Daily "Check In" Thread For Us

[Mountaineer]

Good day folks. Hope it is as marvelous for you as it is for me. I'm on the bright side of the grass.

[dualstow]

It’s not like it’s only me, Vinny. You can find plenty of posts by others who are responding to the one directly above without a quote. It’s kind of common sense and well within forum conventions. Last Unread Post link or not, if I’m unclear about someone’s post and think I’m missing something, I just scroll up.

As I mentioned the other day, if another post should happen to plop in between mine and the one I’m responding to, I go back and edit in a quote or some kind of context. The only danger is that if I edit for too long, I fear my post might be in an invisible edit limbo, and people will miss it. All that editing for nothing. In fact, I wonder if that lengthy editing makes it slip past your Last Unread Post indicator in the first place. Maybe sometimes.

[Kriegsspiel]

When I visited Amsterdam 15 years ago, prostitution was legal and very out in the open (in certain parts of the city).

At night you'd walk by certain buildings with big floor-to-ceiling windows and see a scantily-clad woman standing in front of each one, dancing or posing under neon or black lights, beckoning passersby to come in. Big business.

When I was there, they were just kind of standing around. One was actually just sitting on a rustic-looking wooden chair. Maybe it was the B squad?

[Smith1776]

It's noon here and i'm exhausted. This lockdown has seriously messed up my sleep schedule.

Fortunately I've got a decent amount done today though. Worked out, did some work on stand up jokes, practiced acting monologues, and did a little math studying.

[dualstow]

Absolutely. If it weren’t for STDs, I think that business would be out of the shadows. It would be ubiquitous.

When I visited Amsterdam 15 years ago, prostitution was legal and very out in the open (in certain parts of the city).

At night you'd walk by certain buildings with big floor-to-ceiling windows and see a scantily-clad woman standing in front of each one, dancing or posing under neon or black lights, beckoning passersby to come in. Big business.

I recall hearing that Amsterdam's prostitution industry was heavily regulated by the government, and the prostitutes had good salaries and benefits like health care. Not sure if STDs have ever been a big problem for them.

The infamous Red Light District. I was there in the early 90s. They were dancing behind glass. I remember standing there watching with my friends when a customer came out of one of the rooms and kissed his..service provider on the way out. Yuck. Can you imagine how many people are in and out of that room in a single day?

I also lived a stone’s throw from Pat Pong (spelling?) in Bangkok. I’m sure it was all very clean inside

not.

[Tortoise]

When I was there, they were just kind of standing around. One was actually just sitting on a rustic-looking wooden chair. Maybe it was the B squad?

Good point. I saw a fair amount of that, too. The dancing and posing was definitely more subtle and subdued than what they do in strip clubs.

[Kriegsspiel]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some kind of pit boss keeping an eye on things. "Jan, window 4's running out of steam, get her some Marching Powder, stat!"

[WiseOne]

It's noon here and i'm exhausted. This lockdown has seriously messed up my sleep schedule.

Isn't that what cats are for?

Mine get me out of bed every morning by 6:30am, and remind me of stuff I do with them before going to bed sometime around 10 or 11 (i.e. I brush their teeth and play with them). They are great for keeping me on a regular schedule no matter what.

You might check out discussions on the Money Mustache forum about post-fire decompression. It's full of people's experiences of what they do after quitting work. Very enlightening. Many of them go through a period of up to 6 months, sometimes longer, of doing not very much of anything. Eventually their health, energy & sleep quality improves and at some point they start re-engaging with the outside world. I know you're not FIRE, but you are going through something similar.

[CT-Scott]

If he doesn't quote something, he's typically responding to the post immediately prior to his.

Two things:
1) It's funny that this subject of quoting and not-quoting is coming up, because I recently became more cognizant of this. For the longest time I wouldn't quote someone if the reply was the most recent reply. But recently it occurred to me that if you actually use the quote feature, it causes the person being quoted to get a notification that they've been quoted. So I'm now trying to go to the extra effort of using the quote tag/feature whenever I'm replying to them.
2) I love your latest avatar. Has anyone else commented on it? 12 Monkeys is a great movie, and one which is absolutely worth watching in the current Corona-times. For those who may not know, it was directed by Terry Gilliam, who made the neat cartoon animations for Monty Python, and was later considered to be part of their full cast (though not one of their most featured comedians/actors), and was more involved in the directing-side. He directed some very creative and quirky movies, all worth watching, including Time Bandits and Brazil.

[yankees60]

12 Monkeys is a great movie, and one which is absolutely worth watching in the current Corona-times.

The only things I remember about the movie was that Brad Pitt was in it? And, that I and the person who was with me watching it kept wondering what was the secret significance of the constant showing the wandering animals. Then at the end both being surprised that those animals were tangential / peripheral to the movie's actual story. Great curve ball, though!

Vinny

[CT-Scott]

The only things I remember about the movie was that Brad Pitt was in it? And, that I and the person who was with me watching it kept wondering what was the secret significance of the constant showing the wandering animals. Then at the end both being surprised that those animals were tangential / peripheral to the movie's actual story. Great curve ball, though!

Yes. Since I didn't mention it...until we get a tally as to who has/hasn't seen it, let's try to be careful not to ruin the ending.

[dualstow]

If he doesn't quote something, he's typically responding to the post immediately prior to his.

Two things:
1) It's funny that this subject of quoting and not-quoting is coming up, because I recently became more cognizant of this. For the longest time I wouldn't quote someone if the reply was the most recent reply. But recently it occurred to me that if you actually use the quote feature, it causes the person being quoted to get a notification that they've been quoted.
...
2) I love your latest avatar. Has anyone else commented on it? 12 Monkeys is a great movie,
..

(1)Sometimes I quote just one word to get that sweet quote notification in.
(2) Yes, in fact there’s an avatar thread ↳ viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10604

[Tortoise]

2) I love your latest avatar. Has anyone else commented on it?

(Was going to link to the avatars thread, but dualstow beat me to it.)

Glad you're also a fan of 12 Monkeys. I thought Brad Pitt's performance in it was amazing; it got him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, as you probably know. I watched it for the second time recently (first time was in the '90s) and picked up on a lot more subtle details that I missed the first time.

[dualstow]

Why would you need notification? Like me, you're already on here 14 hours a day. Doubt you'd miss anything.

The notification is for the quotee, not the quoter, Pug. Someone who might be on less than 14 hours. Or someone who’s on but misses the post.

[yankees60]

The only things I remember about the movie was that Brad Pitt was in it? And, that I and the person who was with me watching it kept wondering what was the secret significance of the constant showing the wandering animals. Then at the end both being surprised that those animals were tangential / peripheral to the movie's actual story. Great curve ball, though!

Yes. Since I didn't mention it...until we get a tally as to who has/hasn't seen it, let's try to be careful not to ruin the ending.

Sorry. Given that it's a 25 year old movie I'd assumed that everyone who was going to see it has by this time now seen it...

VInny

[CT-Scott]

Sorry. Given that it's a 25 year old movie I'd assumed that everyone who was going to see it has by this time now seen it...

Nothing to apologize for...you didn't give away anything too important. I was just jumping in to preempt someone else from giving away too much. And you never know...there are people here of different age ranges, and people who, for what ever reason, may have never seen it. It was kind of an obscure movie at the time, and probably more-so today when compared to much of what comes out of Hollywood these days.

[dualstow]

Speaking of spoilers, Stephen King had one in his twitter feed lately for ‘Better Call Saul’. So for those of you who are fans of both King and Saul (King Saul, Mountaineer? ) and are still watching the latter, avoid that twitter feed.

I don’t know for sure, but I think the convention is, don’t spoil a book or a film unless there’s a dedicated thread on it. If there’s a thread with the title of the work right in it and you’re still catching up, avoid reading the thread.

Some sites have handy spoiler tags that help you hide the spoiler text. Then readers can highlight it (select it) if they want to reveal that text.

[yankees60]

Sorry. Given that it's a 25 year old movie I'd assumed that everyone who was going to see it has by this time now seen it...

Nothing to apologize for...you didn't give away anything too important. I was just jumping in to preempt someone else from giving away too much. And you never know...there are people here of different age ranges, and people who, for what ever reason, may have never seen it. It was kind of an obscure movie at the time, and probably more-so today when compared to much of what comes out of Hollywood these days.

I actually did see it when it came out in the movie theaters. The type of movie theater that shows popular movies, no obscure movies. Therefore I'm surprised that you described it so. Has Brad Pitt been in any other obscure movies?

Within the last week I saw him in something else but it's not coming to mind what it was. Oh, yes! Killing Them Softly. Love it but Pugchief could only get halfway through it.

Vinny

[Tortoise]

[Mountaineer]

Good morning all. Re. the comments on Better Call Saul, I've never seen any of it. I'm not much of a movie or TV follower. My favorite movies are, in order from TOP to bottom, TOP GUN, TOP GUN, TOP GUN, and TOP GUN. My favorite TV shows are Blue Bloods and NCIS (original), oh, and Silent Service from way, way back.

Note to Dualstow re. King Saul ... great example of how fame tends to corrupt, and that all people are only a hair's breadth away from succumbing to Satan's crafty call. That is why I like this hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XUYZoguhEQ

[dualstow]

M, trust me when I say Better Call Saul is even better than Top Gun.

[Smith1776]

Good morning ladies and germs!

I'm really glad to see budd back on the forum. It's always nice to have something of a veteran back into the fold.

Messed up sleep schedule or not, I've already got a modicum of studying done today. I just learned of some scaffolding features in Ruby on Rails which will make future development much, much faster.

I've decided to add further to my VP by way of some factor funds. I can't be bothered to do manual analysis right now for individual stocks.

This got me further thinking on how the PP+VP combo differs from traditional investment thinking, and where a lot of confusion seems to arise.

The typical approach is to have a super safe emergency fund (EF) along with a collection of risk assets as a portfolio. The PP, by comparison, is more risky than an EF but less risky than, say, a typical 60/40 portfolio. Browne's approach was closer to this traditional approach than most people seem to realize. You have a PP for "money you can't afford to lose" and a vp for money you can afford to lose. The overall risk profile of the two strategies, in general terms, is not as dissimilar as it seems at first blush.

ppvp.png (26.5 KiB) Viewed 6396 times

Where the confusion arises (and the unwarranted criticisms) is where many people see the PP in isolation and simply view it as "too conservative." They forget that the concept of the VP is integral to Browne's overall philosophy, even though its implementation is optional. This is much like how individuals without much in the way of savings may only have an emergency fund and no portfolio.

Just spitballing some thoughts around. Hope you guys are having a fantastic day in quarantineland.

[Mountaineer]

Good morning! I decided to post this in "Check In" rather than the "Religion" thread today. I thought a word of encouragement and hope would lift your spirits as many of us continue in quarantine for who knows how much longer. If you don't need the encouragement or hope, feel free to not watch.

My Pastor's 16 minute sermon begins at about 20 minutes into the video in case you want to jump straight to it. The sermon title is "We're in a better place than we realize". Enjoy, I hope your spirits are lifted as mine were. Blessings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaiYx9mCAI4
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[Mountaineer]

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Good morning ladies and gentlemen. All quiet on the eastern front today. Thought I'd show a different picture of Green Bank; frequently all you see are giant radio receiving antenna dishes.

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IMG_3271.jpeg (142.16 KiB) Viewed 6326 times

[dualstow]

Looks quiet.