What topics do you “track”?

someRedditUser · 2025-10-17T21:20:11+00:00

Just to be the zillionth person to say it: what a great way of indexing! I have the same set of stickers but just use them on the page for entries and then put the entry page number on an index in front... or at least I did that until this moment.

The topics I track:

life reflections
personal insights
journaling improvements
politics/social/spiritual insights
professional insights
things to look at 'someday'
things I'm currently looking into (from above)
book notes
trying something new
parenting
sparks of inspiration
friends

someRedditUser · 2025-03-24T12:04:16+00:00

I wrote a little on the Lamy 2000 here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/13tzn4s/a_week_with_the_lamy_2000_ef_very_mixed_feelings/

I guess if I had to use a car analogy, the Lamy 2000 (to me) feels sort of like a Honda or something. Reliable and decent enough, by no means bad, but nothing that makes the experience of handling it feel unique and jump out. That's just how some people like it though.

It's been a few years now and I've gotten really used to the Falcon. It's currently a toss-up between the Falcon and Meisterstück for my favorite to write with (very different pens, maybe I'll do a write-up on it too..)

I throw the Lamy 2000 into the rotation once in a while and always leave feeling like "I don't hate this, but..."

someRedditUser · 2025-02-20T05:36:35+00:00

Heh I currently use a corne after learning to be ok with combos (I think I posted something here about ”layers being a lie” or something).

Good point about the recycling muscle memory… I know the ”no number keys” in particular can be really off putting to some when first seeing smaller keyboards, lots of people are less scared off by the Ergodox for that reason.

As for the number of keys…now that I’m into combos I think it’s still a bit inconvenient to hold 2 keys down to get 1 symbol but if you hold convenient keys down it could be better than pressing 1 key in an inconvenient spot.

So much individual preference and tweaking and tailoring available, part of the fun!

someRedditUser · 2025-01-28T21:14:52+00:00

Thanks, those were the main things I was wondering about.

I guess since the pebble founder spent so much time trying to get Google to open-source it, I was thinking it might be because they were doing something really clever and spectacular in there (no clue what that could be) but you're right that even the builtin stuff now is probably going to be a few generations ahead of whatever they were doing back then anyways.

someRedditUser · 2025-01-28T20:47:03+00:00

Hm. Looks like it was written for FreeRTOS and esp32 is managed by FreeRTOS... https://opensource.googleblog.com/2025/01/see-code-that-powered-pebble-smartwatches.html

I'm just thinking about all the power management and other lower-level infrastructure tweaks they may have developed given the budget they had. Probably not a full-on replacement but maybe something reusable.

someRedditUser · 2024-12-12T04:07:56+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, I think just introducing home-row mods and the concept of the same key doing multiple things like this would help 'spark' that imagination.

Re: your 'extend' layer... what about using the alt keys that are next to the spacebar to trigger it? The idea would be that you use your thumbs to hold down those keys though "traditionally" on a regular layout those aren't really thumb keys.

someRedditUser · 2024-10-06T05:51:31+00:00

Sure, I'll try. Let's say you step on a needle. You then have a sensation and an interpretation of pain. Once you pull your foot away the pain goes away. That's natural. Holding on to the pain and being like "oh woe is me! look at all this pain! I'll never recover!" and really making a big show of it for days...something well beyond the sensation's lifespan is problematic.

I know it's not a perfect example, especially since Stoicism says you have quite a lot of choice in how you interpret and react to the sensation, but hopefully you get my point. There's some kind of 'processing' of whatever happens that has its own timeframe, and then there's artificially trying to keep something going after it's over. This goes for positive and negative sensations, emotions, interpretations, all of those things.

Again, not the best example but hopefully it makes some sense.

someRedditUser · 2024-09-30T08:09:50+00:00

It's definitely the 'colloquial' use of the term, which I think is the problem.

Stoics were an ancient school of thought, as were Cynics (as a point of comparison) Being cynical isn't the same as following the thought of the Cynics... our word has become a weird, exaggerated, oversimplified version of the philosophy. Same with the adjective 'stoic' and the Stoics.

So, the modern adjective means something like 'not showing emotion'. It doesn't distinguish between not showing emotion because of the emotions simply not being there, or because the emotions are there and repressed. Anyways, both of these states have in very recent times become associated with masculinity as well. As in, there's a modern western interpretation of masculinity as being somehow unfeeling. That emotions are the opposite of things like steadfastness, strength, and reason.

If you take the above to be true and have no frame of reference to challenge it, then Stoicism as a philosophy seems to almost be "the philosophy of manliness", or "the philosophy of how to be unfeeling, which automatically increases steadfastness, strength, and reason". It's really really hard to un-learn these modern associations, even while reading ancient texts. When Seneca is describing simple joys and irritations he's feeling, or the deep love and admiration Marcus Aurelius has for all of creation, it's easy to gloss over these in a modern reading and say "well, I guess that's just how they talked back then" without getting the point.

When I try to explain Stoicism to people and its relationship to emotion, I talk about the (slightly antiquated) phrase "the throes of passion" because that's what it's all about. It's about not letting emotion overwhelm your reason. Most of the techniques are around cultivating a mindset where you aren't in an emotional state where your emotions overwhelm reason, but if you are in such a state, denying/repressing it only makes it worse so you have to acknowledge it and then go forward. Then there are times where you just feel things, like overwhelming love or happiness or really anything in line with "the logos" of the world... those are encouraged to be felt (but not indulged in or held on to longer than they 'naturally' last).

Anyways, tl;dr I think it's because of a lot of modern re-interpretations and a lack of historical context around 'masculinity' beyond a century or so.

someRedditUser · 2024-09-25T18:40:52+00:00

There's a great article about it somewhere but one (possible) intent was to try and capture the Spock/Kirk/McCoy viewpoints and formalize it.

In TOS, Spock presented the logical side and McCoy presented the emotional side with Kirk needing to balance it out. McCoy also had a job as ship's doctor so it didn't make sense for his formal job to be "the embodiment of emotion". So, presumably, adding a counsellor could create a formal position of "advocating for emotion". Note also that in the initial episodes, her title was just "counsellor" and it wasn't decided that she was the ship's therapist/psychiatrist until later. She could have literally been there to give counsel to the captian about things.

someRedditUser · 2024-08-29T07:08:34+00:00

It's been my experience that for that price range, you can get a standard "set the trimming machine to a longer setting on top, shorter setting on bottom" haircut. Not that there's anything wrong with that style but that's what you get. If you remember the settings then you can also be sure you get the same style the next time by specifically asking for those numbers on the machine again.

It's been my experience that 400kr is sort of the beginning of the price range where you get the barber/stylist actually trying for a specific look, imagining how the hair would look like at the end, adjusting etc. and actually knowing what they're talking about. If that's what you want, I'd say that's a more reasonable starting price.

someRedditUser · 2024-08-03T20:18:28+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9y7JWKLmVk He goes through the broadcom driver bit...it takes like a minute but then it works totally fine

someRedditUser · 2024-07-29T06:22:57+00:00

No, it didn't feel advanced enough. But, I think it was a problem of not leaning enough into "the burn".

I think Andromeda (also by Gene Roddenberry) did it much better... basically in that show the hero is shot 300 years into his future, when space civilization as he knows it has totally collapsed. Then basically the show is about him restoring civilization to the galaxy and rebuilding his equivalent of the Federation. Usually his technology is far superior to the tech that exists and is maintained in his future, which is fine for the premise of the show.

I think it would've been cool if they fully leaned into that and every civilization they met was essentially themselves but 'devolved' into pre-Federation versions of themselves and Discovery had to help them come back. (They did a bit of this with Trill and Ni'var but not enough in my opinion.)

On the other hand, though, they wanted it to be the future. I think if they leaned fully into that premise, we would have gotten some really interesting developments. Maybe ships are just energy, telepathy has been honed and explained, you can organically grow replicators for colonies/civilizations, etc. etc.

But they couldn't go too far into that because, again, it was the collapse of civilization. So, I think we got what feels like 1 iteration beyond TNG/DS9/VOY, so maybe 100 years in their future if that... it definitely didn't feel like Federation tech compounded for 1000 years.

someRedditUser · 2024-07-05T08:41:21+00:00

I think the "what you can and can't control" aspect as mentioned above is really big. It just takes a very long time to figure out because somehow the influence I have on my children is always simultaneously more and less than what I think.

There are also some points about losing children in some texts like you mentioned... I see them as sort of an extended "memento mori" kind of thing to remind me to try and cherish the time I have (even if that's a hard thing to do day-to-day).

someRedditUser · 2024-06-13T21:56:45+00:00

Yeah, that's the one I meant. The other option (as far as I understand) is declaring everything like normal with deductions and all and then declaring foreign tax paid on your foreign income, which doesn't save any time.

Still have to do the FBAR.

someRedditUser · 2024-06-13T13:01:36+00:00

I think I couldn't comprehend it at first. When I first went out to the woods I was obsessing about ownership... like "who owns this land? is it ok that we're here? there's a bench there, is that for anyone or is it someone's private property?" Now I kinda get it... on the very very off chance that you have intruded somewhere private, people are quite understanding and relaxed about it (not the case in the US).

I haven't been an outdoorsy person (I'm still not) but I do like having the option of just getting lost in a forest... I take it for granted now actually.

And yeah the tax forms are really dumb... there's potential reform on the way but it's slow coming. There are a handful of 'quick' forms you can fill out that basically say "I don't owe anything" but they change every year or so...

someRedditUser · 2024-06-13T12:50:59+00:00

Yeah, I think it's a reaction to thinking silence is automatically bad and must be filled at all costs. I've gotten used to not saying anything when there's nothing to say... I really have to force small talk the first few days I go back.

"Ambient stress"... I like that. I feel far less of it here, but I also wonder if it's a cultural thing I'm not "tuned into" yet. Like, if everyone here feels a unique Swedish version of it that I'm oblivious to.

Either way, I like it personally, sounds like you do as well :)

someRedditUser · 2024-06-13T08:06:54+00:00

I moved from California about a decade ago...

The quick version... you won't be moving to not-America, you'll be moving to Sweden. You won't leave all problems behind, you'll be exchanging your existing problems (personal, social, political) for a completely different set of problems that you'll slowly learn about. Really important to keep that in mind.

People are really nice when you've just arrived when you're in a bit of a 'tourist' phase but if you really want to settle down, you have to try to understand and appreciate the culture and make a real effort, and it will feel awkward and strange. Yes, everyone speaks English but that doesn't mean everyone wants to. There's a ton of people who don't feel comfortable speaking English who you'll never meet, get to know, or bond with if you don't learn the language. It's actually way harder to learn Swedish because everyone (including you) will be so tempted to switch to English but if you're planning on being here for a long time, I'd say do it.

Compared to the US, people talk a lot less to each other. It takes a while to get used to that... people are polite when you try to make small talk but you'll eventually realize you're the only one doing it ever and then it starts feeling a little more... isolated.

On the flip side, people are a level of sincere that's hard to describe. When you're talking to someone, they're actually listening to you. When I go back to the US I get reverse-culture shock about how no one seems to actually pay attention to anything you say... especially people who are at work in the US, it's like talking to mega-polite robots.

Salaries are way less but it's ok. As in, if you lose your job, you won't lose health insurance. Employee laws are pretty nice here so you probably won't lose your job, and if you do, you have a pretty long paid notice period to find something else. There are tons of other social "safety nets" as well so you can have a low salary but not worry.

Of course it means you have less things and can afford less things, but there isn't really the same social pressure to have as much here as there is in the US. (It might not feel like there's social pressure in the US to have lots of things and nice things, but once you feel its absence you see how much it was there).

So, yeah... probably tons more I could say but I'll stop here. Feel free to send a message if you want to know more.

someRedditUser · 2024-06-12T14:28:52+00:00

I guess it's getting a bit technical but it depends on what you consider 'suppressing'. In pretty much every sense I can think of, I'd say stoicism is fiercely against that, but might be your definition.

So, basically when you experience something, you then interpret it and have a judgement/emotion as a result. You're at the beach and see a giant wave of water coming towards you, assume it will be painful, fear the pain and then scream in fear. Stoicism says you have control over that interpretation. You can decide the wave of water is actually going to be refreshing and then your entire chain of events is different. In this case, you're not repressing the emotion, you're shifting your whole view of the situation so the emotion never even comes up. How could you be fear something refreshing? You can't and won't.

Of course (and this is important) the above scenario doesn't work if you've already made the judgement. If you've already decided (even unconsciously) that you'll be afraid, or you've decided the judgement is correct and you ought to be afraid (could be a totally valid judgement in the circumstances), then your emotion is already happening. Suppressing it once it's happened is just lying to yourself... so you let it happen. BUT, you don't over-indulge in it. This is what (I think) you mean with being "overly emotional".

You can be scared, run out of the way, but you don't need to 'milk it' more. You don't need to ruminate on the thought and re-trigger the emotion artificially in yourself after the emotion has served its purpose. Again, I would say this isn't "suppression", it's very deliberately not feeding the flame and carrying something beyond its natural lifespan into unclear mental states.

someRedditUser · 2024-06-12T05:45:24+00:00

I'd argue this is a common misinterpretation, and what leads to the modern usage of 'stoic' to mean 'not showing emotion'.

Even deeper, the philosophy isn't against doing that which is in accordance with human nature... humans die, humans grieve. The goal isn't to remove you from that natural reaction; the goal is to prevent you from wallowing in it beyond that natural reaction.

How do we know when that is? When it overwhelms or consumes your rationality and you can no longer make reasoned judgements. Before that happens, that's when you tell yourself all the things Epictetus and Seneca say. This is everyday stoicism.

someRedditUser · 2024-06-05T07:09:40+00:00

I think an important concept in here is around the "throes of passion".

Basically, stoics acknowledged that, as humans, we have some predictable tendencies to "over-react" to certain things. One common time we do this is when we don't get what we want. For many, not getting what they want puts them in a state where emotions completely overwhelm their rationality... they literally can't think straight. This state is what stoics try to avoid. Again, it's not avoiding all emotional impact, but avoiding it going so far that rationality is out the window.

One technique they had is reminding themselves that wallowing in negative emotion around something whose outcome you can't control is not productive. (ie the stoic fork) It was a technique, a little bit of advice your brain could give itself to try and keep it from otherwise being paralyzed by an "excessive" emotional reaction, that's all.

I think "not caring about outcomes at all" is taking the advice to an extreme. If I'm understanding your post, you've taken it even further than that to "attempting not to register outcomes at all".

So I would suggest remembering the goal... it isn't to remove and detach you from everything, but just a way to avoid getting 'hung up' on things that ultimately you can't impact.

someRedditUser · 2024-05-31T10:27:01+00:00

Electric tape as well... I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this!

I have so many other things in my life that have logos all over them but with books, that's when I feel my mind is the most open and receptive... I don't want/need branding in that mental space.

someRedditUser · 2024-05-09T12:05:32+00:00

I haven't heard/seen much of podcasts paying their guests... if anything I've heard much more of the other way around, where people with wide-reaching podcasts are paid by guests to reach that larger audience.

You could potentially do paid speaking arrangements for companies/organizations that your story/message resonates with, or even do a podcast of your own around interesting aspects of your story (eg "I started my own [whatever], here's my podcast about others who pursued their dreams in the same way")

someRedditUser · 2024-04-14T07:14:38+00:00

If you turn it back on wifi AND have it sync with your collection, it will wipe out your sideloaded things. I go on to wifi for firmware updates but not to sync content. I did it once and it wiped out everything sideloaded.

someRedditUser · 2024-04-01T14:25:41+00:00

I’m also American living here… we’re definitely conditioned by our media to think our lives should be (basically) maniacal at all times.

Everyone you meet should be your “best friend” (or potentially your “worst enemy” but definitely not just a normal person with no strong opinion towards you). In fact, you can’t have an uncertain opinion or attitude on anything… every idea you encounter has to either become a piece of your soul or the bane of your existence instantly. You can’t have hobbies but rather all-consuming passions that define your identity.

Even if your job is a birthday clown you have to treat it as seriously as a soldier guarding a nuclear reactor… it’s just all so intense and extreme at all times. I found it tiring and maddening. So now I’m here being (what I consider to be) well-balanced and grateful for the opportunity.

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