Home - No Magic Pill
Thoughts, research, knowledge, and experiences in my life.
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Thoughts
Philosophy
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Identity I: Adjectives vs. Nouns: Nouns are specific and adjectives are general
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Identity II: Use Identities to Guide Behaviors: Behave or join the outgroup
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Identity III: Automatic Connection: Strangers to friends in an instant
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Pacing I: Deceleration: Or lack thereof, on bikes and in life
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Pacing II: Acceleration: Or lack thereof, on machines and in life
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Pacing III: Steady State: Staying consistent in efforts and in life
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Discipline I: Momentum: Using small tasks to accelerate discipline
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Discipline II: By Force: How to do things that aren't fun or desirable
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Discipline III: Ebb and Flow: Motivation fluctuates, but the front line always pushes or holds
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Discipline IV: Digging Graves: Make decisions that risk livelihood if not completed
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Discipline V: Non-zero-Sum Efforts: Unproductive time removed ≠ productive time gained
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Boredom I: Consistency: As an indicator of progress and being on the right track
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Boredom II: Preying on the Ignorant: Selling snake oil for a hefty profit
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Destruction I: My refuge and its "progress"
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Destruction II: Must progress and destruction go hand-in-hand?
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Destruction III: Gone, but not forgotten
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Destruction IV: The final piece of forest
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Moderation is My Enemy and I Will Wage War on It Wherever I Go With Whatever I Have
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Culture Comes From the Top: And pours down, whether asked for or not
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Intelligence Is Knowledge Is Experience: Experience gives the illusion of intelligence
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Agency: Developing agency and the ability to achieve goals
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The Trust Function: Calculating flakiness one commitment at a time
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Selling Out: Compromising principles for materials and status
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Get Your Focus Right: Seek the important and dismiss the trivial
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Ruined: Has trying to get better made me worse?
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Seconds Matter: Accumulation is real... and fast
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Filtering Through Low Bars: Easy barriers provide valuable information when not passed
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Systems to Eschew Eschewing Performance: Competitors must earn statuses
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Fear is a Lack of Understanding: Take time to learn before making an assessment
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Excuses: Competitors don't bitch, they compensate
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Puzzle Learning: An approach to learning new subjects
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Fucking Around to Find Out: Unrestrained exploration can be a valuable learning opportunity
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Privilege Violations Need Stricter Punishments: Lack of punishment incentivizes violating rules
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Why Are Most of My Thoughts Posts Advice-Flavored?: A critical look at the why behind some essays
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Nobody Cares: Do things for yourself, not others
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Modern Life is War: Ways of life are being attacked and resistance is necessary
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Priorities: A hard truth, a feeling of freedom, and a lamentation
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Merit-Based Barriers to Entry: Your skill level must be this high to ride
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Competition: Benefits, detriments, implementation
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Distractions: Definitions, common examples, elimination, prevention
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Commitment Issues: The longer a commitment goes unfulfilled, the less likely it is to become fulfilled
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Creating and Developing: Fulfillment, balance, suggestions and considerations
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Against SEO: SEO isn't necessary if the content is good
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Create an Environment of Convenience: Personal convenience makes everything better
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Problems with Livestreaming: Personal issues I have with livestreaming and its culture
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Empty: Empty words and the cost of betterment
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Social Defection: Rules separate us from the animals
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Life Philosophies: Running list of life philosophies I abide by
Ideas
Reflection
Research
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Where to Live for Happiness: Literature and personal considerations related to housing variables
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[Blank]-Free Foods: Healthy or not?
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Slowing Time: Notes on and suggestions for making time feel slower
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Problems with Modern-Day Science: Predators, perishing, peer review, reproducibility
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Financial Independence / Retire Early: Motivation, types, methods, investments, lifestyles
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Vacuum: Concepts, technologies, pumps, system design
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Ion Implantation: Theory, equipment, process, doping alternatives
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Stealing Political Signs: Does it help or hurt the thief's cause?
Experiments
Cost-Benefit Analyses
Knowledge
Repositories
Notes
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Notes I: Papers, posts, ideas, information
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Notes II: Economics, medicine, (geo)politics, technology, science
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Notes III: Books, podcasts
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Notes IV: Electronics
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Notes V: Miscellaneous
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Spaced Repetition: Brief overview, information examples and suggestions, memorization practice
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Sleep: Effects and Hygiene: Information on sleep's importance and hygiene
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Food: Science and Recipes: Information on the science of food and recipes
Reviews
Productivity
Training
Personal
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Sleep Deprivation Training for Endurance Athletes: Literature, experiments, solutions
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Weight Loss in Just a Few Hard Steps: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"
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Weight Loss Using Small Items: Wielding inconvenience as a weapon against fat
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Cutting Sugar: Psychology and elimination of sugar, lessons learned, recommendations
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Misconceptions: Common exercise misconceptions explained and debunked
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Home Gym: Advantages, equipment, purchasing suggestions, setup
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Apnea (Breath Holding): History, science, training, personal experiments
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Core Training: Myths, programming, thoughts
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Supplementary Exercises: Exercises that can be trained alongside compound strength movements
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Training Notes: Notes on training topics
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Bikepacking: Detailed notes and thoughts
Philosophy
Tutorials
Experiences
2025
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Uganda: Nature is both peaceful and metal, just not at the same time
2024
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Iceland: Green and black sprinkled with trust and horses
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Boston: American history combined with American food and American prices
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Fredericksburg: Embracing my German heritage through copious amounts of wine and beer
2023
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Tulum: Eating, tanning, and swimming in the ancient Mayan city
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Riding with Death at 50 mph: His whispers sound like gale force winds
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Germany: A whole lotta walkin' and a whole lotta talkin' in Deutschland
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New York City II: (Dis)connecting with others in the City That Never Sleeps
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Europe: Embracing and disguising my Americanism in four countries
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Salt Lake City: Climbing Utah's highest peak with an old friend
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Vancouver-Seattle: Mountain biking, hiking, and friending in the Pacific Northwest
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Mexico City: Food and history in an arborist's and artist's dream city
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New York City I: Four late nights fueled by pizza and alcohol
2022
2021
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Floating in Nothing: Experience in a sensory deprivation tank
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Mount Shasta: Attempting to climb the Cascades' second highest peak
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Philadelphia: Exploring the City of Brotherly Love, cheesesteaks, and early American history
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Mount Hood: Attempting to climb Oregon's highest peak
2019
2018
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A Long Drag: Running, walking, and finally crawling the 2018 Bataan Memorial Death March
About
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About: Contact info, personal info, website
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Now: What I'm currently doing and interested in
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Changelog: Changes to this site and my life