Random Snippets
6
(WARNING -- The Good Place spoilers) In the tv show The Good Place in season 3 episode 8, there is a character who lives on earth and has, during a mushroom trip, figured out the (basically utilitarian) point system that the afterlife uses to determine if someone goes to the good or bad place. After learning the system, he devotes his life to, as far as he can, be "good", so to speak, but it is obsessive (and frankly a little weird/silly but that's just the tone of the show). Our protagonists observe this obsession and try to convince him to relax a little, but he says that he won't take the chance of letting his guard down because it might mean he'll end up in the bad place. They see that he has become so obsessed with doing "right" that he has actually lost all enjoyment of life for his own sake of living life. I think the implicit expected reaction to this is: Well, is doing all that stuff really worth it if you are losing your whole human life to it? (Well, given that the Good Place would actually mean eternal heaven, then it does actually seem worth it, since the short human lifespan is nothing relative to eternity - it's a worthy sacrifice. But that's besides my subsequent point:).
Anyway, this made me think about what a friend has questioned to me a couple of times about my adherence/attention to a whole-food plant-based diet - specifically, contemplating if it's worth it to give up delicious foods and the enjoyment you get from them. Hopefully the parallel to the good place guy is clear. As for my response: First of all, I'm not actually 100% strict on the whole-food part of wfpb (though I am 100% vegan), so I do enjoy treats when I want to. Second -- if we look at things like me substituting recipes with refined sugar to use date paste instead, or even looking more broadly at vegan substitutes in recipes making vegan versions of recipes, then what I say is: it's not a loss; it's simply a new set of recipes/techniques to learn, a new set of food options to enjoy, and there can be infinite enjoyment within that. Perhaps non-vegan food is its own infinity of enjoyment, but vegan food can be its own equal infinity. Similar to someone from any one particular culture can have an infinity of enjoyment with their own ethnic foods (ignoring that they can try other culture's foods), I can view vegan foods as its own infinity. So even if it does involve giving up one kind/flavor of enjoyment, (and yes there may be certain things that can never be perfectly substituted), there is still an enormous realm of enjoyment to be had in vegan cooking. (Of course, even if the vegan "mode" does not quite reach infinity, though above I argue it does, I would still say it is worth doing due to the ethical arguments of it.)
(2/26/2026)
5
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2026/02/17/relaxation-paradox/
- About energy after work. Fatigue vs vigor. Relaxation+detachment -> reduce fatigue, control+mastery -> increase vigor.
- Good sleep has 2-3x the impact of recovery experiences.
- Exercise also important
- Small efforts to recover energy can compound
(Big fan of this blog. I got hooked years ago by the articles about lifelong learning.)
(2/24/2026)
4
Liked this blog post about someone going vegetarian: https://maxwrenna.com/slowly-meat/
(1/11/2026)
3
Reddit post I found via Google search query "writing a proustian memoir site:reddit.com". (Entitled "Scraping training data for your mind"). Described a writer (Karl Ove Knausgaard’) who was read Proust's In Search of Lost Time, supposedly very quickly (the post seems to imply in one sitting, but given it's 4000 pages in total, I am dubious), and then was inspired by it and it influenced his writing style. I liked some other aspects of the post as well. (I read In Search of Lost Time a few years ago. It took me 1.5 years to get through (it didn't really need to have taken that long, but the combination of a) challenging material, b) boring at times, c) my reading habit was not very strong (possibly because I was focusing strongly on just getting through this - see (a) and (b))).
Additional notes:
- "He doesn't know what to write about. He overhears a conversation in the library, writes it down, and then wings it from there."" (On finding inspiration )
- take input from expert sources rather than ppl slightly better than you. (Makes me think of LDing) and also make sure it adapts to you and your strengths
- also refers to "learning in public" as a way to attract other ppl who will help supply you with expert examples as well
(12/27/2025)
2
"This is why I’m not afraid to take my own case to trial because even if I fail or even if I fight and lose, —at least I fought for you." https://thewrittenaddiction.com/2025/12/15/all-for-more-or-less-35/ -- Seems like a poetry-based blog. Slogan of the site is "Where I go to leave pieces of me". I like that. (12/16/2025)
1
Blog that talks about associations between their travel memories and specific music/albums/artists. I could see myself doing something similar with music associations. https://mfranchi.net/posts/springs-best-25/ (12/14/2025)