TallUntidyGothGF's recent activity

  1. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    at the start of December I made a lil' blog to post some kind of poetic thought every day. it's something I've wanted to get better at for ages, but was caught in the discouraging stasis of not...

    at the start of December I made a lil' blog to post some kind of poetic thought every day. it's something I've wanted to get better at for ages, but was caught in the discouraging stasis of not yet being any good at it. creating a ritual of creating something, however small, every day, has been good.

  2. Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    Yeah! Or I guess getting at a food/drink that captures your ‘essence’

    Yeah! Or I guess getting at a food/drink that captures your ‘essence’

    1 vote

  3. Comment on "Shower thoughts" and other things to ponder in ~talk

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    At a dinner party recently somebody asked us, if bread and wine are the literally or figuratively transubstantiated representation of Jesus, physically and conceptually, what food and drink would...

    At a dinner party recently somebody asked us, if bread and wine are the literally or figuratively transubstantiated representation of Jesus, physically and conceptually, what food and drink would be that for you? Which I thought was fun.

    12 votes

  4. Comment on What possession(s) do you have that continue to delight you every time? in ~talk

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    Cool! I've never played a Really Expensive guitar, I wonder how it scales? I guess it's probably very much diminishing returns past a certain point... Though on the other hand there's definitely a...

    Cool! I've never played a Really Expensive guitar, I wonder how it scales? I guess it's probably very much diminishing returns past a certain point... Though on the other hand there's definitely a kind of class of acoustic guitar that professionals often use that cost ~1800-3000+, like the martin d-28 and that kind of thing, so maybe there's something to it

  5. Comment on What possession(s) do you have that continue to delight you every time? in ~talk

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    i bought a ~£1,000 acoustic guitar around 3 years ago, which was/is quite an eye-watering sum for me, after using far worse guitars for years (generally in the kind of ~200 range). I still get...

    i bought a ~£1,000 acoustic guitar around 3 years ago, which was/is quite an eye-watering sum for me, after using far worse guitars for years (generally in the kind of ~200 range). I still get regular chills from how great it sounds. especially if I have been spending time playing another, worse guitar. which i suppose is a bit of a reset to the hedonic treadmill effect: temporarily having to move back, so you can appreciate the difference. the more powerful antidote to the treadmill is probably that the more I give it, in terms of getting better at playing it, the more I get.

    also on a similar note to @tauon I have a few Uniqlo heatteach tops that make me feel a real dominion over winter every time it comes around :D - another salve to the treadmill: irregularity of use/benefit, allowing you to approach it each time as new

    5 votes

  6. Comment on Looking back at the Future of Humanity Institute in ~humanities

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    A glowing and extremely uncritical article on FHI by someone who would seem to be a longtermist themselves (or at least their byline mentions writing a book about it). Only mentions The Email to...

    A glowing and extremely uncritical article on FHI by someone who would seem to be a longtermist themselves (or at least their byline mentions writing a book about it). Only mentions The Email to gloss over it, a few paragraphs on how what they wrote isn't what they meant, somehow. Which, sure, maybe, but it comes with an implication that it's the only real criticism of the whole endeavour, aside from existing philosophy departments that didn't "get it." Though it mentions Émile Torres only as a critic characterised as doing nothing but turning up emails that make FHI look bad, it may be worth reading some of his material on the FHI and associated ideologies. The following covers the FHI specifically, though other articles discuss longtermist ideas in more detail (and in a more serious way): https://xriskology.substack.com/p/the-future-of-the-future-of-humanity

    Also as an academic I find the narrative around that aspect of the story relatively cringey - like, you want to use the facilities, funding, and prestige of a university but also not work within the organisational structure of it at all? Do they really think that they are the only people in academia considering big questions, doing big things? Come on.

    6 votes

  7. Comment on Follow up on the username thread: What Tildes users do you recognize when browsing and, without being rude or inflammatory, what is your impression of them? in ~tildes

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    I look for and recognise the usernames and stories of my fellow queers. You know who you are!

    I look for and recognise the usernames and stories of my fellow queers. You know who you are!

    11 votes

  8. Comment on How do I trick my brain into accepting eating less? in ~health

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    Lots of good comments but I just wanted to mention that in my experience, doing lots of exercise in the evening is generally a recipe for not being able to sleep, and this is especially true if...

    Lots of good comments but I just wanted to mention that in my experience, doing lots of exercise in the evening is generally a recipe for not being able to sleep, and this is especially true if there is a calorie deficit going on. I don’t know if it’s something to do with excess cortisol taking more time to settle down, but it feels like that kind of feeling. Maybe you could consider leaving a bit more time between exercise and sleep, if your schedule permits it?

    11 votes

  9. Comment on LGBTQ folks check-in thread - how're you all doing? in ~lgbt

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    My partner and I celebrated our anniversary today, and we spent much of the evening at the queer pub in our city. It was comforting to see queer folks out, about, and being themselves. Otherwise...

    My partner and I celebrated our anniversary today, and we spent much of the evening at the queer pub in our city. It was comforting to see queer folks out, about, and being themselves. Otherwise it's been a bit grim, I'm in the UK and so the Trump fears are less direct, but I'm sure everyone is aware that it's, erm, not great here either, and of course it's all part of a very worrying global trend. I've had some long conversations with US friends in the last week. I have really just been trying to think about it all less. My life got a lot better when I stopped seeking out trans politics news, reading the relevant subreddits, etc. But like @smoontjes said, on bad days it all gets to me! Sometimes it feels like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?

    15 votes

  10. Comment on How Donald Trump won, and how Kamala Harris lost in ~society

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    it doesn't feel good to be part of the group it's increasingly politically toxic to show any kind of support for, that's for sure. i wonder where that could be going

    it doesn't feel good to be part of the group it's increasingly politically toxic to show any kind of support for, that's for sure. i wonder where that could be going

    15 votes

  11. Comment on Kagi Translate in ~tech

    TallUntidyGothGF
    (edited )
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    My t-shirt looks so unflattering on me. Unisex cut, and I forgot that American small is massive :(((

    My t-shirt looks so unflattering on me. Unisex cut, and I forgot that American small is massive :(((

    1 vote

  12. Comment on American election mental health thread in ~health.mental

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    I'll spoiler the following since it's all basically politics talk rather than mental health talk Click to expand spoiler. I think at worst, Labour being elected is a four year stay from our going...

    I'll spoiler the following since it's all basically politics talk rather than mental health talk

    Click to expand spoiler.

    I think at worst, Labour being elected is a four year stay from our going the way of many other countries. Hopefully by that point support for this kind of thing starts to fall apart. However, I fear that it's not going to happen until something bad enough occurs that the post ww2 feeling of 'never again' pervades society. Hopefully it doesn't have to get that bad, but my experience so far doesn't give me a lot of hope.

    With respect to the Tory leader, yes. She's actually the one who masterminded the whole puberty blocker debacle in the last government, as women & equalities minister (lol, ???). She is a bit fearsome, because unlike most of her colleagues, she's relatively competent and seems to hold trans genocide as a passion project rather than just a populist play.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on American election mental health thread in ~health.mental

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    Most immediately, deep fears for my trans friends in the US. Fears for how it will all filter through here in the UK, where we were spared a right wing government in our recent election due only...

    Most immediately, deep fears for my trans friends in the US. Fears for how it will all filter through here in the UK, where we were spared a right wing government in our recent election due only to right wing vote splitting, and where the relevant narratives are ever more normalised.

    But also a dwindling faith in humanity, a feeling of revulsion towards my fellow human. Anger at the blind stupidity. Bordering on the irrational feeling that on some level we collectively deserve what comes, sick and wrong though that is, because it always falls on those least deserving. However, media lies and misinformation and whatever, 51%+ of people who voted, actively voted for an agenda that has been pretty well exposed for very many years, and I don't know how I can forgive them for that, how we can recover from that. If all together we're that stupid and corruptible, what chance to we have?

    26 votes

  14. Comment on We can have a different web in ~tech

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    You're very welcome! I share a bit of your frustration about knowing where to start on marginalia. For me, I think the trick is to think of it in a slightly different way to the very specific way...

    You're very welcome! I share a bit of your frustration about knowing where to start on marginalia. For me, I think the trick is to think of it in a slightly different way to the very specific way we usually search, using highly tuned and focused search engines and a web that probably contains a page with the exact answer we're looking for. Instead, I try to search for more general interests, and try to hold more of an open mind on what I consider a correct result, i.e. something interesting rather than something that fits the query exactly. For example, searching things like "hiking oxfordshire" or something I've come across on Wikipedia recently, transcendental meditation, etc.

    All of this fits in my mind in the same space to trying to unlearn constantly being in productivity-brain, where everything I do has to be in the service of a project, or a piece of work, and trying to use some time to just play and be creative and 'let things in'. I think that's what we're seeking when we scroll on social media, a lot of the time - that escape, fun, and freedom of play, alongside input of novelty. I suppose we've kind of forgotten how to do it ourselves because the need is poorly met, fed to us in the passive scroll, with all of its attendant doom.

    Maybe it's a little bit like if you don't read a book for a long time, it's really hard to focus for more than a minute. It's much easier to watch TV. Maybe that has something to do with how you describe being able to more intuitively browse the web this way before, it's certainly the case when me and the web were younger, too. I can only see it as positive that there are such impressive movements surrounding even making it possible to use the web in this way, but it will take some time and effort on our part to reconfigure ourselves into doing so :-) It helps that the rewards are great.

    7 votes

  15. Comment on We can have a different web in ~tech

    TallUntidyGothGF
    Link Parent
    I'm sure I cultivated them from people posting here, but I've had good success with the following: https://search.marginalia.nu/ https://theforest.link/ I've just saved both of those as favourite...

    I'm sure I cultivated them from people posting here, but I've had good success with the following:

    I've just saved both of those as favourite links on my phone browser and use them, the former to idly search things I'm vaguely interested in, the latter to follow the random link trail, when I'd otherwise be doom scrolling. I save bookmarks for sites I like, and send them to my friends/groupchats. I think it has really improved my quality of life, sad as that is. There's also the Kagi Smallweb, which I've had some success with, but it tends a bit more towards silicon valley tech blogger content

    13 votes

  16. Comment on Seeking an Android podcast app without subscription. Impossible? in ~tech

    TallUntidyGothGF
    Link Parent
    and also that the app stores could easily have a filter for premium being 'one time payment' vs 'subscription model' to help you find those good apps (which would in turn incentivise people to...

    and also that the app stores could easily have a filter for premium being 'one time payment' vs 'subscription model' to help you find those good apps (which would in turn incentivise people to make them), but they don't. it's an area where they're very clearly working against our interests...

    8 votes

  17. Comment on Richard’s Cambridge & Oxford cycle route in ~travel

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    I have some time between jobs soon, and I am planning some long cycle journeys and hikes to take, December though it will be. One of those plans is to cycle between Oxford and Cambridge. Searching...

    I have some time between jobs soon, and I am planning some long cycle journeys and hikes to take, December though it will be. One of those plans is to cycle between Oxford and Cambridge. Searching for a route (noting the existing SusTrans (heh) route which seems mostly safe but quite long), I came across this page, and well, it's delightful. Very old Internet feel, but I just really enjoyed reading it, and thought others here might, too (even if the route itself isn't necessarily something they would use). I think it's something about the combination of:

    • A genuinely high quality contribution in the form of the route
    • Interwoven with charming personal narrative and background
    • The kitschy webpage design
    • That the route has a little community: correspondents that ride it and update the site owner on its continuing viability/any issues that occur

    As an additional discussion topic, I very much invite and welcome any suggestions for (h|b)iking journeys in this area of England that can be done over kind of 1-3 days each, ideally avoiding traffic as much as possible, while also remaining close enough to settlements so that I can stay in hotels (I don't really fancy camping in December right now!!)

    4 votes

  19. Comment on Why I don't play online anymore in ~games

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    It’s funny to see this now. I started playing WoW again recently after the recent Tildes thread mentioning it has added a lot more support for solo play. I had a great time in delves etc until I...

    It’s funny to see this now. I started playing WoW again recently after the recent Tildes thread mentioning it has added a lot more support for solo play. I had a great time in delves etc until I decided to join some matchmade battlegrounds (pvp - which I used to be quite good at). Then some person on our team whispered me ‘what are you doing here dude’ and called me a moron in the general chat - this happened because we were supposed to have two healers, but only had one (me). And admittedly I’m not super used to all the changes in the class yet and not up to the skill level I was. But I mean, who acts like that? The first actually multiplayer encounter I had and someone literally called me a moron! Like I totally get it’s frustrating if you join a planned raid group or something rated and someone doesn’t know the tactics, it’s like an etiquette thing - but this is an unrated randomly match made battleground that takes like, 20 minutes, no great time investment if you lose. Also everyone assuming you’re a guy is gross. Just venting I guess.

    19 votes

  20. Comment on Trans activists release 6,000 crickets on transphobic LGB Alliance conference in ~lgbt

    TallUntidyGothGF
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    It’s a heroic feat because those who have been voiceless in all this discussion and questioning of trans kids gave themselves a voice: the trans kids themselves. This is the best of protest.

    It’s a heroic feat because those who have been voiceless in all this discussion and questioning of trans kids gave themselves a voice: the trans kids themselves. This is the best of protest.

    14 votes