Awarenesss
8d ago
TL;DR:
- My girlfriend rarely exercises on her own and I do not like this
- I think it will become an issue for her and our relationship down the line
- Bringing it up is risky and I would prefer not to (she was dismissive last time I asked and said she'll get back to it, but still hasn't)
- Looking for advice on her to get her to enjoy exercise more.
I do not want her to become reliant on me to exercise for a few reasons:
- I won't and don't want to always be there to motivate and/or compel her to exercise
- I'm not interested in dating someone long-term who isn't into exercise because of the greater likelihood they will end up unhealthy (and thus potentially less attractive to me)
Some background on her and us:
- She is slightly overweight around the belly area and very self-conscious about it. If I said something it would hurt her feelings.
- She had a personal trainer that she saw 2-3 times a week, but has since dropped him due to increasing costs
- She has a gym membership that is 10 min from her house, access to an apartment gym, and access to a nice walking/running trail
- She requires a mindless program: someone telling her what to do and how to do it, whether in the gym or on the treadmill
- She's used ClassPass in the past and enjoyed it
- I've offered to buy her a bike for us to spend quality time together riding (I'm a competitive cyclist) but she declined
- She knows I'm very into exercise and that I would be willing to support her exercise goals
My plan:
- Encourage us to eat healthily when together
- Schedule one gym day a week for us to train together at her gym
- Set New Year goals for each of us and encourage her to have a fitness one (I'm a believer in Scott Adams' "goals are for losers, systems are for winners", so maybe I'll approach the system way with her)
- She's mentioned a TikTok person has a fitness program that she'd be interested in, but I think it may be too on the nose and she'd take it the wrong way
Any other advice or ideas that have worked for you all, man or woman?
Awarenesss
24d ago
After three years in a house far away from people my age, I'm finally moving back into an apartment. I'm looking for two types of advice/help/etc:
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How to make friends in an apartment complex? I'm planning on going to the pool in summer months, saying hi in the hallways, starting an apartment group chat (if there isn't one already), introducing myself to the neighbors on the first day, maybe hosting an event, etc. Any other ideas that are simple and effective?
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Quality of life improvements I can make to an apartment? I'm planning on Hue lights for simulating sunrise in my bedroom, installing a smart thermostat, and a bidet. Open to anything else!
Awarenesss
1mo ago
Awarenesss
2mo ago
From https://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2018_2/psych_2_2018-1_glozman.pdf. Bolded links are probably what you're thinking of?
- Luria, A.R. (1928). The problem of the cultural behavior of the child. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 35(3), 493–506. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1928.10532168
- Luria, A.R. (1931). Psychological expedition to central Asia, Science, 74, 383–384. https://doi. org/10.1126/science.74.1920.383
- Luria, A.R. (1933). The second psychological expedition to central Asia. Science, 78, 191–192. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.78.2018.191-a
- Luria, A.R. (1971). Towards the problem of the historical nature of psychological processes. International Journal of Psychology, 6, 259–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207597108246692
- Luria, A.R. (1973). Skhema neuropsykhologicheskogo obsledovaniya [A schema of neuropsychological assessment]. Moscow: Moscow University Press.
- Luria, A.R. (1974). Ob istoricheskom razvitii poznavatelnykh protsessov [On the historical development of cognitive processes]. Moscow: Nauka.
- Luria, A.R. (1976). Cognitive development: Its cultural and social foundations. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Awarenesss
5mo ago
At the risk of being insufferably pedantic and because you seem to care, there should be a comma after “i.e.” (or “e.g.”, for that matter).
Awarenesss
5mo ago
I think it is copyrighted. See "Access And Usage Rights" section here: https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/12481060
Awarenesss
5mo ago
Thanks! Completely missed that version.
Market was probably the wrong word to use here. I’d transcribe and offer for free via Internet Archive or similar, but I think that would still be infringement. Ah well!
Awarenesss
5mo ago
I cannot find a high-quality digital or audio copy of Henry Kissinger’s senior thesis, The Meaning of History, besides this crappy scan from archive.org.
If no one has one, would there be a market for me transcribing it?
Awarenesss
5mo ago
Please link the studies.
Awarenesss
5mo ago
But there’s not a question here.
I'm the organizer for my city's LW/SSC/Rationality (capital R) meetup. We have a similar demographic to the one you experienced, minus the "many in the greater..." part. Most of our group is 30 or younger, with a few 40+ people sprinkled in. Engagement varies in a pattern I've yet to study or understand: some socials get 10+ people out, others three; some purposeful meetups (i.e., we're discussing topic X) get eight, others a mere two. (I suspect it's a combination of unlucky schedule misalignments, the topic only appealing to a handful of people, and it often being a hastily-designed event due to my personal time/energy constraints.)
Nothing major has come out of the group at a collective level. I hold an annual goals meetup on the first week of January designed to help members network with each other to find similar people and potential accountability partners, but it ends up with people stating their goals and never following up on them until the next year when they've been forgotten. Some members hang out with each other outside of the group. I've started accountability partnerships with a few. I do think there's opportunity given the average member's intelligence and ambition.
I think regularly attending is largely worthwhile solely because of the people you meet there. I don't have many IRL friends interested in the topics we discuss, so the meetups are a good outlet to talk about things in person, especially with people smarter than me! Consider attending more and trying to grow the group without sacrificing the member quality.
Regarding new/younger writers in the space: I don't know of anyone besides myself (and I wouldn't even count myself considering how small of a following I have). I graduated from undergrad in 2020 and regularly post on my website/publish monthly changes to Substack. Happy to DM you if you're interested in the link. (I don't want to post it here because it feels like improper advertising.)
Awarenesss
5mo ago
I just got back from Boston a few weeks ago. I found just walking around the city to be very fun.
A few touristy recommendations in no particular order:
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Kane's Donuts (did you know the Boston Creme Donut is legally the official donut of Massachusetts?)
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Freedom Trail
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Bunker Hill monument (although they prevent people from climbing if the heat index is greater than 95 °F—weak!)
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F1 arcade
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Monica's Mercato: delicious, massive sandwiches inside a small Italian grocery store
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My group played a very fun game of sardines at Public Garden
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If you're a chess player, there's a hustler (who may not be good enough to earn that title) who plays outside of the Sam Adams taphouse for free (tips encouraged) and is decent. He beat me, but tried to cheat in the process, so whoop his ass for me if you do end up playing.
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Cambridge area
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Charles River esplanade
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Fenway Park, as others have mentioned. I'm not a baseball fan but was getting major FOMO when I dropped my friends off to continue exploring.
Awarenesss
6mo ago
I would like to share essays I write to "move past [my potentially] shady thinking and test [my] ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases". I don't think they merit a standalone post because they're not that good.
Is there a best, catch-all thread to post these in? SSQS would be the best imo, with the simple questions "thoughts on my writing?". Most of the essays don't fit in any of the other threads.
I wonder if this merits another weekly thread ("Scribes' Sharing Saturday"—thanks, ChatGPT!) to allow people to share their writings/more-refined thoughts that don't belong in any of the other threads?
Awarenesss
6mo ago
Are there comprehensive resources on psychic’s techniques to make their readings appear more accurate (e.g., Barnum statements, background research on the client via the internet, etc)? Anything and everything is appreciated
Background: A friend’s mother went to a psychic and was told things she (supposedly) didn’t know about her dead father (she asked her still-alive mother about it and the info was confirmed). She claims to not have let anything slip and that the things were completely unprompted, but I’m a bit skeptical.
Awarenesss
6mo ago
Is there a specific essay that talks about this? Or is it a general theme of the blog? I read a handful of essays that spoke a bit about this, but nothing devoted entirely to it.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
Fair point. I think this a benefit of a property management company—they are consistently transactional by nature and requirement, whereas my softheartedness would probably vary by tenant.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
It’s only one right now. He’s an old friend who is living there for the cheap rent (which I’ve promised not to raise) and to spend more time with me. If I moved he would too, and even if he stayed and I increased rent, it wouldn’t be enough to cover what I need.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
I’m in north Garland, so Garland ISD, which isn’t the highest value school district, but still a not-so-bad area. Open to your predictions.
Uptown is where I want to live for a few reasons:
- I’d save ~100 hours per year of driving (any further south is too far of a commute)
- the environment is ambitious in various ways, a vibe I’m looking for to boost a few aspects of my life and one my current place doesn’t have at all
- people I know who live in Uptown enjoy it and I mostly trust their takes
- I want to live with my girlfriend and Uptown is as far north as she’s willing to move
I think I’ll talk with a property management company and see what they have to say.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
I do have housemates now which has substantially helped with paying the mortgage (and I’d recommend to any single person with a home!).
I want to move to area X because a) I like the environment, and b) that’s where I spend a lot of my time, allowing me to save an estimated 100 hours per year of driving (one-hour round trip twice per week). Housemates don’t help this much, even if I save a bunch of money.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
Yes, taxes. It went up by $400/mo last year, and I expect another $100/mo again this year. That’s not minuscule to me. But you’re right—long-term it mostly washes out.
Awarenesss
7mo ago
I have effectively made the decision to move out of my home in the middle-class Dallas, TX, suburbs into an apartment in the fun part of town. I am debating whether I should rent the home out or sell it and would like advice and/or experiences from my fellow Mottizens. I am leaning 75/25 in favor of selling given the thoughts below.
Background:
- 26 year-old male in committed relationship that I expect to result in marriage. We would not move into this house together if we got married.
- Home is appraised at $380k and has a 30-year mortgage with 3% rate. Monthly payment all-in is $2200 and expected to go up due to property values increasing.
- Home is in a socially "meh" area with meh schools and stroads galore
Pro-sell thoughts:
- I do not have the time to manage tenants unless they are truly very quiet nor am I willing to risk getting shitty tenants and having to deal with them
- I can simply pocket the cash and have peace of mind about not having to worry about the house and its illiquidity, tenants, etc.
- I am moderately risk-adverse when it comes to money and investments and it can cause me stress. If I were to move to an apartment and have a vacant home, my combined mortgage and rent would be about 80% of my post-tax income. (I have plenty in a brokerage account that could cover me, but I don't want to sell that.)
Pro-rent thoughts:
- More equity: I do not care about making a large monthly profit off of the house (maybe $100-200/mo to pay for emergencies), but rather building equity so I can get more money when I eventually sell
- Property management companies can, but not always, do a good job of not letting anything make it to the homeowner (from what I've read)
- If I get lucky and find excellent tenants, I can treat them very well to increase the likelihood of them staying (but this is still risking it)
- My area's real estate market is relatively in-demand with little sign of slowing down (not including reasons that affect all U.S. cities), which may allow me to sell a bit quicker than other markets, especially if I sold for below market value (which I'm fine doing if absolutely needed)
- 3% interest rate is very good and I suspect we won't see that for a long time
Awarenesss
9mo ago
Do you have a source on said underhanded tactics?
Awarenesss
9mo ago
Can you post screenshots of the convos?
Awarenesss
9mo ago
I try to turn "normie" topic into deeper convos but it never sticks, and I can't tell if it's me or them. (I'm the common link, but they are also similar people, so it's difficult to tell.)
Ending boring conversations is something I can do better at. I'll have to practice ending them so as to not leave a sour taste in either of our mouths.
Have you considered asking an LLM? I bet they would give great ideas, plus you can personalize it by providing extra info.
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