Never take someone seriously online. and im the first example to that. seriously. i could write an entire page about how i’ve rediscovered my soul, poured my heart onto the floor, stared dramatically into the distance and contemplated the meaning of human connection. and then wake up the next morning and decide it was probably because i forgot to have a cigarette. or alcohol. actually, that explains a lot. oops. i missed my daily dosage of terrible decisions and, in its absence, developed emotions. How embarrassing, Ahmed. I should really be more careful with myself. anyway, this is why you should never take anything you read online too seriously. people believe absolutely everything these days. if i told you i was a horse, there would be someone somewhere going, “ Wow. i always knew there was something different about him.” No, you didnt. lets not lie to each other. you saw a man type four paragraphs and decided you understood his entire biology. i could make up a completely different life tomorrow and half of you would accept it without hesitation. new name, new age, new personality. suddenly im a retired fisherman living in Norway with seven cats and a very very tragic history involving a lighthouse. and you’d believe me. you’d probably ask what the cats are called. fuck you’d even ask me if im doing alright. this is funny, when people treat whatever someone tells them about themselves online as unquestionable fact. i would say.. the internet has abounded its own skepticism. you can announce that you’re anything, claim you’ve lived through anything, tell everyone you’ve been someone completely different for the last twenty years, and people will nod solemnly through the screen like they’ve been handed official government documentation with no questions or doubt. just a “thank you for sharing your truth !” How inspiring. meanwhile, i could tell you tomorrow that my name is ahmed, im actually 20 years old, I’ve murdered several people, i own an unnecessarily large collection of antique knives, and ive been living under a fake identity since 2014. and someone would reply “Wow. im really glad you felt comfortable enough to share this!!! “. Thank you. it means alot. the murder allegations are completely legitimate, by the way. Please don’t investigate them. i also have three passports and a pigeon named tofu who handles my finances. tofu is very trustworthy. has never committed tax fraud. allegedly, and somehow, someone would still believe every word of it. even ask me what my favorite knife is. The old italian stiletto i bought from an antique dealer in Milan, obviously. apparently belonged to a retired military officer in the 1920s. very normal thing to own. So yes, dont believe everything i write. but dont go assuming its all nonsense either. id hate to give myself that much credit for being funny. some of it happend some of it is non of your business and, oh for gods sake. listen to me, sitting here explaining myself to people on the inernet like im submitting evidence in court. silly me.

Anyway, im done being profound for today. you can stop reading by now, i have nothing to say. which means ill write again sometime..

Sincerely, A very unserious man with too much internet access.

A Brief Summary: the editor expresses grievance at Sunday morn gym phenomena.

Most Sundays (in optimal conditions) I take the train into downtown Chicago and attend a mass at St. James Episcopal Cathedral. Now I'll skip out on doing that in circumstances where potential recent public exposures may have occurred or when comms are compromised. I don't need to bring my problems to where good nice people go to worship and pray. Recently, as part of what I can best describe as an attempted multimedia art project (read: protracted multi-forum flame war), I got dressed up in a latex catsuit and a silicone incubus mask and emotionally terrorized every gay in the region, for completely professional and morally justified causes. Scientific even, perchance?

Now like all healthy upright ethical citizens, I wake up at 3:33 in the morning from the horrors and sprint straight to the gym to make good use of all that adrenaline! But this morning, I decided to be kind to myself and sleep in (3:47), took a nice hot shower with pumice and a deep hair conditioning, then took a leisurely morning stroll to the gym. It was 66°, misty and foggy and the red sun hung lazily beneath shredded cotton wisps of mauve clouds, heaving with rainwater in their electrified wombs. Swallowtail butterflies and goldfinches and bumblebees had begun coming back to the area for the nightshade & peach trees, and a den of fox kits have dug a Ranger Grave near the park basketball court. I think it's important to savor the sensory experiences of the living, breathing world around us, rather than absentmindedly relegating it to a subject of academic interest – only ever theory, never practice...

---

I had outlived my proselytizing zealot phase of Christendom around the time I was 16, but I can speak to the mindset and headspace of religious fundamentalism – an important distinction. I was proficient enough in ceremonial magic and Kundalini yoga that it went places too – but that's not the central focus of our article this Sunday. No, I'm a unique witness to the things that come to pass on this world, and there is not much need to expound upon that statement any further because you would not believe me. But for the sake of this article, we're going to discuss the proliferation of the fitness industry as observed through the lens of it's transition from a fringe hobby to an enforced cultural expectation and a cornerstone of commercial retail industry. When I take that train downtown, I see increasingly bizarre advertisements that could not appeal to any consumer let alone I, along with no less than a handful of promotions for GLP-1 injectable fat-loss drugs and peptides and other such chemicals whose properties I have not dedicated the necessary time to study. The author of this article will assume that his readership has done their own homework because I don't have them time or patience to break this down for you Barney style, privates. While I have no formal education, that has blessed me with an inferiority complex that lead to semi-competency in physics and chemistry. I'm vaguely aware that Joe Rogan recently lobbied the President to legalize ibogaine, but I haven't gotten around to reading that article yet. Kava and Kratom and tinctures of flowers that I've never even heard of are on offer at the small local smoke shop that I frequent for aromatic tobaccos for my churchwarden. In the timeframe between 16 and 17 I'd gotten over a particularly troubling breakup with a rabbi's daughter (guess why) and taken up smoking marijuana in the advent of salvia divinorum and K2. For those who aren't tracking, K2 is JWH-018, which is an isolate of the cannabinoid in THC that gets you stoned – the problem being is that when you smoke reefer, you're getting a full bouquet of hundreds of different chemicals that all work in tandem to properly align with neurotransmitters and produce the desired and intended effect of the aforementioned drug in the brain. JWH-018 is delivered via spraying it onto consumer variety grade potpourri using naptha as an evaporative (allegedly) binding agent to then pass the blood brain barrier via smoke inhalation, but that lack of said other cannabinoids means the end user often experienced severe disruptions in their body's homeostasis which caused overheating, dehydration and subsequent violent hallucinatory psychosis. The two fat girls coming back from the world's lamest “goth” (-18) nightclub agreed to blow me in the park ended up rolling a grape blunt with that stuff and reader, as someone's who's done real legitimate LSD by the tenstrip and most of the TiHKAL/PiHKAL catalog? It's probably not a bad thing they made that shit illegal because I tossed my cookies during the party, and I will never forgive it for that. Ah yes, the halcyon days of Erowid. In a different article, I'll regale you with a story of smalltown Robitussin abuse eipdemic that ended up getting a French emo's throat slashed. Which brings us back to the focus of this article, the gradual cultural proliferation of the fitness industry and enforced beauty standards, and how we can extrapolate general intel about civilian subjects at my gym on a Sunday morning. But funny!

Yes, that is definitely how Mike Royko talked.

Actually, I'm not a qualified researcher, I'm definitely not paying for access to research portals, and I'm not under any obligation to do longform journalism for the sake of shitposting about Boomers. Nevertheless reader, this paragraph over here will provide some very superficial data to support my argument, which you may feel free to dispute or point out as logically inconsistent or assumptive. According to data provided by the Health and Fitness Association, the cohort of Americans that attended health clubs at least once a month rose by 45% amongst the aggregate population from the years 2010-2019, and while the fitness industry itself only accounts for about 0.20% of the total GDP, that still accounts for $145 billion annually. Let's step away from the graphs and charts for a moment and get back to this being an op-ed, shall we?

Back in 2012 when I'd allocate my disposable income to supplements at the local vitamin store, I would occasionally buy the beefcake magazines along with my monthly rations of poor tasting overpriced and 80% chalk by volume protein powder, creatine, BCAA's, greens powder, et. allia. The salesman was always too over enthusiastic but he'd been the guy in the neighborhood since my first creatine pills in middle school, so I stayed his customer until he got iced on his motorcycle. Back to the magazines, since this rambling and unfocused narrative hopefully lends to their style, I would read these popular fitness magazines and then compare them against paid articles on coaching websites written by Olympian strength & conditioning professionals, real scientists and endocrinologists. As one would expect, a common complaint that I've observed among science professionals who deign to grace us by becoming science communicators, is that information being transmitted en masse to the public is outright incorrect, often sensationalist in it's claims, and potentially adverse to the end-user. During that era, the public perception of physical fitness outside of athletic or martial prowess or overt sexual appeal was basically relegated to movie stars, popsci misinformers, the earlier iteration of what the common parlance now refers to as “influencers”, and then Presidential Fitness Tests and the American Heart Association's failed war on cholesterol (read: Big Egg). I had been a user of the infamous hacker website known as 4chan since the age of 12, and I'd seen a surfeit of public figures rise and fall. Long forgotten are the days of Scooby, Zyzz and Rich Pianna (PBUH). Now while I may not be pointing to analytical proofs at this juncture my dear readers, I do defy you to open your smartphone and scroll on TikTok, or YouTube, and see what advertisements the platforms proffer regardless of color, age or creed. Open up a newspaper website without using a VPN and an adblocker and tell me what ungents, lotions and potions they peddle and what vain promises they offer? Drudge Report has had to run a goddamned line on protein and whatever Robert F. Kennedy's worm addled brain has cobbled together that morning for the past year at least. And now they aren't even able to gamble and speculate on the protein because there's a whey production shortage! Do you imagine that scarcity would under any circumstances ever be de-incentivized under Capitalism? I don't need to do quantitive analysis because your lying eyes should be doing the work for me, guy. All this to say that broscience has grown like a malignant cancer in the absence of most serious professionals, my anecdotal proof being that most of the Zoomer EMT's on the crew I most recently worked with were barely literate and studied for the exam rather than the material itself, like the Chinese or Indian civil service exams. Literally everything they knew was wrong or absent, to the degree of being occupationally hazardous. I cannot begin to speculate whether or not this (20+) size sampling (ages 18-28 approx.) can be extrapolated to other professions or industries, but it does not bode well. Recent articles have been published regarding Three Cueing Education and the decline of literacy and book readership in the American cohorts, and I would strongly advise directing the reader's attention towards those sources for further information about the dire state of things. Suffice to say I am an old salty veteran who is complaining about some normal observances in daily life that may ultimately mean nothing. And yet...

I start my mornings in the gym by greeting the individual at the front desk with a “good morning” on a resonant pitch that establishes the call to formation or the beginning of a vicar's congregational address. I think that retail workers are among the least humanized, in terms of late capitalism's less than subtle tendency to revert to sharecropping systems. So I look them in the eyes and speak to them respectfully, because the newspaper says asswipes like to attack them. Regularly. And I remember what it was to be young and fit and constantly be bothered by antisocial weirdos and cleaning up waste matter in the showers, knowing exactly who'd done it was also levvying complaints against you to management.

The official reasoning I was let go was for sounding the Lunk Alarm too much, but I digress. On a weekday, during the very early morning hours are when people who are sincere about their fitness goals come in, if they are ugly or foreign or fat or trans or some flavor of queer. On a Sunday morning, that is when all the quaint normie denizens wear their brightest and most colorful feathers to do their most elaborate and performative mating dances of masculinity and struggle or female might!

I am insane and also cheap, and I enjoy consistent looks. Whenever I go to the gym, my ensemble consists of a black pair of shorts/wifebeater/hoodie and hi socks, and I have a strong degree of preference for Under Armour's running shoes because they're sexy and prevent plantar fascitis and bouts of tendonitis or sciatica. Most people don't account for the foot striking the ground with 3 times the force of it's body when running, not that the Department of Defense cares to acknowledge that. I'm missing a lot of my knees from rappelling out of helicopters in full ruck & kit with a weapons systems. And I'm not getting any younger, either. I've made peace with that, my wardrobe and my demeanor reflect that state of peace (typically). However, I think it's worth noting that the fitness industry exists predominately for implicit aesthetic & social crèche rather than strength or health. Women's representation in media has moved beyond the paltry neologisms of amphetamine commercials and kept domesticity lately, and the updated beauty standards mean that they can either enjoin themselves to the Sisyphean task of obeisance to internal guilt mechanisms, or enjoy the sport for the sake of it! But it's usually the former rather than the latter. Sunday Mornings are vibrant and colorful, like an Ecumenical Easter Sunday at a black church – everyone is in their best finery and pastel plumage. Now normally this would not bother me, self-expression, it's just that somehow, someway, it became normalized at this gym for women in their spandex workout outfits to put on huge headphones and dance around to Zumba music with 2-7lb weights. No, it's not just one lady. No, not the same clique. They're literally doing dances in a line in front of the mirror where everyone is bicep curling. I can't imagine I'm the only one irritated by the weird brazenness of this public display, its uncanny.

I begin in the stretching area, because the most important thing to me in all reality is preserving and maintaining my mobility and flexibility as I get older; I'm not as acrobatic as I once was. I always start with basic leg and joint stretches then move on to a modified Army PRT program before I get started on kettlebell core routines (5 sets of 5 exercises with 10 repetition iteration dependent, sometimes 100), which is around the time every guy with a beard and a baseball cap takes the other 3 corners of the stretching area to sneak glances at me. I think it's because of the platinum blonde hair that these bitchmade civilians in Halloween costumes assume I'm gay and therefore a bottom and transitively an option, since these losers slide on the Kinsey Scale when they cannot get any pussy. I stretch with my shaved bleached bussy and my fun underpants facing the wall, thank you very much! I take off my sneakers to do kettlebell squats so I get the full range of motion on the fulcrum – if you're not engaging hip drive then you may as well not being doing the exercise, and squats cause your body to regulate it's free testostertone-enathanate levels in the bloodstream, so they're cheating themselves out of activating free natural performance enhancing drugs on top of every other sin. This is when the patrons in the stretching area attempt to do more convincing jobs of averting their eyes from me. Ultimately it's kind of my fault for being there on a Sunday and thus allowing them to perceive me.

Once I'm done with my set or too annoyed at the common rabble, I saunter over to the leg press where a quartet of strapping young lads with the broccoli haircut are now misusing a leg press. The gym franchise has decreed that an effective marketing stratagem would be to allow minors to work out for free during the summer months when school is out, in the hopes of capturing a permanent audience. Unlike my generation, these kids tend to be either too meek or respectful enough to approach women working out. People online complain about them but they're usually pretty civil and clean – they're really only a problem at the other gym's location across town where they converge by the hundreds. Once I'm finished up on the other leg press, I'll try the calf extension machine. You have to use it early in the morning, because a Gujurati husband and wife come to the gym and take turns using it for hours at a time on the lightest weight setting. Maybe they think it's for cardio?

I walk past the treadmills and look out onto a sea of white hair and sweaty jiggling flesh in very expensive designer clothing. They're all looking back at me like dim barnyard animals. I'm really more of a weighted jump rope kinda guy, good VO2 max is important for fighting and fucking. I mostly don't even acknowledge the existence of the people doing cardio because I would consider that disruptive and rude, but there have in fact been some very curvaceous butts that I have seen (not intentionally). There's one fatty that uses the treadmills that wears full Grindr merch for all his clothing accouterments. Subtle is not the word I would use, and I've only seen him there twice. They were 5lb dumbbells, he does not need fingerless gloves for that. Any serious runner goes to MeetUp and signs for groups to meet hundreds of other runners at a time, but I despise those motherfuckers.

The hamstring and quadricep machines are typically taken by the only other 2 serious gym goers during that time bloc – the fat red cop that's gay for me, and the most jacked guy in the entire gym, clearly on steroids and doing the maximum weight on a single leg. y'know I'm no big city lawyer, but I have a theory that building sarcoplasmic muscle tissue faster than your body can build new CNS skeletal fibers or strengthen accessory stability recruitment tissues will end up causing catastrophic problems later in life, but what do I know? And why are you on gear but still at Planet Fitness, like bro what?

The hip and glute machines are in the ab area, that's where you'll find the most jacked ladies in the gym, they're invariably former marines or law enforcement, all Latin and all giving themselves traction baldness with tight braids – or maybe I'm just being salty because there is no avenue of approach to speak with them. Any other day of the week it's mostly timid young women working their hardest to complete sets, even if it's at lower weights and repetitions. I think most women fail to make proper gains and become discouraged as a result of the aforementioned broscience epidemic, because their primary vectors of information do not have objective unbiased interests. Like most problems this could be resolved with education reform, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

And LAST, OF COURSE, is the nice gentlemanly ER physician that I recognized from the V.A.! I think he may recognized me too, because I was using a free V.A. Umbrella, rather than my nice fancy fashionable umbrella that shoots a .22 caliber bullet. He was waiting in the entrance foyer to the gym with his age appropriate and handsomely dressed wife, and they were both clearly very fit and healthy so it stands to reason they would not need an expensive gym membership – they probably have nicer equipment at home and want enrichment in their Saturnian Ivory Tower lives by indulging with the hoipolloi. Unfortunately, Doctor Col. Chaz Spiffinton IV neglected to bring an umbrella to the gym this morning, and his wife was apprehensive because she'd just gotten her hair colored. He looked me in my eyes as I EXTENDED UMBRELLA!!! I walked away bathed in glory, like the Morton Salt girl! And as I sit in the porch in my Birkenstocks getting splashed by harsh rains with my beloved feral cat, it is not the sickening PR's that I hit on leg press that I am most proud of, dear reader, but rather how fucking badly I mogged that nice respectable elderly couple that didn't have an umbrella!

I know that this has been a rambling and unfocused piece so I will provide you thus with my thesis: Calvinism (secular) is the foundational ideology of the protestant work ethic and through the transitive property = capitalism, inequality, and death. Under late stage capitalism, the workplace self and the public persona under axiomatic individualist maximalist materialist dialectical philosophy as their default operating system will result naturally in body dysmorphic disorders, looksmaxxers, individuals developing athleticism based paraphilias and implicit aesthetic fascism. Because Babylon (America) is godless and ruthless, this is encouraged. In the absence of a conceptual Original Sin, your new fault is whatever you’re persuaded into believing that you are unfuckable or ugly or unpopular for, and the gym is only one small slice of the pie in the variety of ways to assuage one’s physical guilt – I’d refer the reader to a saliently prophetic book “Bowling Alone”, regarding the atomization and isolation of American society as a result of Globalization, for further insights on how we arrived here civilizationally. Fin ~

What you do < how you do it < Who you are while doing it

Read on ign.com · View original Mastodon post

I don't watch this series, though it has interested me. Still, its general theme fits what I want to talk about here.

People wonder why TV viewing and TV series are dying. Well, when you have to wait a couple of years for 8 to 10 episodes, maybe 12 if you are really lucky, that is ridiculous. From an outsider's point of view, something is clearly wrong with the TV industry.

I have said this a hundred times, and I will keep saying it: when I was growing up, TV had an actual season. You knew roughly when it would start and end, within plus or minus a week or two. There were holiday specials, and every “TV season” usually had anywhere from 18 to 30 episodes. Of course, there were exceptions, like first seasons with fewer episodes to test interest and ratings.

Now, there is no set schedule. You get 8 to 10 episodes every couple of years, and by the time a new season finally comes out, you have already lost interest. You have forgotten what happened, stopped caring, and moved on.

Then, on top of everything else, they do not even drop all the episodes at once. Come on! That is frustrating.

So I would rather wait until every episode is available, even if I have to wait a couple of years before watching something new. In the meantime, I have been watching more old TV shows. I barely get invested in new ones anymore because of these shenanigans.

#opinion #streaming #tv

Note that the spice amounts in this recipe were guessed at on the first go ’round. They might be slightly off, but if you sniff the spices in the zip-top bag after you’ve shaken the meat in them, you should get an idea if you have a pleasing mix or not. And you can always correct things once the soup has reached the end of the first few hours of cooking. It’s safe to taste at that point.

Ingredients

• 1.5 pound / 0.6 kg pork shoulder, cubed
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp red chile powder
• ½ tsp ground sage
• ½ tsp marjoram
• ½ C diced onions
• ½ C celery, diced

---

• 1 can beer
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 cans water
• 5 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef

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• 1 pound potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup frozen carrot coins
• 1 can cream style corn
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• put meat in a zip-top plastic bag with spices, and shake to coat
• brown meat, onions and celery in a cast iron skillet
• add to crock pot with beer, tomatoes, and one can of water
• deglaze pan with other can of water, then add to the crock pot
• crock-pot on high for one hour, then low for 2-3 hours

---

• add potatoes to crock pot, continue on low for 1 hour
• add carrots to crock pot, low for 1 hour
• add corn to crock pot, low for 1 hour
• serve and enjoy

The corn starch in the cream-style corn will thicken the soup into a stew, but extended boiling will break it down, as will the acid from the tomatoes. If you want something thicker, add some Wondra close to the end of the last hour.

#recipe

Most nights I don’t even notice night come down, it just

closes around me as if I'm in a large, dark cloak, and before I know it

I’m longing for sleep.

Yet one night, I stared for hours out my back window,

watching

water boil in the sky, but it would not get dark. The elm behind

Kathleen’s house kept reflecting the different times of nightfall;

a passing cloud darkened the leaves, a silver lining brightened them, 

and when the sun finally went down, all that was left hanging were

long arms tangled in the dark

#poetry

I wrote about My Housemate last night. i usually dont write twice in the same day. some thoughts are better left unsaid, or at least kept somewhere they cant bother anyone else. But lets make an exception for today, congrats on seeing me twice. and if it not then Hello. i suppose. I think im not as cold as i used to be. and that bothers me. there was a time when i could convince myself that i didnt care about anything, and i didnt need someone to care either. i was good at it, believe it or not. if something happened, i get annoyed, sure. but i moved on easily. if someone needed me, i helped if i felt like it, and if i didnt, well… unfortunate. But lately, im realizing that maybe i wasnt as heartless as i thought i was or maybe i simply stopped being good at pretending. and this morning proved that much. i was already crasing out over that nightmare i had. i woke up terrified and had to deal with the aftermath of it twice before i could even properly settle down again. for a while, i felt like something was wrong with me. like i was possessed, or something had followed me out of the dream. ill never know for sure, im disappointly ill in the head, thats a much more boring explanation to put out. anyways, i needed to talk to someone, i needed to talk to her. while, maybe i sounded idiotic. i was scared. worried. overthinking everything. probably asking for reassurance in the least dignified way possible. but i wasnt really looking for some grand solution. i just wanted someone there while i calmed down. she was gentle at first, soft and sweet. then she told me she was reading. and i dont know why that bothered me as much as it did. its not like she did anything horrible. she wasnt obligated to drop everything for me. she wasnt required to sit there and fix whatever was happening in my head. but i was trying so hard to keep a conversation going because i needed something to hold onto. and there i go, asking my stupid question if she was busy, and she was reading. somehow, that made the whole thing feel incredibly unimportant. maybe thats unfair, or it was just terrible timing. but when she needed ressurance, i try my best to do so, while i cant always be the perfect human being, i dont sit there doing something else while she tries to keep herself together. so when i needed that same thing and it felt like i was interrupting something more important, it hurt. i could do the same thing to her, i suppose. i could act so sweet and careless. and tell myself that if she can do it, then i can as well. except i probably wont. and while you can call me pathetic im still painfully soft when it comes to her, i hate it sometimes. i told her it was fine, that we could talk later. and that was basically it. she said okay, i dont know what i expected. maybe i expected her to notice that it wasnt fine, or that i wanted her to ask me to stay, or maybe I just wanted to feel like i wasnt completely useless in that moment. intead, i went quiet and sat with it. and then i started thinking about the dream again. her being distant. careless. almost disgusted with me. i dont know, maybe my brain is finding new ways to be unpleasant. either way, i think ive learned something rather irritating about myself. im not as careless as i thought i was, im not as soulless as i used to be. and i guess i still have enough feelings left to be bothered when someone makes me feel unimportant. great. wonderful. almost preferred myself when i didnt care. i think i should stop talking to her about things like this. probably wont, but perhaps when something happens, I’ll keep it to myself. when something stresses me out, ill deal with it until i cant anymore. That sounds healthier, probably isnt. but at least i wont have to sit here wondering whether i mattered enough to interrupt someones reading. so there. problem solved. anyways, enough of that. im not going to sit here dissecting a conversation that probably meant nothing to the other person while somehow managing to turn it into a two hour investigation in my own head. ill just pretend im still the same miserable person i was supposed to be and carry on with my life. much easier. much less embarrassing. anyways, back to whatever i was doing. i need tea. i think i left the kettle sitting there for far too long again, which means its probably cold by now. i dont understand how something i make every day continues to defeat me. you’d think after all these years i have mastered the complicated process of putting water in a kettle and remembering that i put it there. maybe not. maybe ill make coffee instead. No, tea. Definitely tea. ill probably put on something stupid on the television, sit somewhere comfortable, or maybe play games and spend the rest of the night pretending none of this happend. and if i thought of it again. ill simply think about something else.

I’ll just sit, and wonder about other normal things to distract me. just tea, and an increasingly impressive ability to avoid my own problems. I think I’m getting better at this again.

Sincerely, A man who surely has nothing to be upset about.

Votre maison donne l'impression d'être à l'étroit, même si la surface au sol ne manque pas ? Vous passez votre temps à chercher des objets perdus dans un chaos ambiant ?

Le mal, c'est l'encombrement, et il est possible de s'en libérer pour retrouver un espace de vie plus agréable et fonctionnel.

Ce guide pratique va vous donner les clés pour désencombrer efficacement votre domicile, en abordant les causes profondes du désordre, les méthodes de tri éprouvées, les étapes concrètes pour un débarras réussi, et comment éviter de retomber dans les mêmes travers.

Les Racines du Désordre : Pourquoi S'encombre-t-on ?

Il est facile de se sentir dépassé par le désordre, mais comprendre d'où il vient est la première étape pour le combattre. Souvent, l'encombrement n'est pas le fruit d'une seule mauvaise habitude, mais d'une accumulation de plusieurs facteurs.

L'Accumulation par Habitude

On achète, on garde, on n'ose pas jeter. C'est un cercle vicieux bien connu. Un objet peut avoir une valeur sentimentale, être considéré comme “utile un jour”, ou simplement être une prise de conscience tardive d'un achat impulsif. Ces petits “au cas où” finissent par prendre une place considérable.

Le Manque de Place Réelle (ou Perçue)

Parfois, le problème n'est pas tant le nombre d'objets que leur organisation. Sans un système de rangement adapté, même une maison spacieuse peut vite sembler exiguë. Des objets qui devraient être rangés finissent par traîner, créant cette sensation d'étouffement.

Les Changements de Vie

Un déménagement, l'arrivée d'un enfant, le départ d'un proche, ou même un changement professionnel peuvent apporter de nouveaux objets ou obliger à se séparer d'anciens. Si ces transitions ne sont pas accompagnées d'un tri conscient, elles peuvent rapidement mener à un désordre croissant.

La Difficulté à Prendre des Décisions

“Est-ce que j'en ai encore besoin ?” “Est-ce que ça vaut la peine d'être vendu ?” Ces questions peuvent paralyser. La peur de regretter un choix ou le manque de temps pour évaluer la valeur de chaque objet poussent souvent à tout garder, par défaut.

L'Art de Trier : Comment Faire le Bon Choix

Le tri est le cœur d'un débarras efficace. Il ne s'agit pas de jeter à tout-va, mais de faire des choix éclairés sur ce qui mérite de rester dans votre espace de vie. Une approche méthodique vous aidera à surmonter l'hésitation.

La Règle d'Or : Le Tri par Catégories

Oubliez le tri pièce par pièce au début. Prenez une catégorie d'objets (par exemple, tous les livres, tous les vêtements, tous les papiers) et rassemblez-les au même endroit. Cela vous donnera une vision claire de l'ampleur de ce que vous possédez dans chaque domaine.

Le Test des Questions Clés

Pour chaque objet, posez-vous des questions simples et honnêtes.

Ai-je utilisé cet objet dans les 6 derniers mois (ou un an pour les objets saisonniers) ?

Si la réponse est non, c'est un bon indicateur qu'il n'est peut-être plus essentiel à votre quotidien.

Est-ce que j'en ai deux (ou plus) exemplaires identiques ?

Si oui, demandez-vous si vous avez réellement besoin de plusieurs. Le double peut souvent être donné, vendu ou jeté.

Cet objet est-il cassé, endommagé ou obsolète ?

Si oui, et qu'il n'y a pas de projet de réparation réaliste et immédiat, il est probablement temps de s'en séparer.

Est-ce que cet objet me procure de la joie ou une utilité réelle ?

Cette question, popularisée par le concept de minimalisme, est puissante. Si un objet n'apporte ni joie ni fonction, quelle est sa place ?

Les Différents Sorts : Jeter, Donner, Vendre, Garder

Une fois que vous avez évalué vos affaires, il faut leur trouver une destination.

Jeter : L'Option Évidente pour ce Qui Est Hors d'Usage

Les objets cassés, périmés, ou trop abîmés pour être réutilisés iront à la poubelle ou au recyclage, selon leur nature. Ne culpabilisez pas, c'est une étape nécessaire.

Donner : Le Geste Généreux qui Fait Plaisir

Les vêtements en bon état, les livres que vous ne lirez plus, les meubles encore utilisables peuvent faire le bonheur d'autres personnes. Pensez aux associations, aux ressourceries, ou à vos proches.

Vendre : Monétiser ce Dont Vous N'avez Plus Besoin

Les objets de valeur ou en bon état peuvent être vendus en ligne, en vide-grenier, ou à des brocanteurs. Cela peut vous rapporter un peu d'argent et vous motiver davantage.

Garder : Les Essentiels et les Trésors

Ce qui reste, ce sont les objets qui vous sont vraiment utiles, qui vous apportent de la joie, ou qui ont une valeur sentimentale incontestable et justifiée. Ces objets méritent une place de choix.

Les Étapes d'un Débarras Réussi : De l'Ampleur au Soulagement

Un débarras n'est pas une action ponctuelle, mais un processus qui demande organisation et persévérance. Aborder cela par étapes rend la tâche moins intimidante et plus gérable.

Préparer le Terrain : Le Matériel Indispensable

Avant de commencer, munissez-vous de quelques éléments clés : des sacs poubelles résistants, des cartons de tailles variées, des marqueurs pour étiqueter, des gants pour vous protéger, et éventuellement des chariots ou diables pour les objets lourds.

Le Débarras Zone par Zone (ou Catégorie par Catégorie)

Une fois que vous avez choisi votre méthode de tri (par pièce ou par catégorie), attaquez-vous à une section à la fois. Commencez par les zones qui vous pèsent le plus, ou par celles où le désordre est le plus évident.

La Stratégie du “Une chose à la fois”

Lorsque vous êtes dans une zone, concentrez-vous sur une seule pile ou un seul tiroir. Ne sautez pas d'un endroit à l'autre, cela crée de la confusion et vous donne l'impression de ne jamais rien finir.

Le Cycle du Tri : Action Immédiate

Dès que vous avez décidé de la destination d'un objet, agissez.

Les Sacs Prêts à Partir

Ayez des sacs ou des cartons dédiés pour le “jeter”, le “donner”, le “vendre” et le “garder” à portée de main. Dès qu'un objet est trié, placez-le immédiatement dans le bon contenant.

Le Nettoyage Post-Tri

Une fois qu'une zone est triée, profitez-en pour nettoyer l'espace libéré. Cela rend le résultat encore plus gratifiant et prévient la réapparition rapide du désordre.

L'Étape Finale : Sortir ce Qui Doit Sortir

Ne laissez pas les cartons de “donner” ou de “vendre” s'installer dans votre salon pendant des semaines. Planifiez leur évacuation rapidement pour concrétiser votre démarche.

Au-delà du Désencombrement : Des Solutions de Stockage Intelligentes

Un débarras maison réussi ne sert à rien si de nouveaux objets s'accumulent sans ordre. L'adoption de bonnes pratiques de rangement est essentielle pour maintenir un espace ordonné.

Le Rangement par Zones Fonctionnelles

Attribuez à chaque objet une “maison”. Les choses que vous utilisez souvent doivent être accessibles, celles que vous utilisez rarement peuvent être rangées plus loin.

Les Solutions de Rangement Verticales

Utilisez la hauteur de vos murs ! Des étagères, des bibliothèques, des meubles hauts permettent de libérer de l'espace au sol et d'organiser efficacement vos affaires.

Les Boîtes et Paniers : Vos Alliés Discrets

Les boîtes transparentes ou étiquetées sont parfaites pour regrouper les petits objets (câbles, fournitures, jouets). Les paniers peuvent dissimuler le désordre tout en apportant une touche décorative.

Le Minimalisme Appliqué : Moins C'est Plus

Essayez d'adopter une approche où chaque objet que vous faites entrer dans votre maison a une raison d'être. Posez-vous la question de l'utilité avant l'achat.

Quand Faire Appel à un Professionnel du Débarras ?

Parfois, la tâche est trop colossale, trop émotionnellement chargée, ou simplement trop chronophage. Dans ces cas, faire appel à des professionnels peut être la solution.

Les Situations où l'Aide Extérieure Est Préférable

Il peut s'agir de débarrasser une maison après un décès, de vider une cave ou un grenier particulièrement envahis, ou simplement si vous manquez de temps et d'énergie pour le faire vous-même.

Les Services Proposés par les Sociétés de Débarras

Ces entreprises peuvent s'occuper de tout, du tri initial à l'évacuation des déchets, en passant par le nettoyage. Elles ont l'expérience et le matériel nécessaires pour gérer toutes sortes de situations.

L'Importance de Choisir le Bon Prestataire

Assurez-vous de choisir une entreprise réputée, qui propose des devis clairs et transparents, et qui respecte les normes environnementales pour l'évacuation des déchets.

Les Vertus Insoupçonnées d'un Intérieur Désencombré

Le bénéfice d'un espace ordonné va bien au-delà de l'esthétique. Cela a un impact concret sur votre bien-être et votre quotidien.

Moins de Stress, Plus de Sérénité

Un environnement ordonné réduit le sentiment de chaos et de surcharge mentale. On se sent plus calme, plus maître de son espace, et donc moins stressé.

Gain de Temps Précieux

Fini le temps perdu à chercher vos clés, vos papiers importants, ou ce pull que vous vouliez porter. Tout est à sa place, vous gagnez un temps précieux chaque jour.

Amélioration de la Concentration et de la Productivité

Un espace dégagé favorise la concentration. Que ce soit pour le travail à domicile, la lecture, ou les loisirs créatifs, il est plus facile de se focaliser quand l'environnement est clair.

Un Sentiment de Liberté et de Légèreté

Se séparer d'objets inutiles, c'est aussi se libérer d'un poids. Cela peut être une expérience très cathartique, donnant une sensation de renouveau et de légèreté.

Maintenir l'Ordre : Les Habitudes Qui Font la Différence

Le débarras n'est pas une destination, mais un voyage. Mettre en place quelques habitudes simples vous aidera à conserver votre intérieur ordonné sur le long terme.

La Règle du “Un Entrant, Un Sortant”

Pour chaque nouvel objet qui entre dans votre maison (un vêtement, un livre, un gadget), essayez d'en faire sortir un similaire ou un autre objet dont vous n'avez plus besoin.

Le Rangement Immédiat

Appliquez la règle de ranger un objet dès que vous avez fini de l'utiliser. Ne le laissez pas traîner “juste pour l'instant”.

Les Petits Rituels de Rangement

Prenez quelques minutes chaque jour, par exemple avant de vous coucher, pour faire un petit tour dans les pièces et remettre en place ce qui traîne. Un rapide rangement peut éviter l'accumulation du désordre.

Les “Points de Contrôle” Réguliers

Une fois par saison, ou à chaque changement d'année, faites un petit point sur votre intérieur. Revoyez une armoire, un tiroir, ou un placard et désencombrez à nouveau si nécessaire. Le désencombrement n'est pas une action unique, c'est un mode de vie.

FAQs #debarras

Quelles sont les causes de l'encombrement dans une maison?

Les causes de l'encombrement dans une maison peuvent être diverses, notamment l'accumulation d'objets au fil du temps, le manque d'organisation, les changements de mode de vie, les achats impulsifs, ou encore des événements tels que des déménagements, des héritages ou des transitions de vie.

Comment trier efficacement ses affaires lors d'un débarras?

Pour trier efficacement ses affaires lors d'un débarras, il est recommandé de procéder pièce par pièce, de se poser des questions sur l'utilité et la valeur sentimentale des objets, de catégoriser les objets en fonction de leur destination (garde, don, vente, recyclage, mise au rebut), et de se fixer des objectifs réalistes pour éviter de s'éparpiller.

Quelles sont les étapes d'un débarras réussi?

Les étapes d'un débarras réussi comprennent la planification et l'organisation préalable, le tri méthodique des objets, la mise en place de solutions de stockage adaptées, la gestion des déchets, et éventuellement le recours à un professionnel du débarras pour faciliter le processus.

Quelles sont les solutions de stockage pour éviter l'encombrement dans une maison?

Pour éviter l'encombrement dans une maison, il est possible de recourir à des solutions de stockage telles que les étagères, les boîtes de rangement, les meubles multifonctionnels, les systèmes de rangement modulables, ou encore l'optimisation des espaces sous-utilisés.

Quels sont les bienfaits d'un intérieur débarrassé et des conseils pour maintenir un espace ordonné?

Un intérieur débarrassé permet de créer un environnement plus sain, agréable et fonctionnel, de réduire le stress lié au désordre, de faciliter l'entretien de la maison, et de favoriser un meilleur bien-être au quotidien. Pour maintenir un espace ordonné, il est conseillé de désencombrer régulièrement, d'adopter des habitudes de rangement, de limiter les achats superflus, et de privilégier la qualité à la quantité.

To know or not to know. That is the question.

But we have misunderstood the nature of knowing. We accumulate information like spiritual currency, building libraries of concepts while the prison of ego remains intact. The mind becomes sophisticated, the ego refined—yet consciousness sleeps beneath layers of acquired wisdom.

The paradox is this: consciousness already knows. It has always known. Your work is not to add knowledge but to subtract conditioning.

Each egoic aggregate you eliminate reveals what was always there. Pride dissolved reveals humility that was never absent. Fear comprehended reveals courage that was your birthright. Desire transmuted reveals contentment that requires no external validation.

The question becomes not “what should I learn?” but “what might I unlearn?” Not “which truth must I acquire?” but “which lie am I willing to release?”

Knowledge that strengthens the ego is spiritual poison. Knowledge that dissolves it is liberation itself.

When you catch yourself accumulating another concept, another teaching, another insight—ask: Does this feed the “I” that wants to know, or does it starve it? Does this decorate my prison or provide tools to dismantle it?

The path of awakening is subtraction. Every insight that reveals another egoic pattern to eliminate is true knowledge. Every concept that merely adds to your intellectual library is another chain.

What we have learned through direct observation is this: the ego's greatest deception is spiritualizing itself. It adopts the language of liberation while maintaining its fundamental structure. It becomes the “spiritual seeker” who collects experiences rather than the awakened being who comprehends that experience itself is the prison.

We have discovered that mechanical repetition—the tendency to cycle through the same patterns despite intellectual understanding—is not overcome through more knowledge but through moment-to-moment awareness. The ego loves to study liberation; it resists actual liberation because liberation means its own dissolution.

We have witnessed how consciousness, when freed from the student identity, naturally recognizes truth without external validation. It doesn't need scriptures, teachers, or techniques because it has eliminated the very structures that created the experience of ignorance in the first place.

Consciousness needs no education. It needs liberation from the student.

The question of potential reveals another crucial distinction: denying the ego versus denying Essence.

When we say “I cannot do it,” we deny our divine nature—the very consciousness that makes transformation possible. This is not humility; it is spiritual error, the ego's final strategy to maintain its prison by convincing consciousness of its own inadequacy. The ego loves false humility because it reinforces the illusion of limitation.

When we say “I already have this potential, yet I have buried it under layers of conditioning,” we deny the ego's authority while affirming Essence. This is not arrogance; it is recognition of what consciousness already knows—that our divine nature remains intact despite the ego's temporary obscuration.

The ego's greatest deception is presenting false humility as spiritual virtue. It convinces us that acknowledging our divine nature is prideful when it's actually the prerequisite for liberation. True humility recognizes both the magnificence of Essence and the work required to eliminate what obscures it.

Observe how the ego responds to these statements. When you say “I cannot,” it feels validated—its authority reinforced. When you say “I have potential buried under conditioning,” it feels threatened—because this statement acknowledges its temporary nature as a cloud passing through the sky of consciousness.

The difference between these statements reveals the psychological foundation of awakening: we don't become divine through effort; we eliminate what prevents us from recognizing we are already divine. The potential isn't something to acquire but something to uncover.

This afternoon I'll have game 3 of the 3-game series between the Baltimore Orioles and my Texas Rangers. The opening pitch for this game is set for 1:35 PM CDT. The Rangers have won the first 2 games of this series, let's hope for another win today. As I usually do, I'll follow the game's scores and stats in real time via MLB's Gameday Service where we can also find links to the radio-call of the game provided by announcers of either team we choose.

And the adventure continues.

Morning lacerates glib instincts with the reckless hollow of a vacant corridor. We walk in step with the silent syllables stranding us as survivors from a strangely productive and uncomplicated design.

Too thrilled to have neglected the intolerance of a gluttonous till, we remain blindsided of every course-corrected negligence. In fact, we have a peculiar pattern of peddling headfirst towards the worst-case expenditure with an infallible persistence.

I'd be petty if I demonstrated care. The dare has always been how we'll wear awareness when the inhibited inflate their preferred indignation and disgrace fealty with a platform staged to be stunning.

My feet drag against a well-timed send-off while you eagerly race towards an ill-groomed subjugation. The state of our nation brays, nonetheless.

Written August 9, 2026. © 2026 AnOublietteofThought.

I’ve got the tasteof raspberries in my facial cavities still like a phantom scent or taste, like what happened last year with the smoked ham.

Sometimes I can sense one smell vividly and that’s what happened to the pie

The taste was intense and I have never tasted anything like it, it’s like the best taste I can remember ever having tasted, red

So I think what is happening is in the general absence of smell, to get one isolated like that is like lightning a candle in the blackened darkness.

the taste of course of red.

Notes towards an essay

All of my recently published essays have been identified by AI scanners as between 67% and 98% AI-generated.

I wrote my first published essay in 1965 and made my first documented contribution to public policy in 1969, in the United Kingdom, on the subject of arbitrary dismissal.

Since that time, my professional life has required that I write continually; essays, policy papers, reports, breifings, teaching materials & text books, letters, magazine features & jouralism, manuals and books

The suggestion that this work, or work emerging from the same habits and disciplines, is now classified as AI-generated is both curious and instructive. And even as I write this, I notice I can't help myself, but open this note with a tension. It's hard-wired. An immediate construction that emerges when my fingers connect with keys.

What's happening

I am told that as a practised writer, I may be triggering some of the same patterns that AI systems were trained to produce:

Clear, grammatical sentences with few mistakes. Consistent tone and structure throughout a piece. Balanced paragraph lengths. Predictable word choices rather than unusual or idiosyncratic phrasing. Explanatory writing that moves logically from point to point.

Apparently, and somewhat ironically, these are features that I strive for, I am after all addressing audiences that, for the most part, appreciate these things. These are features of good professional writing. And these are the very features that trigger the AI conclusion that I, or that my writing, is AI generated.

Thought: If I, and other writers, have been writing in roughly this manner for fifty, sixty years or more, and AI now writes in a similar manner, what is imitating whom?

Interim test.

So I took the seven paragraphs above, which I have written in the last five minutes or so, and ran them through the first free AI text detector that came up on bing; undetectable.ai . I did well and scored only 71% as AI drafted. Just Done gave me around 75% AI

The test assignment

Write an essay with three objectives:

1: Explain why my notebooks (like this one) are public. 2: Explain why I choose to use Write.as as my writing and publishing surface 3: Record the blogs and notebooks I maintain on Write.as and show how they link together, and how they link-in to my wider publication architecture.

Below I'm listing my structured notes that I will use to write the essay. Essentially I'll start with everything that occurs to me that I think is relevant. I will use the facility that Write.as affords me to edit and organize my notes as my thinking proceeds.

Structured Notes

I already have a notional structure in my head about the flow of the essay – the “publication architecture” as I call it.

I seem to be carrying an explanation of why the process of public thinking matters to me as an essayist. Write.as happens to be the tool.

I'm tempted to structure it around these questions: why I make my notes public / the open notebook concept why I want the foundations visible how my essays are the pursuit of understanding why write.as revision as navigation The notebooks/blogs as a defined appendix

Why I Write in Public

The discipline : People sometimes ask why so much of my writing appears in public notebooks rather than only in finished essays. The question assumes that the notebooks exist in order to reveal the process behind the essays. That is partly true. But disclosure is not the principal reason. Publishing notes is not an act of disclosure. It is an act of discipline.

Obligation : One of the most important lessons I learned from teaching is that public speech creates responsibility. The moment a statement enters the public domain, the person making that statement becomes accountable for it. That responsibility exists even when one is simply reporting the views of others...

If I write that the Environmental Party chooses to prioritise a particular issue, I remain accountable for whether I have represented that position fairly, accurately and honestly. Public communication imposes obligations.

It requires care not only in what is said but also in how it is said. A private note can remain vague. A public note demands greater precision. The audience may be large or small. There may be no audience at all. That is beside the point. Publication itself creates a standard to which the author must answer. The public note becomes a challenge: “Are you prepared to stand over this?”

Why the Foundations Matter

Many of my essays, reviews and policy pieces contain observations, interpretations and conclusions. Those observations emerge from somewhere. They arise from notebooks, fragments, field observations, discarded ideas, references, questions, conversations and research. Increasingly, I have felt that if the conclusions are visible, then at least some of their foundations should also be visible.

There is something almost contradictory about that. Foundations are usually hidden. Yet I find myself wanting to expose parts of the structure rather than conceal it. Not because I believe it to be beyond criticism. Almost the opposite. I want it to remain open to criticism. In a sense I am inviting the reader to become an editor and sub-editor peering over my shoulder. The notebooks are not merely supporting documents. They are part of the conversation. The reader is able to examine not only the finished essay but some of the path by which the essay emerged.

Essays and Understanding

I describe my essays as attempts at understanding rather than acts of advocacy. Advocacy begins with a destination. The essay begins with a question. Or a tension. Or a contradiction. Or an observation that refuses to go away.

My task is not primarily to persuade. My task is to understand. And to share that understaning. The closest I come to advocay is the pursuit of a shared understanding. If I claim that my essays pursue understanding rather than advocacy, then I should be accountable to that claim.

The notebooks help provide that accountability. They reveal whether I have genuinely followed the evidence. They reveal whether I have acknowledged ambiguity. They reveal whether reality persuaded me before I attempted to persuade the reader. If I claim merely to illuminate a tension, then I must be prepared to show how I arrived there. The notebooks become part of the discipline of intellectual honesty.

My View of Essay Writing

The essay is not journalism. Neither is it academic writing nor opinion. It is a mode of inquiry. The essay begins with a tension and follows that tension wherever it leads. The essayist starts not with a conclusion but with a problem. Through reflection, observation, research and writing, relationships previously hidden become visible.

The purpose of the essay is not necessarily resolution. Sometimes the deepest achievement of an essay is simply to reveal what is actually being argued about. Or what relationship has remained unseen. The essay is therefore a journey towards perception. Not toward persuasion.

Why Write.as?

The reasons are partly philosophical and partly practical. Write.as allows me to work almost anywhere. I can work from a phone while travelling. I can capture a thought before it disappears. I can draft a paragraph while waiting for a train or sitting in a harbour. Good sentences rarely arrive according to schedule. The platform accommodates that reality.

More importantly, Write.as has altered my relationship with composition. Years ago I would often compose large sections of text in my head before writing them down. The arrival of increasingly sophisticated software encouraged a different habit. Revision became too easy. Drafting became fragmented. Composition increasingly moved from the mind to the screen. Write.as on my phone, nudges me back towards mental composition. I find myself crafting paragraphs internally before typing them. It encourages me to think first and edit later.

The Freedom of Not Knowing

Perhaps the most important characteristic of Write.as is that a piece does not need to know what it is when it begins. I can sketch a structure anonymously. I can create an outline. I can develop an idea. I can begin writing without deciding where it belongs. Indeed, I can finish a piece before making any decision about what sort of piece it is.

Only afterwards do I decide whether it belongs in: • a notebook, • a field note, • a review, • a briefing, • a policy essay, • an essay collection, • or somewhere else entirely. There is enormous freedom in that. The classification follows the writing. The work discovers what it is before being assigned a home.

Publication Architecture

Part of this arises from the way I work. I sometimes think of myself not only as an essayist but as a publication architect. I am often interested in structures before I am interested in destinations. I want to understand the shape of an argument. The relationships between ideas. The route through a landscape.

Only later do I determine where a piece belongs. Write.as makes that possible. A piece can exist before its final form is known.

Revision

Revision occupies a different role in my work than it does for many writers. The important epistemological work often happens in the first draft. The writing itself generates understanding. Relationships emerge. Connections become visible. Assumptions reveal themselves. The first draft is frequently where discovery occurs.

Subsequent revision is something different. Less an act of knowing. More an act of navigation. Like choosing the best line through a bend on a favourite motorcycle. Or selecting the ideal moment to tack in a sailing race. The destination remains unchanged. The craft lies in finding the cleanest route.

The Open Notebook

The various notebooks and publications form something like an open notebook. Most websites display conclusions. These sites document parts of the process that precedes conclusions. Ideas begin as observations. Observations become notes. Notes become briefings. Briefings become essays. Essays become reviews, policy pieces or larger works. Not all observations become essays. Not all notes deserve publication beyond the notebook. Some remain exactly as they began. Yet together they document an attempt to understand rather than to persuade. Persuasion is left to the set of relationships between the revealed in the elements of the source material, and the reader

Appendix: The Write.as Publications

The Marshall Review (rvw.ie) The most polished publication in the network. Essays and reviews concerning culture, ideas, books, music and public life.

An Essayist's Notebook (esy.ie) Questions, fragments, observations and developing ideas. The closest thing to a public working notebook.

Field Notes (notes.marshall.ie) Research notes, sources, references and supporting material. An attempt to make visible some of the foundations from which essays emerge.

Radar Signals (signals.marshall.ie) Observations, anomalies, developments and emerging patterns whose significance may not yet be fully understood.

Briefing Insights (insights.marshall.ie) Short analytical briefings and concise explorations arising from ongoing inquiry.

The Marginalia of Sigi (sigi.ie) Annotations, side notes, reflections and intellectual wanderings that do not naturally belong elsewhere.

Wordpress & Substack

Marshall on Policy (plcy.ie) Essays and reflections dealing with governance, public policy and civic questions.

Ontology (ontology.marshall.ie) Explorations of meaning, relationships, categories and the structures through which ideas acquire significance.

The Writing Network Taken together, these sites function less as separate blogs than as different views of a single intellectual process. Some contain signals. Some contain research. Some contain questions. Some contain essays. All form part of the same endeavour: the attempt to understand the world through inquiry, and to conduct that inquiry in public

Stay entertained thanks to our Weekly Tracker giving you next week's Anticipated Movies & Shows, Most Watched & Returning Favorites, and Shows Changes & Popular Trailers.

Anticipated Movies

• Camp Rock 3
• The Brink of War
• ☆ The End of Oak Street
• The Rivals of Amziah King
• PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie

Anticipated Shows

• Moonshadow
• My Brilliant Career
• ☆ Lanterns

Returing Favorites

• ☆ Reacher — Season 4
• Tires — Season 3
• LINK CLICK — Season 4

Trending Shows Status Changes

• Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America — Returning Series → Ended
• The Shards — Ended → Returning Series
• Our Sticky Love — Returning Series → Ended
• Muertos S.L. — Returning Series → Ended
• Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi — In Production → Ended

Most Watched Movies this Week

• +1 Spider-Man: Brand New Day
• +1 Supergirl
• -2 Disclosure Day
• = The Odyssey
• +1 Obsession
• new Evil Dead Burn
• -2 Masters of the Universe
• new Spider-Man: No Way Home
• new The Devil Wears Prada 2
• -2 Backrooms

Most Watched Shows this Week

• = House of the Dragon
• = Silo
• new Ted Lasso
• new Lioness
• -1 Lucky
• -1 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• +1 Stuart Fails to Save the Universe
• -5 Rick and Morty
• -2 X-Men '97
• new Furious

Popular Trailers

• Watch at Home — Soulm8te
• Don't say we didn't warn you. — Ice Cream Man
• Dog Vision Trailer — PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie
• Forecast: 100% chance of falling. — Fall 2: Deadpoint
• Kiss your inhibitions goodbye. — Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
• Tag who you are bringing to Oak Street. — The End of Oak Street
• Official Trailer — Primetime
• UK Official Trailer [ENG DUB] — Ramayana
• Final Trailer — Insidious: Out of the Further
• Caught in a web of love and appreciation — Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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Hi, I’m Kevin 👋. Product Manager at Trakt and creator of Rippple. If you’d like to support what I'm building, you can download Rippple for Trakt, explore the open source project, or go Trakt VIP.

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Ich habe den Sommer unter anderem dazu genutzt, verschiedene aktuelle Entwicklungen in der Berufsbildung und beruflichen Weiterbildung genauer zu verfolgen. Besonders auffällig war für mich, dass sehr unterschiedliche Initiativen auf ein ähnliches Problem reagieren: Berufliche Kompetenz lässt sich unter Bedingungen schnellen technologischen Wandels immer weniger in einzelnen Kursen oder punktuellen Qualifikationen organisieren. Europäische Initiativen, Projekte des Bundesinstituts für Berufsbildung (BIBB) und aktuelle OECD-Arbeiten weisen vielmehr in Richtung eines kontinuierlichen Systems der Kompetenzentwicklung. Künstliche Intelligenz ist dabei nicht das einzige Thema, aber ein wichtiger Beschleuniger.

Lernen wird Teil der Erwerbsbiografie

Die Europäische Kommission fordert in ihren beschäftigungspolitischen Leitlinien für 2026, Erwachsenen den Zugang zu kontinuierlicher Weiterbildung zu erleichtern. Genannt werden unter anderem individuelle Lernkonten, verlässliche Bildungsangebote und die Förderung digitaler Kompetenzen, einschliesslich AI Literacy. Bereits die europäische „Union of Skills“ hatte individuelle Lernkonten und Microcredentials als Instrumente hervorgehoben, mit denen sich Kompetenzaufbau flexibler über das Erwerbsleben verteilen lässt [1].

Für mich zeigt sich darin ein verändertes Verständnis beruflicher Qualifikation. Eine Person erwirbt nicht mehr zuerst einen Berufs- oder Studienabschluss und ergänzt diesen später gelegentlich durch weitere Kurse. Unter Bedingungen schnellen technologischen und wirtschaftlichen Wandels wird Weiterbildung vielmehr zu einem normalen Teil der beruflichen Entwicklung.

Dafür braucht es nicht zwangsläufig längere formale Programme. Unterschiedliche Formate können sich ergänzen: arbeitsplatzbezogene Qualifizierung, kurze Kurse, Microcredentials und umfangreichere Abschlüsse. Entscheidend ist, dass erworbene Kompetenzen sichtbar und möglichst über verschiedene Lernorte hinweg anerkennbar bleiben.

Weiterbildung beginnt „on the job“, nicht im Kurs

Eine zweite Entwicklung wird in aktuellen Projekten des BIBB sichtbar. Im Programm „Nachhaltig im Beruf“ untersuchen 17 Transformationsprojekte unter anderem, wie Kompetenzentwicklung, künstliche Intelligenz, Qualifizierungsstrategien für kleinere und mittlere Unternehmen und neue Formen betrieblicher Weiterbildung zusammenspielen [2].

Interessant ist für mich vor allem die Verschiebung des Ausgangspunkts. Nicht das bestehende Kursangebot steht am Anfang, sondern die Veränderung der Arbeit: Welche Tätigkeiten entstehen neu? Welche verändern sich? Welche Aufgaben können Maschinen übernehmen? Welches Erfahrungswissen bleibt notwendig? Welche Kompetenzen brauchen Beschäftigte unter diesen Bedingungen?

Ein allgemeiner Kurs über generative #KI kann Grundlagen vermitteln. Für die Praxis ist jedoch wichtiger, wie sich etwa Kundenberatung, Projektarbeit, #Führung oder Marketing konkret verändern. Erst daraus lässt sich ableiten, was Beschäftigte neu erwerben müssen.

Qualifizierung wird so stärker Teil der Arbeits- und Organisationsgestaltung. Kompetenzaufbau begleitet Veränderungen, statt ihnen erst nachträglich zu folgen.

Auch das Bildungssystem muss schneller lernen

Die OECD richtet den Blick auf das Berufsbildungssystem selbst. Ihr Bericht „Developing Vocational Education and Training with Artificial Intelligence“ untersucht anhand von Befragungen in 25 Ländern und zehn Länderfallstudien, darunter die Schweiz und Deutschland, wie Berufsbildung auf neue Kompetenzanforderungen reagieren kann [3].

Curricula und Qualifikationsprofile verändern sich oft langsamer als Arbeit und Technologie. KI könnte dabei unterstützen, Anpassungsprozesse zu beschleunigen, etwa bei:

• Arbeitsmarktanalysen,
• Kompetenz-Mapping,
• Curriculum-Entwürfen,
• Konsistenzprüfungen.

Für diesen Einsatz nennt die OECD fünf Leitprinzipien [4]:

• menschliche Orientierung,
• Vielfalt und Inklusion,
• Verantwortlichkeit,
• Transparenz,
• Datenqualität und Sicherheit.

KI soll fachliches und kollektives Urteil unterstützen, nicht ersetzen. Für mich folgt daraus eine zweite Ebene kontinuierlicher Anpassung: Nicht nur Beschäftigte müssen sich weiterentwickeln, sondern auch die #Bildung selbst.

Vier Stufen beruflicher Kompetenz

Aus diesen Entwicklungen habe ich für mich ein einfaches Vier-Stufen-Modell beruflicher Kompetenz abgeleitet. Es ist kein BIBB-Modell im engeren Sinn, sondern meine eigene Verdichtung und Weiterentwicklung von Ansätzen, die das BIBB für Medien-, IT- und zunehmend auch KI-Kompetenzen verwendet.

Ein wichtiger Bezugspunkt ist das MIKA-Konzept des BIBB zur Medien- und IT-Kompetenz von Ausbildungspersonal. Seine didaktische Progression unterscheidet „Erinnern & Verstehen“, „Anwenden & Analysieren“ sowie „Bewerten & Kreieren“ [5]. Auch neuere BIBB-Arbeiten zu KI betonen, dass Kompetenz über allgemeines Wissen hinausgeht und sachgerechte Nutzung, das Nachvollziehen von Systemausgaben sowie das Erkennen möglicher Fehler und Risiken einschliesst [6].

Für den beruflichen Umgang mit KI übersetze ich diese Überlegungen in drei Stufen: Fachkompetenz, Anwendungskompetenz und Urteilskompetenz. Hinzu kommt eine vierte Stufe, die ich bewusst ergänze: Gestaltungskompetenz. Sie trägt dem Umstand Rechnung, dass KI nicht nur einzelne Tätigkeiten verändert, sondern zunehmend auch Arbeitsprozesse, Rollen und Verantwortlichkeiten.

Die erste Stufe ist Fachkompetenz. Eine Person versteht ihre berufliche Aufgabe und könnte sie grundsätzlich selbst bearbeiten. Wer eine Aufgabe fachlich nicht versteht, kann auch maschinell erzeugte Ergebnisse kaum beurteilen. Eine Sachbearbeiterin im Personalwesen muss beispielsweise wissen, welche Informationen in ein qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis gehören, bevor sie dessen Entwurf einer KI überlässt.

Darauf folgt Anwendungskompetenz. Beschäftigte können geeignete digitale und KI-gestützte Werkzeuge für ihre Aufgaben einsetzen. Unsere Sachbearbeiterin weiss nun, welches System sie verwenden kann, welche Informationen sie bereitstellen darf und wie sie einen brauchbaren Entwurf erzeugt.

Die dritte Stufe ist Urteilskompetenz. KI-generierte Texte, Analysen oder Empfehlungen müssen fachlich, rechtlich und ethisch geprüft werden. Die Sachbearbeiterin kontrolliert deshalb, ob das Arbeitszeugnis korrekt, vollständig, diskriminierungsfrei und mit den betrieblichen Vorgaben vereinbar ist. Die entscheidende Frage lautet nicht nur: „Kann ich KI benutzen?“, sondern: „Kann ich verantworten, was dabei entsteht?“

Die vierte Stufe ist Gestaltungskompetenz. Sie ist meine eigene Ergänzung des Modells und geht bewusst über die individuelle Nutzung und Beurteilung von KI hinaus. Unsere Sachbearbeiterin könnte nun gemeinsam mit ihrer Organisation festlegen, für welche Schritte KI eingesetzt wird, wo menschliche Kontrolle nötig bleibt, wer Verantwortung trägt und wie der neue Prozess dokumentiert wird. Aus individueller KI-Kompetenz wird damit Organisationskompetenz.

Weiterbildung als Infrastruktur

Damit zeichnet sich ein mögliches Zukunftsbild ab. Berufliche Weiterbildung wäre weniger eine Folge einzelner Technologiesprünge, auf die jeweils mit neuen Kursen reagiert wird. Sie würde vielmehr zu einer dauerhaften Infrastruktur, mit deren Hilfe Menschen, Unternehmen und Bildungssysteme Veränderungen bearbeiten können.

Das wäre mehr als „lebenslanges #Lernen“ als wohlklingende Formel. Es würde bedeuten, Qualifizierung systematisch mit Arbeit zu verbinden, kleinere und grössere Bildungsbausteine kombinierbar zu machen, bestehende Kompetenzen anzuerkennen und Qualifikationsprofile regelmässiger an veränderte Tätigkeiten anzupassen.

Künstliche Intelligenz ist dabei möglicherweise weniger das eigentliche Thema als der Beschleuniger einer Entwicklung, die bereits länger zu beobachten ist. Wenn Wissen schneller veraltet und Tätigkeiten häufiger neu zusammengesetzt werden, genügt es immer weniger, einmal einen Beruf zu lernen. Entscheidend wird die Fähigkeit, fachliches Können zu erhalten, neue Werkzeuge anzuwenden, ihre Ergebnisse zu beurteilen und schliesslich die eigene Arbeit unter veränderten Bedingungen neu zu gestalten.

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Quellen [1] Europäische Kommission, „Proposal for a Council Decision on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States“, COM(2026) 510, 3. Juni 2026. URL: https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10269-2026-ADD-1/en/pdf

[2] Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB), „Auftakttagung der Transformationsprojekte im Programm Nachhaltig im Beruf“, 5. August 2026. URL: https://www.bibb.de/de/191525.php

[3] OECD, Developing Vocational Education and Training with Artificial Intelligence, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, Paris: OECD Publishing, 23. Juni 2026. URL: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/developing-vocational-education-and-training-with-artificial-intelligence_e9f76b4e-en.html

[4] OECD, Five Principles for the Effective Use of AI in Vocational Education and Training Development, OECD Publishing, 23. Juni 2026. URL: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/five-principles-for-the-effective-use-of-ai-in-vocational-education-and-training-development_ee8c8e8e-en.html

[5] Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB), „Medien- und IT-Kompetenz für Ausbildungspersonal (MIKA)“, Bonn. URL: https://www.bibb.de/de/186279.php

[6] S. Straub, „Künstliche Intelligenz in der beruflichen Bildung. Rechtliche Anforderungen der KI-Verordnung“, Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung, 2025. URL: https://www.bibb.de/dokumente/pdf/Straub_2025_Kuenstliche_Intelligenz_in_der_berufliche.pdf

Bildquellen – Friedrich Gauermann (1807–1862): Beim Hufschmied, Dorotheum, Wien Public Domain. – Die Infografik zum vierstufigen Modell wurde mit GPT-5.6 Sol Mittel erstellt.

Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Für das Erstellen der Infografik wurde ChatGPT benutzt.

Topic #Erwachsenenbildung | #Maschinenwelten

Two days without showing up was very unlike her. In fact, just the sound of the door to the garden sliding open every morning would be enough for her to come running.

Suspicious, I decided to go look for her up and down the street, but I didn't need to look far. Right out front, I found her corpse. Next to a small piece of crunched up aluminum foil. Whatever was inside it, gone. Someone poisoned the cat.

I grabbed her and was surprised to find she was already stiff as a rock.

I carried her down to the garden, and buried her. A shuffle in the bamboo a few feet away betrayed her kittens, who were watching.

Her name was Koshary, and she was a very sweet girl.

#journal