MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
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User ID: 600
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
6mo ago
I spend nearly all of my message board time on either the Motte, Data Secrets Lox, a few other small-volume boards, and a finance board more oriented toward long-term investing. Pretty much everything else is direct blogs/substacks and an occasional quickly-regretted venture onto Twitter.
The key is smaller groups that are either gatekept or uninteresting to the general public. Everything else is garbage.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
6mo ago
The question is whether the payoff of posting something even theoretically cancelable is worth the small risk of losing one's livelihood or personal relationships. Everyone will have an individual payoff matrix. Personally I've decided that the minimal utility I get from online posting is not worth any risk of blowing up my life. Especially considering that advances in AI may make it much easier to identify writing patterns and habits.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
I believe the contention is that it in fact is near that density. It certainly is much, much higher than observed reality.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
Very well spoken and I agree. I wish I could bring myself to actually speak my mind here (or anywhere) but the fear of doxxing, although surely minimal, is enough to stop all but the most anodyne thoughts from leaking through. So I appreciate the expression of others and silently cheer you all on - know that there is a silent(ish) cadre who is with you in spirit.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
I used to read while driving. Still not sure how I am still alive after this and similar risks.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
The housing prices are due to many more factors including higher Texas property taxes (as a percentage) and more desirable climate in California. So there are factors going both ways.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
It is a holiday in California - at least the schools are always off that day.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
The bets appeal to different types of gamblers. The NFL future allows for potentially months of sweat, but generally the real adrenaline doesn't start flowing until the last game or two when the outcome is really decided. The options scheme is more of a true gambling experience in that there are semi-constant rushes and downs - more like playing craps at a casino.
Of course from an EV standpoint the options trading is much more likely to be profitable but they are simply different things.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
8mo ago
Yes you could not do this with other sports, it would have to be limited to football (maybe basketball). The other sports would continue to remain in their current conferences.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
9mo ago
Agreed, but at least in that scenario they have another term won in the pocket. Replacing Biden now and losing in 24 and possibly 28+++ is worse.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
9mo ago
I think the vast majority of men would just as soon watch the game and ignore all the ancillary crap. So to the extent that pink ribbons etc. exist, it is merely an annoyance - commentators talking about that rather than something actually game-related. However, when it reaches the point of not being able to ignore it (franchise name changes probably the #1 example) people will get actively mad. Also of course if someone is pushing a message that is diametrically opposed to your beliefs, that's going to rankle.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
10mo ago
I'd call it the Pharisee fallacy.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
11mo ago
Yes this seems correct. There is no upside and considerable downside risk in answering in any other way. Similarly one should not talk to police beyond the absolute minimum legally required.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
TI-99/4A, using the TV as a monitor and a tape cassette to save data. I did occasionally have access to some sort of terminal at computer summer camp which was largely spent playing Moon Lander. But there were many, many hours spent typing in BASIC programs.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
Since you are already cultivating the group I would just kick him. If he is going to ruin it anyway then kicking him early has no downsides, since you will either have no group (if people are upset) or a much better group in the future.
I suppose you could give him one more chance or speak to him privately about his behavior if you are feeling charitable. But it is usually better to cut your losses early.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
I got 19, 62, 0, 67, 33 respectively. The 0 in agreeableness is highly unlikely to be correct, but I may be misinterpreting what it purports to represent. I do tend to disagree with a lot of people, but I am certainly polite and hate confrontation.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
Are women doing it for instagram and to compete against other women?
This is the biggest reason. Also it is emulation of popular (among women!) stars like the Kardashians etc. There is a pretty big disconnect between the female celebrities that women like and those that men like (or lust after). I think that the subconscious thought process is a) these women are awesome/hot/popular, b) if I look like them I will have higher status among women, c) (distant 3rd) since they are hot/popular men will obviously find me hotter.
Speaking personally I vastly prefer the natural look (or "minimal makeup") and find the Botox (also tattoos and piercings) off-putting. But I am a middle-aged man...
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
The core issue is that students are no longer allowed to fail, or even to feel badly about themselves. When half or more of the population did not complete high school, and vanishingly few graduated from college, those degrees were an actual signifier of merit. Now that they are essentially birthday gifts, withholding them seems unfair. I wish that was fixable but I cannot see the path.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
Per multiple flyers from my elementary and middle school kids' schools, it is "educational equity". The bullet points are retaking tests, essentially no late penalties, etc., etc. I will see if I can find one of the ones I threw out last week for the exact verbiage. But this has been going on at least since Covid, if not explicitly denoted as such.
Fortunately my kids think it's ridiculous and will continue to follow the actual deadlines for the sake of their own innate sense of fairness. It has been interesting to see their relatively unfiltered takes on these issues.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
Muslim is not a race.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
After many years of donating to a worldwide charity (Mercy Corps), a few years back I redirected that money to local causes. I split equally between the local food bank and a private school for homeless children (California so this is a large population). However I am considering switching it all to the food bank as I am more confident that money is being used wisely.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
When you have kids of an age to be embarrassed by their parents, it's quite good fun to intentionally misuse (or even properly use) slang.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
That is the first time in at least a decade someone has called me optimistic. Perhaps there is hope left!
Sure, they'll try to hold it together with string and bubblegum. I just think that "tax the fat cats" (of whom there will be ever fewer) is historically the option most often chosen.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
I would bet heavily on means testing as the primary solution.
Yes, exactly. I would describe it as more esoteric in that there are many more threads with diverse topics. Also the general vibe is a bit more relaxed and personal beefs are tolerated somewhat more.
The finance board is just bogleheads.org which is pretty public at this point. I mostly stick to a few niche topics (like TIPS investing) that have dedicated posters, but there is a lot of good information there for people who are new to investing.
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