sparrow

edit: OP link is old, this link should have the updated calendar and the micro new moon is Wednesday: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/micro-moon.html

Braille displays can be expensive, so this project idea focuses on making them cheaper and open source

There's a lot of talk of the "obesity epidemic" and this is often discussed in scientific terms, about "counting calories" to lose weight, or fad weight loss diets (which can work), or just "exercising more and eating less"
 
But I've thought from time to time that maybe this is more of a spiritual problem of the sin of gluttony, and as such it may not be as easily solved by self-will and discipline, but by the grace of God through people undergoing holy fasts for the good of soul and body
 
What do you think about the spiritual dimension of the "obesity epidemic", or the traditional idea of the sin of gluttony?
 
Catholic encyclopedia on gluttony: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06590a.htm
 
Aquinas on gluttony: https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3148.htm

In the gaming world, there are "speedruns" which may attempt to make use of glitches or advantages in games to be able to complete them quicker.
 
So it seems possible that in a similar way, we might try to find glitches or advantages in life to be able to accomplish things quicker.
 
What are some of your top "life hacks" to "speedrun" through certain things in life?
 
How could the concept of "speedrunning" be applied to life, and where shouldn't it be applied?

If you search on a search engine for "no goals" or "life without goals" you get some sites that emphasize the importance of setting and achieving goals, but there are some other voices who say that setting goals is often an issue for them, so they try to live without goals.
 
Some of the problems they indicate are that goals often end up being achieved differently or on a different schedule, so it seems pointless to set goals, or they can get things done without making it in to a "goal".
 
I was curious if you've seen this philosophy and experimented with it: what are your opinions on "living without goals"?

I've seen some people mention unique properties of morning sunlight, has anyone experienced or read of such benefits?

Kind of been wondering about this, the Burning Man event seems to attract a lot of leftists, but attracts my interest as it seems to also attract artists and artistic expression, maybe a kind of environmentalism, I don't know. Their main celebration seems to have been a repackaging of the pagan event of burning a wicker man, they burn a big effigy to end the event.
 
It's kind of ambiguous about being pagan or nonreligious or whatever but I think there are probably plenty of objectionable things that take place that "conservatives" or "Christians" might want to steer clear of. But, I think possibly there are good things that might be adapted in to some alternative new event or incorporated in to existing events.
 
Any idea about "Christian conservative" alternatives to Burning Man?

The concept is still a little vague to me, but I've seen some articles argue about a connection between a sense of experiencing awe in life and well-being...
 
https://bigthink.com/the-learning-curve/awe-the-8-wonders-of-life/
 
What is "awe"?
 
> Awe is an emotion, a brief experience we have in response to vast and mysterious things we don’t understand. And as I’ve studied it over the years, I’ve come to believe — like Jane Goodall and Albert Einstein — that awe is in many ways our most human emotion. We encounter these vast mysteries: What is life? How do I make sense of the solar system? Why are mountains so large? How can you make music? And the mind has this emotion that kicks things like wonder, curiosity, and exploration into gear.
 
It seems they may...
 
> play a role in our health, happiness, and well-being
 
Where is "awe" experienced?
 
> We gathered narratives of awe from 26 countries and found what I call the eight wonders of life in the book. They include moral beauty, nature, and collective effervescence. Then you get to the cultural ones: art, music, and spirituality. You also have epiphany. And our last finding from the study was about life and death. People around the world find it awe-inspiring when life emerges and when it goes.
 
Thoughts on the topic of "awe" in life?

Channels? Clients? Commands? Other thoughts?
 
Here's what I saw on a cursory glance:
 
list of clients: https://www.slant.co/topics/1323/~best-irc-clients-for-linux
 
how to get started (dated?): https://www.linux.com/news/beginners-guide-irc/
 
basic commands: https://www.mirc.com/help/html/basic_irc_commands.html
 
channel list? https://www.irchelp.org/chanlist/
 
A lot of people use other chats like element / matrix these days too

Main site: https://www.pdos.org/
 
PD Software Philosophy: https://sourceforge.net/p/pdos/gitcode/ci/master/tree/pdpgoal.txt
 
In the public domain software world I still mostly only see PDOS and various TempleOS related projects and forks

Personal tips? Any favorite historical love letters as examples?
 
Thoughts on a kind of alternative to a love letter a single person might write as well?

I was revisiting thinking of the virtue of obedience and various issues that may come up with respect to it. Some authorities may make non-authoritative commands, or sinful commands, or some people may make commands who do not possess authority. I recall people arguing the "Nuremberg Defense" that Nazis were "just following orders" (being obedient to the Nazi political authorities) was not valid. Civil rights movements have promoted the idea of "civil disobedience" over laws which were not sinful, but which created inconveniences. The idea of "American freedom" to pursue one's self-interest may seem to be contrary to obedience, when taken without limit. Have you run in to instances as these or have some to bring up to discuss?

From a post over a decade ago: https://a16z.com/2011/08/20/why-software-is-eating-the-world/
 
Does this appear to still be true today or how have things changed?

> Proponents of Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy cite a construct or concept they call low frustration tolerance (LFT), or "short-term hedonism" in order to partly explain behaviors like procrastination and certain other apparently paradoxical or self-defeating behavior. It is defined as seeking immediate pleasure or avoidance of pain at the cost of long-term stress and defeatism.
 
> The concept was originally developed by psychologist Albert Ellis who theorized that low frustration tolerance is an evaluative component in dysfunctional and irrational beliefs. Behaviors are then derived towards avoiding frustrating events which, paradoxically, lead to increased frustration and even greater mental stress.
 
> In REBT the opposite construct is "high frustration tolerance".
 
> Furthermore, low frustration tolerance is characteristic of conditions such as:
 
> Depression[1]
> Asperger's syndrome[2]
> ADHD.[3]