The first time my cousins from FL visited Canada, it was July. They were surprised there was no snow. So, we took them over to the rec centre and they saw a small pile of snow out back. They were thrilled.

It was dumped out of a Zamboni.

Billionaires win. They are winning in this world — imagine the world as an arena…

They first reach out to those primed to defect. The ones who think they are defending their own interests because, one day after much bootstrapping, they’ll be rich too. That’s 10% of the non-billionaire population and a large group of the young, able-bodied, entitled predominantly male population.

Another 10% opt to not fight. They’ll wait and see who comes out on top or opt for pacifism — supporting those who fight without fighting themselves.

The next 20% are those who want a compromise — not having the foresight to admit they’ll be screwed in the end by the shrewd and wily billionaire class.

That still leaves 4.8 billion people.

Well, another 10% of the planet is malnourished, living in extreme poverty, or are infirm and unable to fight. Take another 10% who lack the capacity to fight effectively, are children, or are exceedingly advanced in age.

We’re down to 3.2 billion people.

Of those who remain, each billionaire will need to kill 1 000 000 people in order to win the day. This is achieved by a combination of attacks — nuclear, chemical, biological, conventional, and systemic. Supply lines are cut early, communication lines are jammed, and every possible similarity that could bind 3.2 billion people together is spun into a wedge to divide them. The billionaires are unified behind their purchasing power. Each victorious serves as a message to the remaining people of the fresh horrors to come.

After five or six days, there are 2700 remaining billionaires, who somehow got richer and only 1 billion fighters. Demoralized, decimated, defeated, the non-billionaires give in.

The one strategy that would — nay, could — turn the tables is to upend the tables. Make money worthless. In some minds, this is the Purge. This is the antithesis.

Instead, as a thesis: truly valuing life and living things, the fragile interdependence of ecology within an economic, social, and anthropological order would negate any power that the death-driven cult of profiteering offers. I’m not talking about sitting in a circle and singing kumbaya into eternity. I am talking about doing the work of eternity — stewardship for a planet we understand (not just its commodities) and community for all participants (not just the economically viable). We can learn from one another and grow with one another without exploiting or reinforcing one another’s weaknesses.

Takers like to quote Adam Smith, Sun Tzu, or the 48 Laws of Power. The battles we do not fight will feed us. The fields we do not raze will house us. The oceans we do not destroy will connect us. The planet we treat like a home instead of a hole in the ground will support us.

I’ve spent most of my life being the bigger, stronger, heavier person in most of my friendships. If the ratio is mouse to human — or Iron Giant — I’d take the opportunity to (literally) stand on the shoulders of a giant.

Also, being the one whose tail was “pinned on” must have given him some sense of distrust. Was his tail severed only to be temporarily attached with sharp object as a game to amuse children?

Some existential stuff right there.

Tigger. And, to a degree, Owl.

I have questions.

When I’m tiny:

• is the giant still a friend?

• Am I less/ as/ more intelligent by comparison?

• do I really have to poop out the pocket?

• could I poop out the bottom of the pocket?

• what is the scale difference?

When I’m giant:

• is the pocket friend still like me?

• is the pocket friend vulnerable to my mistakes?

• am I one of few, or the only one remaining of, giants?

• is the pocket friend intelligent or more like a pet?

Pertinent examples in this inquiry are Attack on Titan, the Iron Giant, Marvel Comics’ Galactus and Celestials, that one episode of Futurama with Bender being a god, and the Shadow of the Colossus.

Private soil farming is a great business model. Low cost, high demand. With fewer chemicals and wider practice, the trade will be more sustainable.

More houses will be 3D printed — and smaller — in the future.

The internal combustion engine is the largest technological mis-step in human history.

47m here. This was my journey:

Remember that scene in Heat, where Robert DeNiro introduces himself to Edie at the café? Do that. Stay interested. This goes for everyone. Get to know people. Take genuine interest in people, uncover what excites them, and get them talking about their excitement. If you find you’re excited by the same things, great. If not, there are many more people to practice on.

Also helpful:

Read books written by women. Fiction, non-fiction, articles, TV shows, films… everything. Take on concerns as experienced by women (SA, undoing redpill /mensrights /manosphere, unequal pay, caring professions) as your own responsibility. You’ll do everyone around you a favour.

Care for other people — less insofar as what they can do to/for you and more about the ends they are in themselves. Keep up good relationships.

If she’s still around, and you have the emotional capacity to do so, call your mom or sister. Women like to know that their men can have a good relationship with a woman who is not a sexual object.

Finally, give a shit about yourself. Get better at what you want to be good at. Keep a clean living space. Eat healthy, get outside, and find enjoyable activities. If you plan on dating anyone, you’re better off knowing what you like so that you can share it. Then, when she shares what she likes, you can approach it openly.

I’m not a guru. I’m still working on this from within a long-term committed relationship. It’s hard. There will be closeness, rupture, repair, and growth in any relationship. The willingness to wash, rinse, and repeat is key.

Anti-hero: the protagonist whose methods, while effective, are not openly supported or celebrated because they fly in the face of “norms.”

While I agree with your analysis on Holden. Reluctant hero, to be sure. He sure did screw over Earth and Mars on a fairly regular basis to make his points stick. He disobeyed orders and protected a Belter ship, which got him bounced from the Navy. He declined promotion so he could keep shagging the pilot of the Cant. He went alone on sending out the message that got them caught by the Donny… and that was all before shooting down a medical relief vessel, shearing off the drive section of a UNN vessel, targetlocking every ship in the Ganymede AO as he escorted the Weeping Somnambulist away. In-universe, Holden will do just about anything to advance his own ends. He’s a privateer, his motives and methods transcend in-universe moralities, which we can only see because we know all the pieces. It’s not 'til the Behemoth that he gains the patina of “saviour” — in contact with the dead, chosen by the protomolecule for direct communication, and having escaped death enough times to engender trust.

For most of the others — Amos (that guy --> just walk away), Naomi (clubbing Cyn ‐‐> waking the Presence), and Alex (we don’t talk about Alex) for running with Holden; Fred (stealing missiles, selling Inaros out to the Inners --> “in my quarters, stop them”), Drummer (executioner --> “speak plainly”), and Bobbie (warrior, defector, ronin, mercenary --> fucking Valkyrie) for materially supporting Holden; in-universe, they would also be regarded as Anti-Heroes until they’re not because of their arcs. Don’t hate the playa. Hate the game.

Maybe “hero of the belt” = anti-hero precisely because it undercuts the frame of a “classic” hero. Much to be learned, then. Maybe I just want them to be anti-heroes because I have so much respect for these characters, their subversion of “norms” and willingness to address a greater good.

Nice touch with the comparison between Amos and Shinji Ikari. If this had been 2 years ago, I wouldn’t have known. I see it now.

Also, Clarissa Mao?

Everyone in the Expanse. Naomi, Drummer, Fred Johnson, Bobbie Draper, Chrisjen Avasarala, Monica… Obviously, Amos, Peaches, Miller, and even Holden.

All of them do reprehensible things. Some did them and made up for it. Some still do them to win.

If more people realized this, life would be a lot more simple. I never grew up. I just got older.

The password entry screen for Metal Gear.

Love that tune. So calming.

That Super Mario Bros 2 - Game End lullaby is perfect.

The voice I used for “piece by piece” was Denzel’s from Man on Fire (2004).

Take a serious look at the collapse of the Soviet Union, the gutting of the Commonwealth, and the rise of Russia under Yeltsin, then Putin. I’m not sure of any fictionalized works that examine this in any detail, but the aftermath and the new reality is well-described in Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev. Link is a 10 year old review in the Guardian.

The falls of other empires would also be instructive. There is an excellent podcast/YouTube channel, the Fall of Civilizations(YouTube Link)(Spotify Link). In listening, I found several parallels to the first Trump presidency. I haven’t listened in years.

A paper-thin skinned hegemon leads a dying empire against his staunch allies. I fed this prompt to ChatGPT and it handed me back Dune by Frank Herbert and Foundation by Isaac Asimov.

Yeah, I’ve read my Asimov. Love that guy. I knownsome haven’t, so Im glad you’ve included them. It was a student of mine who got me to read Caves of Steel for the first time. I thought they were excellent.

Strangely, I’ve only seen the 2004(?) Will Smith version of I, Robot. But, I digress.

The prompt for that post moved me. To think that we could break human affairs down to just three laws is enticing. I took a swing at it. That was what I had off the top of my head. I’d read a list — years ago — of Dene Law (it’s a PDF, sorry). Those were also an inspiration.

I’m pretty happy with this answer to what the three laws would be if I made them.

It’s not my top response, but it is short, sweet, and to the point.

Ah. Ok. Well, the rest stands. And, hopefully, you’re able to smooth things with Greg.

You are in a very messy, very confusing stage of life. You will make many, MANY mistakes and piss some people off. I’m twenty-26, and I still make mistakes.

You’ll start to understand what makes you who you want to be, and stop listening to all you’ve been told. You rebuild yourself out of your life experiences. Constantly. Forever.

You’re human. Not perfect. None are. What matters is what you do next.

As was said above, no one who questions their actions or who admits their need for mental health support is all bad. It’s the people who strategically, purposefully manipulate people with no regard for their well-being who are bad. The people who pathologically lie, cheat, steal, and remorselessly exploit others who are bad.

If you have the means, get assessed. Take no diagnoses from the Internet or people on message boards.

If you have the means, apologize, and commit yourself to treating Greg better or even neutrally. He doesn’t have to accept your apology. You have to make your peace with that. Also, he introduced you as a “boyfriend.” You had a reaction to that. You’re allowed. Again, it’s all about what you do next.

There is no other answer than this.