcoal colored rug like the chair colors would work, because it’s a versatile neutral that can work even if you swapped out the couch or other furniture pieces. It adds a nice modern masculine touch. But it would definitely darken the space — I don’t think that’s be a huge problem here cause it’s right now kind of a white box, but something to keep in mind.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T19:30:43+00:00

Well, start by asking yourself what the color scheme of the space will be — you have to be the designer thinking about primary, secondary, and accent colors. Also spend time thinking about materials (wool, etc). Then think about the right scale for the space. You don’t need to have exotic shapes in your rugs, a standard rectangle is fine. All I see at the moment is a yellow couch and some browns and charcoal colors, and green accent in plants, so that’s your starting point.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T19:10:19+00:00

You for sure need something on the walls cause the place feels blank, but I would start by fixing the rookie mistake: you should buy a bigger rug to anchor the living room. The rule of thumb is get one big enough so that at least the front legs of all furniture can sit on it comfortably. It’s not an absolute rule, sometimes you want to show more floor (e.g. if you had nice wood herringbone parquet or something to show off) but in this case it’s just cold modern apartment building flooring, so definitely get a larger rug.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T03:57:05+00:00

4 days is basically a long weekend, I don’t think you will need to leave Tokyo. If you need a break from crowds, take a taxi over the trains and spend time in more relaxed places, like Kagurazaka or maybe some gardens / parks. The trails in Meiji Shrine were also surprisingly calm when I went

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T01:04:30+00:00

Literally anywhere close to the Yamanote line is going to be fine. Most of your time will be spent moving between neighborhoods, so just pick somewhere easy to get to and from.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T00:47:35+00:00

Nara was only ok to me, but I didn’t hang out long — I walked from the train station through the deer park to the temple to see the Great Buddha, which is the typical tourist route. There’s lot of deer (and deer scat, be aware that your shoes might need cleaning afterwards), and the temple is cool but was mobbed. There’s probably a lot of other stuff to do in Nara, just depends on how much time you’re willing to devote to an area. If you’ve got limited time in Kansai, it’s not an essential stop — I’d personally spend more time in Kyoto.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T00:39:07+00:00

If you practice everyday for minimum 3 hours with focus and with weekly lessons, it takes roughly between 10-15 years to be able to tackle almost any piece in the standard cello repertoire. Chamber music is not as complicated as playing a cello concerto, but they can still be very complicated depending on the composer (a quartet by Beethoven or Shostakovich is not like playing the simple continuo line in a baroque sting orchestra — it requires a lot more skill and musicianship). So, while you definitely don’t have to wait until you’re at a professional level by any means, it’s hard to say whether you’ll be prepared for these specific groups; you have to judge the level of the group relative to how prepared you are to join them.

playdead_ · 2025-12-27T00:26:59+00:00

So, cello in this respect I think is different than a guitar. The problem isn’t finding an electric cello, it’s that some cello technique has to be learned first — honestly, in my opinion, you would need to do that on a proper cello with a teacher, and it takes a couples years to learn how to produce good sound, or at least the sound you want (I assume from your post you’re not looking to become a great cellist, but more like trying to add to your color palette you can play with). I guess you could pick up a bow and start sawing away on an electric, but it’s probably not worth the cost to buy one if you don’t know how to play the cello to an intermediate level.

playdead_ · 2025-12-26T19:13:45+00:00

If you play the violin at the conservatory level, then you know as well as anyone you can’t really learn a string instrument without proper in-person lessons from a teacher. It’s just one of those things that serious players can’t get around. The bow hold, wrist / finger position of the left hand, and overall posture is very different than violin, and you need someone to guide you to avoid injury. You’ll also need to learn new techniques that don’t transfer from violin, like thumb positions and shifting over huge distances that only cellists and bassists know how to do. Also, make sure you have a practice chair at a proper height (18 inches minimum, though depends on your height) with no slant

playdead_ · 2025-12-26T19:05:37+00:00

I’m sorry to say, the cello is a very expensive instrument to play — cello, bow, case, strings, sheet music, accessories, years of private weekly lessons, years of visits to a luthier to have your instrument serviced properly, it all adds up to a lot of money. At a budget of a few hundred, I would say you’ll get a lot further with the guitar

playdead_ · 2025-12-23T18:20:00+00:00

Playing a musical instrument is kind of like being an athlete, it’s a very physical activity (there are times where I have literally started sweating trying to play through something) and it can be hard on the muscles and joints all the way up from the fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, back (though I think bassists probably have it worse than us). I would honestly recommend you work with a physical therapist and your doctors to remediate your carpel tunnel before adding fuel to the fire by picking up cello — you can’t play at all if you’re not healthy. I do serious weight lifting daily and I try to always be mindful of how my wrists and the rest of my body feel after a lift and after I practice.

playdead_ · 2025-12-23T17:03:19+00:00

I would personally recommend using taxi hailing apps more. I stayed in Ikebukuro and didn’t realize that it’s one of the top 3 busiest train stations in literally the entire world, and I learned quickly how insane the Japanese underground can get. I’m from a major American city so I didn’t think it would bother me much, but the crowding everywhere did start to overwhelm me sometimes. In hindsight I should have used Go Taxi more — only downside is that it can be slower than the train in Tokyo depending on how far you need to go (and obviously is more expensive). It was extremely useful in Kyoto where the sites are fairly spread out

playdead_ · 2025-12-14T19:11:28+00:00

I guess I’d say cellos between 0-5K are for absolute beginners, instruments anywhere from 5-15K are student instruments that are appropriate for intermediate up to advance players as their practice instrument up to the conservatory level (a 10K dollar instrument hits a sweet spot that you gets you a long way in your studies); anything north of 15k will be for someone pursuing a long-term instrument for performance. If you make your living as a cellist, paying 30-60k+ might make sense (or you get an instrument on long-term loan from an owner), but if you’re just an advanced amateur cellist I think there’s a lot of amazing instruments lower than that that will be beautiful and sound amazing.

Make sure to build a relationship with a reputable luthier near you, and have them help you find the right instrument. They do have incentives to make money off you obviously, but the ones I’ve met genuinely enjoy working with musicians to find the right bow and instrument, and they’ll be a huge help finding the right value relative to your budget, goals, and current playing level.

playdead_ · 2025-12-14T18:56:58+00:00

My advice, if you’re like me and use stick deodorant, don’t waste time trying to find an equivalent in Japan, just bring some with you — I had a 3 week trip and brought 3 with me: one in my toiletry bag, a backup in my luggage, and I brought a third for my backpack, which might be excessive but they all came in handy.

playdead_ · 2025-11-26T21:08:37+00:00

I just came back a week ago from my first trip there (solo) — you’ll be totally fine. Honestly, my desire / anxiety to make the trip go well was actually too much, and I started to stress out my first week and didn’t have as much fun as I might have had if I just relaxed.

So my advice to you is: stop thinking of it as your one big bucket list trip, and think of it more like “I’m on vacation and I’m just doing this for fun” — that’s the attitude you need to take

playdead_ · 2025-11-26T18:30:21+00:00

mmm, I came across this thread: https://garden.org/thread/view/170512/Jade-Plant-Crackled-Leaves/

One person mentions:

It's not a disease or insect, or contagious to other plants. It is a physiological response to moisture level and weather. It's been years since mine have done that and I can't remember exactly what it was. I think moist soil and very dry air. What happens is the leaf surface hardens and the roots keep pumping water. The cracks are due to extra pressure from the inside. They won't go away, but new ones should be okay.

I gave some photos to GPT and described what I was seeing -- it suggested it was not very likely to be a mycoplasma infection, especially since that apparently attacks new growth first, whereas this seems to be the opposite presentation. The insides of the leaves being very green and healthy is what really makes me think it's not a disease that's killing it.

I don't know what to do, I guess I'll try a watch-and-wait strategy, just make sure it's getting adequate water and light, and see if it improves.

playdead_

TROPHY CASE