I had that same epiphany when reading a biography of Ernest Hemingway.
Another type of work I avoid are "the making of ..." documentaries/accounts of classic works of film, music, and TV shows. Pulling back the curtain really destroys the magic.
I had this same feeling. Same with reading a biography of Kurt Vonnegut. Before reading it, I thought of them in idealistic ways. They had multiple affairs and weren't such great people, even though they both wrote really, really well.
"Theory of positive affirmations" and related ideas have been floating around for a long time. There is some scientific research around this (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-age-of-overindul...) but there are also some culty groups that use it for indoctrination or as sales tools.
Concluding he would need an M.B.A if he wanted to climb the corporate ladder, Adams got into UC Berkeley, with the bank footing the bill. As he closed in on his master’s degree, he learned that an assistant vice president position was opening up but figured he wouldn’t get it because the bank was leaning toward hiring a minority, he said.
Adams jumped to Pacific Bell and completed his degree, thinking he was on the fast track to upper management. But in his book, Adams wrote that as was the case at Crocker National, his new employer was also coming under fire for a lack of diversity in its executive ranks.
Instead of getting mad, Adams got to drawing. Believing all this was a sign for him to revive his dream of cartooning, he purchased a primer on how to submit a comic strip and went about creating Dilbert.
The shopping app I have used in my area for the past 7 or 8 years shows the number of "deals" in each category. This week there are 36 deals in "Cookies, Snacks & Candy" (up from 20-25 from winters past) and 19 in "Frozen Food" which is also higher than years past.
The big processed food brands are clearly more aggressive in their discounts. Lower demand overall from GLP1s or common sense is part of it. But the other factor relates to the huge increases in prices starting during the pandemic.
I mean, 13 ounce bag of Doritos for $7.29? A box of freaking Cheerios for $5.99? Few people will touch that, so they're in a situation where they must discount heavily to move product. These particular products are on sale 2-3 weeks every month at $2.29 to $2.99 (see https://www.starmarket.com/weeklyad)
Reminds me of when Google's SEO spokesman Matt Cutts was around recommending that all sites have separate desktop and mobile versions, then Google started penalizing sites by tanking their pagerank shortly afterwards for not having just one version because Google wanted to push responsive design
The US and China regularly use export controls (like the Nvidia ban), joint ventures, and legislation as levers of power over the other side.
For American and other non-PRC companies thinking of using Chinese models, doesn't this have to be balanced with the risk that the US or its leadership may kneecap the Chinese models through export controls, an executive order, or some other means?
Typical FIRE also requires access to affordable healthcare. In the US that is going away with ACA subsidies.
Five years ago I paid for “market rate“ insurance through my business for my family because we did not qualify for ACA subsidies. The cost was about $40,000 per year.
> By contrast, my Nissan has driving settings like lane centering and seat heater controls on physical buttons... right next to my left knee where they are nearly inaccessible while driving.
I can beat that.
2011 Prius. USB-A port is inside the center console at the bottom of the back vertical interior panel.
You have to lift the center console lid, move all of the crap you've stored inside the console away from the lower rear of the compartment to reach the port, then by feel (unless you want to turn your head 100 degrees to the right and look down while driving) attempt to slot the USB cable into the receptacle.
My old honda fit had one of those inside the glovebox. I believe you were meant to plug in a flash drive or ipod and leave it forever. It did not provide enough power to actually charge a battery.
Oh. That's interesting. I have a 2018 Fit and I've never been able to get the USB port in the center console to charge anything. I bought it used, so I just assumed it was broken and moved on to using an adapter in the cigarette lighter. I wonder if that's what's actually going on?
There's a strong argument that you should never be plugging in USB devices while driving but it's hard to argue that you shouldn't adjust the lane centering settings while in motion.
But prices are going up. Look at the statements your insurance company provides about the reimbursed "cost" of covered generics:
Some experts report that PBMs overcharge for generics; The Wall Street Journal estimated that Cigna and CVS Health, both of which own PBM services, are able to charge prices for specialty generic drugs that are 24 times higher than what manufacturers charge.
The US did this to a slate of Hong Kong administrators in 2020 for implementing China's repressive national security law. It didn't seem to act as a deterrent, as the US did it again to a different group of officials earlier this year.
Another type of work I avoid are "the making of ..." documentaries/accounts of classic works of film, music, and TV shows. Pulling back the curtain really destroys the magic.
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