November 25th, 2024
1:23am

The Importance of Belonging to a Homogeneous Group

I've recently been overtaken by a very strong urge to organize a group of highly intelligent, like-minded people into some sort of collective so that we could use our numbers to achieve shared goals. Similar to fraternal orders and the way that they functioned long ago, before the Civil Rights Act destroyed them. Or maybe similar to how the Italian Mafia was created, before all of the drug deals and hitmen, specifically to benefit the Italian People. I suppose you could say that this is due to a realization, and by realization I mean a topic of thought that I have not realized to its fullest extent, that being proud of one's own race and wanting to dedicate one's time and effort to the service of that race is not necessarily as bad as our modern world may lead you to believe. It cannot be denied that all great organizational movements throughout history, and especially in American history, have been led by culturally or racially homogeneous groups. The American Revolution could not have made it past the point of ideation were it not for the existence of likeminded people within the same culture to put those ideas into action. And on the flip side of that coin, the American Civil Rights Movement could not have occurred were it not for the existence of likeminded Black Americans fed up with the conditions of segregation during the time. It is also an interesting thing, a topic on which it alone an entire essay could be written, that in many cases Race and Culture can be used near interchangeably. I believe that all members of a race should be culturally homogeneous, but also that this does not necessarily disallow, in our modern world, one member of a certain race to assimilate into the culture of another race. I'll put it into simpler terms with an example. In order for racial relations to truly calm down in America, White Americans must develop a cultural identity for themselves, and a sense of pride for their race and culture, and Black Americans should do, and for the most part have done, much the same for themselves. If at any point one member of a culture/race decides that they are dissatisfied with the lifestyle of their own, they are free to fully assimilate into an alternative, though this would require them to remove from themselves everything that they might carry over from their previous life.

You can see this sort of practice in action all throughout history. All of the most successful groups of people have always been culturally or racially homogeneous. To bring back the example of the Italian Mafia, it was initially started to serve, in any way possible, the Italian people of America at the time. Eventually this group, or rather these groups, became so successful through their shared sense of union and purpose, that they decided to centralize into one main organization with several lower "families" making up its hierarchy, and at such a large scale the sheer amount of power and success that had been attained began to corrupt and ruin the organization's pure and innocent intentions of assisting the Italian People. As they say, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." They became too successful, to the point that even the United States Government was forced to reckon with their presence, at times even doing business with them.

It is very likely that all of these conclusions have been fed by my environment and surroundings as of late. Due to my work conditions, I am faced with black racism at nearly all hours of the working day. To the uninitiated, this can do irreparable damage to one's opinions on race, but I believe that I am capable of having a much more nuanced and respectful outlook on it. I do not have any real ill-will toward Black Americans for disliking White Americans, because I understand that it is a necessary aspect of keeping one's own culture intact. In many cases gatekeeping is necessary to keep out those who do not share the same views and who would, intentionally or not, ruin the group from within. I believe that it is in White Americans' best interests that we begin gatekeeping ourselves just as the Black Americans do and have done for centuries. Keep the outsiders out, not because they are dangerous, not because they are genetically inferior, not for any other reason that the mass media might push to relate these ideas toward "fascism", "white nationalism" or "Nazism", but only because it is what is most beneficial for our survival as a culture and as a race. We (the people of any homogeneous group, whether cultural, racial, or even religious) must take care not to allow ourselves to prioritize the wants and needs of other groups, even if we allow ourselves to exist as seperate entities. For example, for the sake of the survival of Black Americans as a culture and as a race, they must prioritize their wants and needs exclusively, without any thought or consideration put into the wants and needs of other groups. It is for this very reason that I say that so-called "multiculturalism" cannot possibly function for any sustainable amount of time.

Hearing all of this, I encourage you to deeply consider these ideas within yourself. Allow yourself the ability to imagine a life where you belong to a group, and how that sense of belonging might change the course of your life forever. If after this consideration you have something you'd like to comment or contribute to this idea, feel free to contact me through the messaging feature of this wonderful hosting site, neocities.org and share your thoughts. Remember, none of these ideas are ever set in stone. I use this website as a way to explore my own thoughts and ideas in words, and I often write things here that I later reread and cringe at, but I'll never delete any of it, because I believe it should all stay here to give anyone reading the ability to see the changes over time.

Thank you for reading this post in particular,
- Nolin

November 19th, 2024
2:52am

Academia vs. Reality

I'm beginning to realize something, or rather I'm beginning to be able to properly articulate something I've always known, and that is the entire academic system that we've created for ourselves is built upon a foundation of dust. In my limited life experience, I have seen time and time again, without fail, those who fully commit themselves to the academic lifestyle have seemingly no understanding of anything outside of their field of study. And even within their field of study they still maintain a limited understanding because of their lack of experience elsewhere. For example, there are many many things that I do on a daily basis as a cook that I would have never been able to do as well if I had gone to culinary school to become a professional cook, because school can teach you everything you need to know on a single subject, but true knowledge comes from being able to learn one thing in one subject and apply it to another thing in another subject. I've made this comparison many times here, but the story of Sasaki Kojiro and his Swallow Cut is the greatest example of this in my opinion. Sasaki Kojiro was a famous samurai in the beginning of the Edo Period, who was an avid birdwatcher. One day, while watching swallows fly in the forest, he discovered a new type of sword technique by mimicking the birds' flight patterns with his sword. I believe it is things like this that separate what we call "geniuses" and "prodigies" from the rest of society, their ability to learn from all things no matter how unrelated or obscure. It is also my belief that by spending one's entire adult life in academia, their perception of reality becomes severely warped, and they are unable to discern objective reality from their own perceptions. Funnily enough, my past interests in Daoism can be attributed to my attempts at grasping the objective reality by putting aside my own misconceptions on how things work (or at least how I thought they worked).

Before I continue any further, I should define academia for those that might misunderstand, though those that do understand need no definition. Academia is the system that we've created for ourselves that involves going to school, studying curriculums, becoming certified (or obtaining a degree), and using your new credentials to find work in a specialized field. It is undoubtedly, of all the paths in life an American can choose, one of the easiest and most comfortable. It is this comfort, though, that creates such a warped perception of the world surrounding the academic. Upton Sinclair said, "It is almost impossible to convince a man of a fact, if his understanding of that fact will diminish his salary." If someone has devoted four years, and tens of thousands of dollars (not to mention the rest of their lives) to one specific career path, no amount of real world experience will be able to change their mind on what they've already learned. It is the definition of knowing less than nothing on a certain topic. If at any point the academic is confronted by something in the real world that directly contradicts what he's been taught, he now must come face to face with the fact that all of his time and effort spent within the walls of the university were a waste, and he naturally falls into a deep rut. Alternatively, he can choose to ignore reality, which he will often do, to maintain his comfortable position in the company, or wherever it is that he's found a spot for himself.

It is my belief that the only cure for this unfortunate state of mind that so many people find themselves in today is to consistently stay uncomfortable. If you are reading this, and upon looking within have realized that it's you I'm describing, my advice to you is to never allow yourself to get comfortable for too long. If school isn't going anywhere, move onto something else. If your job isn't getting you anywhere, find a better one. If you're dissatisfied with your current situation, change it, and if you're satsified with it, become dissatisfied. Force yourself into uncomfortable situations. Force yourself into borderline dangerous situations. Have you ever noticed that the best parts of your life were the things you didn't enjoy doing in the moment? It may sound odd to hear, but I miss conditioning for wrestling. It is still one of the hardest things I've ever done, bringing me close to throwing up many times, and I hated every second of it, and it's the reason I quit wrestling... but I miss it. I miss being forced to walk the length of a football field with my arms while someone holds my feet off of the ground behind me. I miss flipping tractor tires. I miss doing jump boxes. I miss running on the track for almost half the day. I'm sure, even if you've never wrestled, you can relate to what I'm saying. At some point in your life you did something incredibly difficult, something you never thought you'd be able to do, and you hated every second of it, but now you miss it. And instead of doing it again, you just think about it all the time. Do it again. Stay uncomfortable.

June 16th, 2024
11:33am

I had to kill an animal yesterday. I've learned that I really don't like killing, even if it's necessary. There's been a stray rooster hanging around my chicken coop for the past week or two. He seemed pretty nice, so I fed him and gave him water to make sure he was alright. I guess he escaped from one of the neighbor's coops and decided that he liked my chickens and that he wanted to live with them. Well, my rooster didn't think the same. Yesterday my rooster broke the chicken coop and escaped, and the two roosters began fighting. I'd guess that it's difficult for most to imagine the intensity of two roosters fighting, but when they fight, they're trying to kill each other. My rooster saw the other as a threat to his girls (my hens) and I assume he initiated the attack. My rooster, Pronto, however, is not a fighting rooster, he's a meat rooster. He's a specific breed of rooster selectively bred to be big and lean, for maximum meat production. This being said, Pronto was twice the size of the other rooster, but the other rooster was a breed of rooster used for fighting. He had two-inch talons on the sides of both his legs, which he used to stab and rip into my rooster. I initially tried shooting him with my BB gun, but I assume it didn't phase him from the adrenaline. I then got out a weapon I had hand-made a few days prior, two sharp sticks tied together at the ends with rope, and I managed to hit the rooster pretty hard that time. This hit made him run away for a brief time, during which Pronto was looking very injured and breathing heavily with his wings spread out. One of his wings was clearly broken. I turned away to look for the other rooster, and Pronto collapsed and began seizing. He died seconds after. I immediately began to worry that the rooster might attack my hens next, so I put my BB gun up and got my real gun. My hands were shaking so I could only load one bullet, but that was enough. Now both roosters that I've taken care of are dead. I have no ill will or hate toward the stray rooster. Pronto died protecting his girls, and the other died defending himself. I buried both of them together in the compost pile, where nature reclaims all life, and I took a feather from Pronto to remember him by.

Now I'm down to two hens. The bigger hen, Midna, seems to be a little injured, but I'm not sure if it's the fault of the stray rooster. Now that I'm thinking clearly, I don't believe he would've attacked them unless they got in the way of the initial fight, but he most likely would've died a couple hours later. Pronto had all but torn his leg completely off, and it hung on only by a few tendons. I'm leaving the coop open from now on, since that's clearly what Pronto wanted for his girls. Who am I to deny a man his dying wish? He fought to give his girls a better life, so I'm going to uphold his wishes. One thing I noticed from dealing with Pronto's body is that it feels extremely disrespectful to move someone from the position that they died in. He was completely limp, and when I tried to pick him up, his head flopped down. He chose that position as his final resting point, and if I were to move him into another position, I would be foolishly denying his last choice. So I buried him in the exact position he was in as he died.

I hope I don't come off as cold or unremorseful, I don't like death, and I certainly don't like to be the cause of it. Both of these roosters, if you observed them often, clearly had personalities and thoughts and emotions. The only thing that seperates us humans from them is logic, the ability to reason. I'm not writing this post to chronicle what happened, if I wanted to do that I'd just write a journal entry. I'm writing this to honor these two men who I believe are just as deserving of respect and remembrance as a human. They might not be able to speak their emotions, but they clearly share more or less the same experiences as humans.

June 11th, 2024
9:59pm

Vote for Robert F. Kennedy

I usually refrain from engaging with political topics, but I recently watched a podcast with Robert Kennedy on as a guest (it was Theo Von's podcast), and I suddenly feel a rejuvinated energy within me for politics. I finally feel that there might be some genuine change to come in the next presidential term if Kennedy is elected, that is a big if however, considering both his father (RFK) and uncle (JFK) were assassinated either during or before their presidencies. I won't go into the specifics of his policies, mostly because I couldn't dream of explaining them as articulately as he does, but just listening to him speak for a few minutes is enough to judge his character, and it is very apparent that he is indeed a man of character. He plans on fighting Blackrock, he is against the COVID vaccine (not because he's antivax like many people misconstrue him as, but because he has seen the shady business dealings of the pharmaceutical companies and knows that the vaccine is just a money grab), he is against the monopolization of the media industry (particularly the news media), and he actually offers valid solutions to the border crisis currently going on.

Another thing I've personally noticed is that, among all of his appearances, he rarely repeats the same point twice. Sure he'll reiterate his main presidential goals, but his discussions are fluid and organic, far removed from the customary listing off of talking points by most presidents. If you are reading this for some reason, I urge you to do your own research into him and his plans for the future, and if you agree with him, go to his website and print out petitions to have people sign. Spread the word, get people talking about him, let them know that there is an alternative to the two main bumbling idiots we have as candidates.

June 10th, 2024
4:50pm

The Ideal Human Diet

I've been thinking for some time about what we as humans are supposed to eat. Why is obesity such an issue? What are we eating that we aren't supposed to? What is a human in a natural setting supposed to consume, and how much? Since I originally had this thought, I started reading Will Durant's The Story of Civilization. In this series, Durant attempts to cover the entirety of human history, from the earliest known evidence of human existence to the age of Napoleon (and he does an incredible job at it). The very beginning of this series covers general principles of anthropology and how humans behaved before they became, "civilized." With this new knowledge in mind, I've come to the conclusion that humans most likely were not meant to eat meat. Our teeth aren't well made for ripping and tearing, but for crunching and chewing. Our intestines are so long that meat begins to spoil before it even exits the body. Looking at the digestive system of carnivorous animals, their intestines are typically much shorter than ours, meaning they're able to rid the body of any meat before it goes bad. Keeping this in mind as a basic principle, I've developed a diet that should fit anyone who isn't pushing their body to the extreme:

• We eat only because it is necessary. Many people get caught up in the taste of food or its texture, but always remember, you're doing this to survive, not for pleasure.
• Do not be afraid of hunger. Many people believe that hunger is an undeniably bad thing, but it is a natural function of the body just like many other desires. Remember, if there is fat on your body, then you cannot starve.
• Do not eat meats or anything fried or greasy. If meat is necessary, chicken and fish are alright. Though I have no evidence of this, I'm told that when you eat meat for an extended amount of time, your stomach develops a bacteria that feeds on that meat. When you suddenly stop eating meat, that bacteria suddenly has nothing to eat. This is (apparently) what causes you to crave meat, and if you stop eating meat for an extended amount of time, you'll find that you no longer have the taste for it. I'm not too concerned with whether this is factually true or not, because I think it's a good way to view things regardless.
• Your meals should be simple, with very few ingredients. As with most things in life, there is no need for extravagance. Most, if not all, of these ingredients should be fruits and vegetables.

No dietician will ever recommend these things to a patient, not because it doesn't work, but because no patient will ever follow these rules. Everyone wants to be able to eat whatever they want, and when you tell them they can't eat this and can't eat that, they take it as a personal attack. Remember, you are an animal. You have a natural diet that your body has specifically evolved to work with. If you want to eat healthily, all you have to do is give your body what it naturally wants.

April 14th, 2024
10:28am

Making Mead

This isn't the first time I've made mead, but it is the first time I've made a lot of it, and also wrote down my whole process.

I made almost a full gallon this time! I decided to go with a 3:1 water to honey ratio, which made it really sweet. I used 5g of yeast, which I'm not entirely sure why specifically 5g but it worked so I won't complain. After two weeks it was still fermenting a bit so I put it in the fridge for a little to kill the rest of the yeast. Now that it's all settled to the ground, I've noticed some film developing on the top as well. Now that I have a syphon, I can just syphon out all of the mead in the middle and discard the top and bottom bits. It's not an ideal process, but I don't have some sort of separator, so it'll work for now.

Up next I'll try out 4:1 water to honey and see how it turns out. Since I went heavier on the honey this time it turned out a lot sweeter, but also a lot darker. I'm looking for that spot in the middle where you can still taste the honey, but it's also gold and clear. After that, I'll try flavoring and infusing!

April 11th, 2024
9:28pm

In the past three or so years, I cannot deny I've changed quite a bit. I try to refrain from saying so, because a man that always goes on about how much he's changed really hasn't changed at all, but I bring it up because it's relevant in this scenario. I like to refer to my "seventeen year-old self" as the representation of the person I once was. I was selfish, full of myself, and a complete egomaniac. I thought that I knew everything and wanted to enforce my supposed omniscience on everyone that I viewed as "below" me. I mention this to say that I understand this sort of mindset very well, and that I know exactly how someone might end up here and how they can escape.

I frequently see people who exhibit this sort of behavior, sometimes they're much older than me, other times much younger. I wish that I could help them, but because of the nature of this sort of mindset, they are virtually unable to realize just how controlled they are by their ego. Any advice I give will be seen as the naive worldview of a young man with no experience. They'll say, "Ah just give it a couple years and you'll understand," when really it is them who misunderstands.

Or maybe none of this really exists? I'm no mind reader. I can't tell what people's intentions are, or what they're thinking, all I know is what I see.

April 4th, 2024
5:43pm

The greatest problem among young boys and men today is one thing: egotism. Some call it narcissism, some call it arrogance, but it's all derived from the obsession with oneself over others. I first began noticing this in my younger self, and once I had an idea of what it was I began noticing it in boys all around me. I recently saw a boy, around 14, at the supermarket "jokingly" shove his mom. Of course, his father was nowhere to be found, and the boy was dressed head to toe in sportswear. These are the kinds of boys that I'm talking about, and I am very thankful that I was able to pull myself out of this spiral so that I can spread what I've learned from it. What is the cure for egotism? Ego death. Complete and utter humiliation. If you're reading this and you have a young egomaniacal son, humilate him.

Recently I was reading Musashi, as I'm sure you already know by now considering how much I mention it, and a realization occurred to me. Early on in the book, Musashi is a menace to his village and frequently gets into trouble. At the age of seventeen this all comes to a head when Musashi comes back to the village while on the run from the local Daimyo. The man in charge of capturing Musashi is Aoki Tanzaemon, but he's completely incompetent, so he agrees to allow a Buddhist monk Takuan Soho choose Musashi's punishment. Takuan captures Musashi and ties him high up in a cryptomeria tree and leaves him there for days, possibly weeks. All he is able to eat is whatever bug may be crawling nearby, all he can drink is the rain that might fall, he has no choice but to pee himself when the urge arises. Musashi during this time faces death, and genuinely believes that his time has come. He's left with entire days to think about his actions and how they've affected others. On the verge of death, he is cut down and freed. This, I feel, is what these boys need. Something to completely destroy their ego, so that they can rebuild themselves from the ground up into a new, humbler man. If for some reason a parent is reading this, I encourage you to read the book yourself so that you can understand the true nature of the punishment and its effects. Regardless though, the ego must go.

April 1st, 2024
8:12pm

I haven't felt the need to post anything here lately, which I see as a good thing funnily enough. I like to think that the desire to express yourself is something that builds up over time until you release it somewhere. I've been focusing all of that energy toward strengthening my mind and becoming that pillar of strength I've talked about before. Of course I'm not there yet, I may never be there. There's a part of the Hagakure that I've committed to memory: "Your life is something you build everyday. You must convince yourself that you have surpassed yesterday. And tomorrow you must feel that you have surpassed today. In this way, there is no end to your mastery."

I recently felt the urge to rewatch Samurai Champloo, so I downloaded the entire series and am putting it on a flash drive so I can watch it on the big screen. Thinking about Samurai Champloo, I can't help but imagine the characters as a high school friend group, doing everything together for those four years, and then never seeing each other again afterward. I don't typically like to publicly profess that I watch anime because I get grouped in with the kinds of people that watch Naruto and One Piece and the like, but I believe as far as anime is concerned, I haven't seen very many better than Samurai Champloo.

March 9th, 2024
12:49pm

I've been learning about old game console hardware lately, I even stumbled across a bit of software based on the SNES's MusEd (Music Editor) called EBMusEd (Earthbound Music Editor). All of this got me thinking about the hardware limitations of the time, and how those limitations actually resulted in more uniqueness among the games of the time. With SNES music, there was no set music editor at the time (MusEd was a tool programmed by game devs to make it easier to make SNES music), so developers had to come up with their own solutions to this problem. Some programmed their own sound drivers so that they could get the sounds they wanted, others just used the sample packs that Nintendo sent out, you can usually tell which ones are which.

Taking a look at games today, there are no hardware limitations, period. Any game developer that tries to tell you their game can only be run on new gen consoles today is either outright lying to you to sell consoles, or is too lazy to put in the work to optimize the game properly. As far as I know, every single SNES game could fit on a 3mb cartridge. If someone today were to attempt to make that exact game with modern technology, it would undoubtedly be a lot larger than 3mb, because modern game development pays no mind to any sort of optimization. There really isn't any clever way of solving a problem unique to your game anymore, because modern hardware can handle anything. With that being said, I've noticed a lot of people online realizing the same thing, that hardware limitations actually breed creativity and uniqueness in the game world. So why do people dog on the Switch so much? Everyone that talks about the Switch has two criticisms about it: the Switch hardware is "outdated", and the JoyCon drift makes it practically unplayable. I happen to agree with the JoyCon drift take, but since when do hardware limitations make the games worse? I think when comparing modern-day remakes to 2D originals, most people prefer the originals. There is something about the restriction, the idea that you can't go anywhere and do anything like most games today will try to tell you, that makes these games more enjoyable. Would Chrono Trigger be remembered by anyone if it were a modern third-person JRPG? I don't believe so. The reason Chrono Trigger is said to be one of the greatest games ever made isn't just because it's a good game, but that in playing it you could actually see the developers' well-thought-out solutions to problems throughout development. Playing the game, you can tell the devs came upon the problem of, "Well we want to make a JRPG, but turn-based combat is boring, so how can we make it interesting?" and they solved it in a way that was completely unique to their game.

I may be rambling a bit just because I like Chrono Trigger, but my main point is that I don't believe the Switch is a bad console (if they just fixed the JoyCon drift ;-;), nor do I believe it is inferior to PlayStation or Xbox. In the end, what makes a console good is its games, and in that regard, I would consider the Switch to be more of a success than both of its competitors.

March 5th, 2024
6:17pm

The concept of what a man is supposed to be has all but completely vanished in this modern age. It really is true what they say, chivalry is dead. Most people today don't even understand what chivalry actually is. It isn't simply holding the door for the lady at the store. I like to compare the image of the ideal man with that of the knights of medieval Europe, or the samurai of feudal Japan, or the ancient Roman generals. Though worlds apart, they all seek to better themselves to the grave and don't bother those around them with useless complaints of their own troubles. Personally, I look up to these figures of history, men like Marcus Aurelius, Miyamoto Musashi, and Alexander the Great; I'm not concerned with whether or not these men were actually good people. What matters more is the concept that they represent. Marcus Aurelius teaches to never hold a grudge, to not worry yourself over useless conflicts, to value your friends and family, and to always forgive when asked for forgiveness. Musashi teaches that you should spend every moment of your entire life devoted toward achieving a goal, and never stray from that path. Alexander the Great shows you what a true leader is supposed to be. All of them are undoubtedly great men, and I aspire to learn from each of them.

However, I've noticed around me the true weakness within men today. I am consistently appalled at how pathetically some men choose to live their lives, fearing conflict and holding in their minds petty arguments as if they were vital to their survival. For the sake of my argument, I label these as feminine traits, and the men that possess them as feminine men. So often I see men who engage in useless drama and allow it to consume their lives. Forgive the cliche, but these men are snakes. As I've surely said before, a man's job is to be a pillar of honor, strength, and reliability to all around him. If something is asked of him, he should provide it gladly. Some may call that "being a pushover" but there is a significant difference between allowing yourself to be taken advantage of and proving to be useful to someone else. Anyone that truly wishes to become a man will keep this in mind, and will always help others when they are able.

One of the biggest issues plaguing men today is misogyny. I don't simply refer to the hatred of women, as I feel the hatred of anyone is immasculine. In this case I'm referring to the men that treat women as equals. It is a difficult phenomenon to describe to someone unfamiliar with the idea, but I will try my best. True misogyny is much more common than the widely accepted form of misogyny. Only a small portion of men truly hate women, but nearly all men today treat women as their equal. This is partly good, as women should not be treated as inferior obviously, but women are not men. I've seen countless cases of men, myself included unfortunately, expecting women to behave as they themselves would. The classic case of, "I want a girlfriend that likes everything I like." These men don't really want a girlfriend if this statement is to be believed. Women are women, and men are men. Women have different interests than men, so for a man to expect a woman to be interested in his own interests, he would have to impose them onto her, which is immasculine. Even if you were to find a woman that shares your interests, she does not share them for the same reasons as you. This misunderstanding of women, along with countless others, lead to a plague of men accusing women of being unloveable and not worth their time. The, "You can't fix her," mentality. Women are, men are made. If a woman has problems that must be fixed, they are there because of weak men, and it is the duty of strong men to fix them. Bad women are created by weak men. Absent fathers, abusive boyfriends, useless brothers, all contribute to ruining a girl's life. A real man recognizes this reality, and takes up the responsibility of being a pillar of strength for anyone that may need it.

Upon realizing this, you will take the first steps to becoming a respectable man. First you learn the true meaning of chivalry, how a man should treat a woman: with respect, with honesty, and with kindness. After this step comes the truly difficult endeavor, obtaining skills that allow you to provide for the woman you've chosen. It is my personal belief that women should never have to work a real job. Of course they can if they really want to, but it should always be an option, never a requirement, and thus it is the man's job to provide for her her needs and wants. This should not be seen as a bad thing either. "Ugh, I'm always paying the bills and buying the groceries, when is she going to do something?" This is the mindset of a child. A man derives a feeling of fulfillment from providing for those he loves, and should perform such tasks with pleasure.

Outside of relationships, a man should focus all of his time toward accomplishing goals. In the Hagakure, it states that a man that cannot function while unhappy is useless. Seeing as the Hagakure was written in feudal Japan, it should go without saying that a man who is of no use to those around him only had one choice: seppuku. Of course I'm not advocating for the suicide of useless men, but I would like to point out the true severity of being useless to those around you. A man's true purpose is to be of use to others, and he should be happy to fulfill such acts. It is undeniable that a man who provides nothing for anyone is miserable himself, and the only cure for this misery is to become useful.

There are countless other acts and behaviors that make a man, but it is impossible to codify them all. I hope that in reading this you derive some form of meaning from it, and that if you would consider yourself a weak man, you take this as your sign to become strong. Learn, grow, and above all else, help others.

March 4th, 2024
5:01pm

Sake Update

I will admit, I got a little impatient and bottled it a few days early, so it's not entirely done fermenting, but it's basically done! Here's what I've done since the last update:

• Once the constant bubbling began to slow (about two weeks after starting) I spent a few hours laboriously straining the entire gallon of sake I have
• I strained the fermented mush using a collander with fairly big holes just to get the larger grains of rice out
• I then restrained all of it with a finer collander to get even more rice out
• Once it was a liquid instead of a mushy paste, I bottled it up and let it sit for a while

The cloudiness you see is caused by even smaller particles of rice still floating around that I've yet to filter out. I could leave it like that if I really wanted to. Cloudy, white sake is called nigorizake, and it's traditionally how all sake was made and consumed. However, I'd like mine to be a bit clearer. In order to do this, I'm going to let it sit for a while until the sake and rice have completely separated, and then I'm going to siphon the clear sake out. Unfortunately this means I'll be left with a good bit of "waste" nigorizake, but I've read it tastes good with chocolate ice cream, so maybe it won't go to waste after all. I'm hoping I can get it clear by Monday next week, but we'll see I suppose.

I've tasted both the clear parts and cloudy parts and I will say it makes you feel really warm inside. I'd imagine it tastes even better hot and with a meal. The cloudy part has a strange texture to it, because of the rice obviously, so that's mainly why I want it gone.

March 2nd, 2024
2:35pm

I'm beginning to experience firsthand the internet's transition from blogs to social media posts. I now have a deeper understanding of why such a change occurred, being that I've implemented it myself via this page to replace my old "blogs" page. It's an interesting thing to notice.

March 1st, 2024
9:18am

They say you shouldn't drink raw milk because it can spread disease. Without thinking, this makes sense, but if you consider it for just a moment, the question arises: how did people drink milk before pasteurization? They drank raw milk. People have been drinking raw milk for thousands of years, and it wasn't until 1886 that the idea of pasteurizing milk popped up. Why? Health articles online say it's because there is a particular strain of bovine (cow) tuberculosis that was being spread through raw milk and killing 50,000 people a year, and this is most likely true. However, what they don't tell you is that this outbreak of bovine tuberculosis is most definitely caused by keeping large amounts of cows in dirty living conditions and within close proximity to each other. One thing I've noticed over the past year or so is that when you create an unnatural environment, it naturally becomes filthy and disease ridden. Pigs only become filthy when they're confined to a pig pen, same with all other livestock. So then, drinking unpasteurized milk is okay if I know where it's coming from? Most likely. The food regulations come as a side effect of not being in control of where your food comes from. Same with sashimi. How do you suppose they protected against parasites in Edo Japan when they didn't have freezers on hand? They just ate the fish fresh! In our present day we don't know how long our supermarket fish has been in transit, so by the time it reaches our kitchen it really isn't very safe to eat. You can avoid almost all foodborn illnesses by simply knowing where your food comes from, or even better, producing the food yourself. Bringing it back to milk, the reason I'm so strongly for raw milk, and against pasteurized milk, is that raw milk contains lactase. Lactase is the enzyme that helps you break down milk in your stomach. During pasteurization, this lactase is removed, thus leading to many cases in which peoples' bodies don't contain enough lactase to properly digest the milk, so it spoils inside them, hence lactose intolerance. You'll find that when supposed lactose intolerant people drink raw milk, it doesn't affect them at all. This is only one example, but consider this for a moment: if a widely accepted practice, like pasteurization,that we believe to be beneficial is actually causing us harm and discomfort, what other normal things could be harming us?

February 25th, 2024
10:43am

Sake Update

The jug I'm using to ferment my sake. I got it on Amazon for about $10. It's been a little over a week since the fermentation began and you can now start to see a separation between the rice and sake.

Inside the jug it smells kind of like apples, or maybe flowers. I made the mistake of sticking my nose in and taking a huge whiff and I almost passed out, the smell burns your nostrils and your entire body jumps back. You might not be able to see, but it is constantly bubbling. It's like when you open a soda and all the bubbles rush to the top, but it's been doing that nonstop for over a week. This is because yeast, being a fungus, consumes sugar from the rice and spits out carbon dioxide and ethanol as a result, meaning the yeast is currently creating the alcohol and carbonating it. Once the alcohol levels reach a certain point, around 20% ABV, the yeast will no longer be able to live in the sake and it will all die. At that point, the fermentation is done. All that's left is straining and aging!

February 24th, 2024
7:48pm

An excerpt from Musashi:

He (Musashi) had conceived of his present plan while standing by the farmer's fresh grave in the tiny burial ground. "I'll lay down my sword for a time," he had decided, "and work with a hoe instead." Zen, calligraphy, the art of tea, painting pictures, and carving statues were all useful in perfecting one's swordsmanship. Couldn't tilling a field also contribute to his training? Wasn't this broad tract of earth, waiting for someone to bring it under cultivation, a perfect training hall? By changing inhospitable flatlands into farmlands, he would also be promoting the welfare of future generations. He'd lived his whole life like a mendicant Zen priest — on the receiving end, so to speak, depending on other people for food, shelter, and donations. He wanted to make a change, a radical one, since he'd long suspected that only those who had actually grown their own grain and vegetables really understood how valuable they were. Those who hadn't were like priests who did not practice what they preached or swordsmen who learned combat techniques but knew nothing of the Way. As a boy, he had been taken by his mother into the fields and had worked alongside the tenants and villagers. His purpose now, however, was more than just to produce food for his daily meals; he sought nourishment for his soul. He wanted to learn what it meant to work for a living, rather than beg for one. He also wanted to implant his own way of thinking among the people of the district. As he saw it, by surrendering the land to weeds and thistles and giving in to storms and floods, they were passing their hand-to-mouth existence from generation to generation without ever opening their eyes to their own potentialities and those of the land around them.

February 22nd, 2024
9:02pm

Awesome video:

February 19th, 2024
8:18pm

Life is too complicated to understand it with words, go out and experience it firsthand. Subsequently, lived experience is more valuable in the real world than one hundred years of academia.

February 15th, 2024
6:17pm

Attempt #2 at sake (the last one failed)

What could have gone wrong:

• Failed to keep rice at 30C
• Failed to keep rice moist at all times
• Didn't stir rice at exactly the 10 hour mark (was working at the time)

Changes for attempt #2:

• Storing inoculated rice in oven with the light on (oven itself is not on)
• Regularly misting and stirring rice at the 10 hour mark

February 12th, 2024
7:01pm

At some point I'll have to figure something out. I'm only barely stable financially, and it's not with a job I'd particularly enjoy doing for decades. I've resolved to practice a variety of skills, and each with the commitment and dedication that any singular skill demands. Should I try my hand at pottery, I'll pour my entire soul into it. I'll continue martial arts, and continue to practice it as if it were my only path in life, as with everything else.

February 11th, 2024
5:43pm

First attempt at making sake:

• Weighed out 400g of medium-grain rice
• Washed it and soaked in water for one hour
• Drained water and steamed it for 1:30
• Let it cool for a bit until it was 30C
• Mixed in a teaspoon of koji
• UPDATE 02/12/2024: Tried to keep the rice warm and burned it a lil :'(

Changes for future:

• Figure out a way to keep rice from drying out after steaming
• Developed a system for misting the rice while I stir it so it stays moist
• Figure out how to keep rice warm while inoculating

February 11th, 2024
2:34pm

As our society has become over time more logical, more scientific, and more materialist, we have abandoned spiritualism, yet we wonder why life feels so meaningless? I've just read an excerpt in the book Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa where Musashi himself, trapped outside in the freezing cold, blames his coldness on the coldness of his heart toward others, and uses this as a reason to treasure his independence and freedom without having to burden others with his presence. It's interesting, drawing the parallel that if this sort of thing were to happen in the present day, no such revelation would be achieved. A man would simply say, "It's so cold out here, I need to get inside!" rather than resolving any sort of inner conflict within himself that may be causing him to dwell on the cold. Believe it or not, someone with a sound heart and mind can easily brush off even the freezing cold without a second thought. "The difference between a beggar and the great wandering priest Saigyō lies inside the heart!"

February 4th, 2024
9:47am

My very first post on this thing! I threw it together in about half an hour, so I'm sure it will change a lot over time, but this will be the place I put all of my thoughts that I can't quite coherently fit in to a blog post. Maybe this will make my blog posts more readable, who knows.