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Joined 3 months ago
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Cake day: June 13th, 2024

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  • I disagree with your having kids sentiment. I didn’t find the right woman until I was 33 and didn’t have kids til 39. I worked hard, got promoted and accumulated wealth before then. I started from nearly nothing. Now, my kid (hopefully) won’t have to struggle as much as I did.

    And I chase that kid for 30 minutes until she gets worn out.

    My advice, in your 20s: travel, make friends, make mistakes.

    Get a job that has growth potential or become a rockstar in a small pond.

    Find some hobbies, work out. Even better, find a hobby that also is a workout. Sock away 5% of your income towards retirement if you can handle it. Volunteer. Habits are formative in your 20s, you’ll find them easier to maintain (or avoid) in your 40s.

    Don’t spend all of your time chasing tail or trying to find a mate. That’s a trap. instead, open yourself up to experiences, events and places where those things can naturally happen. And make memories along the way so you have fun things to share with that person when you do find them.

    Get out of your comfort zone, get off of your comfort phone. Read a bit, learn to weld or sculpt or play an instrument. Take a dancing class, even if you go alone, there are usually people around to partner up.

    Learn 5 or 10 jokes. Don’t be embarrassed to tell them often. Anyone from politicians to public speakers to hey, even comedians, will tell the same jokes over and over and over.

    Get an Education, even if it’s a community college or a few professional certifications. It will demonstrate that you can learn. Absorb as much as you can while you’re young, because it’s true, learning does get harder as you age.

    Take a course or two in psychology. Avoid people who bring you down, find people who build you up but are honest enough to keep you grounded when you need it.

    Don’t live for anyone else, live for you. That isn’t to say be selfish, you’ll need people in your corner. But know that, no one else can experience how can experience. No one else lives through your eyes; no one else loves through your heart; no one else dreams how you dream. We have so few precious years on this tiny rock, so make them tell the story of you.



  • I visited Panama for an agricultural trip about a decade ago where we focused on coffee agriculture and production. Coincidentally, there are some coffees that blend in beans or peanuts to mellow the flavor. This is usually done for cheaper coffees that use robusto beans instead of arabica. It’s also to relieve some of the acrid taste that can develop during the drying out process if the beans are dried around animal droppings.

    If you’re interested in what a mellowed coffee would taste like, I think chock full of nuts is a brand you can try in the states.

    Edit: ok so I did some more research and it appears that chock full o nuts likely no longer does this, they just have typical coffee nowadays. I’ll leave it to you other internet sleuths to find a brand that does.


  • I don’t have your same concern about carry-ons. When I traveled for work a week at a time, it was nice that I could pack 5 days worth of clothes and take them with me without (usually) having to wait for 30+ minutes at the check in line and the bag carousel thereafter. The last thing you want to do when you are nearly back home after a long week of work and travel is to have to wait yet once more.

    What I do take issue with is the people who queue all the way out into the hallway when boarding. Especially when they’re in the last groups and the first groups are just being called. It’s definitely worse in some airports (looking at you, CLT and ATL).

    Or, all the people who immediately stand in the aisle when deboarding. Let those people who need to make their connections get up and out first.

    The way people handle themselves around airline travel (particularly in the US) is one of the only places that makes me lose faith in humanity.




  • Right? Why do civilizations fight wars anyway? If not flat out colonialism and dick measuring, then It’s usually for resources, maybe protection for cultural exclaves if it serves the nation’s geopolitical interest.

    All that is to say, Russians are not Chinese. And I don’t think many Eastern Russians would welcome the switch. So, China would be instigating a lot of strife for minimal gains.

    Taiwan on the other hand, I can at least understand. I don’t agree with the stance, not in the least, primarily because I believe democracy is superior to communism. Nevertheless, if I had my adversaries 100 miles off my border and their existence hampered me economically and militarily, then I absolutely would subjugate them in any way possible.



  • Starting a daily productivity log. It started as a google form but has morphed into a larger spreadsheet. It contains:

    • Something I completed today
    • something I worked on today
    • one thing I couldn’t do and why
    • a new idea I had today
    • something I did for physical activity
    • something I learned today

    Each row is a day. It also includes a section for bucket list and yearly goals and whether I achieved them.

    I don’t fill it out every day and I don’t fill out every field each day either, but I do try to not get more than 10 days behind.

    It gives me a sense of purpose. It helps me remember what I’ve done, so days don’t just slip through my fingers. It also, I think, shows how I’ve grown a bit as a person.

    It became really special when I was able to bring it out during my wedding vows. I wrote down on paper many of the things my SO and I did on our adventures and got to share them with our friends and family.

    I have a tab for each of the last 15 years.



  • What a fun city. Having lived in the South most of my life, I somehow associated it as not a great place to visit. I was so wrong. Yes, it’s a party city, but it’s so, so much more. The food is top notch, the gardens are beautiful, and where else in the south can you ride a cable car, as regular public transportation!

    As for the coffee, yea the chicory was different, but it tasted good, added a bit of a root bear kind of taste, mildly pleasant. I wouldn’t drink it every day, I don’t like sweet coffee, but occasionally a nice treat. Coincidentally, I live in Chapel Hill now and the place up the street sells chicory coffee, both brewed and cold brew. It’s nice when, like you, I want to reminisce about that beautiful trip.




  • Ok, so I am all about working to resolve climate change, very active in the movement even.

    But gosh golly gee, can we talk about that particular websites UI for a moment? I do not need a roll ad every 3 seconds. And I really do not need to know that one weird trick on how to get rats to like me.

    Again, all for the climate. I’m saying this as I just walked 45 minutes to go grab my lunch. Totally on board with more buses and trains. Big advocate of a Citizens Climate Lobby. Doing my part, hope you do too.

    Keep the rats the f away from me!





  • There are some alternatives to cheese that are pretty good. I’m an omnivore but my wife has convinced me that there are some good vegetarian options out there. Might be worth exploring if the low-fat cheese isn’t palatable.

    • Cashew cream on enchiladas is fantastic
    • the fake shredded cheese made out of almond isn’t so bad. We use it on salads, chili, etc. It’s expensive though.
    • TVP gives things that umami flavor, good in chili, but it more so acts like ground beef. Don’t put too much in.
    • Blended tofu with nutritional yeast acts as a very good ricotta substitute (coincidentally tofu also makes for a very good chocolate pie)

    With this, and trimming down my meat consumption to just a few times a week, as well as a little exercise, I’ve kept my LDL numbers below my late 20s highs, which were borderline - I’m nearing two decades older now.