I feel like I’m the exact opposite of what this article proposed however the entire thing confuses me.
I’m not rich but relatively well off, and, without doubt in the best financial position of my immediate group of friends.
If I happen to be the one that picks up the bill I often have people chasing me to pay me. I actually think that is a problem because they feel obliged to do the right thing, however I’m unmotivated because I don’t care about the outcome – I don’t need the money. This is my fault and I feel poorly for it but the reality is that after I’ve had a nice evening I don’t really care. In terms of the debt: honestly I probably wouldn’t bother asking.
The very concept of asking someone for 4 bucks seems abhorrent to me. To be clear, I say this personally; I’m not struggling to pay rent/mortgage/utilities/whatever. If you’re in a position where those are concerns then please absolutely follow up.
Chasing a $4 debt won’t make you rich, ever. Even if you do it all the time. Anyone well off chasing this kind of cash is deluding themselves.
Generally speaking my friends and I operate over a long term fairness principle. “Bob got the last round, I’ll get the next”; they won’t be even but our assumption is that it’ll balance in the long term. That applies to more than just the pub.
The seats are assigned. People have been standing in line for 15 minutes now. Why on earth would anyone want to stand there, when they could just sit and wait until the line clears?...
Mine probably isn’t that secret these days, but almost every sauce I add nutritional yeast to. Curry, chilli, bolognese, it just makes them all better.
My current total comp puts me in the top 1–2% for my country (based on reported incomes). The difference between the billionaire class and me is massive; I still have to budget for my bills, expenses etc.
That said, I am fully aware that I’m in a privileged position.
I grew up in government housing and suffered malnutrition as a child because my single working mother couldn’t afford enough food. I worked my arse off in school and was lucky enough to be eligible and accepted into a scholarship programme for University; I would not have been able to attend otherwise.
Since then I’ve had relatively good career opportunities and have taken advantage of them. I tried hard and continue to do so because I know what it’s like to not have enough.
I think that I worked hard to get where I am. I do not consider myself rich (where some people might understandably do so), but I know what it is like to be wanting.
Despite my hard work, I do not in the slightest think that I got to where I am based purely on bullshit like grit and determination. I have absolutely taken advantage of opportunities in front of me, but I was lucky to have those in the first place. I think I deserve to be where I am, but I also think plenty of others also deserve it and are deprived of the chances that I got by pure happenstance.
Yes, you have to work hard to change your lot in life, but to say that hard work will solve everything is ludicrous.
I’m entirely on board with a living wage, UBI, and anything else to make things more equitable. No one should have to worry about feeding their family. And I’m happy to pay more tax to make that a reality.
I used Netscape “back in the day”. With some interim transition attempts including the likes of Opera, I eventually switched to Chrome because it was genuinely more featureful and faster.
I was a happy Chrome user until they decided to deprecate manifest V2 and fuck up my ad blocker, at which point I switched to Firefox and haven’t looked back.
I realise the US uses FPTP, but can someone explain to me why this comment is being downvoted? I’d think participating in the democratic process would be considered a good thing regardless.
My problem is with the influence that a hostile foreign state actor has with TikTok.
Google is an independent company; I’m 99% certain their motivation is to make money and I’m confident their algorithms are tailored purely for engagement and profit. Whilst I’m sure they have some back room deals with US intelligence organisations I suspect that it’s a case of providing data vs providing influence (though I would not rule it out).
TikTok is controlled by the Chinese government. That’s not up for debate; if you have an entity in China it has to work that way. Imagine the damage they could do if they actively decided to increase, for example, messages of reunification with Taiwan in their algorithm by just 1% on a global scale. That frightens me and I’m not convinced it isn’t happening already on specific topics of concern to China’s foreign policy.
And that’s putting aside the amount of data that the Chinese are getting without even exerting any influence. They can likely discern worldwide sentiment on a range of topics and adjust political posture accordingly.
I’m not saying Google is perfect. I hate social media in general for the way it’s warping the zeitgeist. But I personally consider TikTok to be a huge threat to the world.
Hey guys, I’m looking for a sport to do because I’m super skinny and I’d like to gain at least a bit of muscle. I’ve done cycling and bouldering in the past, but neither made me any less skinny....
Tonight, Thursday, March 7th, is the State of the Union Address so lets keep everything related to it (including the Republican response) confined to this thread....
I used to deliver a keynote to 3-400 people, twice a month as part of corporate onboarding.
Absolutely this.
Obviously my experience was not as high stakes as a SOTU, but it was fucking exhausting. I knew the content well enough that I could deliver it in my sleep and actively did so when I was sick, hungover, generally tired and (usually) just okay.
Regardless of my initial state, I was at my tether after 90 minutes of being “switched on” and engaged. I am not an octogenarian.
That was with the benefit of delivering repeated content. Biden doesn’t deliver this same speech twice a month. I’m sure he practiced but it’s still a big ask regardless of age.
It wasn’t fun however when one of the companies I transact with required me to answer one of the questions over the phone as a means of authentication.
I could tell the customer service guy was just as tired when I finally finished responding. :)
So there is this app claiming on-device iMessage functionality on Android. Seems cool but only has subscription based pricing. Does anyone know of a way to circumvent this?...
On every single professional sports game I’ve ever seen, every single show, every single channel. Isn’t this our fucking money you’re meant to give out should, god forbid, something happen?...
When I became more environmentally conscious many years ago, I decided to switch to a safety razor to reduce plastic waste. I landed on a reputable safety razor with a ‘mild’ angle, something that would be good for sensitive skin. Even with a good shaving soap, I found that I would regularly still get some discomfort from...
Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) - Kedron Brook Wetlands Reserve, Brisbane, Australia - May 2024 (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
This magpie was a very good model. They complied with all of my posing requests to give this wonderful golden hour shot :)...
Why your rich friend Venmo requests you for $4: People with more money 'struggle with generosity,' expert says (www.cnbc.com)
Why stand in line to board an airplane?
The seats are assigned. People have been standing in line for 15 minutes now. Why on earth would anyone want to stand there, when they could just sit and wait until the line clears?...
Message to my enemies (slrpnk.net)
Oldie but goodie....
US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones (www.theverge.com)
Somewhat overdue IMHO.
What's your secret ingredient that makes your version of a common dish better than anyone else's?
Mine probably isn’t that secret these days, but almost every sauce I add nutritional yeast to. Curry, chilli, bolognese, it just makes them all better.
40-year-old homeowner says economy doesn’t add up: ‘I’m making the most money I’ve ever made, and I’m still living paycheck to paycheck’ (fortune.com)
“There’s this wild disconnect between what people are experiencing and what economists are experiencing,” says Nikki Cimino, a recruiter in Denver.
How's that supposed to work? (lemmy.world)
Firefox looks so much better than Chrome (tux.social)
A little admiration of how easy UI customization is on Firefox, and how shitty Chromium looks.
Joe Biden suddenly leads Donald Trump in multiple polls (www.newsweek.com)
Billionaires Rage About Biden’s New Tax Proposals (www.thedailybeast.com)
Desperate TikTok lobbying effort backfires on Capitol Hill (www.bbc.com)
ADHD-friendly sports?
Hey guys, I’m looking for a sport to do because I’m super skinny and I’d like to gain at least a bit of muscle. I’ve done cycling and bouldering in the past, but neither made me any less skinny....
Photographer steps inside Vietnam’s shadowy ‘click farms’ | CNN (edition.cnn.com)
State of the Union Megapost!
Tonight, Thursday, March 7th, is the State of the Union Address so lets keep everything related to it (including the Republican response) confined to this thread....
Reddit’s IPO Filing Shows Lots Of Losses After Nearly 20 Years (www.forbes.com)
Are security questions terrible for account security? (proton.me)
Fed Up with DigitalOcean
So I selfhost a number of servers in various locations and utilize a DigitalOcean VPS as a hub/gateway to transmit data between these nodes....
Hackers steal NFTs worth millions. In other news, NFTs worth millions. (www.theblock.co)
The way I read the article, the “worth millions” is the sum of the ransom demand....
If the devil appeared to you and offered to answer any 3 questions, what would you ask?
Beeper Mini (play.google.com)
So there is this app claiming on-device iMessage functionality on Android. Seems cool but only has subscription based pricing. Does anyone know of a way to circumvent this?...
Why is it apparently cool and fine for insurance companies to spend countless billions, trillions of our money constantly buying ad time?
On every single professional sports game I’ve ever seen, every single show, every single channel. Isn’t this our fucking money you’re meant to give out should, god forbid, something happen?...
The Henson Safety Razor, a nearly 1-to-1 replacement for disposable razors, with all the environmental benefits of a regular safety razor, and certifiably BIFL
When I became more environmentally conscious many years ago, I decided to switch to a safety razor to reduce plastic waste. I landed on a reputable safety razor with a ‘mild’ angle, something that would be good for sensitive skin. Even with a good shaving soap, I found that I would regularly still get some discomfort from...