After realizing all the math I learned in high school and college has utterly disappeared from my brain, I've been making an effort to relearn all of it. And in a rigorous, proof based way so I won't forget all of it again. Right now I'm trying to teach myself linear algebra and calculus, and surprisingly it's actually been really fun!
I didn't think I would be enjoying this as much as I am, and I think it's because of how stress free it all is when you don't have to turn homework in on time or study for exams. I'm learning at my own pace instead of the pace of a classroom. If I get the hang of something quickly, I can move to the next section. If I don't understand something I can stick to it until I do rather than being forced to move on.
I think after I finish up these two topics, I'll move on to topics I've never studied before.
I've been working through both volumes of Calculus by Tom M. Apostol which covers both calculus and linear algebra.
Taking notes on each section and then doing every exercise has been effective I think. It has just the right number of exercises for each section to be reasonable for someone self studying so you don't need to pick and choose which exercises to do as there are way too many in most math textbooks.
And, for the first volume at least, someone has taken the time to write a solutions guide here: https://www.stumblingrobot.com/index-of-solutions/solutions-to-calculus-exercises/
I haven't gotten to the linear algebra sections of the two textbooks yet, so in the meantime I've been doing a non-rigorous course on Linear Algebra offered by MIT Open Courseware as a basic refresher. Here is everything you'd need for that except the textbook but that's pretty easy to pirate on libgen:https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/
Found chanterelles for the first time this weekend, they were delicious. Definitely adds a new element to be foraging when I go on hikes.
Been slowly learning Chinese. Doing a few minutes of listening practice and/or flashcards everyday.
Rockhounding. Going out and collecting cool rocks and minerals from like old mines and fields and quarries and stuff. The Earth has made some pretty incredible stuff and it's right under our feet. Great way to get in touch with nature
I'm even getting into the cutting and polishing and stuff. Hustlers out there charge out the ass for pretty basic stuff. The metaphysical crowd tends to be into rocks and sellers take advantage of that. If you call a piece of quartz "Lemurian" you can charge more etc. Idk if rocks are actually metaphysical or not but there's something satisfying about seeing someone selling something for $$$ and knowing you could go pick up a piece of it off the ground somewhere for free. Provided you're lucky enough enough live somewhere with access to interesting stuff
Ah nice! I love rockhounding 😁 if you're in a good area for it you can find some really cool stuff. Unfortunately where I'm at most of anything you can find is quartz so cloudy and opaque it's barely recognizable as such :/
Meeting other rockhounders is always nice. I think being able to trade local stones with people from other places is one of the most rewarding parts of it for me
Absolutely! I imagine it would be super cool to meet other people who are into the hobby and trading stones with them, I have a friend in the southwest who has found a bunch of cool stuff. One of these days I gotta find a better place to look near me, then maybe I'll have something cool for them next time I see them lol
Fermenting and pickling! Lots of fun to preserve your own produce and you can make lots of interesting creations.
What's your favorite interesting veggie/spice combo that you've tried? I have some carrots and cucumbers I'm looking to pickle soon.
I’ve made some lacto fermented beets that were more or less plain and it’s really really good. Great on sandwiches or over rice.
That's awesome. I'm just learning to play on a keyboard now.
The piano has always been my favorite part of a jazz combo. It sounds really hard to learn, though - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_piano
i doubled down on producing music from home now, since it's a lot easier with certain things in my possession.
Videos. I made two about my teddybear coping with quarantine with drugs. Haven't made anything worth mentioning since but I'm still hella proud about those two.
Ultimate (as in, Ultimate Brand-Nonspecific Novelty Flying Disc).
I'm growing pot and shrooms in my basement. I was already into gardening so this was just a natural next step.
How'd getting into growing mushrooms go? I want to try my hand at growing some oysters.
I first grew lions mane from a kit, it was easy but I didn't get a whole lot (it cooked down a ton).
Currently trying to grow psilocybe shrooms, first attempt failed (tried the Uncle Ben's method and I made a bunch of mistakes), but this second time around I used a pressure cooker and bird seed and it's looking good so far.
I would recommend getting a kit of gourmet mushrooms and seeing how you like it. It's really not too hard and you don't need to spend a lot of money to get started. I will probably try hen of the woods or more lions mane from scratch next.
I've been trying to dabble in music production but DAWs are super cumbersome and I don't have a ton of free time to commit to learning. Still trying, though!
