When I was 8, I was playing skee ball at an arcade. I had $2 in quarters in a small cup on the railing while I played.

Another kid and his brother came by and started talking to me. While the one kid distracted me, the other stole my cup. Once I realized what happened my older brother and I flagged the security guard. We found the kids holding the same cup (pretty distinctive because it came from another spot on the boardwalk) with exactly $2 in it.

The security guard couldn’t do anything because I didn’t actually see them take it. I still remember the kids grin when he realized he got away with it.

$2 30+ years later and I’m still tilted about it. That one interaction warped my view of people my entire life.

Better Off Ted ended way too soon

That only lasts so long. My kids do their own thing, I do my own thing, and we do things together. I love hanging out with them and enjoying our shared interests. I know someday they won’t want to/be able to spend that time together, so I take advantage while I can.

Modern corpo playbook.

1. Go too far with something wildly unpopular on purpose
2. Everyone complains
3. Dial it back slightly
4. “We won!”

Built an app and it accidentally got traction with a small but appreciative user base. Now they’re distracting me from leaving it half finished and moving on to the next thing.

I had a massive consumption problem. Especially on hobby spending. This year I uninstalled every retail app and unsubscribed from every promotional email. No exceptions. No more notifications about limited time offers, sales, bundles, last chances, etc.

Tell yourself that if you really need it, you’ll pay full price for it. If you aren’t willing to pay full price for it, then ask yourself if you really need it. Force yourself to log into the site from your browser when you buy it rather than having it be two taps away.

I’ve also taken a more critical look at the YouTubers I follow to see which ones are spending more time talking about promoted products or the monetary value of things VS their quality and utility.

Almost every interaction on the internet is now designed to separate you from your money. Remember that and you’ll realize how much we’re being treated like lab rats.

I basically cut my spending in half, which was good because my income was lower this year. Despite that, I was able to save more.

I play so much Balatro considering I barely know what I’m doing.

Awesome!

… we’ll never hear about this again.

Not a farm, but I’d like to open a coffee shop or bistro type place someday. The kind of place where people in my neighborhood can meet up to chat and grab a really good sandwich, not just stare at their laptops.

It was cancelled after season 2. They never got to reveal who the father was.

Only if you have a work visa. Don’t want foreigners stealing crow work.

Been really getting into playing drums on Clone Hero recently and it’s given me a chance to rediscover so many songs that I haven’t thought about in years.

Wow I was a day one Steam Machine, Frame and Controller buyer until this. Maybe people like me are the problem.

Straight from the playbook. Announce something terrible, then back off with something bad. Everyone calls it a win.

See: Wizards if the Coast, Unity

Ok but I’m still afraid of quick sand.

I really like when British people impersonate an American accent.

I kinda miss my BlackBerry.

Does anyone have friends that see more than 2-3 times a year?