Product Review - My First Haul (and shopping experience) with Poshmark.

 After getting my new Nike Trail Running shoes, I felt a little bit bland with the limitations I have on my change-of-clothes options in my wardrobe, particularly in the hot Southern California middle of the summer. I’ve been opting for golf shorts and moisture-wicking, antibacterial fabric tank tops that I got to sample, first, through Amazon Vine. I bought a second set of these, in other words. The clothing purchase and the shoes purchase coincided on one day, mostly, so the colors match, but still, I felt it was a little bland. I wanted some neon pink, of something, and my mind wandered back over to my most recent high-end jacket and long sleeve purchases that I had made, during the pandemic. 

A Nike Trail sticker, featuring the Nike Trail series graphic, in pink.

I started out searching for a neon pink Windrunner, which is the name of a Nike athletic sort of windbreaker, with a special 26° trim coming down the front of the jacket. It’s made of polyester, and it’s lightweight, but Nike makes them with cool designs, every now and then. I went with Google Shopping, to begin my search, like I do with most of my online purchases, when I want to comparison shop. I came up with several neon pink windbreakers, some of them notable second-place mentions, a couple of them Windrunners, but they were not my size, and I became attached to the notion of having a real Windrunner jacket again, since I’d lost mine, somewhere along the way. I got a cigarette hole in that one, anyways. I felt more confident that I could preserve and maintain my clothing better now, at this point. I felt like I’d made a good decision, in picking out nice shoes for me to wear. 

I had considered this pink kangaroo pocket windbreaker, but in the end, I guess it wasn’t quite the right pink for me, I was going for a bit more on the fuchsia side of the spectrum.

So, I went comparison shopping, on Google, and I visited a few new-to-me marketplaces, and picked out some of my favorites, and I set them aside, in the tabs of my browser, and kept searching. I found a Nikelab jacket ad that intrigued me, so I clicked on the inventory ad, and it led me to Poshmark, an online marketplace that I had never really visited and shopped at. The jacket was only $30, and supposedly it was marked down from $1,000 (probably an exaggeration, but it made it seem like it was a killer deal, at the time). Since it was affordable, I went ahead and purchased the jacket, despite it being summer. I had been staying out late, on some nights, and it would get a bit chilly, so I recalled wishing that I had a light jacket during those times. 

Once I made the purchase, Poshmark invited me to start a profile with the site, and I could track my order, get deals, etc., so I made an account. I figured that putting my money in to some new clothes was a good move, and I might eventually come back for more. Quite soon after starting my account on Poshmark, I started getting News notices. I was getting a bunch of followers! Poshmark is very much a social buying and selling platform, which you can see from some of their screens. I really got in to the premise of a socially adept, interactive website and app, where users can post and shop for clothing and more, make offers, message each other directly, view more items from seller closets, and comparison shop, with such a fashion-oriented purpose about it.

Poshmark’s home feed splash page, where user-hosted shows are featured.

My Poshmark News feed.

A search for the latest Nike product listings on Poshmark pulls up a feed like this.

Once my shipments arrive, later this week, I’ll update with some photos, and see how they look on me!

Update: The next day.

The Nike Electric Orange Chalk Windrunner Parka Jacket, next to my LED spotlight, featuring the type of neon pink that I like, somewhat a rose/fuchsia tone.

Don’t you love it when mail and packages arrive early? I do, and this oversized jacket/parka from @lazo_co arrived swiftly, and ahead of schedule, from Colorado to Los Angeles (the package was mailed out on Saturday, and arrived on a Tuesday). I liked the bright colors and lightweight material, and it’ll do well for me on days when it rains. It’s the first of three items that I ordered, over the weekend. Check out Hana Z’s store on Poshmark for tons of other cool athleisure fashion finds for men and women at great prices. I found some more bright-colored golf shorts that I like, at a glance.

The sea foam green golf shorts caught my attention.

I love the aqua blue turquoise color of this pair of golf shorts. 

In the days to follow:

The next day, I received my second jacket that I ordered off of Poshmark. This one was the first that I ordered, as it features the shade of pink that I was seeking, along with a giant Nike Swoosh logo, across the chest, in red, with the bottom portion in orange, to contrast. There were some things that I hadn’t considered, in ordering off of Poshmark, such as Chinese counterfeit Nike gear, which, I believe, this piece is, and it says “Made in China,” on the tags, yet it features YKK zippers, and there’s no mesh lining to the jacket, which I’ve known Nike to do. It ends up being a little bit messy, when wearing it, during the summertime, when I’ll be sweating a lot, since the jacket is 100% polyester. It wasn’t labeled as a Windrunner, just a windbreaker, but I still expected the same quality I’d known before, in their other jackets. 

The Nikelab windbreaker I purchased. 

I like the colors on this piece. 

The next day, my third piece arrived. It’s a sweater, and I bought it with cooler weather in mind, or nighttime outings, during warmer months. It features colorful sleeves and flanks that go with my shoes; that was the attraction to this piece. 

This sweater seems like it’s vintage, with old school fonts on the tags. 

I deposited some more money in to my bank account, and I ended up buying the seafoam green shorts that I liked, as well as some shorts that matched the color on the bluer shorts that I also liked, since the original pair of shorts had gone missing. 

Vineyard Vines’ seafoam green golf shorts.

I got these shorts in a size smaller than I’d been wearing, because I’m planning on losing weight in the coming months. The Poshmark ad showed a ruler with the same waist size as my current normal size, so I trusted that they would fit. They’re a little snug, but they fit alright, and I got a compliment about the pastel colors of my outfit as soon as I left my place wearing these, right after I got them. I got a second compliment on another day, as well, and I’ve only had these shorts a few days. I really like the color on them, it matches nicely with my bright colored clothes.

A pigeon wearing my summer outfit.

Next, I revived one of my Covid-19 Pandemic-era favorites, the mint green Windrunner, just like I’d purchased from Nordstrom, back then, for $100. I wore the jacket all the time, so I have fond memories of it close to heart, when it came to reclaiming jackets for a haul. It took some searching to find and discern that this color is the same one as the original Windrunner that I’d purchased, and, as it turns out, a photo of the jacket requires some image adjustment to obtain the true coloration of the jacket, digitally. On Poshmark, I was able to get a discount off of the original department store price, and I paid $82, after tax and shipping. Although there’s plenty of Windrunner jackets, of varying designs out there, I was glad, in this case, to get a brand new one just like the one I’d had before, for sentimental value, as it was a mainstay of my wardrobe, several years ago.

My original color Windrunner jacket. Here, it’s new with tags, so I get to live out all of the adventure all over again, from the beginning. 

(Recent) original and authentic Nike Windrunner jackets will feature this tag on the inner body of the jacket.

I got another Windrunner, also. This one, I got as a bargain deal for $20 on eBay, actually, but there are more floating around, out there, on various online marketplaces, still, if you’d like to emulate the look, on your own. 

The Nike AR2191-012 Windrunner Jacket. It hearkens back to a 1978 design vibe, apparently (I wasn’t around, then). 

It’s a challenge to find this one by description; you’d need the series and make number in order to get good search results on it, and there are several other same make and series jackets available online, if you want to copy the look.

This one is probably my most favorite, out of the windbreaker jackets that I purchased. It goes well with my outfits, and I got more than one compliment on the jacket, the first time I wore it out. It’s definitely an eye catcher, and it’s stylish and a bit funky, with its bright colorblock patch design and choice of color palette. It’s good for wearing neon colors with it, if you’re in to that.

Meet Swifty, iPigeon.institute’s latest rescue (not a pigeon).

Today, as I was walking in downtown LA, I had stopped on the sidewalk to do something (I forget what it was), and as I was finishing up, I looked down in front of me, and I saw a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. I wasn’t sure if it was alive, or not, so I nudged it, and it spread its wings, to regain its balance. I was excited to find it was alive, and I picked the baby bird up, and continued along my way. 

At first, I thought that the baby was a falcon, since it had a sharp beak and sharp claws that dug in to my fingers, as I held it, and I felt a bit of trepidation about what I was doing - saving a future predator of pigeons, but, I figured, it’s a baby, and I’ll take care of it anyways, since I like caring for birds. 

Swifty, as I first found him.

Once I got home, I was eager to find out what falcon babies looked like, if they looked like this bird, or not, and then I asked ChatGPT about the bird, with a photo upload included in the query. 

Asking ChatGPT about the baby bird I found. 

At first, funnily enough, ChatGPT thought that the bird was a baby pigeon, but I pressed on, in asking it again, with a different photo, since the bird is obviously not a pigeon. This time, the photo was clearer on the features of the head of the bird, and ChatGPT identified it as a swift, not a predator, but an insectivore, meaning that it only eats insects. 

I spent some time learning about swifts, and how to feed them, which was my primary interest with the bird, since, at this stage, the baby is still fluffy with fuzz and pin feathers, and it cannot feed itself. Swifts are very interesting birds, in that they are capable of flying for up to 10 months at a time, nonstop. They are purported to be resolutely destined for the wild, where they spend most of their time in flight, catching insects, for food. Google’s AI-assisted search says that Chimney Swifts breed in North America and migrate to the Amazon basin. What an exciting life!

Swifty, up close, on his first day here.

Now that Swifty had gotten some water in him, he’s brighter-eyed, and more active. He’s an adventurous one, at times, and he climbed out of a shallow bowl and blanket that I had placed him in, earlier, to explore his surroundings a bit. Perhaps it was his adventurous spirit that got him grounded, whereupon I found him on the sidewalk, although there was a loop of string around his foot, possibly from the nest. The string wasn’t tight around him, though, and I removed it, once I found out it was a string - it looked like dusty debris, at first. It’ll be an interesting few weeks, or so, with Swifty, hopefully (I purchased food for him that’s coming tomorrow morning). He isn’t making gestures, yet, of being hungry, although he would obviously be hungry. Perhaps, after a good night’s rest, he’ll wake up with a hearty appetite. He did make some screeching noises, earlier, so I could tell that his condition is improving, over time, even though he hadn’t eaten since at least this afternoon, when I found him. 

Swifty fan art.

Update: The next day.

Swifty spent the night in a comfortable box, and we spent some time together in the morning and during the day, but he never accepted food or water from me, nor did he make any indications that he was hungry, which he obviously would be, after a day. I went online to seek advice, and I ended up texting the Pasadena Humane Society (they have a wildlife hotline, and they prefer texts, for photo references). The helpline agent got back to me, after several minutes, and asked to see a video of the bird, so that they could assess the bird’s fledging (feathered, and ready to start flying) status, so I sent a video over. The agent advised me that the bird would still possibly be looked after by its parents, even though it fell from the nest, so I should return the bird to the place where I found it. I hadn’t really considered that concept, because I thought that it was a hopeless thing, that the bird was helpless and flightless, on the ground, out of its nest, and the rebellious side of me was somewhat averse to returning the bird, but then, I considered the alternatives, and since the bird wasn’t displaying any signs of hunger yet, I felt that it would be unlikely that it would end up accepting food or water from me, at all, and that it would starve. 

Saying goodbye to Swifty, for today. I’ll come and check on the box tomorrow.

Little wings!

I took Swifty’s box, and prepared it for hanging up at the location I found him at, and I put a note on the box not to touch it, because the parents might return for the baby bird. It’s somewhat like a chimney, I figure, so maybe it’s familiar to the birds. I hung up the box on a pole, with some tape, and I said goodbye, for now. Hopefully the box will still be there tomorrow, and perhaps for longer, until Swifty learns to fly, after reuniting with his parents. I’ll come back and check on him on subsequent days.

Update: 10:30 p.m.: I got the notion in me, at this time, that Swifty would be cold, spending the night outside, and plus, it’s almost July 4th, and there’s people setting off fireworks all around. He could get scared. So I went back to the box’s location, but the box was no longer there, by now. I wonder what happened to him. I think it would have been cool Swifty’s parents really did come back for him and raise him up until he could fly, from his place in the box.

Goodbye, Swifty, and good luck!

Catch up with Piotr, the rescue pigeon (Summer 2025)

 

Piotr has some good things going for him, for not being too scared of me. He takes food out of a container, as well as water, for example. 

Piotr is the latest addition to the iPigeon.institute family. I rescued him, last night, when I spotted him pecking around at some food and looking listless. He gave off some hints that he wasn’t following flock behavioral signals, so I took it as a sign that he wasn’t adapting well to outdoor life, and that he could be putting himself at risk, for leaving himself vulnerable. Despite this, he also immediately gave off signs of being tame. He took food out of my hand, when I offered it to him, for example. He also let me pick him up, without any trouble. I figured that it would be better that I took him home than someone else, particularly because of his friendly traits, but also because I have a lot of spare time to give him attention. 

I took him home and sat him down on my bed, and I went out to do some remote work at the library, which is where I was initially headed when I initially happened upon Piotr. When I came home, he was in the same spot, and I went to bed. I woke up a few times, during the night, and I checked on him, and this morning, I offered him some food and water, and he took both, which is a reassuring sign that he’s generally healthy and in good spirits. I think he’ll make a great pet! He’s a black-feathered pigeon, with some slight luminescence to his neck feathers.

Update: I noticed that Piotr was limping, so I took a look at him, and apparently, he’s got a wounded leg, of some sort. I guess I’ll be taking care of him for a little while, at least, while his leg repairs itself.

Piotr walks with a limp, I noticed - after I brought him home. He’ll be staying with me for a while during his recovery. He’s been eating heartily and he likes mineral water.

Update: I was considering veterinary care for Piotr, but I felt that it could be much more costly than trying to splint his leg myself. Since he’s pretty calm, I feel like I can do it on my own, so I ordered a pigeon leg splint from Foy’s Pigeon Supplies.

A pigeon leg splint, from Foy’s, a renowned pigeon and pet supply store.

Piotr awaits his recovery, and he passes the days mostly by sitting on my bed, or a pillow. He goes “home” to a cozy little nook, located behind my pillow.

Piotr, in his nook. I clean his spot once or twice a day, that’s all it takes!

Update: Sunday, May 11th

Piotr’s leg splint came in, yesterday, from Foy’s Pet Supplies, so I spent some time splinting his leg. The instructions said to wrap the wounded leg with cotton wool, then clamp the splint around the leg (it has plastic fasteners on it). Piotr was fairly calm through the stressful process, and I got his leg splinted successfully. Hopefully he heals up soon!

I was able to successfully splint Piotr’s broken leg (or foot).

Update: 05/19/2025

Piotr the pigeon is starting to show some affections for me, as well as pigeon intelligence. He flew down from his roost, last night, when it started getting dark, and he landed himself on my pillow, where he settled down, for the night, next to my head. I mostly left him alone, since he’s probably feeling things out, with me, as far as his personal security, as well as his place in life, with me. 

Piotr’s lofty roost, up at the top of the photo, where he likes to situate himself when he wants time to himself, or when he wants to get away. He’s found that this spot is mostly secure for him, as far as being left alone. 

Piotr has been eating well, despite having his leg splinted. He’s definitely adapting well, and he doesn’t hold the splinting against me, in terms of friendliness. He’s demonstrated that he knows when it’s meal time (when I’m having meal time), and he also takes well to demonstrating that he wants to eat, at times, by pecking around, or by showing up at his food and water dishes. 

Piotr is having a drink of water, here. He’s a picky eater, and he only likes some of the seeds in the seed mixes I give him. Here, he tossed aside his seed bowl, entirely, after having some shrimp with me. He’s got a bit of an attitude!

This morning is when Piotr started dining interactively with me, after we spent the night as pillow buddies. I sat down for breakfast, and he noticed that there were eggs in my meal, which he likes. He headed on over to my plate and helped himself to some eggs. Piotr really has some personality to him. 

Piotr, having some scrambled eggs, along with me, as I begin my breakfast, this morning. 

I think it’s fascinating to observe how Piotr defines his boundaries and affections, upon adapting, over time, to domesticated life. I’ve still yet to discern whether or not I’ll keep him, but I really do like having him as a companion. It’s an adventure unlike other bird experiences I’ve had, since he has free rein over the room we stay in, perhaps. 

Update: 05/21/2025

Some video content demonstrating Piotr having his customary lunch (seeds), then having a drink of water, and then, he returns to his roost.

Update on Piotr: 05/28/2025:

Mysteries abound in my head about this, even though my physical illness that beset me since the beginning of this past weekend took the foray, for the most of the day. After I had returned from getting breakfast, I seemed to offhandedly suppose that Piotr was not in any of his several spots in my room, where he likes to hang out. I had, at first, been concerned that he had been one trapped against the wall space, with my furniture’s placement, but I checked the possible spots where he “may” have been, and, being that I couldn’t find him there, I eventually checked his lofty high roost, where he may have been, in a second stacked box, but that wasn’t until much later in the day, due to going to the store having been so grueling for me, due to my body aches and feverish chills. Aside from that I rested, but when I checked the high up box, he wasn’t there, either. So I gave the room another full once over, and I cleaned up some mess that he’d been accumulating on the floor. In any case, I’ve affirmed that he’e possibly been removed from the room, during the times in which I’d gone out, possibly by management or my caseworkers, since I also noted that my moon lamp had been turned off, possibly as a suggestion, since I was sick for so long. The tales that were weaved in my head were pretty lighthearted and reaffirming, so that was nice, that that was the case. I think that my nurse possibly got concerned about me contracting bird flu, from exposure, and since I had gotten so sick; I felt that it would last throughout the rest of the weekend, and in a bad way, throughout, if I didn’t continue taking proactive measures for healing myself (medications). My nurse offered to buy me NyQuil and DayQuil, which had been a relatively quick and notable relief, from the pain. 

My bedside moon lamp, in addition to the pigeon being gone, was turned off.

I suppose that his transition in to living somewhere else came at a reasonable time, since he was starting to land on me, a lot, and I was getting slightly worsening bedsores from accommodating his perching on me, not to mention that it had become difficult to keep up with the poop and spilled bird seeds on the floor. His time with the splint is generally done, now, although I hadn’t confirmed it, myself, although 3 weeks was the proscribed time period for a pigeon to wear a splint. Good luck, Piotr, and maybe I’ll see you out there, again, some day. 

Update: Catching up with Piotr, out on the streets.

I was surprised, a few days after Piotr had unexpectedly disappeared from my room, to find him out on the streets. He did not have his splint on, anymore, and he’s currently limping around, but his leg looks like it set at a good angle for healing, and over some time, he’s gaining use of his leg back. Here’s some footage of him, out on Skid Row, now, where he linked up with the flock I’ve typically been feeding, on a daily basis, which is convenient. He gets along with the others, and it’s a no drama flock - he doesn’t get picked on, for being different, in other words. 

Here’s to Piotr, for his resilience and ingenuity! I’m happy that he got in with the local flock of pigeons.

Product Review: Nike Wildhorse 10 Trail Running Shoes.

 

Nike Wildhorse 10 shoes.

Out in downtown LA, going out and feeding pigeons, and all, I encounter all sorts of challenging terrain. This being the case, I like to have good, supportive footwear to help me power through my outings. It was time for a new pair of shoes for me, recently, so I went online to check out the Nike website and see what was new. I found several different shoes that piqued my interest, and I checked my bank account, and I found out that I had more money in my bank than I’d expected. I thought, “oh, goody! I can splurge,” and I ventured on, within the catalog of shoes online, and I let my imagination roam a bit more freely. 

I’d previously tried out high end casual / running shoes like the Vapormax flyknit shoe, which features shoes on top of bubbles of air, as the soles, and, while nice, I wanted to try something new. I didn’t feel like spending $220 (they are currently $187.97, on the store’s website) for shoes, and I’d already tried them out. I had been wearing the Joyride sneakers, which feature foam balls in the soles, for cushioning, and they’re also casual running shoes, but here, I had an opportunity to branch out in to fancier shoes with more features. 

The main attraction to the Wildhorse 10 shoe ($165), in Nike’s trail running series, is that it has a springy ReactX foam midsole that is purported to return energy to the wearer, along with a grippy outsole design that provides for sure footing in all types of trail terrain, whether it be uphill, wet, or over various types of ground. 

My Wildhorse 10 shoe outsoles. Clearly, this is a shoe for serious trail runners.

Upon first trying out the shoes, after receiving them on Monday, after I ordered them on a Sunday (impressive - Nike used a custom courier to deliver the shoes within 1 day), I could definitely feel a spring in my heels, upon trying to bounce and walk around a little bit. It’s unlike other shoe experiences I recall, since it’s foam, instead of air, that’s being used as the cushion. I felt that there was a lot of design input that went in to making the shoe, and it’s got a legacy of design behind it (Nike skipped #9 in the Wildhorse series, and went to version 10, from 8, but there are internet articles that talk about previous iterations of the Wildhorse series). The ReactX foam is truly “responsive,” as it’s termed, and I could definitely see how this model of shoe would assist me and keep me comfortable on future daily hikes out to feed the pigeons around town.

The shoe comes in a good variety of many different color options to choose from, and there’s men’s and women’s versions of the shoe, as well. I chose the funky pink neon, white, black, and light blue version, because I like bright colors. I could foresee keeping the shoes clean as being a chore, as I’d have to watch how I move and handle the shoes, when wearing them, so that they don’t get scuffs or stains on them. Even so, I unfortunately spilled some soy sauce on one of the shoes, on my first day wearing them out, and I nearly freaked out, but I had some water with me, and I gave it a quick rinse, and once I got to a water fountain, I was able to rub out the stain completely, with a little bit of soap, so the fabric is a little bit forgiving. 

All in all, I feel like like the trail running series fits my lifestyle and fashion choices, and I got a compliment on the shoes, on the first day I wore them, which was nice. I ordered a complementary set of shorts and a tank top that matches the color of the shoes. I’d highly recommend the shoes, as a luxury novelty, for the bouncy soles, as well as for active lifestyle trail running (walking, in my case) types, when the shoes can be afforded, financially. 

First long distance outing thoughts and reflections:

Now, I’m sure that many of you who came across this page and article could debate the point, as to whether or not 18+ miles is considered “long” distance, but I’m just saying… for convenience’s sake. My standard daily goal is 10,000 steps, which comes out to about 5 miles, or so, and here, I put in some dedicated hours at the track, to see if I would suddenly become more skilled and adept at running, given my new, specially designed for trail running: Wildhorse 10 Nike shoes. 

When I showed up to Los Angeles State Historic Park, neighboring Chinatown, DTLA - my nearest metropolitan-scale nature and dirt trail park, there was a huge soundstage and concert installation for what ended up being a college students’ progressive trance music show, with anywhere from 10,000 to 20,000 young people attending. I was dismayed that I wouldn’t be able to run the track, because of the concert, but there was a small straightaway of dirt and rocky track stretching from the entrance of the park to the concert gates, maybe 1,000 feet or so. I eventually shook off the anxiety about pacing the track, back and forth, for hours on end, and I “just did it,” in my Nikes. Everyone was paying attention to their own stuff, and the anxiety was all in my head, I reasoned. I mean, I looked different - in jogging clothes, whereas most people who showed up were young adults, dressed in black, grouped up in small to mid-size groups, mostly Asian people, and the restrooms straddled the side of the track / road, and most people’s attention was on using the restroom and gathering with friends before entering the show. There was a 2-3 hours’ long procession of a non-stop flow of pedestrian foot traffic entering the show and park grounds. All extraneous information, here, perhaps, although I did stay for much of the show, to listen to the music, since I was at the concert, anyways, practically.

As I mentioned earlier, 18 miles is probably a cut and dry, simple prospect, but I smoke cigarettes, and I don’t commonly run, although perhaps, with these shoes, I’ll turn showing up to the park a habit. Now, for me, the day’s 18 miles ended up being pretty easy, on my end, for that matter. Granted, I only walked the track, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t want to be running back and forth on such a short track, when there were countless young concertgoers just several feet away from me. I already did my standard 10,000 steps, or so, earlier in the day, and I felt that I could get several hours in, of walking, and I thought that maybe I would work myself up to running, a bit, but that never materialized, on this day. 

I tracked my steps, today, using the “Jring,” a bargain-priced Amazon and Alibaba importer and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) generic smart ring product, that ostensibly is taken on, by various companies, in branding or reselling the ring. It’s a good ring, but higher-priced smart rings purportedly hold a charge for longer. I got the ring through my Amazon Vine product reviews job.

To my credit, this day’s 18 miles ended up being easy-peasy for me, as well, especially since it was just walking. I’d been known to do 12-20 mile walking days in former years, on a consistent, daily basis, since I had a dog that I walked around, everywhere, with me. That was the notable characterization of the extended walking exercise slot of time that I pulled off, later on in the day and evening - that it was simple, and I would credit the shoes, with their bounciness (responsiveness) and cushiony ReactX foam midsoles, as that I was aided by the shoes’ technological upgrades, by Nike. It felt like the shoes really made things easier on me, in going a longer distance, once again, after having a long stretch of time in which I was only doing 10,000 steps a day, now, customarily. I feel that I can show up at the park and get in to the trail running lifestyle, become an avid regular runner, and improve my health, while I’m at it; ostensibly, I would favor purchasing new and fancy shoes on a regular basis, and I’d set aside funds to meet those ends every couple or few months, or so, rather than letting the shoes age and wear out, completely. I could pass down the shoes to the less fortunate folks, surrounding where I live, and brighten someone’s day, as well, in doing so. It was a nice feeling, and a good day, with a concert to accompany my afternoon-through-night time walk in the park. 

Nike Wildhorse 10 fan art.

Product Review: Geek Bar Pulse.

As far as nicotine vapes (smokeless inhalers) go, a relatively new geeky phenomenon has hit the streets (literally). The Geek Bar Pulse product line is a new, emergent brand that has various special features

A few Geek Bar Pulse vapes, one a Geek Bar Pulse X vape.

Follow up work on Sophorxa (renamed).

 I’d spent a few days with my new fragrance composition, and I think it’s great! (still). It uses 16+ ingredients:

Top notes - Bergamot, Ocimene, Carene-3 Delta, Prismantol, Sweet Yuzu, Black Pepper

Mid / Heart - Jasminlactone, Terpineol Alpha, Blackcurrant Bud Absolute, Champaca Yellow Absolute

Base - Palo Santo Key Accord, Iso E Super, Cashmeran, Benzoin Oliffac, Heliotropin Replacer, Special Vanilla Extract

My special vanilla bean extract.

Here’s the latest marketing material for the fragrance (I don’t know how much I like this one):

Sophorxa a powerfully fresh and sweet androgynous floral wood fragrance, with a helping of animalic primal character to it. I’ve still yet to create a bottle of it; I need to work out the drop by drop proportions, or weights.

Neuronify is Back, on iPadOS! Analyzing and Comparing the Efficacy of Two Common Learning Methods - Immersion Versus Self-Quizzing.

 Originally published: 09/21/2021

Every now and then, I get quizzed on knowledge base, perceptual acuity , memory tasks of contexts pertaining to occurrences and developments in my life, and of “seemingly” random tidbits of learning, taxonomy, culture, or lore (otherwise), in my remote-sensing environments which happen upon me.

This sort of thing happens on a regular basis. The remote-sensing quorums are attended by various classes and types of individuals, yet commonly, the topic basis is one of a civil complaint against me, and I find myself chronically stressed out, in life, of various sorts of consequences. The pursuit of an ever more leisurely outlook and disposition, in life, is an obvious lure for me, and unfortunately, I find myself deprecating in to former and legacy modes of behaviors, such as seeking novel or imprudent sorts of entertainment online, for example, rather than using my strengths, and building upon gainful and productive aspirations in life. 

 The app I have in mind, in this instance, is a simplistic one, although I would strongly presume that the merits are founded, and sure. 

Why an app? 

Mobile development is an industry that had a significant heyday leading up to the time of the Pandemic, and by all means, it’s an industry that will see growth, to come, as various demographics see a rise and fall in their social and class status underpinnings; I’d suppose that would happen, based on much of the “conjectural” (perceptual?) confessionals and Freudian Slips that I’d been privy to, as we’re all under interrogation by the higher authority, until we become the highest authority, when it comes to a remote sensing tech and lifestyle sort of, uh, lifestyle. 

Within the gold rush timespan, leading up to the era of high-powered mobile device hardware, we saw many shining stars emerge in app development, which fulfilled many of the needed purposes to be seen through in app development in an ever-increasingly more compact, more large if need be; more graphics, higher data throughput and storage capability expectation and demand, on our devices. Activities and pursuits of merit, once confined, largely, to the classroom environment and to libraries, were suitably accommodated and made much more accessible to the layperson of an aspirational creed, who would shrug off the influence of pirating goods (and jailbreaking,, etc.), and go with the program, as far as discovering what was available and being offered through mainstream big tech app stores, offered by Google, Apple, and now Amazon (does Microsoft do an App Store for their mobile devices? I don’t know, off-hand, but I’d assume so). 

The point is,

is that many developers and programmers had staked their worth and product offerings, early on, and they’d established themselves, app-wise, as the go-to solution that people would come to discover, and support, for menial scrum pay - that many App Store offerings were given to people as, with archetypes such as the iTunes Store’s $0.99 offerings of parted-out pieces of what could, would, or had been full albums, previously; many of such apps, themselves, offering a similarly compartmentalized concept of what productivity and development, or “work,” on mobile devices could, and ought be, as it was envisioned and carried out. 

My go-to app, for learning about neural networks, all learning and literature (mostly) aside, came to be Neuronify. Was it free? Did I pay for it? I don’t quite remember, but if it cost anything, it was a couple, or several dollars, or so. It seemed to do the job, as imaginable as it might be, for a dilettante entry in to app-attainment goals, for my arrays, choices, and learning-basis inclusions on to my mobile devices, and for that matter, SSD hard drive space, on an iPad, even more so than on a mobile phone device - it goes a lot further than on a desktop environment (as well as better than phones can offer). I’ve currently (September 2021) got 569 apps, 6020 photos, 346 videos, 168 songs, on my device, which features 256 GB of SSD storage, and I’m only down to about 161 GB remaining. I do anywhere from a 4+ hour to 8-hour screen time daily average, given a week, on my iPad Pro device, particularly now that I’d lost my Google Android Pixel 4a 5G, which is part of a great series of mobile phones, for the cost, by the way. For that matter, the Google Store also features the Neuronify DIY neural networks mapping (doing) app, as well. 

The premise of a neural network is fairly basic, in essence. There aren’t all that many parameters and objects that would be featured in Neuronify, but the significant feature of having development and productivity, on mobile, playing out, at the speed of whatever measure of achievement that could be wrought out of the device and app, through the user’s input, as a moving visual image: interactive, and engaging that it is, playing out on the screen, is part of an attainment, in mobile device development, particularly on the iPad (Pro), which would have formerly only existed in richly-resourced study and research learning and development environments, and tracing even further back, in static image renders, of the calculations involved, and even further than that, in people’s imaginations. At some point, the technology falls back in time, in to philosophical codices, with the basis and need for the science of neurology being a pursuit, study, and investigation of what comprises the mind, itself, and it’s functioning, at the most critical points of investigation and discovery that could be had. What works? What doesn’t? What is the most effective cause and effect cycle and premise? Which types of decisions and behaviors are harmful, or wasteful? These sorts of questions could be proven, to as best the researcher could prove, to the scientific community, whom, in turn, would be capable of producing the same results, in a lab setting, thus validating the discovery. 

Within the app itself, as I’d mentioned earlier, there are only several parameter objects and icon type tools, or actions and feedback mechanisms, in other words, of the interface. The interface, in and of itself, is a node-based class of workflow environment.

The Neuronify app interface, on a 2020 model iPad Pro.

Here, then are the various user interface tools of the app:

Leaky excitatory neuron

Adaptive excitatory neuron

Leaky inhibitory neuron

Adaptive inhibitory neuron

Voltmeter

Spike detector

Firing rate plot

Loudspeaker

DC current source

AC current source

Irregular spike generator

Regular spike generator

Visual input 

Touch activator

Note

My hypotheses:

Premise 1: innovative skills arise out of need, as well as out of rote. 

Some findings and observations, upon that basis:

• Needful skills could only possibly attend to the problem which arises. In this case, I’m choosing productivity as the title of merit. Takin time to discern and decipher, as well as determine that the problem is resolved, and move forth, is hampered by products of neural activity that could rely on lesser or greater electrical pulses, at a more accommodating timing, if the problem at hand were capably handled by a more singular and fluid, unique mind, rather than a mind of more randomness. Electrical efficiency is the requisite object of attainment.
• My preference, for deciphering that engaged and interactive learning, for example, is the superior backdrop to a greater productivity, is that the problems are being resolved in an engaging, real-time environment. Calculations happen quicker through methods gained in using hand-eye coordination types of skill sets - gestural and procedural industriousness, of various other enterprises of life, which pertain to economics, could be translated over in to the argument for an active learning environment basis to a more capable and effective problem-solving style, compared to a “flash card” setting, of completely randomized data sets, this being the cards. 
• The goal of this hypothesis would be to employ certain scientific control environments of my own study, ask individuals for their input, and analyze their statements and claims, as well as their preferences, and discover, within the control environment, whether or not they find similarity, or comparability, in their input received, when calculated against my personal findings. On one hand, it takes a high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) to discern valid mathematical truths about a visual environment, of an insightful nature, yet - I would assert that we, as intelligent and rational creatures, would pursue and develop upon gainful, rational, formal structures, rather than something more founded upon chance, randomness, (even within a finite series of choices), memory - which would alter the resonant section, even, of the brain, itself - a costly transformation; I would say more so, than if the knowledge were understood by an actively engaged mind, of rote discipline, and familiarity, set about in a workflow and industrious setting and environment. 

I’ll pause here, in writing, because I’ve arrived at my destination, of where I’m going, for this part of the day.

Update: 02/09/2023

Hello, I apologize for the abandoned blog article, here - ha ha… a silly way for me to appear, in front of others in the scientific community, but I had abandoned this blog article, due to ongoing challenges in my personal life, which still persist. Aside from that, the app no longer loads on my device; I believe that the app is no longer available for iPadOS, for that matter.

Update: 03/25/2025

I’ve recently gotten a new iPad Pro, and, with my new desktop interface, I checked out my complete apps list, of former installations that I’ve had, and I got to look over all of the apps that I’ve ever had, on every iOS / iPadOS installation that I’ve done, so I checked back on Neuronify, as a download, after finding that I had to abandon this thread of my research, due to the app not working for me, temporarily, as the previous update I made on this article will state. This being the case, I can now work on speculative research projects of relevant subject matter, as for my neurological subject matter hypotheses.