Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Revel in the Work

    In the course of my own prayer and ritual stuff, I make use of prostration as a posture, since my shrine is a low table that I kneel at. I find doing prostration (think the Islamic prayer type of kneeling) to be a good way to break up multiple parts of my prayer/ritual routine into little chunks. I have a short little prayer I recite every time I prostrate, except for the first and last times I do so as I "salute" my shrine when starting or ending work. For that, I silently recount to myself this: [...]

  • Several Game Recommendations

    There are many games I appreciate which do not enjoy a great deal of publicity. The purpose of this modest list is to promote those games in an honest manner so that you, the reader, may find something of value. Please note that I may write about some of these more extensively in time.

  • Fluoride Toothpaste vs Mouthwash

    A while ago I noticed that fluoride mouthwash has less than 25% the fluoride that toothpaste has in it, and have been wondering if that means it's less effective than using fluoridated toothpaste. I think for maximum effiacy you're supposed to leave toothpaste in so the fluoride stays, and while I'm fine with that in the morning there is no way in hell I'm not washing all the loosened food bits out of my mouth at night lol, especially after flossing which I do after brushing my teeth. But then I still like the idea of getting that fluoride action going. But then, from a superficial look, it appears that fluoride in mouthwash may be so low as to not really help, or perhaps actively get worse if it washes away the small amount of fluoride left in your mouth from the toothpaste. So I figured I'd spend five minutes calculating it lol.

  • So You Want to Get Into Philosophy

    Take this from someone who has no prior knowledge of philosophy and is majoring in it as an undergraduate at a public university in the US. This is what I would do if I wanted to continue my interest in philosophy if I was unable to continue now that I have more of an inside scoop.

    What you want to avoid is pop philosophy like YouTube edutainers that give rise to distortions like Broicism. What YouTube is good for is talks that have been given and actual interviews.

    Kuhn's Closer to Truth is a good series especially with regards to philosophers of religion, his politics which have nothing to do with the show aside. The History of Philosophy podcast is a good one.

  • Kompakt or LP3

    Talking about Light Phone 3 and Mudita Kompakt while having seen neither device, and also some talk about InkPalm Plus, Nokia 8210, iPad Pro, and the old Mudita Pure, all of which I’ve used extensively.

  • Singular they

    I’ve referred to enby friends and fam using singular they/them for over twenty years. I support them. Do not leave, I’m not about to reinstate Monica.

  • Against religion?

    One atheist friend of mine had a really good argument against what I was doing, that I’m still grappling with. He said that religion is like a hydra. It does so many evil things, and the fact that some of its heads—like mine—appear good or even are good, makes it harder to fight the whole thing.

    My own thinking is that people who believe in gravity or that the sky is blue or that 2+2 is 4 also “are a hydra” and also do some evil things.