Welcome!

Snowy Owl Barrow AlaskaWorlds O Wisdom (WOW) provides unique information on meaningful action: what to do, why, how, when and where, how much, and above all: who. (Or, as Wally Wowl would say: Hoo!)
What is WOW? It is a community of people who care about experience, and who want to explore values. What should one do? Why? In which conditions? We get together in order to answer these and other questions. Current WOWs include CodeWOW and LifeWOW and TaleWOW.

More Bonaire Blogging

Submitted by eagle on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 22:04

My favorite vegetable is ketchup. :)

Variations on a theme. Things are already messed up in a lot of senses. I don't think it makes sense to hold too tightly to naive ideals. Instead dance with the chaos.

Right-size your worries! :)

 

My life's work is play! :)

 

Going to Trinidad & Tobago!!!!!!!!!!

Tons of nervousness around booking flights, waking up on time for the flights, etc. Looking forward to getting to the continent where I can ride more freely! :)

Sometimes you face a number of complex and difficult challenges at once. If you break down the problems and gradually work through them one by one, doing the best you can on each, you can often solve these challenges better than by drinking heavily. :)

There should be a place named Chaos Village. :)

Skeptic tank :)

Prose and Cons: Fiction by inmates/felons of the x facility...

Would you rather have a nice cold beer or an ice cold beer?

 

Jejej, just noticed I've been writing 2022 instead of 2023 since the beginning of the year.

Going to Colombia soon! Super excited to go to South America! I've been dreaming and planning for years.

Feels sort of like an emotional homeland. I've never been there but I've met lots of South Americans and I enjoy the culture. Also I think it's somewhat like the Latin culture in Mexico, which I love.

I wanna write a Latin song with the title: El Amor No Puede Esperar. Or does it arleady exist? Of course, it would have to include the word "corazon" (see Eagle's law).

Woah, crazy! A couple of months or so until I'm planning to go to South America!!!!!!!!!

Update: Woah, crazy! A couple of WEEKS or so until I'm planning to go to South America!!!!!!!!!

Feeling super ready to bust out of these small Caribbean islands and into the big bustling South American continent!

 

Wrapping things up in Bonaire. I keep telling myself to post blogs more regularly then not doing it. :) I guess I've been a lot busier while traveling again now that most COVID restrictions (but not all) have subsided. While stuck on a small island I guess I didn't have as much to do.

A relatively decent and productive time on Bonaire. Not my favorite Caribbean island but it has its charms. Nice geography, small quiet place, local quirks.

"I'm not complaining, just noting my dissatisfaction." :)

Great donkeys! :) (I think that should be a phrase.)

Nice beaches, salt flats, cactuses and cactus drinks. Way overpriced island.

Giver!

 

Video game graphics have advanced immensely over the years, but the gameplay remains basically the same. I guess it's like how in life one's personal finances advance immensely over the years but the gameplay remains basically the same. Or how humans and other things have advanced immensely over the years but the gameplay remains basically the same.

Bonaire Blog!

Submitted by eagle on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 21:54

I enjoy being in a country no one's ever heard of. :)

"There's a chicken farm." While talking with a relative of my Airbnb host who drove me from the airport, he told me this. I think it's funny that an island's so small that it's notable that there's a chicken farm. Just one chicken farm, I asked and he confirmed.

 

I think humans keep recreating our ancestral environments in the modern world, e.g. wars with other clans have become sports contests.

I feel like there isn't that much to see in Bonaire, a few more nice walks. Some chores and plans.

 

I feel like it's possible to get a fair bit of satisfaction even if there are frustrations. Without holding onto completionist ideals it seems like if you work hard and get lucky you can get lucky. :)

Not ideal? I deal. Eat your heart out, Peggy Hill. :)

"She's got a big pair of ovaries!" :)

 

Life comes at you fast sometimes it's hard to adapt just giver! (It'll be over soon anyways...)

I don't work well under pressure. Unfortunately, that's the only kind of work that's available. :)

"It's so crazy!" Reading an anti-sex law...

Jejej, I guess after all that impatience I'm already in South America! Looks like they count Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao as parts of South America. :)

Enjoy your life! :)

 

Nice guys finish last with the nasty women. Nice guys do well with the clean girls. :)

Most people follow a useful but stupid thing of just doing what other people are doing. It's enough to get by but not by that much. Think for yourself! Act!

Tired, hungry, horny... Why isn't there a one-word way to say "desirous of doing work"? Or is there one and I just don't know it? :)

There are gonna be pressures on you, me, anyone. Don't complain or deny the pressures, deal with them the best you can! :)

 

Imagine if instead of parents saying "You're having a confirmation" or "You're having a bar mitzvah", they said "What beliefs would you like to have?" I guess some parents do.

Who came up with the idea of cutting off a child's foreskin or clitoris, anyways? That seems really weird.

Did you say you're traveling to space or traveling to spice?

Tons of energy drinks later... how about a keg of energy drink? :)

It's called mental health, not womental health :)

 

I'm ramping up to go on a big travel spree in South America this year!!!!! :)

Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!!! :)

More blogging from Arubaa

Submitted by eagle on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 21:00

Posting up older notes from Aruba...

 

Huh. "Violence and shootings occur regularly in some areas of Port of Spain." Not sure if this is a real threat in T&T?

Violent crime, such as murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, home invasion, and kidnapping, is common.

Gang activity, such as narcotics trafficking, is common. A significant portion of violent crime is gang-related.

Huh, Port of Spain looks surprisingly big. I'm guessing it's about as safe as a bunch of other cities I've been to?

Looks like they have some crime problems but I don't think it's enough to dissuade travel?

From what I'm reading in other sources Trinidad and Tobago seems safe-ish.

Now planning on going to Trinidad and Tobago if it seems safe and reasonable, else Jamaica! :) (After Bonaire)

Update: Yep, seems about as safe as other rough Caribbean places. Not that dangerous but some risks and unpleasantness.

 

Dump the Chicoms! Let's have a zero COVID fascism policy!!!!! Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!! :)

We're just a bunch of people... deal w/ life, do the work, and try to enjoy! :)

Minimize politicians, live free! :)

I think when I die there'll be many of the same problems as now, plus new problems, so I'm not planning to fix all the problems, just the most relevant ones and enjoy life.

 

One of the theories in evolutionary biology is that female orgasm developed as a byproduct of male orgasm, like how male nipples developed as a byproduct of female nipples. Wouldn't it be funny if humans evolved so that males got off but women didn't? I'm guessing that women would become even less amenable to sex than they are now!

 

I guess if things have evened out over the millions of years then on average a person should theoretically have (as an approximation) the ability to keep up or get slightly ahead for a bit by working hard, or fall behind by not working.

 

Idea for a comedy cooking show, where one of the presenters is an idiot. The other one lectures the idiot for using a metal utensil on a non-stick pan, for instance, or throws out a lot of the idiot's food preps while saying insults.

 

Everyone's always trimming herbs on Dutch and German TV. :)

 

Going to Trinidad and Tobaco or Jamaica!!! :) (After Bonaire) [went to Trinidad and Tobago]

 

Human brains have a bizarre system of rationalization. First things appear a certain way to the brain, then the brain finds a reason why things should appear that way. For instance it looks like there's a clear difference between males and females, so the brain starts to see that ideal as how things should be. A clit looks male in a female so some cultures cut it off. However that's insane, a clit is a normal part of a woman and quite feminine - by definition.

Another example is COVID. People hear on the news that COVID's going around, then when someone gets sick they think they probably have COVID. Even if it's some random seasonal thing unrelated to COVID. Anyways, it's the usual pattern: humans are stupid. :)

 

I think that caffeine helps you hold more ideas in working memory, focus more, work more, feel less pain, etc. I think it can push you over a threshold from feeling tired and not wanting to work, to feeling motivated and energetic and wanting to work.

 

Jejej, a funny side effect of COVIDiocy. Now when I see a doctor or a scientist wearing a surgical mask, e.g. on TV, my first reaction is "why is that COVIDiot...?" :)

 

A common foible of human "reasoning": to think that by reasoning about things one will convince other people or improve the situation. :)

A lot of what's supposedly important is kind of trash, and a lot of what's supposedly trash is kind of important. Think for yourself!

 

Another word for risk is possibility.

Viva el amor libre!!!!!!!!!! :)

Aruba blogging from before

Submitted by eagle on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 20:43

Posting up some of my blog notes from Aruba, which I didn't get around to posting then. I guess my system isn't that efficient yet! :)

 

Made it to Aruba!!!!!

So far I like it! Seems way more charming and fun than Curacao, as I'd expected (that's their reputation). Also nice to be in a place where I don't expect to be shocked electrically, cut with rusty metal, or have rainwater fall on my electronics. :)

The beaches are beautiful! The land is quite beautiful. I think you'd wanna be a cactus lover if you wanna love Aruba. :)

The food's tasty so far, the people seem relatively friendly. I think it's a more cosmopolitan place so far than Curacao. I tried a pastechi in the Chinese shop nicely decorated with old liquor bottles and other design accessories.

 

We're dying anyways, live a little! :)

 

There's enough pussy to go around, it's just not allocated well. In many societies markets for sex are banned, even though markets work way better than traditional allocation systems. It's the same as with food, in market economies there's tons of food to go around, but in traditional economies people starve.

At least humans have figured out slightly better sex allocation than many other animals where it's often a fight to the death (still the case for some humans). In the future maybe things will get better, but I guess when AI takes over it won't care about sex. :)

Females have a lot that they can contribute to society including sexually and economically. Insane anti-sex laws that basically bar females from doing their main function are excluding a lot of women from the workforce, while also depriving a lot of males of pleasure. Sex is one of the most necessary and valuable functions. We should do what we can to encourage personal and economic freedoms when it comes to sex.

If a man plays sports professionally, a safe version of the warfare his body evolved for, he can win prizes and go on the front of a box of cereal. If a woman has sex professionally, a safe version of the unsafe sex her body evolved for, she can be arrested or insulted. We need to stop shaming females. Female liberation now!

 

Dutch sounds like someone says a few words in English then a few words in German. :)

 

Sex is an important biological function. If people had insults and laws against another important biological function, say hearing, it would be just as stupid. It's common to hear women who have sex for work called "whores", women who enjoy sex called "sluts", etc. If there were insults for women who liked listening to music or laws against listening to music during work that would be as lame.

Enjoy sex! It's a biological function that's important to humans and other organisms. Even when cruel and stupid people try to ban sex, sex is a deep and powerful enough drive that people of all ages still understand the basic biological drive. Viva la libertad!!!

 

What if instead of spending money on war they invested that money on finding out how to prevent mosquitoes from biting?

 

Hundreds of mass shootings a year in the US. They should legalize commercial sex. Then males could meet their basic psychological needs instead of killing out of frustration. Also, legalize sex at a way earlier age, so that people develop healthily. Often these shooters are teens, and most American youths are messed up from sex deprivation.

If you think the Chinese COVID fascism looks crazy now, that's how I felt throughout the global COVID fascism. If you don't think the Chinese COVID fascism looks crazy now, I'm just waiting for you to figure it out...

Reporting from the future... England, Germany, and other "modern" countries now look to me about the way that Saudi Arabia and Iran look to westerners now, crazy and backwards...

If some crazy cultists cut off your foreskin to deprive you of sex pleasure, double or triple or septuple up on sex pleasure and fuck their traditions and enjoy your own free life!!!!!!! :)

 

Somebody explain to me why prostitution is illegal in some backward countries. I read it has to do with the war against the Nazis.

 

clit = open penis

 

Religious zealots cut off innocent children's foreskins and clitorises, then act like they're the good guys. An average person would be hard-pressed to come up with something more evil.

 

One month in Kralendijk, more if desirable!!!!! :)

I'm excited about Bonaire! Before I'd considered it somewhat of a convenient place to go rather than a destination per se, but it's starting to look like fun! :)

So far looks like Bonaire is the laid-back one of the ABC islands... 21,000 people, like going to a small town on its own island... The geography of the place looks beautiful from the map and photos... Looks like a small and less developed island...

 

COVID fascism is fading away for those of us who don't live in China. Wouldn't it be appropriate if COVID brought down the Chicoms? It's about the most typical left-fascism out there, with additional relevance for the Chinese surgical mask-wearers... Viva la libertad!!! :)

Before COVID fascism prevented travel, then it imposed annoying travel restrictions such as tests and vaccines, now it seems like it's generally gone, for good! :)

 

Idea for a funny music video: have the main singer flirting on set with the female lead, but then the singer ditches her for a hot female staff member on the set...

Decade One: Having Fun!

Submitted by eagle on Mon, 02/27/2023 - 14:53

So it's been ten years since I set out on these travels. Hard to believe!
Have gone through North America and the Caribbean in that time. A couple years or so stuck in the French Caribbean eating delicious goat cheese and tropical fruits due to insane global lockdowns over the mental disorder COVID - which according to the epidemiological data extends people's lives so we should have supported its spread instead of closing down society and the economy. I still see people other than surgeons and the Chinese wearing those crazy masks!
This year planning to start traveling through the South American mainland! If you recommend any places or culture in South America please send me an e-mail!
Last year spent time in some Caribbean islands including the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and Sint Maarten, and I'm now in the Hindu-influenced Trinidad and Tobago. These islands are technically seen as extensions of South America so in a sense I've already started the continent! Next going to Colombia!
I haven't posted that much to the blog recently but if you're interested you can see more at Worlds O Wisdom and on social media.
Hope you're having an excellent year!
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Eagle

Trinidad and Tobago

Eagle Gamma in Trinidad and Tobago

Eagle Gamma travel map to Trinidad and Tobago

Ideas and Plans

Submitted by eagle on Mon, 11/14/2022 - 09:06

Years later, while seeing an old blog post of mine, the same things annoy me: dogs, motorcycles, mosquitoes, etc. Couldn't our ancestors have wiped out the mosquitoes, banned the motorcycles, and switched entirely to cats? :)

Political left and right are flipsides of the same dumb coin. Don't go left or go right, go up towards freedom!

Interesting, in Aruba I'll be closer to Venezuela than to Curacao.

I think I'm gonna be traveling much lighter than I have for the last while. Got rid of a bunch of heavy things in Curacao -- old extra laptop that I'd been dragging around hoping to repair, etc. I still have more unnecessary stuff than I should, but I have a hard time throwing things away.

I think problems often scale with progress. ;) This is somewhat like the (much overstated) issue that people thought would occur where human populations would keep growing along with food production, but I'm talking more on the personal level. As you make more money or develop more skills and freedom, you also face bigger challenges. Still, I think it's worth focusing on the good and going after goals! :)

BTW I think it's useful to focus oneself on core goals and tasks even if the tasks are somewhat unpleasant. And to break tasks into smaller more manageable chunks then work one's way through.

Feeling great about packing light! "Travel light" remains one of the better pieces of travel advice. I feel like I can walk to the airport if need be!

I'm increasingly seeing myself, thinking of myself as on the way out. Before I felt like I was "staying in Curacao" for a while, now I feel like I'm just wrapping things up in Curacao whilst readying to go to Aruba! :)

"Slox" sounds like it should be a new word.

Beware of advice! :)

Looking forward to going to a place where hopefully the AC works, the electrical outlets don't shock me, the rain doesn't come indoors, and there isn't rusty metal that cuts my hands!

 

If male genital mutilation (circumcision) didn't have the excuse of tradition, could anyone imagine it being made legal nowadays? "We're starting a club where we cut off part of each newborn boy's penis!" Yeah, right.

High-pressure sales tactics ("Buy now while time lasts!") are a deceptive attack, and should be treated as such.

Cool! Only a few more days until Aruba!

 

Interesting, apparently ketchup started off as a pungent fish sauce.

Again I remind myself that it's hard to complain about the minor stresses of planning and decision-making for travel, when many people are dealing with serious crises like war and famine.

Money's like meat. People fight over it whether it's theirs or not.

Cheese is cheaper and tastier than protein powder, also includes fat and salt, and encourages you to eat it with other nutrients like vegetables and carbs.

 

I think it's Remembrance Day and (some) people seem to have forgotten the lessons of war, since they're still sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths and dismemberments.

I'm an occasional heavy drinker. :)

I think the word "truth" should always be in quotes. :)

Russian politicians seem to believe in the opposite of Kant's moral imperative: people should ONLY be used as means to an end.

Shit, the power goes out for five minutes and I'm pissed off, even though it's due to rain and incompetent local workers. If I were a Ukrainian dealing with days of power outages due to Russian missile attacks, I'd be super-pissed!

 

Woah, crazy! Tomorrow in Aruba? Seems so sudden, after seeming so far away for so long.

Jejej, a Google news search for "far right" has around ten million results, but a Google news search for "far left" only has half a million results. I think media see thing through left-wing lenses. :)

I'm a far centrist. :)

Yay! Apparently the dry season is coming again in January! I've had more than enough of the wet season! At least it's not winter! :)

I feel great about leaving tomorrow! Still a bit worried about some of the mechanics, but basically ready. And super happy and excited to feel much healthier now than during most of my time in Curacao, when I had an illness.

Can't believe I'm going to Aruba tomorrow! Feels surreal! Even though it'll probably start to feel real and normal as soon as I'm there! :)

The cleverest line has yet to be written

Submitted by eagle on Mon, 11/07/2022 - 21:55

Jejej, the Portuguese seem to like declaring their own version of things as a bigger category than they are. They call Portuguese a language instead of a dialect, and they made up the word cachaca for Portuguese rum. :)

Jejej, the covid scam is made perfectly for the Chinese communists. It uses face masks that people there wore anyways, it sounds vaguely scientific, and it can be used to fool millions of people into obedience.

Interesting, apparently the fingers don't have muscles, instead being controlled by the hands. I wouldn't have guessed. And finger control is one of the finest advances of human evolution.

The Russians are fighting a twenty-first century war with twentieth-century technology and first-century ideology. :)

Last night we had about two inches of rain, inside the house. :)

You can justify pretty much anything. Nobody's gonna care in fifty or a hundred years. Most people don't even care now. :)

A bandaid on your knuckle's a good prop. I cut myself last night by accident and put on a bandaid. Today I realized while shopping that people who noticed probably assumed I punched something or someone. :)

I like spiced rum more than regular rum. Makes sense. I like spiced food more than regular food.

"Decarbonization" plans wound up with Western European countries buying tons of fossil fuels (natural gas) from Russia and supporting state terrorism.

How to decode the left-wing media: "far right = right", "moderate = far left". :)

Seems like Ukraine is no longer afraid of Russia, has defeated them. Now picking the fascist militants off like losers. Russia seems seriously outgunned, thanks to their conservative idiocracy. Many of the regular Russian people are victims of the Rascists as much as Ukrainians are.

I think one of the few things Russian politicians had going for them was intimidation. Now that they're losing a war the politicians seem less intimidating.

Women are Potemkin villages. :)

Girlfriend (n.): someone you rent for a while to have sex with ;)

Instead of having leftists and rightists destroying societies, couldn't we just have decent people? :)

Russian liberals haven't fared too well, under the tsars or commies or fascists.

If Russia had managed to take over Ukraine according to plan, the Russian politicians by now would probably have strengthened their hand and killed off the Ukrainian resistance. Now the Russian politicians face serious weakness and threats to their own lives.

Here's an idea for a clock: one global clock, without any time zones or daylight savings. For example, if it's 9 AM in New York City, it's also 9 AM in Paris or Tokyo. You don't have to calculate different time zones or have any other confusion. People just have different typical waking hours, e.g. in NYC maybe it's normal to work from 3-11 AM while in Tokyo maybe it's normal to work from 3-11 PM or whatever. Easy! :)

Global time!

Imagine if sports were a bit more like war, and you could have teams start a game with different numbers of players or different types of equipment from each other...

Russia vs. Ukraine is not a fair fight, but in the opposite direction of what one would've thought.

Sustainability (n.): the desperate bid to deny the mortality of things. :) See also: circular economy.

Looks like Russia has a less free society and thus a crappier military than the West.

Let's use evolution to improve our living experiences! :)

What's useful? Things that make subjective experiences more desirable, I think. Whether directly or indirectly. Is that what defines a use? Something wanted? That's my current opinion.

What's a term for "lover of positive experiences"? I.e., instead of "lover of figuring out how to attain positive experiences" (philosopher), "lover of actually having or creating positive experiences"? Or is that the same and needlessly philosophical? ;)

Nuke school and let's have sex class instead. :)

What seemed so new and exotic to me only two and a half months ago when I arrived in Curacao, now seems old and familiar. :) e.g. Indonesian foods, the lay of the land, etc.

I think caffeine stirs up sexual and pro-social thoughts?

Idea: photoshop Rembrandt nerdily trying to paint like one of those modern painters who splatter paint on the canvas. :)

Girls just wanna have fun, but women want money. :)

Shit, the Russian fascists look like dogs now. Is there a deadpool on Putin's political life?

Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!! :)

A successful politician is someone who screwed over their society. ;)

A useful response to most of what's published in the news media or said by politicians: "Are you deceiving or deceived?"

In five or ten years, will Russians be driving around in clunky old gas cars while people in other countries use electric cars or e-bikes?

Things can look really different with time. Agricultural people probably really hated rats, way more than people do now, for threatening their livelihood. Maybe now we should be thankful for rats, without which humans may not have domesticated cats? :)

I think Putin read 1984 as an instruction manual. :)

Most website upgrades seem to be downgrades.

Throw out the failures of the bast, build new failures for the future! ;)

I guess Russian politicians got used to being seen as one of the two main players during the Soviet Union. Now that Russia's just another second-tier country it seems like they're "on tilt", embittered.

Take the chances!

Exciting that Aruba's coming up this month! In just a week and a half! If things go well! :)

Can't wait to go to a new island. Feeling massively relieved to have largely if not completely recovered from the illness that I had for much of my time in Curacao. Wouldn't want to get stuck with a flight while sick. Also as a general health thing!

Infographic: Map of the brain, with various regions labeled as "what you're biologically programmed to believe", "what your parents taught you", "what you learned in school", "what society told you", and a small area for "what you figured out on your own". :)

That could be read as a compliment or an insult to social influences. I meant it as indicating how most of people's thoughts are crowded out by external influences that don't necessarily reflect their own best interests.

Each day's exciting now, with the countdown to Aruba! :)

It looks like the failed Russian invasion of Ukraine may cost them many billions of dollars. Meanwhile it looks like Ukraine is saving its sovereignty and after reconstruction probably many billions of dollars.

The political cycle: Conservatives take charge and beef up the military, which they then use ineffectively. Liberals take over and overspend, ruining the economy. :)

 

The COVIDiocy on rampant display in China is a good illustration of what the COVIDiocy in the rest of the world accomplished: harming society. It's not like the threat of the COVID virus itself ever exceeded the negligible effects now, so the draconian/fascist policies caused more problems than they prevented. We can see the same still happening in China, where more people are dying and suffering from Chicom fascism than from the benign COVID virus.

China's screwing over their own society and economy with insane COVID fascism. Free people can work and travel and live. Locked-down serfs are stuck under the jackboot of their politicians.

Renewables may get more investment this year than oil and gas, unlike previous years!

In practically any country, there's such a large amount of political messing around with the economy that free markets are a bit of a fiction.

 

So if people are gonna claim so-called "positive rights" like health care, how about the right to sex? Sex is more important for human psychology than medical assistance, and doctors are often wrong whereas sex is generally valuable. Let's have a right to sex.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already killed more people than a nuclear attack. While a nuclear strike would still of course be terrible, I think that reveals how terrible this event already is.

Protein, caffeine, creatine... That's a lot of teens! :)

 

So exciting! Only a week to go until Aruba!

A bit anxious about the travel itself, given all the COVID fascism plus the usual difficulties around travel, but hopefully should be fine.

Stoked to see another new island! Probably a bit cloudy when I get there, like here in Curacao. Also probably quite similar culture and geography, given how close these islands are together. Still, each island has its own charms, and I'm looking forward to some adventures on Aruba!

Viva la libertad!!!!!!!!!! :)

Meandering thoughts on food, drinks, countries

Submitted by eagle on Mon, 10/31/2022 - 21:04

You hear a lot of people talking about how artificial food ingredients are harmful and it's healthy to eat natural foods, but you don't hear a lot of people talking about how artificial lights are harmful and it's healthy just to stay up in daylight hours only, like our ancestors did. :)

Actually you can find some people talking about the supposed unhealthiness of specific artificial lights, like using electronic devices at night, but I don't see these people giving up their artificial lights.

Don't forget what economists call "opportunity cost": If you spend time or other resources on things that aren't very useful, you're losing other valuable opportunities!

Even as someone who favors free society I can admit that dictatorships have some advantages, such as being able to more easily organize massive projects with economies of scale (e.g. nuclear plants). However I think that free societies have more advantages, not just for the pleasure of people living in them but also in terms of efficiency. We can see now for example that Ukrainian/western militaries can more easily adapt to battlefield conditions, and produce more precise weapons.

I cracked the code. Curacao is often abbreviated CUR. That explains all the lousy dogs! :)

 

After reading a bunch of articles and more recently watching some videos in Portuguese, I feel like I can now understand a good chunk of the written and spoken language. I think I'd still have a quite hard time trying to speak it. I could maybe write it but with tons of mistakes.

Portuguese seems to me like it's basically Spanish but pronounced differently and with a few word substitutions. Sorry, Portuguese speakers! That's probably quite offensive, but I just mean they're very close, you could also rephrase that as Spanish is basically Portuguese but pronounced differently and with a few word substitutions.

Most of the vocabulary and grammar seems about the same. So I think the hard part is just understanding/pronouncing the different sounds, and remembering the word differences. I like both languages, Spanish and Portuguese! :)

I think Spanish and Portuguese are much closer to each other than English and any other language. What's English's closest neighbor? German or Dutch? Those have some resemblances but I can't quite make out a lot of written or spoken sentences in Dutch or German. I think English borrowed more heavily from Romance languages?

At first I found it harder to identify words in Portuguese than in Spanish because they pronounce in Portuguese a lot of r's as English h's, nearly silently. I think I'm starting to get the hang of that a bit more, now.

 

I think Putin and the Russian soldiers' war is ruined. Not just strategically but also emotionally. Now it looks like they're not going to accomplish their goals. Probably demoralizing to fight on a side that's losing.

It turns out to be useful for Ukraine to have elected an actor. Seems to convince politicians and people internationally. I guess it's like electing Reagan or Schwarzenegger.

Russia doesn't seem to have a serious democracy. Any country with the same politician e.g. Putin for decades seems like trouble. And Russians can't freely say "fuck off old dictator" or whatever, like in a real society.

Break the rules as necessary or desirable! :)

 

I'm thinking of Portuguese and Spanish as different dialects rather than different languages. They're more or less mutually intelligible, which I think language nerds use as a or the test of a language. I think the difference between the two is about the same as the difference between e.g. Spanish from Spain and Spanish from the Caribbean.

You're dying anyway, make the best of a bad situation! ;)

I think Russia is way out-technologied by the West.

Woah, crazy, there's a robotic solar-powered helicopter on Mars! (Ingenuity)

I'm guessing that SpaceX has enabled the development of tons of new now-affordable things to send into space!

Is Portuguese breathily romantic? :)

Must be quite a shock for Russian POWs to see Ukrainian news on TV.

Given the atavistic focus of Russian politics on traditional masculinity (e.g. "a real man's a soldier"), must be a big downer to face military losses (e.g. a "real man" getting his legs and balls blown off).

 

The Russian fascists have harmed people everywhere, not just in Ukraine but in all countries including Russia. After a massive invasion of Ukraine they've often threatened nuclear attacks and World War III. Even if they're just propaganda bluffs, for a nuclear country at war to make those threats is offensive and should be canned.

I think Russia's problems stem to large-ish extent from oil, as with Venezuela and various Middle Eastern countries. Even though Russia's bigger than those countries, its economy has serious problems, and did even more so after the fall of the Soviet Union. As such whoever could grab and hold the oil had a massive advantage. The fascist military and intelligence could grab and hold the oil, so they installed their dictatorship.

Now Russia and China are acting like their dictatorships are another pole, but they're not. Their technology is considerably behind, as is their society. And now Russia's under war fascism and China's under COVID fascism. So both of their economies are pressured.

In ten years, maybe Ukraine will be a modern country connected with Europe and America, while Russia will be a closed-off dictatorship connected with China and North Korea?

 

Cheese is protein powder if you added some delicious fat, salt, and culture. Cheese costs less and tastes better! Plus you can eat it on its own (no prep) or use it with your favorite recipes.

Surprised I haven't seen in marketing "holy cacao!" Probably exists somewhere on the internet.

Energy drinks seem like a worse drink in many senses versus coffee. Coffee costs much less, and doesn't contain the same added sweeteners and acids. You can also more easily control the amount of caffeine you have, since energy drinks often contain a lot of caffeine in one can. Those advantages other than the last also apply to coffee versus regular soft drinks.

Energy drinks and sodas do have a nice taste and carbonation. But then coffee also has a nice taste, and you can carbonate it if you want (or nitrogenate it). :)

Not arguing against artificial food products, just against artificial food products that seem impractical.

BTW I think coffee/caffeine has comparable aphrodisiac effects to cocaine. Not sure if there's much scientific data on that, but I'm guessing at least some. Huh, looks like some data, including for males and females.

 

Maybe in ten or twenty years Central/Eastern Europe will lead the continent, while Western Europe is in retirement mode and chasing after weird climate change notions?

It wouldn't surprise me if there's a "principal-agent problem" where some person/people in Russia can act under Putin's name but not bear responsibility. That would explain even more than Putin's strategic ruthlessness the sending of so many people to their deaths and dismemberments.

That plus conservative ignorance among Russians. :)

More hints that a piece of supposed "science" is BS... It's mainly promoted by large governmental bodies like the WHO or UN instead of by some scientists (e.g. COVID, climate change). It tries out a bunch of different marketing names (e.g. Wuhan/Coronavirus/COVID/delta variant/etc., global cooling/global warming/climate change/etc.).

I don't think I've ever had a female pilot (from the announcements they make during take-off and landing).

 

Looks like the Russian government's attempt to have a concealed invasion is failing, unlike in Crimea in 2014.

Syria, Lybia, Ukraine... I think anywhere with Russian military forces is a place I'd rather not be!

I feel like I'm ready psychologically to leave Curacao, right as I'm about to leave. Seems like the timing often works out. Maybe in part from planning, maybe in part from how the brain adjusts to situations.

Russian media in general is like Western media during COVID.

How about a side-by-side poster of an Islamic woman in a face covering and a western woman in a COVID mask i.e. western face covering. Both enforced by crazy political extremists. Viva la libertad! :)

Make each part of the day and night as valuable as you can! :)

 

Jejej, even the Euro-lefties have to admit in practice that the decarbonification is secondary to providing economic success, e.g. heating.

Russia's an interesting reflection of western societies. We can see how their corrupt government uses fear to control the population. Western politicians do the same, of course not quite to nearly the same extent since populations started resisting.

"I'm prone to it! It's part of my fuckin' genetics that I'm a heavy drinker, so leave me alone!" :)

Turns out right-wing Russians are just as fascist as left-wing Russians :)

Putin's just another of their thugs who's done things by force. Russian voters seem to deserve a lot of their problems for supporting that insanity. Putin: an enemy of the progress of humanity. If you live in a free country: have fun!

Jejej, looks like crazy old women are the target demographic/support base for Putin.

 

I think the Russian government's plan to intimidate people in Ukraine backfired. Now the Russian military looks in shambles, and there's probably in-fighting in the government with fear of losing jobs or lives.

Russia's military is fighting with grandpa's guns. The government's pushing grandma's beliefs. They're on their way out.

Humans started from gross chimp-like things, and have somewhat improved in a few respects over the years. Conservatives want to keep the old crappy chimp stuff. Fuck that! Let's have fun and liberate!!! :)

Jejej Russian government's anti-modernity stance has resulted in outdated tech. Apparently Ukrainians blew up the communications hardware in the retaken area so that the offensive soldiers didn't know what was happening.

Anyways, rock and roll! :)

Energy drinks and world politics

Submitted by eagle on Mon, 10/31/2022 - 20:58

Energy drinks are medicine-flavored soda. With extra caffeine added, plus small amounts of marketing substances like taurine and B vitamins. It's funny to see the overreaction from certain quarters, e.g. nutrition scientists who tend to be middle-aged old-fashioned folks embracing the naturalistic fallacy and disliking new and artificial things.

I've seen in two sources (Olympic recommendations for athletes and Harvard recommendations for the general public) the warning not to confuse energy drinks with sports drinks like Gatorade. Who's ever confused those types of drinks?! I've never heard anyone in person or even seen anyone on the internet confuse those things.

Energy drinks are the natural evolution of soft drinks. It's equivalent to how people went from wild grains to half-wild/half-cultivated grains to cultivated grains then increasingly refined products like white bread. People have gone from wild fruits to cultivated fruits to juices to increasingly refined soft drinks. Things tend to get purer.

Life: just a bit of experience. :)

Interesting, crimes in retail stores have increased due to COVID masks. Another indirect costs of COVIDiocy! Violence is on the rise. And over a virus that increases people's lifespans.

Fuck the losers who lied to society about COVID. Good thing those lies are falling apart and only the most naive or feeble-minded are still stuck on stupid. Get on with the important things! :)

How about a World Anti-Dictator Day?

Work. Workout. Out.

What if parents gave good advice instead of bad advice? :)

"Go out there and enjoy lots of safe sex!"

"Smoke pot, it's safer than alcohol!"

"Don't take school or work too seriously, you'll regret it when you're older!"

 

Jejej, Apple products are no longer available in Russia, I guess the Apple yuppies there will oppose the war. :) Also it's now difficult for Russians to go to western countries, so I guess the middle and upper classes will feel denial.

I'm interested in what happens in the body during an electric shock. After getting shocked a whole bunch of times in this badly wired place. It's also badly made mechanically, and I've bumped my head on low doorways and nearly had the roof fall on me. Rain regularly falls through the roof, including on my laptop before I figured out where the rain falls.

I think / am guessing that an electric shock activates a bunch of nerve cells? Does the current flow through your skin and into neurons and other cells? It could push the voltage enough to cause a bunch of action potentials, so it's like you're receiving and sending some random-ish signals? Hence tingling and maybe twitching?

Huh, looks like most household brands are suspending operations or pulling out of Russia. Back to the Iron Curtain.

Huh, no Visa or MasterCard in Russia. I guess a lot of people had to apply for new cards?

Interesting, looks like the smart young people of Russia are fleeing, like in Venezuela and other dictatorships.

I guess those countries will descend into the sewers of global society. Or have already.

Saudi Arabia's buying Russian oil, and western countries are buying Saudi oil. So western countries are still buying Russian oil, and they're also paying for it to be shipped unnecessarily through Saudi Arabia.

Interesting, young people in Russia and Belarus don't seem to support the dictators. Seems like a last-gen thing.

Huh, Ireland froze around a trillion dollars of Russian assets. Is the Irish economy even that big? Jejej, nope, it's like half that. They froze wealth worth twice their GDP, if the stat I'm seeing is right.

That's near the total of the West's freezing of assets, anyways. I guess that would go some way towards rebuilding Ukraine materially. I don't think you can rebuild the emotional losses from such devastation, though.

LifeFLOW3D

Ads