To the reader,
I hope this message brings you some comfort and perspective.
Every living being—every single organism that has ever existed or will exist—is navigating life without a clear path or destination. There is no definitive right or wrong way to live; life is simply about surviving and finding meaning in our own ways.
Some individuals pursue power, wealth, and prestige, believing these things will bring fulfillment. However, in the vast expanse of the universe, such achievements are ultimately insignificant. When the universe meets its end, all our deeds and accomplishments will fade into oblivion.
So, please, try not to worry too much.
If you haven't yet, consider the impact of bringing new life into the world. Understand that any new life will face the same challenges, confusion, and suffering that we all do. Instead, if possible, focus on uplifting those who are already here—those who are struggling, unwanted, and unloved. Helping others leads to a better life for everyone.
If you find yourself unable to help right now, that's okay. Relax. Take a breath. Appreciate what you have, and live in the present. Take things moment by moment, step by step, and you'll find your way.
Warm regards,
A fellow traveller
P.S. Pass on this message if it resonates with you.
(Commenting from my other account)
Wow thanks for the detailed advice. The toe issue I'm having is both with the toenails, which feel like they're being pressed in a lot, and also with the knuckles above them, which feel like they're being bent too much, as the joints feel sore after wearing the shoes.
I do clip my nails short every time I climb, but yeah, the top of the big toenails do hurt still, especially on slabs/footwork-heavy climbs, where I'm tip-toeing a lot.
I'll have to try that taping trick and see if that helps with the big toe knuckle. There's definitely too little room as I've started getting calluses above my big toes, from where the skin above the joint is just pressed too tightly against the inside of the shoe. I might try that warm water in a bucket tip if things don't improve, but I'm hesitant to as I can't imagine that would be too good for the longevity of the shoes.
I think I'll definitely have to try on the shoes longer next time I buy a pair and give more weight on what really feels best rather than other criteria like price and pre-conceptions when picking them out.
It's interesting you mentioned ballet. I was thinking the other day how good ballet dancers would perform on slabs if they tried climbing on them as they seem to have really great control of their bodies' balance and footwork. It'd be interesting to see them try it out. I imagine there's a lot of cross-over with the muscles, joints and movements being trained.
Hi. With the new tax year fast approaching, I've been contemplating transferring my current stocks and shares ISA account with IBKR UK to another provider/brokerage. I am interested in InvestEngine since they seem to have lower fees. However, I'm wondering how this process will work, especially since I have shares in stocks and ETFs that don't seem to be offered by InvestEngine, but which I'd ideally like to keep. As such, is it possible to transfer ISA accounts to a new service provider if they don't offer the shares held in the account? If it is, how might I trade those shares in the future?
Yeah I just want some way to hide or otherwise prevent myself from viewing arbitrary individual posts. A button next to the post that does that when pressed would be a convenient solution.
If so, how? If not, please could that be added as a feature?
Is it normal to feel/become so much more egotistic/self-absorbed (maybe become more aware about how egotistical you already are?) on acid? Is it possible to minimise or outright prevent those tendencies, during trips (or even just in day to day life)? I love almost everything about acid experiences except those ones that make me confront how sad, lonely and terrible of a person I am lol.
I guess, in some ways, bad trips are also good in that they can be really quite sobering and prevent me from outright abusing the stuff.
Similarly, if it weren't for the fact that ayahuasca tastes so fucking terrible and causes me to puke my guts out literally every single time, I reckon I'd probably consume it on the reg as I love the way it makes me feel like I'm one with everything and makes me forget who I am as an individual (not to mention all the pretty images of course). But unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), it tastes like what I imagine Satan's bunghole probably tastes like.
I've only been surfskating for about a month and had been skateboarding for about another month before that, so maybe take my advice with a dash of soy sauce.
Personally, I currently only have one surfskate. My set up consists of the Waterborne Surf Adapter with their Fin system, with the Fin set to "Super Carver" mode. This was the most expensive part of my set up and cost me ~£90. I'm using a blank, 8.5" popsicle-stick deck I got from Venom for ~£27 and the rest of my set up I got from aliexpress, i.e., the longboard trucks, wheels and hardware as a ~£35 package, and an off-brand Rail adapter (the counterpart to the Surf adapter) for ~£12. The grip tape I already had, as I had been freeline skating prior and go through grip quite quickly because of it (I bought a 60' roll of Jessup Ultragrip for ~£85).
Regarding research, I mostly watched YT videos to see them in action:
There's also an app you can to help you choose a surfskate, but I personally haven't tried it.
Obviously I can't attest to other setups, but regarding mine, I'd say the biggest issues I have with it are:
- It's really heavy to lug around. It weighs ~5kg, mostly from the adapters and trucks, so if you're also hoping to learn tricks with it, it's likely going to be more difficult.
- It's a bit tall. I've gotten used to it by now, but don't expect it to feel the same as riding a skateboard. On the other hand, the extra height does aid with making tighter carves.
Aside from the Waterborne, the other surfskate that caught my eye was the Curfboard. I like that its design seems to use something akin to an Ackermann steering system, which apparently is more stable than "turntable" systems used by most other surfskates. Here's an interesting blog post on it I read which talks about the geometry/physics behind it.
Ultimately, I went for the Waterborne, as I liked that I could use it with whatever trucks I want and because its Fin system provides some adjustability to the truck angle, which allows me to experiment and decide which setting I liked best.
Could always start learning them yourself? Then you'd get to see them in action first hand 😉.
It's quite cheap to buy an off-brand pair on eBay. I got a pair (they're branded "Drift Skates") for £12 and have been using them for almost a year now. I also have JMKRIDE skates, but haven't used them yet. If you do go for off-brand skates, you should probably also get higher-quality bearings and grip tape. The stock bearings didn't last long for me and I wear down the Jessup Ultragrip I use so quickly that I have to replace it about once every 2 months.
For actually learning to ride, JMKRIDE has a great tutorial playlist for beginners.
I freeline skate and have recently gotten into surfskating as well. They're good fun and nice leg workouts. Don't ask me to do any tricks though, I say "I prefer to cruise around", but really I'm just too pleb for that stuff.
Bedrock Linux, using Void Linux as the main stratum, with Nix as a secondary package manager.