Octopus Overlords

Prodigies like that often flame out because they lack the maturity of their intellectual peers, and because they can't continue to live up to their own expectations. Imagine peaking at 15 or 20 and still having 60 years of life ahead of you.

I don't mean to diminish what she's achieved and I wish her the best. It's not like mediocrity is better.

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 4:39 pm Prodigies like that often flame out because they lack the maturity of their intellectual peers, and because they can't continue to live up to their own expectations. Imagine peaking at 15 or 20 and still having 60 years of life ahead of you.

I don't mean to diminish what she's achieved and I wish her the best. It's not like mediocrity is better.

I think this depends on the academic discipline/career area.

Someone becoming a doctor at 20 because they truly love medicine (or medical research) can expect to grow with experience and will probably have a wide-open set of choices in their career. They'll have every opportunity to become the doctor they want to be. (If they're in it simply for the thrill of surpassing all their peers, of course, that's a different story, but I'll give this kid the benefit of the doubt.)

It's a different issue for child stars in the arts, for example. The combination of enforced maturity and eventually aging out of their early persona is often pretty devastating. Most of them don't get to grow into Jason Bateman.

I often wonder about the career arcs of mathematicians. It's said that a brilliant mathematician has their grand conceptual breakthroughs in their 20s or not at all. Is a math department full of tenured 50-year-olds a very sad place?

I say f*** the overachievers. You shouldn't get to be on the path to a privileged life and brag about it too. Rewarding people for their unapplied intelligence or dedication is like rewarding them for being attractive. Many people have great potential but are unable to actualize it due to various stumbling blocks, many of which are outside their control. That or they just never find their niche. She doesn't earn my admiration until she cures cancer.

Yes, I'm feeling cynical today.

My sons turns 13 in a few weeks. I need to talk to him about his career goals and why he is only heading into 7th grade!

I wish I slept as well as my cat.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:20 pm I say f*** the overachievers. You shouldn't get to be on the path to a privileged life and brag about it too. Rewarding people for their unapplied intelligence or dedication is like rewarding them for being attractive. Many people have great potential but are unable to actualize it due to various stumbling blocks, many of which are outside their control. That or they just never find their niche. She doesn't earn my admiration until she cures cancer.

Yes, I'm feeling cynical today.

I feel like someone who has finished high school and college before they're old enough to drive has actually applied their intelligence and dedication.

But what have they achieved? How have they made the world better for anyone else?

Academic aptitude is great. Though it sure sucks for those who are learning disabled or don't otherwise fit into the system.

So... Your point is that aside from all that stuff that she's already achieved, what has she done with her life?

For a guy who aspires to nap like a cat, you set high standards of achievement for the rest of the world.

You guys should become Instagram followers 20,001 and 20,002.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 5:48 pm But what have they achieved? How have they made the world better for anyone else?

Academic aptitude is great. Though it sure sucks for those who are learning disabled or don't otherwise fit into the system.

Doctors are made, not born. The making takes time and effort and talent.

I don't really see the complaint you're making. Has her success so far done any harm to anyone?

Yes, it's pissed off bitter, indignant underachievers.

Today I learned that Woody Harrelson's father was a hitman suspected of involvement in JFK's assassination?!

He was a bit of an overachiever.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:02 pm Yes, it's pissed off bitter, indignant underachievers.

Thankfully they don’t feel like making the effort to complain to anyone.

Overachieving has never been a problem of mine.

I'm content with just achieving. For example, I changed the litter box, took out the trash and recycling, and got grocs today. Where's my trophy? Wife thinks we were visited by the Trash Fairy and the Food Fairy.

Maybe a pizza trophy.

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 10:52 pm I'm content with just achieving. For example, I changed the litter box, took out the trash and recycling, and got grocs today. Where's my trophy? Wife thinks we were visited by the Trash Fairy and the Food Fairy.

Sounds like fugly footwear or an STD. In which case, congratudolences.

Or a muppet mascot from the 80s.

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:24 pm Or a muppet mascot from the 80s.

Maybe a pal for the other muppet he's always talking about - Packie.

Ah. I'm listening to the first rain in 6-8 weeks.
Just got a couple of lightning strikes that woke up my deaf dog. I would write more but I need to find a way down from the ceiling.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 12:20 am

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:24 pm Or a muppet mascot from the 80s.

Maybe a pal for the other muppet he's always talking about - Packie.

Packie is always next door to grocs. They have all kinds of adventures.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 12:31 am Ah. I'm listening to the first rain in 6-8 weeks.

It never rains here anymore except when it rains too much. The climate is munged for gardening. We finally got a light shower tonight for the first time in weeks.

hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:29 pm

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:02 pm Yes, it's pissed off bitter, indignant underachievers.

Thankfully they don’t feel like making the effort to complain to anyone.

It's like you've never met me.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 6:05 am

hepcat wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 8:29 pm

Sudy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 28, 2022 6:02 pm Yes, it's pissed off bitter, indignant underachievers.

Thankfully they don’t feel like making the effort to complain to anyone.

It's like you've never met me.

Yeah, but when's the last time you complained about being jealous of a 13-year-old girl?

Let me think on that and get back to you.

I have a little 2.5 gal plastic bucket / pail I use to drag water up from my well. The well is totally black dark and the water is way down due to lack of rain so all I see is light reflecting off the moving water down deep in it. When Im getting water up I usually cant for the life of me get a full bucket . Usually its half if Im lucky to 1/4 most times. But every now and then I get a full bucket and that thing is heavy. My brain instantly goes to one of two scenarios...either Ive got a body at the end of the line or something big is down there and is about to pull me head first into the well instead of me it. LOL...every time.

There must be some trick to getting a full bucket. I can try and try and not get a full one and other times its almost instant the bucket hits water that its full. Wish I could narrow it down but much testing has proven ineffective.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:35 am There must be some trick to getting a full bucket.

The trick is to use a well bucket, not a household bucket. Either a classic top-heavy bucket that is designed to tip over and sink (some even had rounded bottoms to encourage tipping), or a more modern 'well bucket' that fills from the bottom (look for some videos - I know people have improvised them from PVC.)

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 1:53 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jul 29, 2022 10:35 am There must be some trick to getting a full bucket.

The trick is to use a well bucket, not a household bucket. Either a classic top-heavy bucket that is designed to tip over and sink (some even had rounded bottoms to encourage tipping), or a more modern 'well bucket' that fills from the bottom (look for some videos - I know people have improvised them from PVC.)

Yup, they're also known as bailer buckets. Per Blackhawk's suggestion, here's a video that illustrates how they work, and how they can be constructed from PVC:

LordMortis wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 3:44 pm Costco were also really good for cheap clothes. Low quality, barely fit me but the price was right.

i thought Costco clothes were 'good and cheap', but the pants i have acquired from there have _not_ held up to biking. far more durable cheap biking clothes are second-hand shop/mechanic pants or Rustler jeans (about $5 at your local thrift store)

Ok Im calling out Food City grocery store for shady practices. I went to grab a jar of mayo and God Lord. Prices I know are up and way up but this is silly and shady. All mayo was $4.99. Even the cheap brands. Usually mayo is $3.99 for the best, Hellmanns.

Well Hellmanns is $8.49 buy o0ne get one free. Uhh ya bud that is not free in the least man. Its a damn scam. Shame on them. Can customers not use math these days? Geez.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:50 am Ok Im calling out Food City grocery store for shady practices. I went to grab a jar of mayo and God Lord. Prices I know are up and way up but this is silly and shady. All mayo was $4.99. Even the cheap brands. Usually mayo is $3.99 for the best, Hellmanns.

Well Hellmanns is $8.49 buy o0ne get one free. Uhh ya bud that is not free in the least man. Its a damn scam. Shame on them. Can customers not use math these days? Geez.

That is $4.25 per jar for the Hellmann's, which makes it the cheapest item you listed. And some quick research shows that:

"On Tuesday, Unilever, the maker of Dove soap, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, said it raised prices until they were 11 percent higher than in the same quarter last year, offsetting a 2 percent decline in the volume of things that consumers bought. It was the fourth consecutive quarter in which prices outpaced volume growth at the company.

If it was $3.99 before, it should be $4.43 now. $4.25 seems like a bargain.

Not to say that the store isn't being shitty. We have two stores here in town. One sells only generic brand food at average prices. The other carries primarily brand name, but their prices are through the roof - between 25% and 40% higher than I'd get in the nearest full-sized town. That is why I make a 60-mile round trip once a week to buy groceries instead of buying locally as I go. Even factoring in the gas, it's cheaper. Some of that is just the rural problem (further from shipping hubs, smaller inventory, etc.), but a lot of it is that they know that if you need something other than staples like bread and milk, they're the only game in town, and they take advantage of it. Demand exists, and they are the only supply. It isn't a scam, though - it may just be plain old fashioned greed - price gouging is probably the right term if you want something for yelling at them during a fist-shaking.

Of course, you don't know the whole story. They may be in a pinch you don't know about. Their distributor may have had to raise their prices even more due to the rural 'half truck' problem: Near a hub, the distributor loads up the truck, fills it with gas, and pays a driver to take it to the store, making their money off of the full truck full of product. In rural areas with smaller stores, they don't have room for that kind of stock. The distributor fills the truck halfway, pays for more gas and a driver to go further. More expenses to sell less product = higher prices. And when it comes to prices, things are just in such chaos right now that I'm hesitant to point fingers and cry foul. The market is playing drunken Jenga on a wobbly table on the deck of a ship in the middle of a storm. When something goes wrong, it's hard to say who's to blame.

Everything is up and theres nothing for the low income folk to balance it out with. People like you and me BH are already on the edge and these raised prices are killing us a bit faster than normal. I dont get a raise on my income or more EBT for food. Yet prices keep going up. So nice of them to declare COVID cured and take half my EBT away and leave me with $125. Thats 1 week of cheap bad crap thats filling. Ive had my sister help me with bags of food and a little money this month and Im still skimping out and will be out by the time my check comes next Wednesday. Then of course the cycle starts over and Im forced to use my check for food again. Its an endless loop. I mean yesterday I ate a small potted meat can and later a can of vienna sausage. Thats what, 500 calories? If that. That was at the end of the day after 8pm. I go all day foodless to make what I get stretch out. And its not enough. Im not sure what the Gov and places think Im doing or doing wrong.

On the bright side Im down to 200lbs from 225 a few months ago..no change in anything but food.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:04 am Demand exists, and they are the only supply.
It isn't - price gouging.

Fixed it for you.

Here just outside a major city, general grocery prices also seem to be up by more than average inflation. But I accept that I don't know all the factors affecting the various industries involved. Mayonnaise was also one I was complaining about a while ago. While my memory may not be 100%, both generic and name brand both appeared to have jumped by a dollar or more. I believe the cost of eggs has gone up due to the threat of avian flu and general inflation though, so it might make sense.

My wife is on disability which pays a maximum of $1,169 CAD ($914 US) a month in Ontario if there are no other incomes in the family. However, the average rent to move into a 1-bedroom apartment in the area surrounding Toronto must be $1,500. (There are various figures online; in the heart of Toronto it's higher. I'm just guessing.) There are calls to double disability payments, but it's in the hands of the re-elected conservative provincial government which is only promising a 5% increase. But I imagine those on disability here still have it better than in many U.S. states. Though there's still so much stigma surrounding it.

Fardaza wrote: ↑Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:16 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:04 am Demand exists, and they are the only supply.
It isn't - price gouging.

Fixed it for you.

"Price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair", per Wikipedia.

To an extent it's relative. We'd have to open the books to be certain. You can't charge $12 for a cucumber and not be an asshole. There need to be reasonable controls on behaviour. People shouldn't have to go hungry while the market corrects itself.

Living in a rural community, I get to see it first hand. There is absolutely price gouging going on. There are stores that set extremely high prices simply because they know that their customers don't have a choice. Sure, they have supply, we have demand. But they're taking it to extremes because they know they have a captive audience.

Wherever you live, costs differ. Chicago house prices and taxes are high due to demand. Food and delivery is cheap and reliable. New York is even higher rent, easier access to cheap dining.

Rural Indiana houses and taxes are cheap. So is gas, but you use more of it driving. Food is expensive and selection limited, and delivery doesn’t exist. You pick up or make it yourself.

Travel seems the same too. I’ll take 30 minutes to do a 3 mile round trip due to traffic. But it takes the same time in the suburbs because you travel farther.

I haven't had meat in six months. Haven't even looked at the price. I'm afraid to. I've gone from buying $50-60 a week to over $70. Last week I spent $100. Phone, electric,water and trash bills have all gone up.
On the good side it's 69 degrees out there and raining. Air conditioner is not even running.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Jul 30, 2022 1:57 pm Wherever you live, costs differ. Chicago house prices and taxes are high due to demand. Food and delivery is cheap and reliable. New York is even higher rent, easier access to cheap dining.

Rural Indiana houses and taxes are cheap. So is gas, but you use more of it driving. Food is expensive and selection limited, and delivery doesn’t exist. You pick up or make it yourself.

Travel seems the same too. I’ll take 30 minutes to do a 3 mile round trip due to traffic. But it takes the same time in the suburbs because you travel farther.

Oh, but wouldn't it be nice if they would balance out? If the cheaper food in cities was enough to offset the more expensive rents?

And the price isn't the only factor. Someone might get an apartment here for $X, and a similar sized apartment in a city for twice that. But what we'd get in a city at that level wouldn't be the same. Here, we'd get an old, needs-repair apartment on a street where a robbery makes the front page for a week, in a city without services*. There, we would likely be a run down slum where we were more worried about druggies burglarizing us or stray rounds coming through the wall.

*By way of example of services, my mother-in-law, near 80, needs to go to doctors' appointments several times a week. We take her as often as possible, but we're limited by schedule and vehicles. For the remainder, she's tried to find a ride. There are no buses. There are no taxis or ubers, and she couldn't afford that anyway, especially for the appointments that are in Terre Haute (60 mile round trip) or Indy (200 mile round trip.) In cities, there are typically shuttle services for just these sorts of problems, getting seniors and the disabled to appointments for free or for a minimal fee. Here? There is nothing. There used to be one paid service, but she used them three times, and they didn't show up twice.

The trade-offs are real. And I'd take the city in a heartbeat. I'm a city person. I was born in San Bernardino, then grew up and spent most of my time before 30 in Fresno, Reno, Denver, and Indianapolis. I'm not just stuck here, I'm out of place here.

*sigh* The long-term plan to move away from here continues, but it is all about paying down debt at this point, and waiting until we're not as needed by family.l I don't mean that to sound cold - we have no intention of abandoning the Mother-in-Law, nor do we 'want' her gone. Just the opposite, but we do have to factor it into plans. In fact, if she didn't need our help, we'd likely stay so that she still wouldn't be alone. But short of a $15k+ lottery, it is unlikely to happen in the next decade (and that's being realistic - not pessimistic.) And that's assuming we can maintain our income in a way that allows us to focus 100% on paying down the debt.