• #push [[Flancia]]
  • [[9]] stands for [[loving kindness]] (in the [[Flancia pattern language]]).
  • May you be happy!
  • May you be free from suffering!
  • Today is the birthday of a friend!
  • #push [[Buddhism]]
    • TIL about [[Edward Conze]], scholar of [[Marxism]] and [[Buddhism]]
    • TIL about [[visible mantra]], an HTTP only site which seems to have very solid content.
    • [[Progeny of the Buddha]]
      • [[Rahula]]
      • In some ways [[Kassapa]], in some ways all key disciples.
    • Turns out [[Ananda]] and [[Kassapa]] had a conflict.
    • [[Manjusri]] ~ [[Mañjuśrī]]
    • #push [[Garland Sutra]]
      • Wikipedia says the [[Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahā­vaipulya-sūtra]]is "erroneusly often referred to as the [[Avataṃsaka Sūtra]]", but elsewhere the latter is referred to as a valid short name
    • c.f. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddh%C4%81vata%E1%B9%83saka_S%C5%ABtra pull and https://www.britannica.com/topic/Avatamsaka-sutra, maybe the rare case in which Wikipedia is more conservative than Brittanica?
    • Now I notice the first word of the longer title is literally [[Buddavatamsaka]], Garland of Buddhas, so I really don't see why it says erroneously :) Made an edit.
    • #push [[nikayas]]
      • [[digha]]
      • [[majihima]]
      • [[samyutta]]
        • listening to [[bhikkhu bodhi]]'s translation, loving it
      • [[anguttara]]
      • [[khuddaka]]
  • [[regalos]]
  • [[open letter to the agora]]
    • pull URLs
      • -> [[paramita]] 8
    • set [[building bridges]] as theme
  • [[open letter to google]]
    • -> [[sila]]

2023-04-09

• Reading: [[Internet for the People]].

  • Really enjoying it.
  • It's a great descriptor of historical process of the privatisation of what was once a public internet. As well as discussion of what (re)socialised alternatives might look like.
  • It starts with a description of the pipes - the network infrastructure. And outlines how community internet would work as an alternative.
  • Now it's moving on to the platforms. Should be good.
  • Very interesting point about the relative scales of the pipes and the platforms - Comcast worth about $260 billion, Google worth about $1.7 trillion.

• Read: [[Envisioning real utopias from within the capitalist present]]

  • To get an idea about [[Envisioning Real Utopias]].
    • Sounds worth reading.

• Listened: [[Robin Hahnel on Parecon (Part 1)]]

• Sunday, 04/09/2023 ** 14:12 Feel like I've got my style formula down now that I don't have the additional clothes to distract me - and I should get rid of more that don't fit these use cases. Stockholm feels more conservative, a bit of a stricter environment for what clothing is acceptable. I need to be held to this higher standard to keep clearing out the closet and improve my look.

• Lose the sweatpants, especially the branded ones. Branding is distracting, tacky. I don't need the three stripes or the swoosh on anything. (We'll have to accept that athletic shoes always will - though let me know if there are high-quality running shoes without super visible branding - I want these to exist).
• Pay as careful attention to the body as you do the sillhouette of your clothes. The best tee complements the upper body without exaggerating any flaws. Stay fit and keep in mind what aspects of the body that shirts are highlighting.
• Wear something comfortable. Anything wool and baggy seriously restricts movement - this doesn't feel cool, even if it might look good off an Instagram post. Pants have to have tight cuffs at the ankles and use an athletic fabric to promote breathability.
• Keep the long hair and the facial hair. It stands out here but doesn't feel tacky - just different. That's a good thing.

I don't like chairs that don't have substance to them... though that's one thing I like about tables. Those thin, 'modernist', wiry see-through chairs just don't look comfortable (which is fine) or inviting (which is not). Tables are functional and should supply a simple backdrop for the items on them; the items on the table rather than the table itself should be the appeal.

Chairs should be decorative and appear to be inviting to invite you to sit on them. Chairs should speak to people - different chairs appeal to different people. If all of the chairs are the smae, the only differentiating factor is where the chairs are relative to the rest of the room; this creates an uncomfortable power dynamic where people try to pick the chair that best lends itself to their 'strategy' in the conversation. In some cultures and rooms, this is explicit - think board meetings, especially those in conservative cultures, or dinner at the nuclear family home. In others, it's implicit.

Fuck conversation strategy. If you're at the table then you should be an equal contributor. Pick the chair that's most fun for you! How else should you choose where to sit? Different but equal is beautiful.

I'm reminded of this image: (https://twitter.com/jakeissnt/status/1570095360462434306 pull?s=20).

With respect to comfort and motion - I wonder how the perfect pair of black, selvedge denim would feel. I love the idea of clothing that can wear with me, that might grow to fit me perfectly. Maybe I just need straight fit denim - the good stuff. : | ** 14:58 For the first time in a long time - despite a full-time job - I feel as if I have too much time on my hands. I feel comfortable with how I look, the hobbies I have, how I dress, and how I present myself. Nothing feels 'complete', of course, but I know enough about what I can continue to explore to make me both content with now and excited for the future.

What a wonderful feeling.

I'm most discontent with my creative output. I've felt like this for years - too much input, too much output. Now that my external environment here feels far more focused, I hope that my internal environment will begin to as well.

It's time to explore some 'endorphin hacking' - removing stimulation from my virtual world to focus on rewarding myself in the right ways. Good achievements are making a friend or preparing a meal or joining a collective or exhibiting a show. Bad rewards involve consuming mediocre content from strangers that fills time.

TikTok's design patterns - like focusing full-screen, roping everything back into search, and turning scrolling discrete - are brilliant, but these seamless choices focus the user on pointless and addictive content.

Don't focus on what other people have achieved. Focus on what you can learn from them and their work. Showcase that by incorporating it into your own work. I need to relearn how to learn - by doing! ** 15:13 Something Jonas said last night (heavily paraphrased) - in Sweden if a company fails, if you leave a job, etc., it looks 'bad'. In America, failure feels far more accepted - with so many people having started four or five failed companies that quickly failed before one success.

Tommy told me that Sweden doesn't have the American dream. This environment feels like it values consistency and maintenance - by continuing consistent work, showing up, and providing good value time and time again, you can maintain your circumstances and accomodate yourself as you grow older. America, by contrast, is full of stress and excitement. You can fail at any moment - and failure can mean terrible things - but working really hard and winning can change your life.

I think the former is better for me while I figure out how to live my life. Set maintainable schedules and craft maintainable habits. Use calendars and work on things in and outside of the office at a schedule. Produce output that is consistently better and better. Become a known factor. Master yourself. Then you'll be ready to make something great of your own - whatever that could be. ** 15:29 It's okay to close tabs and and declare 'research bankruptcy'. Some information is too much. ** 15:34 I feel disappointed by all of this brilliant marketing behind mediocre clothes. Jil Sander's campaigns are brilliant. Why don't their garments match? ** 15:45 Email notes

• MSCHF - more funny to buy something than to use it for free. Buying something is supporting and defending it but using for free is silly.
• On the other hand, serious products that are free mean more. If a tool is accessible to everyone is free and people advocate for it, this is brilliant.
• Sell funny, excessive things and make the useful things free. ** 15:59
• radical transparency. visualization of investments and all data of startup that is public
• use boring and straightforward language. be direct
• show why something is true from first principles. don't push a conclusion
• gamification and microtransaction ratios like swear jar for a company