IPAs

…and all their derivatives and relatives. Insight Brewing (pictured) is a great one. Some of them go past bitter and through syrupy and back to bitter again. Always consume with some food. These are not breakfast beers. Also the label art is lovely, just lovely.

r/childfree

This subreddit (i.e. internet forum on Reddit) is a daily source of humor, commiseration and affirmation for those of us who realized we had a choice and then chose. Or, for those of us who always knew and never vacillated. Or, those of us who really struggle with pros and cons and seek advice.

There are posts with refreshing honesty. There are rants about entitled parents (mombies, daddicts, breeders, gremlins, fuck trophies, etc.). There are genuine requests for help, where you watch the original poster’s decisionmaking through the course of hours and hours of comments and responses.

A saying has it that the most important decisions in life are made between two people in bed. Although this sounds poetic, I am glad it is not strictly true. Some people come to internet forums to make the right choice. By recognizing they have a choice in the first place, and contemplating it at all, they are more likely to go childfree.

There are also plenty of humorous rants. This subreddit is strengthened by a single moderator, SailorMercure, who sets “guardrails” on the overall tone and locks down threads that have overrun them. She has created and enabled helpful wikis for people looking to get sterilized. And she has set the overall tone in a way that will enable its continued growth.

r/publicfreakout

This subreddit is for videos of people freaking out in public. The source material is inexhaustible. Sometimes my heart rate goes up when viewing these strange but recognizable encounters.

They often seem to occur in fast food restaurants. Another common site of freakouts is public roadways, of course. Basically any place where someone can perceive that a rule was violated, and that the violator needs to be punished. Then there are gangstalking videos, which are a world unto themselves.

It is a great reminder to me not to intervene except in the most dire circumstances. There are too many examples of stupid, pointless deaths out there. Some of them died because of incorrect French fry orders or for feeling disrespected. Recently my brother’s girlfriend’s stepdad confronted a jerkoff who was disturbing people in a grocery store. The man (who was a longtime criminal) stabbed him in the head. The blade pierced his brain and he died. And what was the point of it? There was no point.

The lesson is just to stay away, unless you absolutely must act to avoid immediate harm.

Simple English Wikipedia

Compare the two articles for the planet Saturn, one in English and one in simple English. The first two paragraphs of the English page give you qualifications, clauses nested within clauses, and oblique references to scientific debates.

The first two paragraphs of the simple English article, on the other hand, give you a concise summary of the planet instead of a wall of text.

This is an example of how sentences in Wikipedia articles are subject to highly motivated editors who want to introduce hairsplitting distinctions impressed on them during their university courses or careers. Readability suffers as a consequence. The simple English version helps to counteract this.

Gattaca

This movie is a masterpiece. I have been watching and rewatching. I looked for the novel upon which it is based, but there is no novel. It is just brilliant screenwriting, where the filmmakers created a whole world of genetic discrimination and determinism, without sensationalizing.

When I saw this around its release in 1997 I was about 11 years old, so much of it escaped me. When I saw it again in high school biology class, I again overlooked it as yesterday’s pop culture.

Revisiting it, I see it for what it is. The dialogue and music are great. The visuals are incredible. Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke are fantastic. In this fall season of long walks, I walk with ideas and vignettes from the film reverberating in my head.

Podcasts

Geeks without God (a Minnesota-based one), ChooseFI, the Art of Manliness, Science Magazine, Mad FIentist, Jocko Podcast, RFI en français facile, The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, Waking Up With Sam Harris, etc.

Geeks Without God did a great episode recently where they explained why they would not be performing at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival anymore. Anyone who enjoys the festival should check out this podcast before visiting next year. Don’t cancel your visit – just listen to the podcast and consider it before visiting, visiting with a deliberate plan, or not visiting.

RFI has continued coverage of the ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo. Jocko had a good episode series on US Marine Chesty Puller and his son. Mad FIentist had a good status update on two years of financial independence/early retirement.

The options are inexhaustible. And they are free of charge. You just need to disregard the dumb mattress, health supplement and meal prep service commercials. You can always skip them. Always listen at 1.2 X speed, unless you are listening in another language.

Scarves

They help to stanch the flow of warm air escaping from your torso through your neck region. Don’t underestimate the utility of a scarf or shemag.

Recently I borrowed a dog from a family member for a hike. I drove him to the Sibley Historic House and we hiked westward along the south side of the Minnesota River. The dog was thrilled. He sniffed out and investigated a hundred different things, eagerly bounding forward into the weeds, grass, mud and water. It’s great to have a dog along. I feel pangs when I see happy dogs running along the trails with their humans. I want a dog, or a few rats. Also if I fell in a grotto or got stabbed for wandering too close to a hobo camp, maybe the dog could run for help.

On the trails a couple of yellow-rumped warblers darted about very close to us. Perhaps they were so preoccupied with catching bugs during their migration that they did not care about the dog, or about me. Other woodland birds seem much more wary. I suppose the greatest threat for a migrating warbler is from above in the form of resident hawks.

The rest of the hike was fantastic. The temperature shot up in the midday sun from 30 F to almost 50 F. I got a little warm under my scarf and other layers. I was glad I had brought my boots because there was still flooding on the trail from the week or two of rain and clouds. The trails were covered with yellow ash leaves just like the streets and sidewalks. The silver maples and eastern cottonwoods were also turning. I love the trees. I love the trails. I love the wildlife. This hike was so much better than a drab one from a week ago at Elm Creek Park Reserve. I don’t know why it seemed so ugly. It just had no charm at all, even though it was so nice to hike during the summer. Today was much better. I don’t know why. Perhaps having the dog along was the main difference.