Ask Yakamaru

[Yakamaru 3,073]

Thread name says it all.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them.

Though bear in mind the forum's rules on inappropriate comments/questions and the like.

[SharpWit 2,472]

What's the tallest height you've physically climbed, not including a lengthy stairwell, and what's the worst weather you've found yourself in?

[Props Valroa 25,980]

What would your self from 2016 think of you right now? How would your past self think of where you have gotten today?

[Yakamaru 3,073]

On 10/3/2020 at 7:47 PM, SharpWit said:

What's the tallest height you've physically climbed, not including a lengthy stairwell, and what's the worst weather you've found yourself in?

Tallest height? Does mountains count? If not, hmm..

I would have to say 10 meters. Used to love bathing and often went up high from the platforms that were available. 

Outside though I've done quite a lot of traveling, and hit the peak of Galdhøpiggen over here from the bottom. Somewhat long, but worth it for the nature.

As for worst weather, I would have to say a rather windy storm. Was pouring down hard as well as the wind made it very hard to even walk let alone get any kind of proper foothold on the ground. Weather made it very hard to see farther than 30 meters ahead.

On 10/4/2020 at 3:15 AM, Scar said:

What would your self from 2016 think of you right now? How would your past self think of where you have gotten today?

Quite frankly considering all the changes, the me from 4 years ago would most likely ask if you've been taking some really hard drugs. XD

4 years is quite a long time. 

He would no doubt cry tears of joy knowing that the prison and Hell that he lives in he will some day be free from. Free from all the shackles that keep him down and bind him. That all the pain and suffering, the mental breakdowns, were all worth it in the end. 

On 10/4/2020 at 3:46 AM, You said:

Did you ever think to go by name Nick Furry online?

What makes you to like Furries, which shows or animes?

How did you get into that?

Nick Furry? Nah. Too generic a name. And doesn't really fit anyway. 

I like Furry as a general interest/hobby. Commissioning art from artists is always fun, and I have a pretty decently sized collection from a lot of different artists. Don't even want to think about how much money I've spent on art. 

Hmm, as for how I got into it, I started being active around April-ish 2016. Found some rather nice people whom I chose to stick around with. And the rest is history I 'spose.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Yakamaru
Damn phone typos

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,690]

For your way of thinking or general outlook onto the world, who or what have been key influences on you?

[Yakamaru 3,073]

21 hours ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

For your way of thinking or general outlook onto the world, who or what have been key influences on you?

Hmm.

There are quite a lot of people who have been influential on my outlook on the world. Though key influences? Hmm...

Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Sowell, Dalai Lama and Jordan B. Peterson.

[Tao 6,707]

Favorite fast food joint?

[Yakamaru 3,073]

59 minutes ago, Tao said:

Favorite fast food joint?

Hmm. San Marinos have hella good food.

[Yoshi89 5,290]

What is your top item on your bucket list?

[ToastedScone 378]

You mentioned phone typos...so what phone are you using, and do you keep autocorrect on or off?

[Tao 6,707]

14 hours ago, Yakamaru said:

Hmm. San Marinos have hella good food.

I just like wendy's from time to time.

Go to comfort food when ur down? 

[Yakamaru 3,073]

16 hours ago, Yoshi89 said:

What is your top item on your bucket list?

Travel around the world and visit all my friends. I don't really mix my IRL and net lives, though some people are an exception to that.

May just do a month or two long road trip across the Americas.

4 hours ago, ToastedScone said:

You mentioned phone typos...so what phone are you using, and do you keep autocorrect on or off?

Good lord, autocorrect. xD

No, I don't use autocorrect. I find it too confusing and annoying to use, not to mention I get the desired result when I type everything manually anyway.

I use a Samsung XCover 4S, having upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy S4 after like 6 years. I like having something sturdy, and the XCover covers that quite nicely. That, and my line of work kinda make having a somewhat sturdy phone, well, not exactly a necessity but extremely useful.

3 hours ago, Tao said:

I just like wendy's from time to time.

Go to comfort food when ur down? 

San Marinos have good food, same with Salt & Pepper.

Oh, right. Forgot to post some pics of the possible food you can get..

Chicken kebab plate from San Marinos.

Spoiler

Then you have takeaway chicken penne from Salt & Pepper.

Spoiler

Salt & Pepper often send a LOT of food, so much to the point where I have issues finishing it all.

And no, I don't eat while I am down as a coping mechanism.

[Props Valroa 25,980]

Heres a deep question: 

You get a vision from yourself from the future. Your future self warns of a military conflict between India and China in 2022 that starts the third world war. How do you react, and how do yo u prepare fori t?

[Yakamaru 3,073]

16 minutes ago, Scar said:

Heres a deep question: 

You get a vision from yourself from the future. Your future self warns of a military conflict between India and China in 2022 that starts the third world war. How do you react, and how do yo u prepare fori t?

Hmm, interesting question.

First of, it will enable me to prepare for the coming conflict.

Stock up on food, water and other necessities with a preference towards food that is vacuum-packed and have a long shelf-life. Look up what weapons I can own for personal self defense, possibly get a knife I can hide on my body somewhere so I can be prepared if someone choose to attack me on the streets or the like. Having a weapon locker is mandatory if you intend to have any sort of rifle, shotgun or pistol or the like, so I will probably get one for storing a couple of weapons. "Better safe than sorry" will be the approach I will be taking, as I don't exactly trust most people to begin with, especially not when war is looming or for that matter, is happening on a global scale.

Though there's the possibility that I may be enlisted into the military, too. At which point I will much prefer to be in logistics as I have never been fond of intentionally taking a life even if it's in self-defense. But I value my own life over someone who intends to kill me, so..

Buuuut. Driving a tank sounds hella fun!

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,690]

On 10/6/2020 at 5:22 PM, Yakamaru said:

Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Sowell, Dalai Lama and Jordan B. Peterson.

Interesting. Given the influences of those intellectuals, how do you view the matter of religion versus Atheism?

 

Some time ago you made a thread about what Centrism is (and I am assuming you still describe yourself as that). I wonder how you view it in relation to some of Sowell's insights in A Conflict of Visions and Knowledge and Decisions (perhaps the following would be more appropriate in that thread though I will leave this here for the moment).

Some time ago I would have gone by describing myself as a Centrist. But I would wonder if such a position is ultimately temporary as one's fundamental vision influences this or that political belief. The people who are for abortion rights are usually the same people for increased gun restrictions and usually the same people for increased minimum wage; Sowell points out that this group of seemingly unrelated issues can be explained how one's fundamental vision of reality as being constrained (or tragic) or unconstrained (or utopian). I wonder if several years later, there will have been some underlying logic behind the various beliefs you hold and Centrism will no longer be an applicable description of your views?

One thing that has lead me to stray away from Centrism is the realization of the entrenchment of special interests and bureaucracy. If it were the case that government functions can be expanded when needed and rescinded when its purposes have been served, there is a greater chance I would still go by that description. But that is not usually the case in how government functions. Taking issues on a case by case basis is good, however in the end the question is what the government is to do about it (if it should be involved at all)? Because those in government agencies operate by their own self-interest rather than the interest of the people.

If you are familiar with A Conflict of Visions and Knowledge and Decisions, is the Centrist position ultimately a temporary one, and would the Centrist unintentionally be granting increasing permanent powers to the government? If you are not familiar with Conflict of Visions or/and Knowledge and Decisions, I would recommend reading them if you are deeply invested in these matters -- the latter in particular by no means make for light reading but one would gain an understanding of the nature of bureaucracy. Because the problems he raises make the case that the effectiveness of government action is far more limited than what is more commonly believed.

Edit: If investing at least 20 hours into the matter is not of interest to you which is understandable, there does exists an audiobook of Knowledge and Decisions.I will leave this here for your future reference in case you decide the time investment may be worth it.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Luna the Great of all the Russias

[Yakamaru 3,073]

19 hours ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

Interesting. Given the influences of those intellectuals, how do you view the matter of religion versus Atheism?

I look upon it more as a matter of dogma vs no dogma and more free-thinking, as religions by and large are dogmatic in nature. Most religions are dogmatic, especially the Abrahamic ones.

I've never throughout my life been religious despite my Protestant upbringing and having been baptized, and never will be religious in the future.

I find religion to be fairy tales, and like with other fairy tales, children at some point will have to grow up and understand that these fairy tales are just that, fairy tales.

19 hours ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

Some time ago you made a thread about what Centrism is (and I am assuming you still describe yourself as that). I wonder how you view it in relation to some of Sowell's insights in A Conflict of Visions and Knowledge and Decisions (perhaps the following would be more appropriate in that thread though I will leave this here for the moment).

Some time ago I would have gone by describing myself as a Centrist. But I would wonder if such a position is ultimately temporary as one's fundamental vision influences this or that political belief. The people who are for abortion rights are usually the same people for increased gun restrictions and usually the same people for increased minimum wage; Sowell points out that this group of seemingly unrelated issues can be explained how one's fundamental vision of reality as being constrained (or tragic) or unconstrained (or utopian). I wonder if several years later, there will have been some underlying logic behind the various beliefs you hold and Centrism will no longer be an applicable description of your views?

One thing that has lead me to stray away from Centrism is the realization of the entrenchment of special interests and bureaucracy. If it were the case that government functions can be expanded when needed and rescinded when its purposes have been served, there is a greater chance I would still go by that description. But that is not usually the case in how government functions. Taking issues on a case by case basis is good, however in the end the question is what the government is to do about it (if it should be involved at all)? Because those in government agencies operate by their own self-interest rather than the interest of the people.

If you are familiar with A Conflict of Visions and Knowledge and Decisions, is the Centrist position ultimately a temporary one, and would the Centrist unintentionally be granting increasing permanent powers to the government? If you are not familiar with Conflict of Visions or/and Knowledge and Decisions, I would recommend reading them if you are deeply invested in these matters -- the latter in particular by no means make for light reading but one would gain an understanding of the nature of bureaucracy. Because the problems he raises make the case that the effectiveness of government action is far more limited than what is more commonly believed.

Hmm. Quite a lot to respond to here, so I will try as best as I can, and not clutter the reply entirely with pointless/unrelated drivel. If I missed something, let me know.

These are some rather interesting questions that quite frankly may or will take time to more thoroughly unwrap. The names I listed are only some of whom I can at the top of my head actually name.

Yes, I do consider myself a Centrist, and have for several years now. The closest ideology that I am to would be Classical Liberalism although I don't exactly subscribe to it. Here's a condensed version of my perspectives on those three mentioned topics: Mainly pro abortion, against gun control and minimum wage. If wanted though I can go into more details on my stances, though it will most likely have to be elsewhere as these topics are political in nature.

Now, unlike Jordan Peterson whom I am pretty familiar with, I am not THAT familiar with Thomas Sowell to be honest with you. I've seen a pretty decent amount of videos of his as well as his appearance on Joe Rogan's, which was a blast like with a lot of other people appearing on Joe's show. Whenever I find an interesting individual I tend to look them up quite a bit and watch a lot of their speeches, talks, etc, and Thomas is the next on the list over people whom I want to do some thorough research on. Thomas Sowell is one I have gotten an interest in, and have already affected my train of thought decently enough already to get mentioned. As in, his takes are very interesting and I wouldn't mind getting deeper into it. Will have to look into both A Conflict of Visions as well as Knowledge and Decisions, though I am not familiar with either of those books.

Personally I don't know if Centrism is a temporary stance or a more permanent one, as people change daily, although it's often very subtle and can take many, many years. It took me many years to move from being somewhat far on the Left to where I am now, in the center. But it sounds fun to explore the perspective more thoroughly. And thanks for the videos, by the way. Will check out Knowledge and Decisions as time permits.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Yakamaru

[Props Valroa 25,980]

What do you think would have happened if in mlp Sunset stayed as a bully in the canterlot high school, Starlight was never reformed but just fled and never came back and became a re-occurring villain?

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 2,690]

3 hours ago, Yakamaru said:

Now, unlike Jordan Peterson whom I am pretty familiar with, I am not THAT familiar with Thomas Sowell to be honest with you. I've seen a pretty decent amount of videos of his as well as his appearance on Joe Rogan's, which was a blast like with a lot of other people appearing on Joe's show. Whenever I find an interesting individual I tend to look them up quite a bit and watch a lot of their speeches, talks, etc, and Thomas is the next on the list over people whom I want to do some thorough research on. Thomas Sowell is one I have gotten an interest in, and have already affected my train of thought decently enough already to get mentioned. As in, his takes are very interesting and I wouldn't mind getting deeper into it. Will have to look into both A Conflict of Visions as well as Knowledge and Decisions, though I am not familiar with either of those books.

If you do become interested in purchasing Sowell's books, feel free to ask me about them; I have read quite a bit of them (though for some it has been quite a while). But to summarize, his works can be categorized in the following ways:
-Basic economics and economic theory.
-Political Theory.
-Empirical studies on government policies and institutions.
-Empirical studies on various culture.
-Empirical studies on various races and ethnic groups.
-Essay collections.

I found that it has been well worth reading all types of subjects on which he has written. Though I should note that his books seem to generally be intended to be standalone so if you were to read enough of his books you sometimes find the same sets of data being re-used.

3 hours ago, Yakamaru said:

Yes, I do consider myself a Centrist, and have for several years now. The closest ideology that I am to would be Classical Liberalism although I don't exactly subscribe to it. Here's a condensed version of my perspectives on those three mentioned topics: Mainly pro abortion, against gun control and minimum wage. If wanted though I can go into more details on my stances, though it will most likely have to be elsewhere as these topics are political in nature. 

3 hours ago, Yakamaru said:

Personally I don't know if Centrism is a temporary stance or a more permanent one, as people change daily, although it's often very subtle and can take many, many years. It took me many years to move from being somewhat far on the Left to where I am now, in the center. But it sounds fun to explore the perspective more thoroughly. And thanks for the videos, by the way. Will check out Knowledge and Decisions as time permits. 

It will be interesting to see to what extent he may influence your way of thinking.

Edited October 9, 2020 by Luna the Great of all the Russias

[Yakamaru 3,073]

On 10/8/2020 at 11:24 PM, Scar said:

What do you think would have happened if in mlp Sunset stayed as a bully in the canterlot high school, Starlight was never reformed but just fled and never came back and became a re-occurring villain?

Hmm. It could leave for an interesting long-term plot for a while, though could also easily end up as just another factor to drive the plot forward, like Team Rocket from Pokemon. You know they're going to pop up, you just don't know when, where or how.

I am not against this format/formula, as it's a format that have been proven to work, as the setting, interactions and conversations are different. Good example would be, hmm.. Powerpuff Girls with all the villains in that series. There is always something new, some new interaction, some new conversation, something new happening, but you want to know because our species is naturally curious and thus that curiosity is going to want you to know.

Though it can get boring after a while, and people will naturally lose interest due to knowing the characters and universe that the characters exist in.

On 10/9/2020 at 3:08 AM, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

If you do become interested in purchasing Sowell's books, feel free to ask me about them; I have read quite a bit of them (though for some it has been quite a while). But to summarize, his works can be categorized in the following ways:
-Basic economics and economic theory.
-Political Theory.
-Empirical studies on government policies and institutions.
-Empirical studies on various culture.
-Empirical studies on various races and ethnic groups.
-Essay collections.

I found that it has been well worth reading all types of subjects on which he has written. Though I should note that his books seem to generally be intended to be standalone so if you were to read enough of his books you sometimes find the same sets of data being re-used.

Depending on what kind of data/data set it is, it will indeed be reoccurring. If data is reoccurring then the data is usually of importance.

I'll add A Conflict of Visions and Knowledge and Decisions to my list over books to read.

On 10/9/2020 at 3:08 AM, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

It will be interesting to see to what extent he may influence your way of thinking.

I can't predict the future, so I can only make some vague guesses depending on the data I have. The more accurate and broad the data, the more narrow and specific the guess become.

Though.. When it comes to who and for that matter what influences me I can't tell you. If I find something of value I will implement it into my life and perspectives.