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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3473 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for January 30, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I have to say each time I see that $0 in the "non-recurring debts" in my financial dashboard I feel that little warm fuzzy feeling inside. I realize that not all debts are bad debts, rationally, but some part of my brain just insists "neither a borrower nor a lender be" and I can not fully deny it.

I was introduced to Paradox Development Studio games through Europa Universalis 2. I was too young to actually understand how to play properly, so I just played as the Mamluks (the biggest blob on the map at game start), took out loan after loan to fund my massive armies, and got confused when I went bankrupt. I eventually found a cheat or a console command or something to give me infinite money, but the experience still left me very leery of taking out loans.

A lot of historical rulers did pretty much the same, except there was no console cheat.

Many of them certainly expelled the bankers and seized the loans. I think that counts as a cheat.

expelled the bankers Jews

Of course they did. But it's hardly a thing you can repeat too often... And turns out, kings still need the loans after that, too.

"neither a borrower nor a lender be"

Dude, I actually tried my hand at a very modest lending business a few years ago. After that experience I'd rather be a borrower every time.

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