MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
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User ID: 600
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
3d ago
Yes that's correct, and also that we live in a boring world. Fortunately investing should be boring so that works out well. There are some occasional trainwreck posts that are entertaining, but the mods there are extremely quick on the trigger so they tend to peter out quickly.
I first started there over 20 years ago when it was much more niche and the strategies espoused were not as well known. The philosophy has probably saved/made me a few hundred thousand dollars over time versus picking my own stocks, so I have some residual good feelings.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
3d ago
Yes, exactly. I would describe it as more esoteric in that there are many more threads with diverse topics. Also the general vibe is a bit more relaxed and personal beefs are tolerated somewhat more.
The finance board is just bogleheads.org which is pretty public at this point. I mostly stick to a few niche topics (like TIPS investing) that have dedicated posters, but there is a lot of good information there for people who are new to investing.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
3d ago
I spend nearly all of my message board time on either the Motte, Data Secrets Lox, a few other small-volume boards, and a finance board more oriented toward long-term investing. Pretty much everything else is direct blogs/substacks and an occasional quickly-regretted venture onto Twitter.
The key is smaller groups that are either gatekept or uninteresting to the general public. Everything else is garbage.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
4d ago
The question is whether the payoff of posting something even theoretically cancelable is worth the small risk of losing one's livelihood or personal relationships. Everyone will have an individual payoff matrix. Personally I've decided that the minimal utility I get from online posting is not worth any risk of blowing up my life. Especially considering that advances in AI may make it much easier to identify writing patterns and habits.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
18d ago
I believe the contention is that it in fact is near that density. It certainly is much, much higher than observed reality.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
22d ago
Very well spoken and I agree. I wish I could bring myself to actually speak my mind here (or anywhere) but the fear of doxxing, although surely minimal, is enough to stop all but the most anodyne thoughts from leaking through. So I appreciate the expression of others and silently cheer you all on - know that there is a silent(ish) cadre who is with you in spirit.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
29d ago
I used to read while driving. Still not sure how I am still alive after this and similar risks.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
30d ago
The housing prices are due to many more factors including higher Texas property taxes (as a percentage) and more desirable climate in California. So there are factors going both ways.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1mo ago
It is a holiday in California - at least the schools are always off that day.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1mo ago
The bets appeal to different types of gamblers. The NFL future allows for potentially months of sweat, but generally the real adrenaline doesn't start flowing until the last game or two when the outcome is really decided. The options scheme is more of a true gambling experience in that there are semi-constant rushes and downs - more like playing craps at a casino.
Of course from an EV standpoint the options trading is much more likely to be profitable but they are simply different things.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1mo ago
Yes you could not do this with other sports, it would have to be limited to football (maybe basketball). The other sports would continue to remain in their current conferences.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
2mo ago
Agreed, but at least in that scenario they have another term won in the pocket. Replacing Biden now and losing in 24 and possibly 28+++ is worse.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
3mo ago
I think the vast majority of men would just as soon watch the game and ignore all the ancillary crap. So to the extent that pink ribbons etc. exist, it is merely an annoyance - commentators talking about that rather than something actually game-related. However, when it reaches the point of not being able to ignore it (franchise name changes probably the #1 example) people will get actively mad. Also of course if someone is pushing a message that is diametrically opposed to your beliefs, that's going to rankle.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
3mo ago
I'd call it the Pharisee fallacy.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
4mo ago
Yes this seems correct. There is no upside and considerable downside risk in answering in any other way. Similarly one should not talk to police beyond the absolute minimum legally required.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
6mo ago
TI-99/4A, using the TV as a monitor and a tape cassette to save data. I did occasionally have access to some sort of terminal at computer summer camp which was largely spent playing Moon Lander. But there were many, many hours spent typing in BASIC programs.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
Since you are already cultivating the group I would just kick him. If he is going to ruin it anyway then kicking him early has no downsides, since you will either have no group (if people are upset) or a much better group in the future.
I suppose you could give him one more chance or speak to him privately about his behavior if you are feeling charitable. But it is usually better to cut your losses early.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
7mo ago
I got 19, 62, 0, 67, 33 respectively. The 0 in agreeableness is highly unlikely to be correct, but I may be misinterpreting what it purports to represent. I do tend to disagree with a lot of people, but I am certainly polite and hate confrontation.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
8mo ago
Are women doing it for instagram and to compete against other women?
This is the biggest reason. Also it is emulation of popular (among women!) stars like the Kardashians etc. There is a pretty big disconnect between the female celebrities that women like and those that men like (or lust after). I think that the subconscious thought process is a) these women are awesome/hot/popular, b) if I look like them I will have higher status among women, c) (distant 3rd) since they are hot/popular men will obviously find me hotter.
Speaking personally I vastly prefer the natural look (or "minimal makeup") and find the Botox (also tattoos and piercings) off-putting. But I am a middle-aged man...
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
8mo ago
The core issue is that students are no longer allowed to fail, or even to feel badly about themselves. When half or more of the population did not complete high school, and vanishingly few graduated from college, those degrees were an actual signifier of merit. Now that they are essentially birthday gifts, withholding them seems unfair. I wish that was fixable but I cannot see the path.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
8mo ago
Per multiple flyers from my elementary and middle school kids' schools, it is "educational equity". The bullet points are retaking tests, essentially no late penalties, etc., etc. I will see if I can find one of the ones I threw out last week for the exact verbiage. But this has been going on at least since Covid, if not explicitly denoted as such.
Fortunately my kids think it's ridiculous and will continue to follow the actual deadlines for the sake of their own innate sense of fairness. It has been interesting to see their relatively unfiltered takes on these issues.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
11mo ago
Muslim is not a race.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
After many years of donating to a worldwide charity (Mercy Corps), a few years back I redirected that money to local causes. I split equally between the local food bank and a private school for homeless children (California so this is a large population). However I am considering switching it all to the food bank as I am more confident that money is being used wisely.
MiddleAgedMan
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.
1yr ago
When you have kids of an age to be embarrassed by their parents, it's quite good fun to intentionally misuse (or even properly use) slang.
The TIPS are for my version of a liability matching portfolio. The main idea is to ensure that we have an inflation-adjusted income floor in retirement that matches current spending, so that in theory our lifestyle will not need to change for financial reasons.
In our particular case I am penciling in my retirement at 63 and wife's when I am 68 (she is younger). We'll both start drawing SS when I am 70. So I need amount A for years 63-67, amount B for years 68-69, and amount C for years 70+ (currently planned through 82). These amounts are obviously estimates but reasonably good ones, and they exclude items like college which are accounted for separately. Once these floors are established, then the majority of the rest of the portfolio will be in global stock index funds with some in Treasurys.
I have about 2/3 of this locked in already. Currently there is a gap in TIPS availability from 2035-2039 which coincides with part of my plan. The 2035s will be available next year as 10y and I will just buy them as they become available. Then for some of the other years I will fill in as money becomes available.
This strategy is not for everyone but my wife is particularly risk averse and we do not need to take any additional risks to ensure a solid retirement. My goal is to preserve our current lifestyle - I'm not trying to hit the jackpot. The overall allocation is about 33% stock, 39% TIPS, 28% T-bills at this point.
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