mayo

The mood matrix (ie the Microsoft logo). A four quadrant grid to plot energy and pleasantness. Some charts have 100 emotions, others have 4. You can find one online, here are some example (https://transkatgirl.github.io/TheMoodMeter/), https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mood+matrix+chart+meter+-app&t=ffab&iar=images.

Description Blue: Low energy, low pleasantness. This is where depression sits.

Red: High energy, low pleasantness. This is where anger goes.

Yellow: High energy, high pleasant. Festive.

Green: Low energy, high pleasant. Serene, content, calm.

Maybe you know this already. Maybe you also know that you can try to pair your activities with your mood. So why am I sharing? It's a prompt. I've heard of this before, never bothered to try it or never did it successfully. It's worth trying if you're struggling right now and have to work.

My week has been rough, mental health dropped of a cliff after being solid for several weeks. Monday, the usual, 'I can't do this right now' feelings. I'd usually grind through the day, nap with my phone on alert, take a long lunch, stop early and tell myself I'd catch up later when I'm feeling better. Mental health days right? Meanwhile I'm falling behind, having less than positive interactions with coworkers, making mistakes, and just generally making my life worse.

I'll try the mood chart thing, this time I have an LLM to help me think because I'm an idiot.

I only sort of want the day off, but I realize I might be on this roller coaster for a while. What can I actually do today?

1. Red Zone (Angry, Frustrated, Overwhelmed)

• Urgent, high-energy tasks: clearing backlogs, problem-solving, making quick decisions
• Use the frustration energy to push through stuck problems
• Physical tasks: organizing, rearranging, building things.
• Brainstorming: Pull out some paper, a web tool, or whiteboard and come up with ideas and plans. Explore solutions later if that's better.
• Avoid talking to people, mute notifications

2. Yellow Zone (Anxious, Excited)

• Creative work: Channel that restless energy into being creative
• Wrap up projects, put a bow on it and then start something else that sounds fun
• Planning: Outline projects, create to-do lists, or schedule future work.
• Bring donuts

3. Green Zone (Calm, Focused, Happy)

• Deep-focus work: Tackle complex projects, research, writing, meticulous and challenging activities, analysis
• Collaborative tasks: Team meetings, discussions, problem-solving with others.
• Socializing with colleagues, go out for lunch, call someone, bring donuts for people
• Planning. I think planning goes everywhere except blue.

4. Blue Zone (Tired, Sad, Low Energy)

• Low-energy tasks: Organizing files, deleting things, sorting documents, or simple administrative work, simple things, dull tasks that you've been putting off
• Research: Tasks that require reading, learning, or reviewing information at a comfortable pace. Get cozy.
• Planning: review work you've done recently

It's helping me get through this wave. Monday and Tuesday have been better than I expected, I've been productive and I don't feel worse.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19780050

In an interview with POLITICO, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the Ohio-based company produces the steel with the lowest carbon emissions in the world. But he said his company cannot persuade buyers, mostly in the automobile sector, to pay the price to cover the costs of producing more environmentally friendly steel.

Cars! Fuck em.

In an interview with POLITICO, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the Ohio-based company produces the steel with the lowest carbon emissions in the world. But he said his company cannot persuade buyers, mostly in the automobile sector, to pay the price to cover the costs of producing more environmentally friendly steel.

Dang. This looks like a problem.

What is the right attitude to have with drivers or cars on the road as someone who bikes, or walks, or uses another mode of transportation.

I'm looking to adjust my behaviour and want some opinions. How do you treat cars on the road (shared bike/car roads, bike lanes only)

I think there is a good case for adding 'friction' to the lives of drivers. But I'm less sure today. I'm conflicted. Friction comes in a variety of ways, but basically I think of it as me not contributing to the driving experience in a positive way. Eg. if you're a car rushing up to a stop sign with a light on a bike path... we'll I'm not pushing the pedestrian button. I can wait. Good luck turning left on this 4 lane road during rush hour :) I'm not like this if I'm a pedestrian.

Do communities like fuckcars encourage people to adopt a more extreme response to cars? Is the internet radicalizing me? Is it worth it?

The majority of the time biking is great and I'm happy to not be driving around, but sometimes I'm done with cars being cars: dangerous, entitled, and they stink and I lose my patience. Car blocking the entire road? I'm saying something. Car tail gating me? I'm moving to the center of the road until it's safe to pass.

I'm in a Canadian city. I've never had any incidents with cars and I've been commuting on my bike in bike lanes/roads for like 8 years.

More from Zeke Hausfather "Warmest April on record – but a possible return to predictability?" https://substack.com/@hausfath/p-144211216

"Factcheck: Why the recent ‘acceleration’ in global warming is what scientists expect" https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-why-the-recent-acceleration-in-global-warming-is-what-scientists-expect/

I caught covid a couple weeks ago and it's been draining physically as expected but also mentally. Starting week 3 now of not really being able to do anything except walk around the block. Bad habits creeping in. I feel like crap. Spending way too much time on youtube/social media.

I remember in the past that when I started to recover from an illness I'd get a boost of motivation, but I hadn't noticed that I was actually feeling depressed.

I think part of it was feeling weak and not being able to counter intrusive thoughts. All the stress of regular life sort of piled on in and I had no defence against it.

Here are my basics:

• Hydroponics: lettuce, basil, strawberries, microgreens. Cost to implement well ~ $350CDN
• Yoghurt: Cost to implement well ~ $50
• Crochet + yarn: mainly for making dishcloths. $5
• Mayo: I like mayo, obviously, but it doesn’t last very long. Has anyone made mayo that lasts as long as store bought?

More advanced ideas?

• locally sourced meat and eggs: is this cheaper? I’m in Vancouver BC and there are a lot of farms in the valley. Logistics seems challenging.
• jarring: is it worth learning how to do this and investing in the equipment? volunteering at a farm: I’m sure this would net some food
• solar power or bike generator: electricity is cheap here
• minimalism: I’m realizing this is a lifestyle. It has taken me a while to reduce, and I’m still reducing. Are most of you like this?

And things that can save money, but I don’t want to do:

• Bread: I don’t like making bread. Bread machine vs. buying a mixer?
• Beer: I’d like to but last time I tried it was messy and space consuming
• switch to cotton socks and underwear. Quantity over quality.
• no alcohol or drugs: What’s your experience?
• meal prep: savings seem big if combined with jarring. But if I had food prepped I’ll eat it, cheaper to skip meals?

Any other ideas welcome. I’m looking to save $$$ by spending $$