me and my phone

As mentioned in the previous post, I have an issue with YouTube. I also generally think I spend too much time on my phone (Reddit and Hacker News are my biggest time sinks, with Instagram also contributing). I don't mindlessly scroll as much as I used to, or as much as some people, but it still alarms me how much feel like I need to be checking something, or need my mind stimulated.

So I've deleted all those apps from my phone. Woo hoo, what a novel and introspective thing to do. I'm sure my mother is proud.

Still, the point is, I now find myself with a bit of free time on my hands. I enjoyed the blogging for the week I did it, so I'm going to attempt to busy my fingers and brain with blog posts instead, in a vain attempt to be productive and creative.

Hopefully they'll get better, but I'm planning more, less thought through (probably less exciting) posts. How thrilling.

tags: self

permalink | posted by nathan on Monday, the 15th of March, 2021, while on his lunch break

wasting time

I procrastinate. I think my two settings of work are 100% or 0% - if I am inspired, or understand how to get from point A to point B, I can give things my complete focus. Otherwise, I think it's difficult for me to make progress on anything. YouTube is my biggest time waste - I had a fairly nasty habit of watching videos when I was stuck or confused at work.

On the flip side - I also feel a need to make my free time productive. I feel like I need to relax in the most efficient way possible; that I should be ingesting the highest quality media, or being personally productive in side projects. This usually ends up with procrastinating on deciding what to do, and doing the lowest effort thing - which ends up being YouTube binges. And then I'm neither relaxed or enjoying myself.

I don't have a solution to either of these issues. I don't think I can just think my way out of them: using sheer force of will doesn't seem like a long term fix. But perhaps admitting it and writing it down will highlight the absurdity of the situation.

tags: self

permalink | posted by nathan on Tuesday, the 2th of February, 2021, at some point in the morning

celeste speedrunning

I love Celeste. I got it on my Switch after hearing some of the hype around it, and I genuinely think it's one of the best games I've ever played. I've collected all the strawberries, beaten all the B and C sides and the ridiculous Chapter 9 as well, and even got a few of the golden strawberries (where you beat an entire level without dying). I think I'm fairly decent at the game as well - but speedruns of the game are another level.

TGH was WR holder around the time I started watching runs - I remember watching his first sub-30 run and being blown away. The world record right now is around 27 minutes - it's impossibly precise and is just a treat to watch.

I started attempting speedruns of Celeste in December. My first run was a bit under 2 hours, and I thought with a bit of practice sub-hour would definitely be doable. It was! I got a 58:35, which currently puts me 1497th in the world. I think I'd still like to keep going. Sub 50 definitely seems possible without too much work on strats and technique, just less deaths. We'll see!

tags: games, speedrunning, celeste

permalink | posted by nathan on Monday, the 25th of January, 2021, during the most productive hours of the day

snow!

It almost never snows in London, but it really transforms the city when it does. For some reason, it really gets people to let their guard down and enjoy themselves as well. We had a random chat with a Canadian guy, and everyone just seems happier in general. Maybe I'm just projecting.

tags: london

permalink | posted by nathan on Sunday, the 24th of January, 2021, during the productive hours of the afternoon

richmond park

We bought road bikes during the beginning of the pandemic. I'm not entirely sure what we would have done without them. Long, chill rides have been a great way to pass hours over slow weekends, and allowed us to get out and see some countryside. Some of our best friends are also very into cycling, so it's been nice to be able to meet up and cycle when we've been allowed.

Richmond Park has been a staple of these cycles. It's a classic cycling location for Londoners, as an oasis of countryside within London. I've even managed to get up before work and cycle there a few times (which is usually not something I do).

I've also been to Richmond Park many other times. Picnics with my partner, long walks, longer runs, time with friends, cross country - so much has happened in one place.

There's a short lap and a long lap we do when we cycle around the park. The long lap goes round the perimeter of the park, whilst the short lap skips most of the park by cutting up a hill in the middle. At the top of that hill, there's a view that looks down onto a lake in a dip in the landscape, and back up again towards one of the gates. The other direction looks towards a wooded part of the park. From this viewpoint, I can see so many parts of the park that I have so many memories of. Even some from this year, when sometimes it's so easy to think so little has happened. So it's nice, sometimes, to take a second to enjoy a pleasant view.

tags: cycling, london

permalink | posted by nathan on Saturday, the 23th of January, 2021, getting inspired before falling asleep