Kaia Kater man. She's one of several modern black American folk players, sorta reclaiming the claw hammer style on banjo as relevant for more than white-sheet parties. Notice how high on the action she's playing, almost picking on the neck? Most three finger players, like Tony Trischka are playing barely above the bridge, except for our boy Noam, three finger picking high on the action but not quite Kaia high. Just fun to watch and notice how much resonance vs precision the players want in their sound.      I brought one of their throwback 70's flavors to drum circle, a pineapple pecan piece that was stupid sweet but the drummers devoured it.      It's weirdly encouraging for me to see that my brain was protecting me, in absence of executive function, with the dissociation/distraction piece. Weird things are weird.        Hrm, can I schedule a session with you to show me that black magic tab translator witchcraft/software you showed me and @Jarric a few months ago? I really like this piece but I'm only seeing tabs for mando, guitar, or tin whistle.     You sunnofabitch, I'm in.     Tend to be horror movies set in the rural Appalachian mountains with themes of old horrors coming from the mountains, clans of poor but proud families keeping secrets, and hard scrabble people surviving despite the horrors. Also can have racist themes of degeneracy and the dissolution of white racial purity through miscegenation and poverty, which are often seen as the same thing in this meta-genre. Just recast HP's shit in the mountains and you're there.   Also, fun fact, that mountain range used to be your next door neighbor:  

@Sherry Marcini Thanks and welcome! Narrative:   Folks, he's right! I used to have Corto Maltese as a role model when I was younger, more idealist and more hopeful. He is a confident man with an open mind, at peace with himself, living adventures and building relationships along the way. He's incredibly awesome but he's not arrogant. He's kind, strong and free and that's what radiates from him and drives people toward him. Corto Maltese is a whole man. Or a man who is whole. Let's be Corto Malteses.   So, folks, I need your help! I want to make things real simple (not easy) and real fun. It seems I've lost my innocence somewhere on the way and it's time to bring it back. In order to nurture progress, I'll tackle this as a leveling up adventure.   I want to make an impact. In order to do that, I need to work on different spheres of awesomness: * physical; * mental; * social; * financial.   I've developed a set of attributes relating to those spheres. Some are to be developped as core, some are there to give the longer term picture and nurture my aspirations and anticipation of the great things to come. Each attribute commands one or more activities that allows to develop them. Here's my character sheet:     IMPACT Valesco Jean - Fighter/Mage - Lvl 2/1 Sphere Attribute Level Activity Schedule Progression plan Physical Strength   Workouts Sun/Tue/Thu NF Coaching Agility   Parkour 1h Sat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL0HYcrQupE&list=PLYz7rudUmfJq-crhhi32HiUst8-V6mlYt&index=1 Endurance   Running Mon/Wed/Fri 4x(4+1) Mental Equanimity   Sleeping 10pm->     Walking 20'/day     Meditation 15'/day Candle / Mindful stance   Tai-Chi   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7IS8_UzHM&list=PL1KFAvN24Rswl_qyqyib3_vP2RQ3ZHiEJ Willpower         Knowledge   Learning 1h/week   Social Looks   Grooming 15'/day   Entertainment   Music     Camaraderie   Get togethers 1x/month   Leadership         Financial Income   Work 9h/weekday     Hiking 2x/month   Wealth   Investing     Colored are the core ones I intend to tackle right away. Greyed are those on which I'll work later on. I need help for ideas for Willpower and Leadership. As of now, I can't find how to practice them. I'm also taking other ideas if you have some to share. I'll be taking this slowly, the important part, for me, is to share things as they come and not let not being fully ready on them all stop me from putting what I have down so that I can free my mind for the big picture path and actually doing the core tasks. If you want to follow along, welcome and have fun! Let's be charming adventurers and funnel the Corto Maltese waiting inside of us!  

I just noticed the extended write-up on the main post, and thank you @Sovalis! I really like having it all in one place! Also, it can't be week four yet already, can it?? How is that possible?  

I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Good sleep is obviously preferable, but if sleep isn't happening, then some lowkey, restful activities are probably the next best alternative rather than trying to squeeze in extra productivity.   Glad your sister and her household are well!

I really like this way of assessing. I too was mindful on days that I didn't go on extra walks. I also appreciate your insights. I am getting real Beatrix-Potter-But-Metal vibes.     I was just about to log in to the forums yesterday when an alert came through that the electrical system downtown (where I live) had caused a fire in a large building and that fire crews would be shutting off power for an "extended amount of time" while they addressed the situation. I started to panic and scramble, worried that I would look bad or get in trouble (what does that even mean? I'm an adult) if I wasn't able to connect to work and do the babysitting tasks that have recently come my way. Wait a minute, I'm an adult, I do good work, I am not a slacker, this is not a problem, things happen, the power is out.  I took this as a sign from the Universe that the rest I wanted was granted, notified my team, logged off, and took a nap. When I woke up, the power was back on and all was well.  Ihad missed the afternoon and the sky did not fall. People had been rescued, buildings had been saved, and I was restored to okay-enough. This is the Way.   Dang, messages from the Universe abound. Heard.   Farms are never lacking in places that are wanting 20 seconds of gumption. I look forward to seeing what you choose.   This morning I said "no" to the toxic workplace pressure and took my long way to the gym, the same as yesterday morning. Yesterday I was mindful of the street art (spoilered for size): And this morning I noticed the peace pole that is across the street from my building, along with a message of community  (spoilered for size):   Yesterday's walk was shorter than normal overall, but it broke through the stasis, and it was helpful. I'm glad I went. I ended up spending a longer time in the steam room than usual, not on purpose just as the spirit moved me, and apparently this was needed. I'm glad I gave myself permission to forget about clocks and time and measurements. This morning I walked a mile, which feels like "success" to me. Again the steam room and the sauna before work. This is an excellent "commute."  

😱❤️ i love it. Add some rune sticker and i am sold   What makes it an Appalachian  horror movie?  

All fine--   Cleaning up the yard debris took me two days, spaced appropriately to avoid injury, over-use, and blisters (mostly) (Friday and Sunday). This pre-empted any iron workouts. Still 7/22. I got both bitten by some ants and stung by a wasp in the process, so that was fun.   Sleep has been crappy. I've woken up at 5a or before for the last few days, and rather than stewing awake in bed, opt to get up instead. This has not resulted in any extra productivity. Instead I sit around, drink my coffee, listen to a podcast or audiobook and generally attempt to become functional by the time I would have needed to be if I had woken up at my normal time. I think I generally know why sleep is crappy. Some things I have no control over (the oppressive weather that just refuses to break...soon I hope) and some that I have varying levels of control over and frustration around.   Various whiny/personal things here. Don't feel obligated to read them, but it did help to write them all out.   I have 55 minutes until my next meeting. I think I'm going to go get a walk in.    

This is going to be one of those stupid, it effects how it scans, things isnt it

Tuesday October 1 The Kennet Trio by AugustBorne Went over to a sibbling's house and used his ripsaw to take off the bindings on a few music books and then three hole punch the whole lot - presenting the trash panda's grimoire:   Up earlier than normal for a committee meeting. I think it's still worthwhile being involved but I'm groggy as hell. Running a panel on October 11th and using some bullshit questions as an excuse to have the participants repeat info to this company audience about gender affirming care benefits. Sorta part of a sneaky plan to move towards a union by highlighting gaps in the benefits package at this company.   Liam and I were sabotaged last night! Our glorious purpose, to chain Appalachian horror movies every night for a week or two, was thwarted when Laura put on Bob's Burgers. Against the Belcher family, I have no defenses. Notable episodes in our unplanned marathon were the Mad Pooper, God Rest Ye Merry Gentle-Mannequins, and Lindapendent Woman. The food thing is going. This wouldn't be nerd fitness if I wasn't feeling anxious and alienated by my dietary choices, this is what we do!! (sorry, this is the lack of sleep talking) It's going okay though, def had enjoyed eating mostly protein shakes with 1-2 solid meals a day, but I was missing thermogenic benefits of eating solid food and that's bad, I guess?? What is life even.  Oh, added the owl emoji to capture duolingo Spanish as an observation goal. Might add my spanish level, just because I'm both competitive AND petty, and having a regularly advancing goal will make me feel smug. Bad for me as a person, good for this goal tho. Pro: Spanish on duo is fun and incredibly well supported Con: my brain is mildly prejudiced against Spanish as a low-prestige language in my region Pro: Latin American revolutionary lit in the original Spanish con: nope, I only have the once racist-lite con Pro: Siglo de Oro poetry Pro: positions me better for Ladino and Occitan Con: Nope, literally no other drawbacks Ibuprofen bottle cap wouldn't open this morning and between Laura's endometriosis and Liam's jujitsu classes, we consume a lot of NSAIDs in this house. I ended up using my dogs' penis shears to cut open the bottle to get that sweet sweet propionic acid.  Normally this would not be a "newsworthy" item, but it made me giggle to use the heavy duty gardening shears that we normally use to cut pizzle sticks into small enough chunks for the yorkies to work on. 

This. The going one here that purports to be a “cure” is actually toting a type of CBS (cognitaive behavioral therapy) ( which can actually be very helpful and doctors do recommend), but is definitely not something thats a cure   i hear people find mindfullness and meditation useful. They are often recommended now a days. Because your mood really effects your energy levels so much.