Happy Things Thread

[Viktor77]

man

for a few years now i've had this idea that once i have a good hoard of funds in one place, i'll do a big road trip of the US. but i'll probably make it a big U shape. Down the west coast, maybe cross into Mexico for a bit (save a deeper trip of Mexico for another time) then across Texas (I've always wanted to see the Gulf, and New Orleans) into the southeast and then up the east coast. i'm sure it'll cost a mint.

I doubt it'd cost you a mint, just depends on what you're used to. Gas is the only necessary expense. You can find cheap or free lodging online, or live in your car. You can bring your own food. I'd say budget a grand or 2 you could do it by roughing it,

[Kereb]

I got a Vanagon Westfalia that I'm not above living in; it's just in kinda shit condition for the time being
I would budget more like 5K cause ... I will stay anywhere, not picky, but while I'm in a place i'm gonna make sure to eat and drink the local best.

[vampireshark]

or a few years now i've had this idea that once i have a good hoard of funds in one place, i'll do a big road trip of the US. but i'll probably make it a big U shape. Down the west coast, maybe cross into Mexico for a bit (save a deeper trip of Mexico for another time) then across Texas (I've always wanted to see the Gulf, and New Orleans) into the southeast and then up the east coast. i'm sure it'll cost a mint.

Possibly won't run you that much, except in terms of maybe lodging: gasoline isn't too bad, and most of where you'll be going isn't littered with toll roads. (Do let me know if you end up in Ohio or NC, though.)


Happy: I get to run away to NC in about nine days. Fuck yeah.

[vampireshark]

More happy: I am now vampireshark, M.S.

(Translation: I now have a Master's of Science degree.)

[hwhatting]

Congratulations!

[jal]

Indeed, congrats! Should we address you with "sir" now?


JAL

[Viktor77]

Congrats on your Masters!

I have to tell everyone about the most amazing thing ever, squatting. Camping in the woods I know firsthand the wonder of squatting to do your business. The human body is designed to squat. The modern Western toilet is designed completely wrong. I just got the Squatty Potty. Best. Thing. Ever. You're in the bathroom less, less toilet paper, it's easier, cleaner, and more comfortable. I have no affiliation with the company, it's just a wonder product! It takes some getting used to, but it's well worth it.

You might think me crazy but I'm a squatting pusher. Whether doing your business or having a baby, the body is designed to squat and only squat.

[jal]

Whether doing your business or having a baby

The latter of which you've been doing... when?


JAL

[hwhatting]

Whether doing your business or having a baby

The latter of which you've been doing... when?

Psssst... it's not to be announced yet.

[gach]

More happy: I am now vampireshark, M.S.

Happy times. Are you going to continue with further studies or are you off to the industry as we say around here?

[Viktor77]

Whether doing your business or having a baby

The latter of which you've been doing... when?

Psssst... it's not to be announced yet.

Haha. The natural way to birth is squatting. The only reason we fight gravity in hospitals is to control the birth in case the umbilical cord is wrapped around the head or something that squatting would make more difficult to control. If I ever had a baby though I'd want a natural birth.

I'm just on a kick to live like pre-industrialized days. After Christmas, I want to try segmented sleep. It is, according to some research, how humans naturally sleep without artificial light. It means going to bed around 20:30, waking around midnight until 3 where you get productive work done, and going back to sleep until morning. It will require me to create an environment of complete darkness, but I've been told the midnight wake period is a time of extreme relaxation and productivity. Plus that's how our bodies are designed to sleep, not 8 full hours but 4 and 3 hours split.

[finlay]

I tried one of the old squat toilets you occasionally see around in this country... I found it awkward because my trousers were in the way and I found it difficult to balance. I have thought about getting one of those foot rests to convert a regular toilet into a squatting one, maybe if I ever live by myself again.

[jmcd]

Pull your trousers down to your ankles.

[jal]

Haha. The natural way to birth is squatting.

That requires some proof, I'd say. There's nothing natural about walking around on two legs with the birth canal in between, if the rest of nature is to be judged. So whatever method you choose, it's difficult to claim that is the "natural" or "unnatural" way. Chimpanzees, our close relatives, may give birth upside down even. Of course, you could study various cultures and see how they do it, but that would still not prove anything about what is "natural". We'd have to see Lucy give birth to know what our ape ancestors did.

The only reason we fight gravity in hospitals is to control the birth in case the umbilical cord is wrapped around the head or something

Really, "the only reason"? You have a medical degree now? I can think of a few other good reasons, but since *I* don't have a medical degree, I won't speculate.

segmented sleep. It is, according to some research, how humans naturally sleep without artificial light.

It has been suggested, yes. But the proof is somewhat flimsy. I'd want to know what anthropologists have to say about the pre-industrialized people they study and the way they sleep.

It means going to bed around 20:30, waking around midnight until 3 where you get productive work done, and going back to sleep until morning.

I've read that no work at all was done, but that it was merely a time of relaxation (and sex, of course).

It will require me to create an environment of complete darkness

Why? Did our pre-industrialized ancestors not have the light of summer?

Plus that's how our bodies are designed to sleep, not 8 full hours but 4 and 3 hours split.

Again a very bold claim. Proof? Not to mention that sleep is in the brain, not the body.


JAL

[Torco]

While I'm not on board with the whole "natural" thing <the natural thing is, after all, to die at 23 from an infection you got>, I have to object to the dualism here: the brain is a chunk of the body, and sleep does not like... happen exclusively there: there's many aspects of sleep that are essential for the proper funcioning of muscles and veins and all kinds of things.... so yeah.

and even if sleep were only in the brain, what, the brain is free from organic determination?

that being said, yeah, i'd also like to see substantiation of this claim of natural 4+3 sleep.

[Ketumak]

There's a couple of articles on segmented sleep on Wikipedia. They're here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphasic_sleep

They mention scientific studies that show humans respond well to segmented sleep and refer to the work of a historian, A. Roger Ekrich, who has sought out references to segmented sleep in language and historic documents.

I found segmented sleep imposed itself increasingly on me from my mid-twenties onwards until recently. I certainly got a lot done during my night-time waking periods, particularly conlanging. I would go back to bed thinking I'd just solved some major problem, but I could look at it later in the cold light of day and think it was rubbish.

There was also a kick back in the form of an irresistible urge to put my head down and doze or sleep in the early afternoon. This has caused me the odd problem at work, though mostly they've been sympathetic.

I've moved back to sleeping through the night recently by getting to bed early and making sure I stayed warm, though it's been a major effort.


And congrats to vampireshark on the M.A.!

[Torco]

I experienced a period of segmented sleep for a few months. it came and went, and during it i woke up during the night and ate something, went to pee, maybe had a wank and a read, and then went back to sleep. I didn't notice more well-being than otherwise.

[Chagen]

I had my Greek final yesterday. It was the intro course, but it was still way easier than I expected. We had to translate several sentences and then give the categories of a few select words from each sentence (like, if he gave us a verb, we had to give the person, number, tense, mood, and voice, whereas for nouns we had to give the gender, number, and cast).

I mean, damn, we spent the past few weeks going over the Aorist only for no Aorist forms to appear on the final (except like one participle)! Thank god though, 'cause fuck the Aorist, that shit is Sanskrit-levels of confusing wackiness. It's like every verb forms its Aorist in a completely different matter.

[vampireshark]

Indeed, congrats! Should we address you with "sir" now?


JAL

Nah, that's not until, at the very earliest, I get a professorship.

More happy: I am now vampireshark, M.S.

Happy times. Are you going to continue with further studies or are you off to the industry as we say around here?

The former: I'm (hopefully) 2½-3½ years away from finishing my dissertation, and I'll definitely be funded all the while, so why not.

[Shm Jay]

As for squatting, I find it impossible to sit on very high toilets (like disabled-accessible toilets) and defecate properly. Something in the position seems to interfere with the working of the necessary muscles. I prefer to have the bowl low. So there is method in Viktor's madness, though I've never used a squat toilet. He should keep us informed of the effects on his health, especially if he increases his fibre intake.

As for segmented sleep, I think my mother had that and it seems I've developed it as I've grown older. If I fall asleep in the late afternoon or early evening, it tends to be for about 1½ or 2 hours. I've learned that if I wake up at 2 or 3 not to go on the computer, but to sit in bed reading, though sometimes I don't remember to apply this. Or if I wake up at 4, then to have a bowl of cereal. Then I don't have to worry about breakfast when I wake up later on.

[Shm Jay]

But here's something that will actually interest you: when visiting home and wandering the stacks of my alma mater university library, I came across a nice copy of Skeat's Principles of English etymology (1891), which I'm reading now. I know it's quite out of date, and I've read about most of what he says before, but somehow his writing makes it interesting, and it would make a good basic-level work even today. So is there a standard supplement to it to bring the science closer to the present? And what's the modern equivalent?

Edit: maybe this question should be moved to another forum.

[WeepingElf]

YouTube works again on my machine! Now I can spend all night watching cat videos - well, I don't give a damn on cat videos, but YouTube is great for discovering interesting music.

[sirdanilot]

I couldn't fathom sleeping segmented. I only wake up in the midel of the night if I have to pee, and I try to avoid this as much as possible.

I have quite a bit of problems sleeping in (my fridge makes quite a bit of noise, I live alongside a busy road and it's always a problem for me anyway even if it's quiet) but once I sleep I sleep completely. I have more problems waking up though, haha, especially now as I have to get up at 7 am every single day. Luckily I can relax a bit in the train though I can't really fall to sleep there because they continuously shout THIS IS X STATION, PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK OUT WITH YOUR TRAVEL CARD IF YOU LEAVE HERE THIS IS X STATION'.

What I am capable of, is naps. I can easily do a one hour nap between 8 and 9 or so and then I can stay awake for a bit longer. But it's mostly a supplement to my sleep and it's not like I sleep less the night directly after it so I usually don't take these naps anymore. If I am tired I do a 20 minute power nap and that works like a charm.

[din]

I have to get up at 5 am a lot, some months, and naps are indeed a thing of beauty.

[Birdlang]

If I get As and Bs as my final grades, I will get a Roland Juno Di or Gi. It is a kind of 61-key keyboard in case I decide to become a keyboardist making my own music.