njordomir
@njordomir@lemmy.world
- Comment on Jesus hates American "Christians" 2 weeks ago:
It sounds like we were similarly inquisitive children, perhaps to the point of making adults uncomfortable.
My European mother is the reason religion didn’t fuck me up worse than it did. I was also forced to go to church as a kid, but even within our own family there were differences in thought and opinion that still managed to exist in civil dinner table discourse. My mother seems to have gone through her own questioning process, it just didn’t take her to extreme atheism but rather she arrived at more of a mystical Abrahammic monotheism. When I was older, I fell into the trap of religion on my own (Evangelical Christianity) and it’s changed the course of my life significantly in both good and bad ways.
A decade to a decade and a half later I’m mostly over it. I’m comfortable with my current belief system and I live life openly and honestly with 95% of people I meet. If I had to describe myself I’d call myself a self-rolled Buddhist-Atheist.
I’m not envious of those Christians with enough of a conscience to realize what’s going, but who are reliant on “American Christians™” for their community, support, spirituality/philosophy/introspection. They have difficult and painful decisions ahead of them. You can only ignore your conscience for so long, but the first to defect will be shunned and hated and will likely lose their entire social circles. That happened to me. They will also be susceptible, as we all are, to similar tactics and abuses as those doled out by their former religion. You don’t leave and suddenly become a mastermind at spotting abuse of power and become immediately immune. If anyone reading this falls into that category, I would recommend finding a nice, non-religious hobby where you see people from different walks of life on a regular basis. Bicycling groups, social dances, gardening collectives, etc. People are pretty nice outside of the bubble. You’ll be okay.
- Comment on Jesus hates American "Christians" 2 weeks ago:
I’m a Buddatheist who grew up with both cultural Catholicism and later Christian Evangelicism.
I like how this hints at the nature of the self. If I leave someone behind am I not also leaving myself behind?
For me, ethical acts are those that increase the freedom of the self and others. We all suffer. That’s a fact of life. If we dissolve our concept of the self and acknowledge our link to others and the world itself we can see ourselves more as threads going through human experience. If we are kind to ourselves and “others”, we have a better chance at reducing that suffering.
Imagine the time a stranger forgot their wallet and you paid for their coffee. A version of that experience could still exist in that person’s mind long after you die. It could get blended with other experiences and reinterpreted. It could be told as a story to a friend who was inspired by the act. The cascading effects of that person being properly caffeinated on that day could have world changing effects. In a similar way, I carry the shared experiences of my own ancestors and even strangers who have shared their stories with me. They are still alive as a small part of me because my true self is humanity or even some animating life force of the universe or something like that and the name that people call me just refers to the limited perspective and incomplete view I have of existence. Essentially I see existence as blinders limiting my perspective like a race horse, but the true self is a satellite view of the track. When I act, I do so based not only on my experience, but the collective experience of every perspective and experience that has been conveyed to me in every way, but I am still one human body, in physical space, subject to time. I hope that when I die, those blinders will be lifted and I’ll exist as pure conscious perception of everything that ever was is and will be. Able to see through anyone’s eyes, in any time. To feel any and every feeling felt my an animal or human. To view the entirety of existence as a completed masterpiece from outside time itself.
You can probably see why I like the Buddhists.
I find that when you acknowledge the interconnection of things compassion becomes easier.
I hope that people rediscover that within themselves and others.
- Comment on Jesus hates American "Christians" 2 weeks ago:
Last night’s Southpark kind of hinted at this topic a little bit. I’m curious to see where they take it, but I won’t post any spoilers here because I don’t know who has seen it.
- Comment on [deleted] 2 months ago:
I could probably learn a lot from the thread. If I don’t clean it while it’s still warm, I tend to resort to coarse salt, a bit of oil, and a scrubby sponge. Either way, it’s not easy for me to clean, especially after eggs.
- Comment on Is there gospel music minus the gospel? 2 months ago:
You might find some of those influences in PJ Morton’s music. Sample: youtu.be/2F9pL06IC8k
C2C has a really cool electro-gospel song that doesn’t have overly religious lyrics, though it captures the vibes excellently: youtube.com/watch?v=tvY7Nw1i6Kw
- Comment on What is the difference between a platonic and a romantic relationship? 3 months ago:
Agreed, and friends are great. To expand even further: The fact that romance/friendship exists as a dichotomy rather than a spectrum or a pick-and-choose DIY relationship grab bag is testament to the way many people expect their partner to be their person, their one and only, when in reality we should be in the supportive community of friends and want the same for our partners. I want my partner to have friends because I can’t put up with their shit 24/7 … and vice versa!
There’s also a stereotype about the friend zone, but even as a straight dude I’ve dated a few friends. The key is to date people you like as your friends, not to pick your “friends” so you can get close enough to date them. It’s friendship+, not friendshipOR.
- Comment on What is the difference between a platonic and a romantic relationship? 3 months ago:
I don’t know if I could have a romantic relationship without some sort of sexual feelings involved or at least a potential for them.
- A relationship is platonic if I want to spend time with someone doing things but don’t want to cuddle, have sex, or kiss.
- A relationship is sexual if sex is the focus, though friendship may be present.
- A relationship is romantic when both sex and friendship are focused.
Let me just say that this is my answer and there is no right answer. It’s more important to clearly communicate your desires and ask other people about theirs.
These semi-arbitrary lines exist to help you learn to paint, but ultimately, you and your partner(s) are the artists of your relationships and if you’re painting with the right person(s) you can paint however you want, though you should act ethically and respect other’s self-determination.
- Comment on AI-generated search result descriptions 3 months ago:
I miss the days when you would get a cached page highlighting the exact places where the search engine found your keywords. The pool of websites felt bottomless and the only thing holding you back was the challenge of picking the exact perfect combination of search terms and operators to narrow it down.
Search engines have no nuance anymore. It feels like they just dumb down your search to the most relevant thing you can buy now and fill out the rest with vaguely related filler sites. That or they dump you on quora where they will harass you to log in to read anything and spam you mercilessly if you do.
- Comment on Owners of laptops with very cheap aftermarket batteries, is it worth the discount? 3 months ago:
I’ve replaced the battery on my laptop twice. Didn’t recognize the brand (might have been Dentsing or something like that) but it outperformed the stock battery in it’s flattening state and maybe even when it was new! I watched it pretty closely for a while though and I’d NEVER buy a battery off temu.
- Comment on What are your approaches to donating? 4 months ago:
If there is a donation button and its a project, media item, service, etc that I use enough that I would buy it, I often donate. The amount depends on how badly they need the help. If I they try to steer me to recurring donations I don’t donate at all (having the option as an opt-in is okay).
- Comment on Ads when you’re pumping gas 4 months ago:
They’re loud as hell too. Makes me want to put a shishkabob skewer through either my eardrum or the speaker. That my be an exaggeration, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that I actively the avoid gas stations in my city that have this “feature”.
- Comment on The world is falling apart! Send us your money! 5 months ago:
I hate how everyone follows the social marketing playbook now. There’s so little community building and genuine connection with constituents. Everything is optimized by some social media marketing guru types with a masters degree in being an asshole.
- Comment on The world is falling apart! Send us your money! 5 months ago:
One $5 donation buys you a decade of nagging donation emails and a bunch of capitulating spineless politicians.
- Comment on [deleted] 5 months ago:
I’d like to think as a group, we are a healthier addiction than Reddit. :)
- Comment on [deleted] 5 months ago:
This is a good reminder. I recommend everyone grab their takeout data every now and then, but also, print out the 6 codes and put them in a safe deposit box, safe, bury them in a ziplock bag inside of a coffee can in your yard, etc. Hopefully it will be a waste of your time, but if you need them, they’ll be there.
- Comment on Companies that list all their products, but don't explain the different product lines suck. 6 months ago:
I think that’s exactly what it is. They do these confusing pricing schemes hoping people will overbuy and “put up with” the extra features they didn’t actually want or need. They want you to have to sift through their product inventory before buying. The other factor is that product identity is sometimes not even centered around product features, but rather around an ad campaign with a sexy spokesperson, sports sponsorships, or some kind of performative group affinity. This is especially true for large corporations that have their hands in many cookie jars.
Glad to know I’m not just getting too old and out of touch for the internet. :P
- Submitted 6 months ago to mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world | 22 comments
- Comment on Is there a good way to import/export/migrate playlists between platforms? 6 months ago:
Tidal recommended this one when I moved from Spotify a few years ago. It worked, but I don’t know anything else about it: tidal.com/transfer-music
- Comment on Other than a faulty charging port, is there any reason to use a wireless phone charger over wired? 6 months ago:
Is yours under the surface? I tried using one, but didn’t like the clutter of the pad on my desk. I’m a special kind of neat freak in my immediate work space though.
- Comment on What is your bath mat situation? 7 months ago:
My partner bought a diatomaceous earth bathmat to replace the rug in front of the shower. It’s like stepping onto a piece of cardboard, so zero points for luxury. It does catch and re-evaporate the water well, so full marks there. Humidity is naturally low here, so no I have little to no worries about mold.
- Comment on Could your body adjust if you separated your macros into meals? Like all carbs for breakfast, all fat for lunch and all protein for dinner? What would happen? 7 months ago:
I don’t have an answer for you, but I do want to say: great question.
- Comment on How long do you think we'll keep seeing "formerly Twitter"? 11 months ago:
They really shouldn’t be allowed to name anything after a single letter. VW, BMW, ABC, TBS are all bad enough. X conflicts with too many established uses.
- Comment on Is it offensive for me as a man to dress as a male version of a female fictional character for Halloween?' 11 months ago:
I can’t see a problem with fictional characters. It’s when you bring in the real people that the drama starts. Trans JK Rowling, KaMANla Harris, Hillbilly Eilish, and Marjory Taylor Peen all seem like they would raise a few eyebrows.
- Comment on Why do cell phones have a data limit but home internet doesn't? 1 year ago:
My German friends and family don’t believe me when I tell them how expensive internet and phone is in the US. They all think it’s expensive in Germany. Having said that, there are some big differences in take home pay.
- Comment on Why do residential skyscrapers always seem to include balconies that never get used? 1 year ago:
Agreed. I live on my back patio when it’s warm enough. I’ve gotten called out (not in a bad way) on meetings for my hammock background. ;-)
- Comment on Why are peole hating on .world? 1 year ago:
I want you all to know that I’m happy you’re here, cis het white male frat boy from old wealth with an ivy league education or a neorospicy gay trans Jewish anarcho-communist and everything else out there.
While I won’t judge you on your instance, I will judge you on your ability to be a good neighbor. I’m always glad to see humility, kindness, empathy, comradery, etc. on display.
- Comment on Does anyone watch Google, Microsoft, etc the way Cop Watch watches cops? 1 year ago:
I’m surprised I didn’t think of the EFF despite donating to them before. Thank you for the links.
- Comment on Does anyone watch Google, Microsoft, etc the way Cop Watch watches cops? 1 year ago:
This looks really interesting. I try to get stories from varied sources, but don’t particularly want it “curated” for me. I’m going to add this to my rotation.
- Comment on Does anyone watch Google, Microsoft, etc the way Cop Watch watches cops? 1 year ago:
You got closer than I did. I didn’t mention it in the original post, but I also tried duckduckgo with little luck. I hope to god this is peak enshittification because I can imagine how it gets worse from here.
- Comment on Does anyone watch Google, Microsoft, etc the way Cop Watch watches cops? 1 year ago:
Yes, I tried Duckduckgo, but also didn’t get great results. Admittedly, I could have revised my terms a few more times, but I’ve had good luck with things Lemmy recommends, and this doesn’t really seem like a niche interest on this site.
Thanks for the recommendation on all the 3 letter agencies. I bet there are mountains of CSPAN coverage out there for me to watch.