My intuition tells me it’s a resource grab too. Greenland may be expressly because they think the glaciers will melt and it will be a Seward’s Folly 2.0 (big oil, minerals & resource boom a la the Alaska purchase).

Would you say that about any president? Genuinely curious. I can think of ones that I like some of their policies and deeds, but the whole of their work? Lincoln maybe.

This was far too polite and free of insults upon the direct reports’ capabilities and work ethic. Try “what the fuck do I pay you for? Get it done yesterday!”

I used to be in those rooms. It wasn’t healthy.

That’s brilliant! Why hasn’t anyone made one of these better bean bag chairs?

If you do, and want her to know, then yes say it.

Does she say it to you?

My family never really said it to each other. It just wasn’t normalized. Then one day I started thinking I may not have them around forever and I wanted to tell them. So I did. Mostly “love you, bye” when ending a call. And they were a little weirded out at first, but said it back. Now if I wait a beat before saying it, they’ll say it first!

And/or blackout curtains as well. They pull double duty as an insulating layer, not just blocking light.

I think we’d compile a shorter list if we tried to name wholesome, respectable companies.

Some insurance companies have a discount or a lower pricing tier for low miles driven per day.

Have you looked at the blue book price you could get for it vs your loan payoff amount? If the blue book price is lower, you’re upside down and should prioritize paying more per month. This gets it paid off quicker for less interest and then you have a solid paid off car that you could probably put 200-300k miles on.

Do you have a 401k and the ability to take a loan from it? You could refinance the loan using your 401k to get a lower rate, and then you’re paying yourself interest. The catch here is being willing to stay at the employer until the loan is paid off. If you left employment before the loan is paid off, it could become a deemed distribution with a 20% early withdrawal penalty on top of regular taxes owed on the distribution. I normally don’t advise getting a 401k loan because of risk of triggering that distribution, but there are circumstances where it could be advantageous. Your HR dept and/or plan advisor can help you out there.

Agreed! I don’t put bills there for that reason. I used to be the finance director for a large community event, very cash dependant. And we definitely got nasty sweaty boob money, money soaked in beer, you name it. The cash counting machines had trouble with it, so a lot had to be hand counted. Handling so much cash with mystery wetness was one of the less pleasant aspects of the job.

I registered as an auntie on r/auntienetwork. Haven’t been needed in that capacity yet, but my door is open. Speaking of… is there a similar community here? If not, would there be an interest in spinning something like that up?

It looks bigger on the inside

I’m the one who’s been talking to your cats and other pets when they get that thousand yard stare at that one spot on the wall.

You’re the best kind of spirit.

If you have a Prime membership, you get 1 free Kindle book a month from a short list of “first reads” (some months you get a bonus title too).

I’ll also get on Libby and pull up my favorite categories and filter for available now.

A few did. They are then enshrined in the temple and worshiped (revered might be a better term?) as a living Buddha.

Semi-related, I listened to a podcast the other day that discussed sokushinbutsu where some Buddist monks would try to self-mummify themselves as a ritual to attain enlightenment. One of the steps involved Urushi tea which comes from the bark of the Urushi tree, or also known as the Japanese Varnish Tree, and the sap from this tree contains toxic and abrasive chemicals that can cause a rash similar to poison ivy. They would literally be itching on the inside and had to use mind over matter to ignore the extreme discomfort.

Except for the sensitive part where you can’t scratch too hard. 🤤😵‍💫🤤

Metastasized States of Meta

Strange that this pretty mundane conversation formed a strong memory when I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast.

This was my recruiter run-in experience too. “Hey, are you stressed out?” “Yeah, I’m working in DC, obv.” “Then come inside and take our free stress test.” “No thanks, I just got off work and it takes me 2 hours to get home.” The next day, I paid a little more attention to the building where it happened… said Scientology right there on the front. This was about 2000 when I had heard very little about them.