I wish I would’ve tried to run some crypto scams. Only big fish like SBF got punished or will ever get punished while many made millions.

It would’ve been stealing money from people I despise. What could be more perfect? I really missed out.

What is a fantasy of yours that will never be fulfilled?

Visiting another planet inhabited by an alien civilization and seeing the differences (to the extent that I could understand them).

It is staggering and makes me more misanthropic while enjoying the benefits of it. In the late 90s, I was fit but not hot. My face changed or matured or something and now I am fit and hot — and goddamn (as I’ve written about before) the difference in treatment I get now versus when I was fat and schlubby is fucking night and day.

Recently, my partner and I were staying at a hotel and the front desk woman (22-26 or so) was beyond friendly, well into flirting*, so much so that my partner even noticed though she’s usually oblivious to such things. The main difference is that when I’m with my partner, women are typically less flirty. But this time she got to see it too.

I mention the front desk woman’s age because contrary to what Twitter and such would have you believe, when you’re an attractive dude in your 40s, younger women seem to glom onto you, seek you out and flirt with you shamelessly. It’s not like you have to make special effort. So don’t listen to what weirdo internet people say about any of it. They’re on Twitter shouting and have very little real world experience for the most part.

I think it’s completely wrong that to be treated as a full human you have to be attractive, by the way…it’s fucking absurd.

*Yes, I know customer service people are trained to be artificially friendly. This went well beyond that.

pic.twitter.com/RMN5aJxh0N

— Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦 (@Noahpinion) June 14, 2023

Exactly. The Dark Ages (not allowed to call them that anymore) really were pretty dark by any objective measure. Not sure why historians insist on going full clown about this lately.

When Did All the Fun Stuff Go Upscale? Casinos, skiing, going to the movies…only if you can afford it.

I can afford it obviously, but I’ve definitely noticed in real (2023) dollars things that used to cost, say, $20 are now $60-$80 or far more.

Back in 1993, I bought a Nirvana ticket for $30 — $75 in today’s money. When I was looking at Olivia Rodrigo (a comparably popular artist in 2023 vs. 1993) tickets, the cheapest ones were around $300 and any section I’d actually want to be in was $800+. There are little to no cheap options left anymore. Everything has gone upscale.

I guess there’s Netlfix but even that has gotten worse and more expensive. Damn I am glad I am not poor or even really middle class anymore.

Great song. And she sings clearly enough that I can understand the lyrics in a language I need it slow to grok spoken. Whoever they paid to do the lighting in that vid was worth every penny too.