I absolutely hate being sick and can spiral downward after it too. What helps me is to do my best to focus on the small wins.

Am I feeling better than I was at the worst? Great! Did I get out for at least some exercise? Great, do more tomorrow.

It’s also good you’re identifying the habits you want to avoid, like YouTube and social media overload. Now just try to replace your time on them with something else, almost anything else. Even just dedicating time to one movie or trying to read a few pages or a book can snowball the direction you want to go.

You’ve got this. You’re not hospitalized or worse from your recent illness. And it sounds like you’re on your way to recovering, even if it’s going slowly. One step at a time.

I can’t say for certain where it’s from either, but the longer version is now very popular in certain outdoor groups and at US National Parks:

“Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.”

Apparently one researcher was able to trace it back to a newspaper article from 1954 about Bandelier National Monument (an amazing spot in Utah).

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/05/30/footprints/

And I agree that it has many crucial implications today. We should doing more to live in harmony with nature. We are part of it, no matter how much our concrete jungles try to seem otherwise.

It’s extremely challenging for many right now due to insanely depressed wages. No doubt about that.

But for those lucky enough to have savings and their very basic needs covered, there are quite a few people deciding to live with less instead of constantly gunning for more. The FIRE movement is a pretty decent example. But even things like vanlife and rural homesteading are also along the same lines.

Others spend like crazy, barely staying within their means even when incomes skyrocket. Of course, this is what capitalism allows/causes/benefits from the most. And it’s easy to get sucked into. But it’s not the only way.

There are a lot of good, helpful people in the world that want to work together to create progress and a better society for all. And positive change is possible. Don’t get too caught up in the loud voices to the contrary.

Not exactly what you’ve asked, but I’ve seen and spoke to people about this while traveling.

It absolutely still happens in many places that use more primitive construction methods. I’ve visited places in Belize where locals told me about devastation after hurricanes. It can flatten entire areas, especially the poorest ones. I’ve also witnessed it in parts of Mexico, although steel and concrete construction is much more common. Thatched roofs can be found in certain areas, and of course, people without means still use anything they can get their hands on to build homes - like thin metal sheets. A bad storm can destroy many homes, if not entire communities. Roads wash out and make transportation extremely challenging.

Sometimes people come together to rebuild. It might be as easy as taking down more local trees or gathering the materials that the wind threw everywhere. It’s still a pain, especially when most people capable of laboring would rather be working for income instead of rebuilding their home.

The unfortunate reality of today is that these events often cause mass exodus. People don’t have insurance, and the literal land they have might be the only asset between them and absolutely nothing.

This is when predatory investors can come in, offer pennies on the dollar for land, and grab up large sections for almost nothing. Then the people use whatever they get to try to make a fresh start, quite often in a different location where housing already exists, like the closest city. It would be possible for this to be a mutually-beneficial exchange, but it’s more often predatory as hell with extremely desperate sellers and buyers who don’t offer anywhere close to actual market value in a normal time.

Seeing this devastation makes you quite thankful for things like disaster relief, disaster loans, emergency responses on a large scale, and insurance. None of those programs are perfect, but the alternative is tragic (unless you’re wealthy and don’t care about the well being of others).

It applies to anywhere. The problem isn’t one situation. It’s this same story, repeated thousands of times in every city across the globe.

Bobby wants to live in a house. Monthly rent prices are usually around $1,000 per month in his home town.

Joe wants to make money by renting out a house on AirBnb. Hotel prices are usually around $200 per night in the same location. If Joe rents out his house for just 10 nights a month, he can make $2,000. This easily covers Joe’s expenses and puts the extra cash in his bank account. If he rents it out for 25 nights, he’s putting away a lot of cash.

When houses are up for sale, Bobby can only spend a similar cost as his rent. Joe has been watching his bank account climb and is ready to spend a lot on another house to put on AirBnb. Joe can make a profit even if the house is double the price.

Bobby’s landlord sees housing prices rise. Decides to either (1) increase Bobby’s rent to $2,000 - which he can’t afford or (2) sell the house to someone like Joe for a major markup.

Bobby has to move in with roommates and will never be able to afford to buy a home when competing against all the Joes out there.

Huge. The short term rental housing boom is unlike almost anything we’ve seen before. Estimates put short term rentals as about 20% of the global real estate market.

If that demand drops rapidly, it will mark a major shift. Tons of buyers and capital will be wiped off the table.

I agree with the usual perspective that housing prices almost always rise over time. But this is an unprecedented event in scale, and if reversed, it will have unprecedented ramifications.

It is a serious crisis in many places throughout the world. Especially considering the income stagnation. I have lived in many cities and have heard this cry across multiple continents, from coast to coast, and at most income levels (except the ultra wealthy).

What I’m hoping becomes more popular are ways to make the short term rentals not as profitable. I really like the idea what other cities are doing by limiting the number of days they can rent it out.

Sure, rent it out for 45 days a year and get $10k total revenue and try to scrape out a profit. Or rent out the unit as your primary residence for the entire year for a similar cost.

It’s not absolutely perfect, but it will greatly reduce those willing to buy places to use as an investment for short term rentals. And that should put negative pressure on housing prices, while also opening up more units for primary residence housing.

Nope. First production one completed in July, nearly four years after the first press release. Supposedly customer deliveries at some point of Q3 2023, which is basically down to a month left.

https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/1519/tesla-officially-completes-first-cybertruck-but-we-ll-have-to-wait-for-first-deliveries

Setting aside anything related to Musk, Tesla really doesn’t seem to be staying competitive.

Cybertruck (and the “indestructible” window press conference) is probably the easiest example. Years of attempted hype that haven’t paid off in a meaningful manner, while rivals have been releasing in-class competition. Anyone can see that’s a problem.

Tesla cars used to be pretty revolutionary, now they’re in an entirely different era that’s filling with exciting EV alternatives around every corner. Yet Tesla style still looks the same. The shoddy construction is still around and becoming more widespread knowledge. They’re failing to attract their target audience due to a long series of missteps. More problems.

Not to mention that Tesla was downright overpriced at its height. It’s a fraction of the volume yet made other automaker valuations look minuscule. The logic for that was never there.

Very interested to see how the “small government” crowd deals with this.

Money is the key and I agree it will take some massive disruption to overcome the current state… But just because someone holds the cash now, doesn’t mean they always will. History teaches that lesson over and over again, especially with new technology.

Uber vs taxi monopolies. Netflix vs Blockbuster. Apple vs BlackBerry.

The technical challenges are real and there’s definitely some time before it goes mainstream, but it seems almost inevitable for this to be the future of gaming.

Streaming movies was once thought unrealistic. Subscription music used to be a fringe product. Even online gaming through consoles/PCs has gone through tremendous change.

Like all the other streaming products, the creators are the ones positioned to get the short end of the stick. Hopefully that can be avoided.

I agree. Really hits the spot sometimes!

I don’t disagree entirely. And this article is a little light on the details… But I think the main reason behind the legal liability is the lack of transparency - which could be interpreted as having a malicious intent to push people to upgrade their hardware.

Needing to adjust performance is acceptable. Maliciously adjusting performance to motivate people to buy new devices isn’t. Pretty sure that is one of the major factors in this case.

NA beers can be great. Lagunitas sells a Hop Water that’s pretty good too - very light though. And most high-quality ginger beers pack a lot of flavor.

I thought it was still great in 2019. And felt the same warmth and welcoming vibes, with plenty of great food.

It was obviously experiencing a lot of growth with plenty of tourists then. Some complained it was getting a little too touristy/crowded, but seems like you can find someone saying that phrase about nearly anywhere you go. Especially enjoyable places, which of course, tend to be popular.

Can confirm it works now (not sure when change happened; pretty sure I’ve been using since early 2022). I regularly use epub on kindle.

They did recently drop mobi (or at least threaten to - they send me an email saying they are going to drop mobi capability after I send one to my kindle).

Kindle supported file types: • .EPUB • .PDF • .RTF • .DOC, .DOCX • .HTML, .HTM • .JPG, .JPEG, .GIF, .PNG, .BMP

https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle/email

Couldn’t agree more. I spent years trying to form the relationship I desire with my closest family members. Then I looked at their lives and realized that they simply don’t have relationships like that. So I dialed down my expectations, which is sad to me, but it’s helped foster more enjoyment at the times I do see/talk to them.

The most challenging times are when I hear these people speak about how “family is soooo important.” But yet they can’t make time, commit to plans, or even have open, honest communication. Hell, even just responding to texts is a stretch for most.

I know it’s virtue signaling now. It’s stuff they say to coworkers or friends. It does not mean they are actually interested in fostering a close relationship.

It also helps keep brakes cool, important for mountain driving.

One of my cars hardly does any automatic engine braking. My other vehicle will keep or decrease speed down long hills/mountains. No noticeable change in engine noise at all. Makes long trips through the mountains much easier, especially because it’s a heavy vehicle and overheated brakes is a very real concern.