self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
I'm a transhumanist doctor. In a better world, I wouldn't need to add that as a qualifier to plain old "doctor". It would be taken as granted for someone in the profession of saving lives.
At any rate, I intend to live forever or die trying. See you at Heat Death!
User ID: 454
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
14d ago
I'm already digging into Fish's Psychopathology and the Oxford Handbook, but I certainly will visit libgen again to pick me up a copy!
Now I am very pleased to hit you with "bruh it's your field, get a bit ahead of it."
Talk dirty to me daddy, I still can hardly believe it myself lol.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
22d ago
Huh. I didn't know this either..
To be fair, I never had any issues grabbing some, given how little the cops gave a shit and how unabashedly I've seen people smoke it in popular public spaces in London.
Guess I can try that if I really want to, but I'm not the biggest fan of the devil's lettuce though I did discover that CBD vapes, which are not supposed to be psychoactive, still get you high if you do enough of it.* I don't know why, but I suspect that even the small amount of THC they contain adds up when you're really puffing.
Well, as a psych trainee, I expect I'd have even fewer issues grabbing a hold of some, though the UK doesn't seem to have the same degree of medical fraternity or sense of professional courtesy that compels most doctors here to either waive or discount their fees for another doctor.
*However, CBD vapes taste awful.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
5d ago
Huh. Is this one of those? Because it doesn't seem that way to me, except when I'm explicitly looking at filtered ones. Good point, maybe I'll raise it with Zorba. Either way, it's a perfectly inoffensive comment, so I'll take it as a prompt to clear the queue while the others are sleeping.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
10d ago
Well, I guess the reduction in salt intake is good for my BP.
How'd it go again "Great minds think alike, and fools seldom differ?".
I don't really care, if people get boob jobs, dye their hair blonde or try to do anything else that improves their lot in life.
"Oh woe is me, you shouldn't put your kid through college, and shouldn't ask for your wife to have at least an undergrad degree, don't you know it's just setting up said degree being mandatory for your kids?"
"Oh you shouldn't expect your kids to study hard in school, don't you know it's a zero sum competition, yada yada?"
Things don't work that way. As long as you don't major in underwater basket weaving, or worse, the arts, college is usually a very net positive return on investment.
So, being better versed in the benefits of height and the risks of HGH, I consider it a net benefit in expectation. I expect to know better in that regard than you do, but it's no skin off my back if you object.
For me, it's the same with puberty blockers and the trans issues; we've only got the long-term usage history for them on kids with medical conditions like premature puberty, so jumping from that to "it's perfectly harmless and reversible and will have no effects" when you're talking about blocking normal puberty and development is disingenuous, to say the least. We don't know yet what the effect on normal puberty children is, and we won't until we get the long-term information from the kids being used as guinea pigs right now.
After all, you are woefully confused if you think HGH, given in barely supraphysiological doses over years, is remotely comparable to dosing up to the gills with hormones mainly produced by the other sex. We know the safety of the former, and as I've mentioned, look at Lionel Messi, who would have been a 5'2" or thereabouts bitter could have been if his doctors weren't more considerate. I know what I'm signing them up for.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
12d ago
I appreciate the compliment, however, OP wanted to know his chances. What I provide is, I hope, sterling dating advice accrued through both observation and bitter experience, but until he can convince me or himself he's assessing himself correctly, nobody knows! haha
These are all steps you can take to help yourself on the apps, but how much they'll help and how badly he needs it? I have no idea. And I don't really trust self-assessments, I did better than I expected myself, so it's not like people just underestimate their chances. You'll never know for sure until you put it out there and see how many matches you get and how much you like them, until then no amount of mere talking, without showing someone else your profile, pictures and personal information, can help. I understand very well why someone won't want to show that to online strangers, but without that, what else can I do but pray he takes my suggestions seriously?
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
13d ago
I am largely indifferent to locale as long as it's got food, electricity, and decent internet.
Big cities? They're a slight pain, I don't feel suffocated or anything, but that's largely because I'm not the kind to go out by myself.
Absolutely rural places? Too fond of my creature comforts.
But barring the latter, I can be quite comfortable anywhere as long as I have friends or loved ones around.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
15d ago
It was personal reasons, I won't go more into it.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
15d ago
I see. Thank you again. For now, I've just been looking at whatever looks sick on autotrader, and skipping about 80% of them when my brother yells at me. Praying that's enough, or I'll have to pick your brains later lol.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
17d ago
I highly appreciate the thorough explanation.
If getting a fancy German car second hand doesn't entail that much suffering, then it's something I'll seriously consider. Shame I wasn't around to poach the Jag, heh.
It's true that maintenance will be more expensive, much the same as a big house will cost more than a small house. Nice things always cost a bit more. But you would still be looking at a yearly service + MOT of around £300-£400. If you have issues it will run up the price, but this is true of any car. Of course you can also spend plenty on valeting, modifications, bodywork, tyres, etc. but this will be your choice.
That doesn't sound terrible at all. Not that I'm going to modify it much, if I want my car to look extra cool, I'll just play more Forza haha. At most I might get a paintjob.
Is there a particular source you'd recommend for actually buying a car secondhand? Is it better to close a deal in person or rely on something online?
Should I take it to a mechanic first for an opinion before the purchase?
Also, how large is the premium on automatics? I know how to (badly) drive stick, but I'd rather not.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
17d ago
I genuinely don't know dawg! I've never seriously thought about buying a car in India, first or second hand. Never needed it. It's my brother who's a car nerd, I just (barely) know how to drive under supervision in light traffic and play some Forza from time to time.
As long as the car meets the requirements I've listed, the more the merrier, I'm not picky about vintage. I understand that you don't want one that has too many miles on it, and I know if you go too far back a lot of modern electronics aren't an option. That's about it.
Feel free to assume I'm an idiot and discuss accordingly, as basic as it gets.
I've had people try and scare me off German luxury cars before, claiming that they're a pain in the ass to maintain, and said maintenance is expensive. If you think that's overblown or disagree, I genuinely have no clue how I can expect it to cost me over use. And I would prefer a car that doesn't demand too much of me, while still looking good.
Now if I can get one under my assigned budget, all the better. What condition was your Jag when you sold it? Like, that would be ludicrously low price in India for a secondhand Jaguar from the past decade, I imagine it would easily go for double or triple, but I'm no expert.
I've had my brother, the one in India, and cousins there, recommend Mazdas. Not precisely my type, but I'm open to changing my mind.
All I know is that I know nothing very little about all the costs, issues and responsibilities car ownership entails. I was putting off buying one till it was a necessity.
A front page post requires a submission statement. Please explain what this is, or what it's about, beyond the headline. You don't have to summarize it, just explain why it should be a matter for discussion.
In fact, you need to justify why it deserves valuable real estate on the front page instead of a discussion in the CWR thread.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
18d ago
I'm mostly concerned about what the fuck this going to do my airfare. I'll keep an eye out for cruise missiles as I'm flying past Tehran.
Damn. Now that's an escalation and a half. I wonder if this gives the Israelis more leeway to continue cracking down hard in Gaza, I can't imagine that troops and artillery, and even most of their jets, are going to see action over Iran.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
My parents were too busy to have a honeymoon. My dad was in the OR operating when I was born.
To be fair, he and my grandpa were doing the C-sec on my mom, so I can't claim he wasn't involved lol.
But when I was a little older and they had money saved up, they decided to spend about 8 months traveling the globe, seeing quite a few countries but mostly spending time with friends and family in the UK and the States. I was still barely a toddler, but started off knowing only my mother tongue, but came back fluent in English with an American accent. And an addiction to Teletubbies, which probably explains why my mom had to lug a suitcase full of VHS tapes back and why my writing mixes styles and idioms from both sides of the pond. But at any rate, while it did dwindle with time, I was always great at English, to the point where it far outpaces even Bengali, let alone my lacklustre Hindi. And I consumed mostly English-language entertainment from an early age, and spoke English almost exclusively with my friends, my mom and my brother.
So I have an extremely neutral accent, one that sounds vaguely Nordic to western ears. I get asked literally every day at the hospital if I'm from around these parts, and I have to assure them that I am. Well, not for much longer at least.
I guess @cjet79 and @TheDag have heard me over voice comms on discord, so you can ask them what I sound like. My opsec is so compromised, but I'd still not rather make my voice public, especially when it's trivially easy to clone these days. It's not an affectation, though I abhorr Indian accents and wouldn't want to sound like that in the first place. Not that I'm very fond of British accents either, they've got some stinkers, and even Received Pronunciation sounds uppity and unnecessarily trying too hard to be posh to my ears. But who am I to judge? I just hope I don't acquire a Scottish one, Indians find me hard enough to understand as it is. I prefer American accents in general.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
That's a sensible decision. I'm perplexed as you that anyone in the West would end up needing such aid, but hey, at least it's a decent fallback.
I guess the people bitching on Reddit about people with unnecessary pickups and overlarge SUVs weren't entirely wrong eh?
Or it could be Marines fresh out of boot with a dependa and a 2023 Mustang at 30% APR.
In India, a good new car costs about $18k or maybe $15k. I'm talking a respectable model with modern amenities from a decent brand, if we're talking luxury models that make other guys look, that's in the $35k range. Never was my thing myself. Something that isn't an utter embarrassment might be $5k new.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
I would have googled that later, but I do appreciate you taking the time to break it down in detail!
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
I understand that there are people who do buy them for utilitarian reasons, but the majority of drivers seem to be suburban soccer moms, or at least that's what other Americans online like to claim. I haven't been in the States since before the NYC skyline looked very different.
Hmm, the WRX sedan variant doesn't look bad at all, I'll look into it too, though I don't know what the fuck a head gasket is (I know what a gasket is).
And what are the odds they're going to breakdown on me and require the same sum in servicing? I don't know how much of that is a meme, or how expensive it'll get.
BMWs are rather expensive here, like, you know someone in India has broken out of the UMC if they drive one. Most cars not manufactured here have their prices literally doubled because of import tariffs. So even a brand new one is far more expensive and it's a far poorer country. It's why Musk never launched Tesla here, he couldn't get the government to budge, and probably realized that the market willing to pay those prices for an EV would probably be picking up a Porsche, leaving aside the difficulty and cost of making supercharge stations.
My family could definitely afford one new, here, but we couldn't when I was growing up, and we have nothing to prove in that regard. Our money is mostly tied up in sensible things like investments or real estate.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
Well, I can't imagine an ELO calculated from views and match rates wouldn't serve as the "ground truth", regardless of how they rate themselves.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
19d ago
That's a good while away. While I'm on the wrong side of my 20s, I'm still relatively young and probably younger than most doctors at my level, primarily because I got into med school on my first try and smashed all the million exams I needed, here or abroad, to keep progressing, with the only notable delay being maybe 6 or so months lost because I was waiting for my ex to pass an exam I managed on my first try and she didn't.
Guys don't hit walls till they're well past 35, maybe well past 40 if they take care of themselves. I'm not waiting that long to settle down, 2 to 4 years is what I have in mind. And for me, the most pressing issue would be losing my hair, which I have a 80% chance of suffering given my dad had male pattern baldness. But he got married at 33, and he had a full head of hair then, and I remember being old enough to recall him starting to lose it.
Then again, I do know what to do about it, namely minoxidil, or a trip to Turkey or India to visit the hair transplant surgeons. It's not a pressing concern by any means, and so far, I've only gotten better looking with age, and most girls do like a guy older than them, even if I have a thing for older girls.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
20d ago
Hmm.. Thanks for chiming in. I suppose that alleviates quite a lot of my concern.
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
20d ago
Huh. I definitely didn't know there was an association between age and driving a sedan. That's very much not a stereotype in India. Sedans are aspirational, and so are SUVs, though not as much as the States.
I could certainly save more money, but it's okay, I'm going for 3 years at the least and have a wide geographic range to traverse too. So if my budget is excessive, I can always opt for something cheaper, but that's about as much I'm willing to treat myself since it's both a matter of practical utility and something that I want to look decent, I'll be getting some mileage on it if I want to escape small towns and head over to Edinburgh on the weekends.
To put it into perspective, that's about what might be expected for an Indian doctor breaking into residency to splurge on first hand, though most of us would likely need a car loan. I probably won't, it's the only big ticket purchase I don't feel bad about asking my dad for, since he did once promise me a car when I finished med school. I was the one who turned down the offer, because I'm a fucking homebody and never saw the appeal of burning fossil fuels for fun. But now it's a genuine necessity.
Automatics command a premium too as you doubtless know, and after a while driving a manual it really becomes second nature.
A premium I'm willing to accept. I'd call it a deal breaker really. While I did/am learning to drive stick, I consider it a nuisance, even if I'm sure I'd get used to it like everyone else. I likely will be at best ok at driving by the time I'm in the UK, I'm resuming my driving lessons and do actually need to pass them, but even with our questionable roads, I doubt I'd be entirely comfortable. Still have to make do, if I leave with a driving license that earns me 2 years of leeway before I have to apply for a British one, which is much harder to get.
Still, even if you do want an automatic it's hard to beat a Vauxhall Corsa for value - yes it's a hatchback, but all the 2010s ones look good. There are automatic versions with <40k miles for less than 6 grand on autotrader.
If you really do want a saloon, a Volvo S40/60/80 might be decent value and pretty reliable? There are S40s with <30,000 miles in the £5-6k range, a handful of them automatic.
I like the look of the Astra more, but the Corsa isn't bad. I'm just a little leery of hatchbacks for idiosyncratic reasons.
The S40 and the S80 both seem to be something an elderly driver in the slow lane would drive, but the S60 has some style. Is it significantly more expensive?
I appreciate the advice, tailored as it is for the UK!
self_made_human
Kai su, teknon?
20d ago
Huh. That's new to me. I really hope I don't have to resort to that, but I appreciate the information, it might even come in handy should my budget prove optimistic.
I expect my grandkids, if they exist, will be simulated entities in a Matrioshka brain. When it's the size of the sun and change, I think it becomes a bit moot 🧐
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