GoldenTongue

A few books that I'm listening to depending on what I'm doing and how much bandwidth I have available: NOISE: A FLAW IN HUMAN JUDGMENT , by Daniel Kahneman (R.I.P.), Olivier Sibony, & Cass R. Sunstein - I don't think there's anything I've ever read from Kahneman that disappoints, and so far, NOISE continues that trend. I'm not too far in, but within the span of 2-3 chapters, the book's done a masterful job of illustrating just how pervasive statistical noise truly is, in a number of fields, many of which result in some incredibly disheartening truths. THE SUBTLE ART OF NOT GIVING A F*CK , by Mark Manson - Just started listening this morning, not far enough in to have any thoughts yet. THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS , by Don Norman - This is among my personal favorites. Discussing the various ways in which psychology intersects with design in ways which can be humorous, frightening, catastrophic, or just utterly confounding. The example of pseudonymous "Norman Doors" (doors which leave users confused on how they function as a result those visual features which serve to support fundamental design practices of discoverability and usability) serves as an engaging point of entry into what the book is focused on. DAVID AND GOLIATH - UNDERDOGS, MISFITS, AND THE ART OF BATTLING GIANTS , by Malcolm Gladwell - This is a personal favorite of mine, which I'm revisiting mainly for the sake of writing a more comprehensive personal review for a WhatsApp chat for one of my recovery groups. Gladwell is (generally speaking) somewhat subversive by nature, and the ways in which he challenges conventional wisdom on a number of points (from the underdog status of the titular pair, to morally questionable actions embraced by leaders of the Civil Rights movement, to deeply unsettling approaches employed by a doctor desperate to find ways of treating patients in a childrens leukemia wing, to the effectiveness of "Three Strikes" laws such as those used in California for a time) is always engaging. And his discussions of "Desirable Difficulties" in discussing several dyslexic individuals who went on to become titans in their fields not in spite of, but largely because of, their condition (or more specifically, through application of the practices they had learned and utilized in navigating the disability) really resonates with the recovering addict in me who has come to appreciate a number of counter-intuitive truths while recognizing that some of my own defects are closely aligned with some of my greatest strengths. WHITE FRAGILITY - WHY IT'S SO HARD FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT RACISM , by Robin DiAngelo - Ever since my wife received her LMSW in a masters program in which she was the one white person in an incredibly diverse cohort (during which time she came to have a whole new understanding of white privilege), I've tried to find good sources on exploring the subject further. This book has caused me to feel more than a little discomfort at times, which I regard as a positive, given that the discomfort comes from ignorance butting up against realities for which my understanding can only be, at best, limited.

First comp for the year done: Lift For Autism 2024. Pissed with myself that I didn’t spend more time practicing CBD work; came in dead last in the first event; had I been able to do just a little better, would have wound up winning overall instead of finishing third. Still a great time; ended up with the longest hold time for the Hercules Hold for anyone in the men’s class, which was nice, and had the most reps on Saxon Bar Block DL for anyone in the men’s classes, also nice. Here’s a highlight reel for anyone interested in seeing me doing my stupid human tricks, lol.

But what does that really mean? Turn on him in favor of what? Those R's aren't about to cross party lines, nor is this more likely to make them stay at home and refrain from voting, not when they see the left capitalizing on national sentiments regarding the issue.

This is purely confusion between correlation and causation, fueled by sampling size errors. While rescue pets can be predisposed to certain idiosyncracies as a result of their upbringing (abuse, neglect, failure to get regualr veterinary care/checkups, etc.), those purchased from breeders can just as easily be prone to certain types of aberrant conditions. In the overwhelming majority of instances, poor behavior is a reflection of the owners, as there are countless stories of animals who've been rescured from absoutely abhorrent conditions to become happy, well-adjusted members of the family. Is that possible for 100% of rescues? Of course not - some rescues have sufficient past trauma that they cannot be rehomed to any random person, but that is something that the shelter/rescur organization fostering the animal should be aware of and sensitive to when vetting out potential adopters. Unfortunately, rescue organizations and shelters all over the country are currently in a state of crisis, as thousands of animals adopted during COVID have been returned (or simply turned loose on the street) by worthless pieces of shit with no sense of responsibility - as someone who works actively with my wife for two rescue organizations, typically fostering anywhere from 3-6 cats at a time, I'll admit to some bias on this point. As a result, some shelters and organizations have loosened some standards when it comes to potential adopters, simply because they don't have the capacity to continue fostering an overabundance of rescued/recovered animals. From 2004 through now, I've had (or have) ten cats and two dogs, all rescues: two cats rescued from a shelter, four cats rescued from the street and ultimately adopted (aka Foster Failures to those of us who work in the TNR/rescue sector), two (dogs) adopted from another rescue organization, and four cats adopted from another rescue organization. All have been/are cherished members of the family, despite several having some definite idiosyncracies. As for the original topic - I would have zero qualms sterilizing anyone who believes or advocates for anti-vax bullshit. Addition by subtraction in terms of contributions to the collective gene pool.

Starting on choline and inositol, although I'm going to start with 2g/day and check my labs in three months. Into a peaking block now; realizing the strength gains feels incredible, but I fucking hate seeing how quickly I started becoming deconditioned with the sharp dropoff in volume. Not as bad as it's been at other times, since I'm back into doing KB swing intervals each day, but there's still a noticeable drop in work capacity that irritates tf out of me, especially knowing how much the start of the next training block is going to just suck when I'm going from high intensity low volume work, back to relatively high volume at medium intensity...but such is the nature of periodization. Fun few weeks coming up though. I have a charity strongman comp this coming weekend that should be fun, and without anything overly taxing in terms of max efforts, shouldn't leave me feeling too terribly beat up: I have a 125# circus dumbbell clean and press for reps (60 seconds), 135# Saxon Bar Block Deadlift for reps (60 seconds - RIP my thumbs, for which I've come closer than I'd like to ripping callous tissue more than once with the Saxon barbell grips), Sandbag load and carry medley 150/200/250, 675# Yolk Carry, and a Hercules Hold, which I'm hoping has a cool-looking setup as I'd love to get a good photo for that one. Then another comp three weeks later, which will probably beat the shit out of me: Car deadlift for reps in 60 seconds (front handle which sucks so much more than side handle), Circus DB Clean & Press 130# for reps, Keg Carry/Load Medley 200/225/250, Head to Head Farmer Hold with 250# frames (RIP my thumbs again fucking hook grip), Sandbag Toss (easy enough weights), and a Conan's Wheel rated with a 600# load - I have no idea wtf that means, since I can't imagine a 600# barbell load in the crook of my arms; that's got to be a total weight somehow distributed along the length of the arm extending out from the center of the wheel. Really hoping I don't end up passing out on that one, since I've seen it happen numerous times. Will plan on a light/deload recovery week after that depending on how I feel, then I may test some new 1RM's: 405 for the bench feels questionable at the moment, as does a 550 squat, but 275 OHP and 600 deadlift are looking good. And my biggest strength bucket list goal (315# Strict OHP) feels like it could be attainable, although it may take another year (maybe two), to get there. All that said, I am really looking forward to starting a new training block. As much as the first couple weeks is going to just suck until I regain some muscular conditioning, life just feels so much easier when I'm not training with loads north of 85-90% of 1RM.

Absolutely amazing epsiodes. Absolutely loving the degree to which Bad Batch (and Andor, in some regards) fleshes out how repugnant the Empire really is; so much of Star Wars presents it in on a grander scale, which nonetheless feels a bit more sterile. Episodes like the first of the two from this week on Bad Batch evoked a similar (albeit much stronger) feeling of the episode last season that ended with Crosshair killing the Imperial officer; both showcased just how utterly dehumanizing the Empire's influence is/was on personal levels. Absolutely riveting. And the second BB ep of the week, just an extraordinary buildup of tension and inevitability. Semi-spoilerish based upon the events from the BB episodes this week -

TUDCA + NAC? My doctor recommended those to me since my ALT & AST are chronically about 10% higher than testing reference intervals. I'm a bit skeptical since the levels have been relatively steady at those numbers for a long, long time now, and there are no other indicators of liver damage.

I think this conclusion is a bit flawed. You could have a bridge which exceeded every modern code requirement by a factor of 150%, and it is still virtually impossible that it would have withstood the force imparted by a load of that size impacting a primary member at the speed of contact. As for ships being allowed under their own power - how many ports utilize tugs for the majority of passage into/out of the port of entry, as opposed to being used to assist in docking operations or for direct transport of non-directly propelled vessels such as barges, oil platforms, log platforms, etc. You're essentially assigning root cause to a failure in policy that doesn't actually exist. Countless ports relay on bay/harbor pilots to guide larger vessels into/through major port waterways, and do so with a relative minimum of incident. If you want to argue that that policy should change, that all major shipping traffic should be guided via tug throughout most of the entry/exit of a port, that's fine. But recognize that that represents a significant change from how port traffic is handled throughout much of the world, and would incur a substantial additional cost, to say nothing of the delays that would be encountered until fleets of tugs could be built to adequately service the demand.

I’m not sure about either. Sniper was interning in the business back in the IGN days iirc, and I think (not sure) that Warner worked in the business in some capacity. Or, could it be….Ernest Rister? Lol

Sniperpuppies? Warmer? Give us a hint.

As much as I enjoy high-brow cinema, I love me plenty of B-roll schlock. Do those with such schizophrenic tastes qualify? ;p

Wondering (and hoping against) seeing (spoiler from events in those two episodes) in the next episode.

Two new episodes this week

Not really, no. The article cited the basis(es) for the headline, and qualified it appropriately with the fact that the general election is months away.

Which Trump will use as another point against her; how she's being supported by the broken system that's trying to keep him down. Drain the swamp v2.0. And his chuds will eat it up.