CanofWorms
10d ago
Andromeda Strain is pretty boring. Crichton was just starting to figure out how to write novels with that one.
CanofWorms
19d ago
Wish I would have read your edit. I'm not going back through that again.
CanofWorms
29d ago
I read all of your posts on this site; I must admit I experience a bit of schadenfreude when reading your woe-is-me posts. But I'm not completely cruel. Reading your posts about living in Thailand made me feel very excited and happy for you. It sounded like you were having the time of your life over there. You put too much pressure on yourself to be successful. You hold yourself to this ideal of what you think you should be and as an outside observer it just seems so exhausting. My advice is to strongly consider going back to Thailand. Go back and continue to explore the social connections you made. Take a year; hell, take six months. It's not the end of the world or the end of your career to do it. And you might find that what you think really matters now doesn't actually matter all that much. You're a young guy, you have plenty of time to be miserable. Go back to Thailand and embrace that experience of feeling good that you so clearly had.
I know that you won't listen to this advice. But really, take a second and think about it.
CanofWorms
1mo ago
I don't know why a person would do this, but if he used his credit card to pull cash, that would be considered a "cash advance" which comes with its own set of fees and high interest rates. Only a truly desperate (or stupid) person would choose this option.
CanofWorms
1mo ago
I can’t speak authoritatively on the subject, but it seems like corruption in Haiti was simply unmatched anywhere else. That, coupled with the fact that Haiti was essentially a pariah nation from the time of the revolution (1800) until after the Civil War AND the incredible level of sovereign debt they agreed to, left Haiti an incomparably poor country.
Here is a good, quick podcast on the history of Haiti since the revolution. I recommend listening to the entire series, but this is a good, quick recap:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4-19-the-history-of-haiti/id703889772?i=1000367035057
CanofWorms
2mo ago
I just switched over to Firefox from Google Chrome. I agree that Chrome has gotten significantly worse, particularly the amount of ads on Google searches and YouTube. YouTube started becoming completely non-functional, so I decided it was time to switch over. I installed Firefox and downloaded uBlock right away. Now I don't experience any sponsored results when using Google search or YouTube. It's glorious. Firefox was also really easy to transfer over passwords and bookmarks so it was a fairly seamless transition. The more challenging part is that Firefox doesn't work as well for iOS, so I'm still using Chrome on my iPhone for now.
CanofWorms
2mo ago
Nixonland. This one is gonna take me a while.
I also just subscribed to Harpers, I’m enjoying it.
CanofWorms
2mo ago
I think the difference between Tucker Carlson on Crossfire and Jon Stewart on Comedy Central is that CNN claimed (not sure they claim this anymore) to be a nonpartisan news source. The people who watched CNN watched it thinking that they were watching the news (a lively/inflamed version of the news, but the news nonetheless). Meanwhile, those who watched The Daily Show knew they were watching a comedy program. He makes this very point during his appearance on Crossfire.
Things are probably different now. I don’t think anyone turns on FoxNews, MSNBC, or CNN thinking they are getting nonpartisan unadulterated news.
CanofWorms
2mo ago
Good for you on re-learning the piano. I've found it difficult staying disciplined enough to practice 30 minutes to an hour everyday, which realistically is what is required to learn an instrument. I dabble in the piano from time to time as an adult, but man...learning an instrument is just so damn hard. As I get closer to middle-age, I'm much more impressed that I used to be by those who can play any instrument.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Does anyone have any experience subscribing to a private Plex server to get access to movies or shows? I’ve been messing around with IPTV over the last few weeks, but I think a private Plex server will suit my needs better.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
I really enjoyed this book. Ron Chernow is my second favorite biographer after Robert Caro. The main thing that I recall from this book is how Rockefeller's dad was a con artist and John D spent his whole life trying to run away from that fact.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
I used to be (and still am to a large extent) a frequent drinker. But at this stage in my life, I really don't want to drink on weekdays and only sparingly on weekends. I still get shitfaced every two to three weeks, but the hangovers are so unpleasant that I have been a lot more selective on when and how much I will drink.
What has helped me reduce my alcohol intake is kratom. I take 2 to 4 grams of kratom every night; it gets me slightly high and euphoric enough where alcohol seems pointless. The upside is I do not drink or smoke weed during the workweek. The downside is that I am probably low-key addicted to kratom. I don't necessarily see this as a problem, as I have been taking the same dose for two years without feeling the need to increase or take it more frequently.
Both of my parents have problems with alcohol, my father especially. He is in his mid 60s and has about 8-10 drinks per night, every night. Somehow he still manages to wake up in the morning, walk three miles, and keep his house in order (he is retired). It is an astonishing level of functioning alcoholism. I have my own inclinations to drink, but the hangovers largely keep me away. However, I do need something to elevate my mood and kratom has been a great substitute.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Have you considered bringing your dog(s) with you to the UK?
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Just wait until you rewatch the episode where Turtle misses his opportunity to get laid because he was shocked by a woman who shaved her pubic hair. That moment always stuck out to me as unrealistic; haven't women been waxing their pelvis since at least the 80s?
CanofWorms
3mo ago
When you say “Reddit is compromised,” can you explain what you mean by that?
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Just started Last Best Hope by George Packer. I found the opening 75 pages meandering and verbose, but hoping it will improve. I thought his book The Unwinding was a terrific piece of literature, so I have faith.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
No, I meant top 10.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Yep. I don’t think he’ll be able to launder it back to respectability, at least for those who are able to detect lies and deceit.
Interesting that he just spoke at the RNC. Looks like he’s back to riding trumps coattails.
Edit: and to be honest I don’t think he’s had any respectability since John Stewart showed what an ass he is on live television.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Label it whatever type of argument you want. But the fact is Tucker Carlson carried Trumps water for four years. Of course Carlson has always been a hack, but the hypocrisy of his texts are next level.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Should we just forget people’s utter hypocrisy? That’s the so-what. In my opinion, Tucker Carlson has been one of the handful of the top most norms-damaging individuals in the United States over the past 5 years. He has shown he is a liar and not trustworthy, so why should we take anything he says now at face value?
CanofWorms
3mo ago
Just a reminder that Tucker Carlson is a proven liar and despised trump during his presidency. I would take what Tucker Carlson says with a heavy grain of salt, if you choose to even believe it at all.
CanofWorms
3mo ago
For whatever reason, I could not get into Mad Men. I tried twice, got through Season 3 on both attempts, and I just...lost interest.
I felt similar about Deadwood which many people have said to be in the same quality ballpark as The Sopranos. For Deadwood I watched seasons 1 and 2, and while I thought it was good, it also wasn't compelling enough for me to continue.
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are both outstanding, but don't have nearly the rewatchability of The Sopranos and The Wire. True Detective season 1 is also a considerable force, and I would rank it alongside with any individual season of The Sopranos.
Switching gears, have you read either of David Simon's books? Both Homicide and The Corner are two of the best nonfiction books I've ever read. I highly recommend both of them (in that order).
CanofWorms
4mo ago
I have, for the most part, given up on individual stock picking and activist investing. When I was younger, I read such things as The Intelligent Investor, A Random Walk Down Wallstreet, Get Rich Carefully, among others, but I’ve since become a FIRE follower and Boglehead. I have a small portfolio of individually picked stocks, but 90% of my net worth is tied up in index funds, mostly S&P 500 and target retirement funds. I still dabble with stock picking (and even options trading during the COVID insanity) but for the most part I just do boring, automated ETF purchases.
I won’t get rich fast, but ideally I will get rich eventually. I also don’t have to worry about picking stocks, beating the market, or questioning where I should invest my money. I simply transfer it to Vanguard and call it good.
CanofWorms
4mo ago
Reading two books simultaneously, Woke Up This Morning, which is the oral history (in book form) of The Sopranos. My fanaticism for The Sopranos borders on obsession; there is nothing (except The Wire) that comes close to its level of writing and it remains the benchmark by which I judge all shows. Watching House of the Dragon after having just rewatched The Sopranos is a joke. HOTD is nowhere near the same level of quality.
I’m also reading Ordinary People. Just a few chapters in and it’s nice and depressing. So far so good.
Seems like the polls were way off in Florida. Nate Silver had Republicans up by 5 - 6%, and it looks like they're going to win it by 13 points.
More options
Context Copy link