More Than the Vape

 I’m not trying to be philosophical or anything. If you want to try vaping, try it. Sometimes you're bored, sometimes you want to experience something new, sometimes you're just curious because other people have done it. I think experiencing things for yourself is often the best way to understand them.

And this isn't only about vaping. It applies to a lot of things in life.

The important part is knowing yourself. If you know you're not the type of person who gets obsessed with things, then trying something once isn't a big deal. Most of these things only give a temporary feeling anyway. They don't really solve anything.

That's why I think it's good to try different things and not get stuck on one thing. Maybe the exception is a business idea, a hobby, or work you're passionate about. But if it gets to the point where you can't have a normal social life anymore, maybe it's time to slow down a bit.

I don't know why I write these posts, but I genuinely think that creating things you're proud of and spending time with people you care about feels better than any vape or drug ever could.

One thing I would say: if you try vaping, don't suddenly make it your whole personality. Don't join vaping groups just because you want to belong somewhere. Join because you actually enjoy the people there. Maybe because there's a girl or a guy you like. Just don't force yourself into a group for the sake of being part of one.

Groups can teach you a lot, but it's also important to keep looking outside your own bubble.

This went from vaping to life pretty quickly, but my point is simple: don't treat vaping, or anything else, like a religion. It's just an experience.

There are plenty of things you probably shouldn't do, but you also can't live in constant fear. If you're always worried about every possible risk, you don't feel very free either.

Be open to experiences. Try things. Meet people. Find your own path. Obviously don't jump off a skyscraper to test if you can fly, but trying something like vaping once isn't exactly the end of the world either.

Personally, I think putting more chemicals into your body is pretty pointless and dangerous. But sometimes an experience, a conversation, a new environment, or meeting the right people can help you more than you expect. And I'm definitely not talking only about vaping here.

For me, happiness is mostly about having good people around you. At some point you realize that who you're sharing an experience with matters more than the experience itself. Once you understand that, life becomes a bit more relaxed.

Good people are hard to find sometimes, but if you keep going out, doing things, and staying social, you'll usually find them.

So sure, have a vape if you want. But don't chase the feeling from the vape itself. Chase the conversations, the memories, and the people around you with a nicer flavor in your mouth.

Somewhere Between Projects

 Lately I’ve been trying different things to organize myself better and actually give more value to the goals I have programming, blogging, even life in general. Because it’s easy to keep saying “I’m going to do this” or “I’ll start that soon”, but actually doing it is another story. Most of the time it’s easier to just open TikTok and waste an hour without noticing.

Yesterday I had this idea for an animation project i posted here. Very simple visually, but based on expressing what I personally understand or feel from books. Not a normal adaptation. More like turning thoughts into visuals. And honestly, if it’s done right and made in a really visual way, I think it could actually work pretty well.

The problem is that I already have too many projects in my head. Spring Boot stuff, JavaScript ideas, redesigning the blog, random technical details that eat time for no reason... and at the end of the day I feel like I barely move forward on anything. Then add work, friends, possible girls you have to keep up with, trips with my brothers, going out to run, studying for certifications… what even is my life at this point.

Anyway, leaving the frustration here for a second. Right now I’m making a browser game. I’m trying to code it in a very modular way and keep everything clean. I’ll probably leave it permanently linked on the blog, and if it actually starts doing well maybe I’ll even buy a separate domain for it. The idea is to make it pull the code directly from GitHub too, so I’m experimenting with that and seeing where it goes. Assuming I actually finish it, of course.

Also another important thing I forgot: Counter-Strike still exists and somehow steals part of my life too.

I guess this post is just a small update for myself. I honestly don’t even know how many people really read this stuff or if I’m basically writing posts to myself. But the blog stats are not that bad, so maybe somebody out there is reading.

One thing I started recently is using a notebook almost like a personal trainer system for myself. Every morning I write one main goal for the day. Then later I add what I learned that day, mistakes I made, things I should improve, and whatever else comes to mind. Small thing, but maybe it helps me stop feeling like everything is just floating around in my head. Starting with that for now. Let’s see if it actually takes me somewhere.

What I See When I Read

 I’ve been thinking about making some kind of animated series, but with a very simple animation style. Like taking a book and turning it into animations based on how I personally understand it. Not a literal adaptation more like visualizing the feelings, ideas or moments that hit me while reading it. Maybe even page by page sometimes, or just the important parts.

Now… actually making something like that is another story. No idea if I’ll ever have the time, energy or motivation to really do it without getting lazy halfway through 

But as an idea, I think it could be pretty cool

The Cost of “Temporary”

 Let’s create a conspiracy theory for fun, because we definitely live in weird times now. The funny part is that most people still don’t “feel” it emotionally yet… only financially. But once people start feeling something only in their pockets for too long, eventually something breaks.

Every year electricity goes up another 20%. Fuel doubles. Food prices become ridiculous. Rent becomes impossible. Buying a house? Forget it unless you inherit money or sell your soul for 40 years. And somehow we are all supposed to act normal while salaries move like they’re stuck in 2012.

The West was always sold as the place where you could build something, save money, own a home, have stability, maybe even dream a little bigger than survival mode. That’s why people tolerated a lot more than they normally would. But now? People work full time and still feel poor. That changes societies slowly from the inside.

Of course politicians will blame “the global economy”, “inflation”, “energy markets”, “supply chains”, wars, sanctions, shipping routes, the Strait of Hormuz, whatever the headline of the month is. Maybe it’s all true. Maybe not. But the result is always the same: regular people pay more and more while being told it’s unavoidable.

And here comes the uncomfortable thought: what if modern wars are also the perfect untouchable excuse? Something so massive and far above normal people that nobody can really confront it directly. If one politician openly robbed people overnight, society would explode. But if fuel triples because of some conflict thousands of kilometers away? Then suddenly everyone just accepts it while repeating words they heard on TV like “geopolitical tensions”.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there are real solutions being worked on behind the scenes. But it honestly feels artificial sometimes. Like the system discovered that permanent crisis is the easiest way to collect more money, lower expectations and keep everyone too exhausted to react.

And the scary part is not even the conspiracy itself. The scary part is how quickly people adapt to losing things they once considered normal.

Trying to Read Again

 I’m actually thinking about reading a novel or something. Feels unreal even typing that. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I read a proper book. The only things I’ve read for years are procedures, technical docs, manuals, troubleshooting garbage..

Here in Spain there’s this app called eBiblio, so I’m gonna check what’s worth reading. I want something recent no more than 2 years old. I think I’ll start with Las que no duermen NASH(2024) by Dolores Redondo . A forensic psychologist investigating Navarre legends, a fresh corpse appears, old case reopened… sounds dark enough to keep my brain awake for once.

Let’s see how long I survive before my attention span gets cooked again. I’ll try 30 pages a day. Yeah, I know… pathetic level considering I basically stopped reading for years. But between work, stress, excuses and life turning into endless technical bullshit… here we are xD

It’s the Illusion of Importance

 I keep seeing influencers talking about some Swatch launch or inauguration or whatever apocalypse-level event is happening. Honestly I haven’t even paid enough attention to know which model it is or why people suddenly act like it contains the secrets of the universe.

But I HAVE seen the photos. Insane queues everywhere. People waiting for hours in different countries like they’re trying to board Noah’s Ark before the flood starts. And the funniest part is that those giant lines become the best marketing possible. The moment humans see a crowd, our brains instantly go: THIS MUST BE IMPORTANT.

Meanwhile all this madness is basically for a €400 watch… when apparently the exact same quality can suddenly cost €30,000 if another luxury logo gets stamped on it.

And honestly… who gives that value to these things in the first place?

Us

Humans

Stupid

Apparently My Entire Body Fat Distribution Algorithm Is Installed Only In My Belly

 I’m trying a 3-day fast. Honestly, my belly has gotten really big even though I’m not that overweight overall. I’m 1.65m and around 66kg, but it feels like almost all the fat goes straight to my stomach.

Lately I’ve actually been doing quite a lot of exercise too running 5Ks, playing tennis, basketball… sometimes I go to the gym as well, even if not super consistently. That’s why it’s frustrating, because I feel like my belly should have gone down already. I don’t even eat that badly most of the time. Yeah, sometimes when I go out with friends I probably eat too many calories, but overall I’m not constantly overeating. I barely consume sugar either.

So I want to try this 3-day fast almost like a reset, and after that stay in a calorie deficit until my stomach finally starts looking more normal. The truth is I’ve had this belly for years now, probably 7 years or something like that.

If I start feeling really bad or anything, I’ll stop, because I know doing stuff like this isn’t necessarily recommended. But I wanted to try it once and see what happens. During these 3 days I won’t do any sports  I’ll only walk around 6km a day going to work and back.

Hopefully this finally helps reduce my belly because honestly I hate how it looks.

HBO post all episodes already!

 Am I the only one who thinks From is the best TV show released in the last few years? My brother told me the exact same thing, so at least I know I’m not completely losing it. But seriously, where are the people talking about this show like it deserves?

I’ve decided I’m not watching new episodes weekly anymore. I’m waiting until the very last episode of the last season comes out so I can disappear for 2 or 3 days and watch everything in one go. That’s the only way to fully enter that atmosphere. Watching one episode per week feels wrong for a show like this. My brain forgets details, theories, symbols, random conversations… and this is the kind of series where every tiny thing feels like it means something.

It’s also one of the few shows where the mystery actually feels heavy. Like there’s constantly something slightly “off” in the air even during normal scenes. No explosions, no forced action every five minutes, just pure psychological tension and that weird feeling that nobody is really safe.

At this point I honestly think the town in From has better character development than some Netflix protagonists.

The Most Dangerous Weapon Is a Convincing Opinion

 Opinions are probably the most dangerous and entertaining game humans ever invented. More dangerous than money sometimes. More addictive than football. More profitable than truth itself.

The weird thing about opinions is that once they enter someone’s brain correctly, they become almost impossible to remove. Facts later don’t even matter that much. Logic starts working backwards just to defend what the person already wants to believe. Humans are not truth machines. We are narrative protection systems.

And this becomes extremely dangerous in politics, religion and identity wars.

A “good influence”   even when it is objectively terrible   can completely redirect millions of people. History is basically giant populations emotionally pushed into directions they later called destiny, patriotism, revolution or faith.

Take the Crusades for example. People were convinced to travel across continents, kill strangers and die in wars in the name of God, holy land and stopping Muslim expansion. Maybe at the time many genuinely believed they were doing something righteous. But from a modern perspective, killing for religion feels ancient, surreal, almost like humanity running medieval software on biological hardware.

And honestly, even today nothing really changed. The language changed. The editing became cleaner. The propaganda resolution upgraded to 4K.

Look at the current situation around Israel and Palestine. Every side believes they are defending something sacred, necessary or existential. Maybe many people involved truly believe they are morally right. But the uncomfortable reality is that the people on the other side are still human beings too. They also want to live according to their beliefs, culture and reality.

Then another layer appears: human rights.

In some Muslim-majority countries there are clearly serious issues involving women’s rights, LGBT rights and freedoms in general. That part is real. But then once again the internet transforms complex realities into football teams. Suddenly everybody becomes a geopolitical expert after watching six TikToks and half a podcast clip while eating cereal at 2 AM.

The dangerous thing is not only misinformation. The dangerous thing is emotional targeting.

Modern influence works by identifying psychological hunger.

If someone feels:

Light speed > Sound speed

 What you’re about to read is ultra basic science, like kindergarten-level Einstein stuff, but I’m dropping it here anyway.

People really shouldn’t get scared of thunder when they’re outside walking around like NPCs. Because bro… you literally SAW the lightning hit the mountain or somewhere in the sky a few seconds before the sound comes. Your brain should instantly go:“Ah yes. Big boom incoming. Prepare the ears.”

But no. Everyone still jumps like the sky just quickscoped them.

And honestly? I say all this like some mini scientist… meanwhile I STILL get scared sometimes too. But I’m “special” so it doesn’t count :)

Anyway this is how you realize I’m basically a small version of Brian Cox.

Light speed > sound speed.

Physics baby. Ya tú sabe.

Turning Fuel into Noise and Ego into Nuisance

 I came across a post today from one of those influencers I usually follow this time lecturing about modified exhausts, which, let’s be honest, is just a polite way of saying “making your car obnoxiously loud.”

He brought up Germany as the gold standard: first time you get stopped, you’re warned; second time, they take your car. Clean, efficient, very German. And yes, he has a point especially when you compare it to places where enforcement is a joke and the usual “connected” crowd can drive around with exhausts that sound like a Glock pistol having a nervous breakdown, blasting through the streets and annoying everyone within a kilometer.

Now, let’s not pretend this is some public health crisis nobody’s dropping dead because of a loud exhaust. It’s irritating, sure, but survivable. Personally, I’d argue for a bit more freedom. When you stop obsessing over something, it tends to fade out on its own. Trends die faster when you don’t feed them with constant outrage.

That said, maybe don’t let it sound like a nuclear test every time someone touches the accelerator. There’s a line.

And honestly, there’s an upside: it’s a remarkably efficient way to identify idiots from a distance.