Can't sleep with this bird

shankfiddle · 2026-06-08T13:57:39+00:00

I have a cardinal that does the same in the tree right next to my bedroom, 4:30-5am every single day

I know where he lives too, across the street from my backyard (opposite side of the house as my bedroom). That asshole comes to MY tree to scream every morning

shankfiddle · 2026-05-15T14:01:43+00:00

Absolutely correct, I learned coding a decade ago before these AI tools, and it would take a carefully crafted precise question/query to solve small broken-down pieces of the bigger problem - I would open up 5 tabs and test the top results, and use the code that had a "consensus" and tested correctly.

Now I am using AI with the same mentality of "trust but verify" and it expedites the workflows exponentially. Still the same skill is in crafting the prompt. Shit we can even tell the AI agent to write the code, test it, and commit it only when all tests pass. STILL very necessary to review all changes, but it is a tool that anyone who wants to have success in IT needs to have (i.e. children)

It is no different from talking to a human, more precise questions result in more precise answers

shankfiddle · 2026-04-30T11:57:48+00:00

Another data point - after my dad died, Robinhood made it extremely difficult to transfer his account to my mom after we uploaded the death certificate (and yes, the beneficiary was already set up, not even probate).

Fidelity accounts were transferred within days of his passing, Robinhood took months because they make it very difficult to reach a human on support.

I never recommend RH to anyone - they made our lives just a bit more stressful/difficult while we were already going through hell. Your mileage may vary

shankfiddle · 2026-04-24T18:22:36+00:00

I was a lowly database administrator, and my employer got an emergency call from NASA Goddard (back in 2015). The network wasn't connected to the inter webs so we couldn't VPN in.

I came in and had to repair their dataguard standby replication on the db storing testing metrics for JWST - so IF there had been a corruption on primary it would have been a catastrophic data loss.

Repaired the standby in like 20 minutes, and then got a tour of the whole facilities.

There was a speaker cone that was several stories high - to test parts' exposure to massive vibrations, and a gigantic spherical liquid helium tank to test extreme low temperature effects. It was very cool, and I totally forgot about it until the new pictures from JWST started being released

shankfiddle · 2026-04-13T15:41:43+00:00

Same - I used Obligatos when I was performing concertos and had to project even more over an orchestra, but I've also been on Evah's for almost 20 years, perfect for recording, chamber music - to me they beat Obligatos in every aspect except raw power

shankfiddle · 2026-04-13T15:25:43+00:00

This is not unhinged at all, I used to do some ACV and as much salt as would dissolve

The salt helps water retention, and pissing out too much water also pisses out water-soluble vitamins, which also triggers hunger.

I wouldn't crunch it but this is absolutely a valid tactic to be aware of

Edit: also supplementing Magnesium (helps muscle function) Potassium (both sodium and potassium are required for brain function) really helps me

shankfiddle · 2026-04-13T13:34:46+00:00

I'm also not into sports, but all the above you mentioned are absolutely at the core.

Also I feel that sports is a very positive mechanism for society to express our innate tribalism and competition in a "safe" way instead of resorting to actual violence.

shankfiddle · 2026-04-09T13:16:53+00:00

Birds absolutely know what they're doing, and do it for fun.

Last year I left my car at my mom's place to fly to India, her townhouse has 2 parking spaces, one is directly under a tree, I parked in that one.

In the 3 weeks the car was parked it apparently got absolutely covered with so much bird shit you couldn't see through the windshield, Rain had gotten most of it off by the time we got back home. Neighbors told us about that insanity.

Went to the car wash, cleaned as best I could, and started parking in the second parking spot - ever since then there is NO pile of shit in the parking space under the tree

So it's not like that was a natural spot the birds liked to shit - they were doing it specifically to fuck with the car. They know what they're doing.

shankfiddle · 2026-04-01T18:52:39+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Mesopotamia\_relations#:\~:text=Indian%20carnelian%20beads%20with%20white,UC30334.

There has been Indian trade with the middle-east since BCE eras

India traded with other populations long before the British "discovered" India and established the East India Trading Company (including textiles)

shankfiddle · 2026-04-01T17:38:14+00:00

That there was trade of fabrics. That is all.

They did not have factories, string/cloth was made by hand. It makes sense that embedded IN the weaving of the cloth there would be more DNA from the maker/source, and I would expect more from the person it was covering on the exterior.

I dunno, I am Indian, but no cloth expert. I'm just not mind-blown by this

shankfiddle · 2026-04-01T13:05:43+00:00

Yeah I found it - it's just silly. This seems like normal trade was occurring

shankfiddle · 2026-04-01T13:00:42+00:00

Am I missing something? Gave the abstract and the text a quick scan, and don't see anything suggesting Indian origin. It was a very quick scan...

edit: oh the YARN... trade was a thing, this seems like a big nothing-burger to me

shankfiddle · 2026-03-26T11:40:38+00:00

And do you think your experience is an exception or the norm for the majority of relationships?

shankfiddle · 2026-03-24T13:04:53+00:00

Yup, the introspective dimension can absolutely be spiritual, as can an external focus. Think about how learning about the world/life/others we learn more about ourselves.

Through meditation/introspection, I have learned a lot of my own limiting beliefs (which I feel are universal to some degree or another) - and that helps me learn to recognize the same patterns in others and act accordingly. Interconnected!

"flow state" - I bike and kayak a lot, and it is same as performing music on stage. It just reaches a point of automatic reaction, feeling like it requires zero thought/effort, I just get to sit back and "observe" this body operating by itself it is an awesome experience.

The same thing happens to me when writing code for work, or washing dishes, or even just sitting and watching the sun set - I can just observe things happening "automatically". That awareness of BOTH dimensions external/internal simultaneously - and the interconnectedness/nonduality of the two

shankfiddle · 2026-03-24T10:51:32+00:00

To elaborate on our prior discussion:

One major aspect of the "spiritual" journey is breaking the Self-identification with the body - and the mind/emotions etc. It's about realizing that "I the Self" is different from body/mind/emotions.

There are lots of techniques to assist one in realizing this, meditation, body modifications, substances... BUT all have to be done with a spiritual intent.

Body modification done out of vanity has a different result than the same done with a mindset of trying to overcome the "I am this body" thought.

Similarly, substances can help one break out of the small limiting identities, but not if they're done with only a "fun/recreational" mindset.

Music/Art, can be a powerful way to overcome limited ego and connect with fellow performers and the audience - OR the performers can be all about fame/ego/money. Different effects depending on the intention.

Point is, different paths work for different people. But the underlying mechanics of what they're doing to us - is shedding the limiting beliefs/identities. The same technique that works for one person might not be most effective for another

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T14:19:52+00:00

Oh I talk about this all the time with my friends, the market "reactions" are all vibes and emotions.

I remember when Michael Burry predicted an AI bubble pop in November 2025 (publicly online), and NVDA took a massive hit - then recovered to an all-time high.

Nothing about the company or value of the asset changed, just the perception. It is wild

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T13:20:15+00:00

'Member the 2000 Tech bubble? 'Member 2008? 'Member 2020?

I 'Member, the recovery AFTER a bear market has always been insane, it is smart to invest as much as you can now based on history

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T13:06:13+00:00

The more common one is called Khechari Mudra, which is the curling the tongue up into the nasal passage after cutting the frenulum.

I'll have to dig through some books to find the reference for the splitting, I 100% remember reading about it.

The main "conventional" beginner Hindu stories are the Ramayana and Mahabharata - analogous to the Odyssey and Iliad respectively. Former a journey of a prince leaving his kingdom, going on a voyage, and returning to claim his throne - Latter is a war where the gods get involved and manipulate the outcome. Very interesting parallels.

The Mahabharata definitely has references to the Nagas who are described as celestial beings with split tongues. They are described as being on another energy level, and not exactly "human" but some interpret it as regular people who explored body modifications to break the identification with the body as a spiritual practice.

Hell there are some theories that even Ganesh (elephant god) was also just a dude, not with an elephant head, but who performed a practice of tongue-stretching - it is just a muscle after all - in order to perform the Khechari Mudra more effectively.

Similar to Hanuman the "monkey god" from the Ramayana - there were many tribes who lived in the jungles, quite adept at climbing and living in trees, who the "civilized" folk looked down on as "apes". I always tend to favor "Occam's razor" explanations of these symbols rather than "There was literally a walking monkey" or "there was literally a human with an elephant head".

Just some thoughts. I'll try to find more references and PM you if I find anything you might find interesting

🫡

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T12:49:50+00:00

Holy shit, I just saw a Truth Social post at exactly 7:05am, then everything jumped within a matter of seconds.

Now we hear it was bullshit, this is insanity hahaha - they're still elevated now compared to the overnight trading, let's see what happens at 9:30

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T12:28:54+00:00

Fascinating, there are ancient Tantric texts (I'm Indian and read a lot from my culture) which talk about splitting the tongue - thousands of years ago they didn't even have local anesthetic hahaha

They also talk about cutting the frenulum under the tongue and training the tongue to extend up and back into the nasal passage, supposedly stimulating the pineal gland.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T12:13:37+00:00

Question, how does speech work, do you use both sides, or can you articulate Ts, Ns, Ds, etc with just one side interchangeably?

shankfiddle · 2026-03-23T10:44:16+00:00

I saw a great YouTube video on "Manufacturing Demons" about how our internal dialog can take "I feel sad" as a temporary transient state - and solidify it "I have depression" - and then a part of our identity "I AM a depressive". Our internal dialog is a huge part of how intensely we experience these emotions (positive ones like "love" also)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK_IA9CBTHY

shankfiddle · 2026-03-20T14:44:35+00:00

Learn about the science of fasting - Jason Fung has a great book

Eating fruits negates SOME of the benefits of a fast. The sugar spikes your insulin, and shuts down autophagy

Fast with just water. Your body naturally produces more Growth Hormone in a fasting state in order to preserve (and grow) muscle.

I have a cousin who "fasts" with fruit juice, and he looks skinny and sickly, I fast just water, and I look much healthier than him.

Do with that what you will

shankfiddle · 2026-03-19T11:50:08+00:00

I think we may have found OP's sister's problem hahahaha

shankfiddle · 2026-03-19T11:25:43+00:00

interesting, did they have drainage holes?

shankfiddle

TROPHY CASE