100%. i’m rocking AuDHD, that perpetual struggle between need routine and must have novelty lol. interesting to hear that the ‘mid-show venue switch’ is helpful for someone else. feels like a hack somehow.

my sleep routine has become one of if not the most important routine. i dealt with insomnia for years, which always spirals into poor appetite, ever-decreasing functioning and bad decisions. i understand now that maintaining a routine is critical for me, and i have added tools for falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking well-rested.

• i picked up a good sleep mask, one that blocks absolutely all light and allows unobstructed blinking. even more so than the functional aspect of blocking light, the sensation of wearing the sleep mask has helped program my brain into quickly recognizing sleeptime on-demand.

• a minimally-intrusive sleep aid. i started with melatonin but eventually switched to D8/D9 gummies and never looked back. within 45m of taking a gummy i feel the heaviness in my limbs and easily succumb to sleep. this is likely not necessary for everyone but i consider the reliable effectiveness to be an effective insurance.

• ensuring proper sleep posture. i overlooked this one for a long time, thinking that stacking pillows under my head and around my body was as good as it could get. but i would wake up every morning with neck and back pain, grumpy and frustrated. after learning about traditional asian pillows it clicked together that the intent of a head rest is neck support. on a whim i picked up a buckwheat hull neck roll and it has absolutely changed my life. first time i used it, flat on my back with it under my neck, my legs tingled from the relief of tension in my body. the moral here is to assess for sources of discomfort in your sleeping posture and find ways to improve it so you are not wasting time and effort trying to get comfortable.

• consider breaking up your sleep hours. I started an unconventional routine last year and it has been very helpful for me in waking refreshed. i set my first alarm for 2.5-3 hours before i want to be fully awake. when that goes off i manage to drag myself out of bed, have a light breakfast and move myself to a recliner in the living room where i gently doze off for another hour/hour and a half, with a few extra minutes on both sides. initially it was not super easy to fall back asleep quickly, but now that it’s routine and with the help of the weighted sleep mask, it happens in minutes. by the time my second alarm goes off, if i’m not already beginning to stir, i open my eyes and am absolutely ready to go. knowing that i can doze off again makes getting up and relocating on that first alarm much much easier, and i have come to deeply enjoy the dedicated peace and quiet of that early morning nap; no expectations weighing on me first thing, just focusing on my breathing and relaxing my body. the downside is now that i’m used to this pattern, my body expects that morning nap and i absolutely have to be up early enough to allow time for it.

i’m certain that a persons ideal sleep routine is extremely subjective and unique to that individual, so these tips may not all be helpful for you, but hopefully they give you some ideas of new strategies to try.

but which would you say came first: The Dragon or elon being perceived by others as The Dragon?

i’m sure, as with any big personality, this relationship evolves concurrently and interdependently. I just wish more had seen through him sooner. it was not difficult to predict that he would ultimately undermine himself faster than he would naturally fall out. we will keep seeing more of his type unless we can get a bit faster on the uptake.

“is it true you guys implemented a cart-return system utilizing a quarter as collateral? i just want to say, big fan. brilliant.

i know the enchilada sauce is one of the cheapest items in this picture but i recently made some from scratch and can confirm that canned enchilada sauce is absolutely flavorless. alternatively, it is super simple, quick and inexpensive to make from scratch. broth, tomato paste and toasted spices (chili p., ground cumin, garlic p., onion p., pinch of oregano/cayanne/salt/pepper and optional dash of apple cider vinegar) made in a roux and simmered for 10m. that’s it! the difference is night and day. go forth in flavor.

dr bronners cinnamon toothpaste is the best

this is blowing my mind

i kinda have a soft spot for mormon missionaries after a noteworthy act of kindness and service i won’t forget.

a story: years ago i was in the process of moving from a 3BR/2-story apartment into a rancher flat on the other side of town. had very little funding and a short window to get it all done by myself. picked up a big moving truck and began loading up the furniture, which required finagling the furniture dolly up and down the indoor flight of stairs plus an additional 3 steps off the porch to the pavement. while loading up a bookcase, two mormon missionaries rounded the corner and started approaching me. i was about to dip inside and close the door when they called out, offering help. they were gentle yet determined to provide assistance and i eventually relented. thanks to their strict gender rules i wasn’t able to be in the apartment with them at the same time, so they did it all themselves, loaded up everything into the truck.

going a step further, they then sent a different duo of mormon boys to my new apartment across town to help unload the same truck. i was so grateful that i spent a few hours afterwards listening to their whole pitch, accepted a copy of their cute book and asked a few respectful questions just to be engaged. They spend their missions with so few comforts and conveniences that it was quite surprising to hear. Had to decline the inevitable invitation to attend a morning service at the temple though… especially after learning they are each 4 hours long. yikes.

regardless, obv the meme is 100% valid and the mormon institution (and their political sway in the US) is undoubtedly troubling, but it was really nice to learn that at least some mormon bois while on mission do actually apply their beliefs through action by genuinely helping people in their community. not everyone can say that.

100%. it seems to me that the broad scaling of community played a critical factor, being born out of the privilege of personal vehicle transportation. now we live in one place, work in another, play in another, eat in another, etc. in some cases sure, maybe that could theoretically give you 3+ different circles of orbit and thus 3 different communities of fellowship and support. from experience though it looks more like an incongruent/lacking distribution of the kind of important ties between others that would otherwise develop organically within in a given community. ultimately it seems to reinforce our isolation and undermines a sense of belonging.

thanks for the insight, which makes sense. stupid cars.

i wonder what the association is between the size of a parking lot and the frequency of its stores buggies not being returned by shoppers. from the pictures of beautiful european cities and towns i’ve seen, walkability seems to be an important development concern. i’m sure not everywhere, but by contrast, many shopping areas in the us are concrete wastelands with stores wrapping around massive, massive parking lots. perhaps parking 1/4 mile away from the store you just left makes it easier for people to excuse themselves from doing the right thing. i guess we don’t have a great track record with doing the right thing in any context though.

yesss. i figured the Scandi’s had to have this covered, lol. seafood has been an enduring journey of acquired taste for me, and the idea of gnawing into a whole fish feels straightup primal… but i’d give it a go out of respect for its regional delicacy status.

def planned. but is this a thing somewhere? do people just eat fish whole with some diced onion?

Never has a description of the experience of consuming blue cheese felt more accurate.