exertions plus AI

in

After two years of diminshing returns of running – thanks to nuHerbie's insulin pumping – I wanted to switch things up and, lo, this first morning of a new workout routine, thanks to Claude AI. Can't overstate the amount of help Claude's been here: it's been amazing to have an analytical compliment who, when given my exact needs and insulin requirements, can generate a workout routine that will replace daily running while doing things that I've already been doing AND condense those into one long morning session (in this case, 40 minutes of yoga, 35 minutes of muay thai (swapped in for boxing to make up for the loss of leg motion without running, followed by a 10-minute cooldown yoga session). We made a few changes to incorporate "exit points" in the event of hypoglycemic moment, but other than that, this has been great - especially the change in my CGM arc from a crashing tidal wave to a gentle climb and gentle landing. Tomorrow is the same routine, but with HIIT instead of muay thai, while the next day is a strength and running combo. A most welcome change.

success (? / . / !)

in

Thanks to a therapy / rubberducking session with Claude the AI (seriously, he works great for that: I appreciate analytical approaches to mental issues, especially when they manage to work in Nick Cave), I've realized that I have no clue of what success looks like to me: I've spent my life living up to my perception of others' expectations and constantly failing. And now that they're all dead (some thankfully, others crushingly) and I'm doing whatever it is that I do, I'm still living up to those perceived expectations. Suppose, then, that my current job is to figure out what success looks like to me. Probably a lot like what I'm doing now but without the soul-sucking striving for the approval of people who don't exist.