Can this thread save your life, and perhaps countless others? Yes.

[DWX]

Brain farts incoming...

Don't DARE / Don't You DARE
DARE and Destruction
I Fuc*ed Up
Ruin
One Stupid Mistake
The End
The Moment I Screwed Up
Losing It All
WTF
What Did I Do?
Screwed
The Fall of Falls
Rock Bottom

 

[Agent X]

Personal Black Swans
Tales of Self-Destruction and Strategies to Avoid Ruin

 

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[mdot]

The Darkest Road
How a wrong turn can transform life into a one-way street.

Cover Art: Night time. The photo focuses on the entrance to a narrow alleyway along a decently clean and lit street. The alley entrance is illuminated by an enticing, ornate light fixture, but beyond its warmth the path becomes entombed by an eerie, void-like darkness.

 

[biophase]

F*ck Up your life

Just to capture the current trend of Sh*t and F*ck titles.

Or One Bad Decision

 

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[Rabby]

How to Thrive
Seeking the risks that make you better, and avoiding the ones that bring ruin.

Perhaps just "Thrive" works too. The designers will make it all lower case, put a period after it as if it's it's own sentence, and produce a minimalist cover design. That's one of the trends anyway.

Figured I'd post one that's positive in nature, in contrast to the dark humor titles.

 

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[Simon Angel]

I just revisited this thread and my curiosity got the best of me, so I managed to google my way into finding out who it was. What a waste.

It's hard to believe that someone with such insightful posts and a way of doing things could make such a stupid decision. Super sad for all involved.

 

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[nothingness]

My major take from this old thread;
-if that guy who got fired because of his chickafilla outburst was fastlane, he would likely be insulated from fallout, he certainly wouldn't be worried about being "fired". Just an example of what freedom is. Much like how Notch (Markus Persson) was able to post his "special" twitter rants and not get cancelled. Until governments can log in to your bank accounts and take away your magic numbers, fastlane is the fastest way to freedom of...everything.

 

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[Simon Angel]

I keep thinking about this.

When I was 19 and freshly depressed after my girlfriend dumped me, I would get high and speed/drift around the city all night because I couldn't sleep. Apart from being a coping mechanism, it also impressed my friends and, more uncommonly, girls.

Now, 5 years later, I drive with a significantly greater aversion to risk and with the sole objective of going from point A to point B. I keep my ego in check and do not engage in dick-measuring contests with random douchebags on the road where the reward is null and the potential consequences severe (or terminal).

Having said that, I'm so grateful I didn't end up running over some drunk or crashing and injuring any of my friends (like so many do every year) during that time. Because, in the end, pretty much the only reason I didn't ruin my or anyone else's life while other young dudes did at the time is because I got lucky long enough to grow up and they didn't.

 

[Niptuck MD]

Even if we humans are the most intelligent animal on the planet

Surely this number is dwindling by the second. Only 0.00000001 are intelligent the rest are mostly useful idiots and or oxygen wasters

 

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[BaiAnrui]

As @Jadus pointed out, you can't stop people from doing something by making it illegal. People will proceed regardless. And the alcohol prohibition had plenty of unintended consequences and overall did more harm to the society.

I don't think governments can or should prohibit alcohol use. It's ultimately a personal choice. If you want to do it that's fine, but it's your responsibility to educate yourself on this topic and understand the risks.

The big problem with alcohols is that it blurs boundaries, and that you start to overestimate yourself.

All good intentions disappear!

 

[andyhaus44]

I am guilty of text driving - sometimes with my kid at the back...

This thread is the perfect reminder of how STUPID and CARELESS I have been.

I promise to do my very best to remember the D.A.R.E. concept every time I am behind the wheel.

Same here, I now keep my phone in the trunk while driving.

 

[harlansjobs]

I am guilty of text driving - sometimes with my kid at the back...

This thread is the perfect reminder of how STUPID and CARELESS I have been.

I promise to do my very best to remember the D.A.R.E. concept every time I am behind the wheel.

Several years ago, I was taking my kid back to her mom's house after an outting. I could not get her into the car as she wanted to stay and have fun. Finally got her in the car and texted her mom, finally on the way, had to get her home by 400 and it was already 3:55.
About 8 minutes from the house- a 18 minute ride depending on traffic, I started getting text noise. I did not answer it and there was no place to pull over to look at it.
I finally got my daughter home @15 minutes late. He aunt, who also lives there, started screaming didn't you get my text? Where were you and other things. I looked at her and honestly said. I texted her mom when we were leaving and I DO NOT look at texts while driving, ESPECIALLY WITH MY DAUGHTER in the car. She looked at me very sheepishly and said "Sorry. Thank you for that."

 

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[Cool_Llama]

This ultimately led to me selling my motorcycle and replacing with a street legal side x side. There is no margin for error and too many idiots on the road. One negligent 7 seconds and you're dead. At least in a car, you can walk away with some bumps and bruises. A motorcycle, you likely won't.

No joke.

I was traveling to Florida from Texas and I saw a horrible crash with one of the parties being someone in a motorcycle.

It wasn't a pretty scene.

 

[socaldude]

Here is something that might help someone. You need a preventative system in your mind.

You can actually simulate your action or response to any stimulus in your mind. It’s just a matter of your creativity and discipline. A kind of prima facie stimulus response system.

 

[Boogie]

A guy who used to work for me called me once at 3AM crying that he had just been notified by the police that his sister had died.

When the facts came out, she had just finished college. She had been heads down all through school so she and her friend went out to celebrate getting through.

She crossed over into incoming traffic. She, her friend, and all the members of a Mexican family in a pickup truck died. I think there were 6 in the truck.

He told me the impact was so great that the two vehicles were fused together and all of them probably died on impact.

My employee ended up inheriting her kids. She was divorced and her ex was a piece of sh*t. When he found out she was gone, he tried to drain her bank accounts.

It's tough. I think a lot of people don't even know how drunk they are when they get behind the wheel. They let themselves get past the point of reason before stopping.

I don't drink very often, but when I do, I stop at 2 or 3 beers. No exceptions. Then if it's at a bar (my friend owns a craft beer bar) or a family home and I am driving, I stay there and talk or watch TV at least 2-3 hours after that to make sure I have no issues. I also down a couple sodas or water during that time as well. If it has to be less time then that, then my wife will come get me. I've just known too many people who have either died or been pretty ripped up in their accidents.

As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, we avoid travelling on holidays, particularly after typical drinking hours. It hit home the most when I was at my wife's parent's house when we were dating. Two older couples were out partying for St. Pats day and drove off the road into my brother-in-law's car at the end of the driveway.

 

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[S.Y.]

Tragic indeed. Both were in their 20s too. My thoughts go to both families.

I made a habit to remind myself of my mortality, as well as for those I cherish. Memento Mori: remember that you will die.

After reading this thread, I will remind myself that there is more than death. One stupid decision can destroy lives, even if we stay alive.

 

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[doster.zach]

Sickening details. Ruggs "was" an NFL player with a promising career ahead of him.

Some who's made about 4 million dollars a year didn't want to get a cab or an uber. Now facing 2-20 years in jail.

 

[OleksiyRybakov]

DARE events can change every person's life. Some people dare to quit their own job because it is boring and they did not advance. Then, no single company wants to hire them, some companies let them wait and others reject them straight ahead. Every single idea that they have for entrepreneurship also fails.

What happens next is that those people know that they are not able to pay for their liabilities unless their amount of money grows a lot. Low-risk assets do not seem to grow enough so those people spend their life savings on assets like Shiba Inu. But then they enter too lately so they only manage to grow by a rather mediocre amount which is not enough to achieve financial freedom. At some point the price of that high-volatility asset drops significantly and those people freak out completely.

With all those issues even a simple mistake or bad event can lead those people towards a mental illness. Then those people have to quit what they do, they can't get any other jobs, most likely they won't get any money from the government and can't afford a health insurance anymore. Entrepreneurship without solid mental health is a DARE event. I hope that with this post I can save other people's lives and the lives of their families as well.

 

[Trevor Kuntz]

Here's another example of how the DARE concept might have recently just saved me.

A few months back, I noticed that my laptop battery had swelled up quite a bit. It was actually cracking through the plastic housing.

View attachment 40619

I thought it looked a bit scary and figured it probably wasn't good that it was like that. But I was planning to just hopefully limp along with the hope it would keep working until Black Friday when I would get a new computer.

Then, about a month ago, I mentioned it to a friend, and she informed me that it was more dangerous than I realized, as lithium ion batteries, when exposed to air, will catch on fire, and it's a fire that's very hard to put out.

My desk is a plastic folding table, so if my computer battery ever actually did catch on fire, it would probably melt the plastic table, which would then fall down onto the carpet below and spread to the bedding of the nearby daybed I have in the office.

If this happened at night while we were asleep, the whole office could be up in flames before we realized a thing.

So there was potential for a massive downside.

My friend told me to take the battery out immediately and just use my computer's power cord.

But one thing led to another and I forgot to do it right then, and 3-4 weeks later, I was still in the same boat with my very dangerous computer battery still in place. It was practically a ticking time bomb. And the only thing standing in the way of something happening was "hopeful thoughts." Lol.

So yesterday I made the connection that this was another "Asymmetric Downside" situation.

It costs me about 5 minutes of time and effort to remove the battery.

The potential downside if I failed to take action was disproportionately large.

So yesterday I took out the battery.

I can use my computer just as well as before. I was already using it with the power cord anyway. And I ordered a replacement battery for $60, so as soon as my shipment comes in, my laptop will also be portable again.

@MJ DeMarco this DARE concept is really good at helping to prompt better decision making. Thank you.

Side note:

DARE also applies to your health. If anyone has a "little" or "minor" health issue that you have wondered about but have never gotten checked out, think through whether there is an asymmetric downside. It will cost you barely any time and effort to get it looked at, but it may save you an enormous amount of pain if it turns out to be something bad and you were able to catch it early.

I knew a guy who developed a "little cough." Turned out he had a blood clot that would have been a fatal pulmonary embolism if it had ever broken loose. Doctors fortunately found it in time.

Don't take your health lightly. The "cost" of healthy food and exercise is way smaller than the cost you'll pay if you neglect your health.

Smart move. Two months ago, my photographer friend was sitting in his rental car at the top of a hill in Hawaii when the spare camera battery in his cargo shorts pocket caught on fire and started spraying lithium around the entire interior of the car.

Second and third degree burns on his thigh, multiple skin grafts, large holes burned in the seats of the rental car (surprisingly, the rental company guy didn't give a shit), and the most painful experience he has had so far in his life. All from a practically brand new, relatively small camera battery. I'd hate to imagine what could have happened with a larger laptop battery.

 

[Juke]

Thanks for posting MJ.

I lost my little brother because of a drunk driver and needless to say, it has had a devastating impact on my families life. Not a day goes by that I don't think what he could be today (he was training to become a vet and one of the brightest and bravest people I ever knew).

Despite what happened, one of my closest friends still drinks and drives to this day. One night I got extremely angry with him and reminded him of what happened. He cried and put away the car keys that night but I know he still does it behind my back.

Everyone says drink driving is stupid in public but unfortunately people still do it (especially when they are drunk and angry/emotional - then all logic/morals seem to go out the window).

We will never know, but if this thread does save one life and stops someone going through what my family did then it is priceless.

Thanks.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Simple Steps to Ruin Your Life
Strategies for Achieving Misery and an Untimely End

I'm always a fan of the explanatory sub-headers.

Sounds like something i don't want to read!

 

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[Antifragile]

a short book which highlights various real stories of people who destroyed their lives with ONE DECISION

Sounds depressing ...

 

[LarryN99]

Lost in the sauce

 

[gmh33]

Stupid Prizes

I was trying to come up with titles related to driving (road to ruin, etc), but I think the title above would work because of the meme, which is also mentioned in unscripted . Alt Stupid Games would also work, it would set up the idea of a “game” with bad odds, nontrivial odds of catastrophic outcomes (ie, DAREs).

 

[Kevin88660]

One Big Mistake how to detect hidden life-changing dangers

 

[Feuertaufe]

Upside Down - One bad decision is all it takes

 

[Mattie]

Question...

I was thinking about writing a short book which highlights various real stories of people who destroyed their lives with ONE DECISION, or as I call them, DAREs.

I think a book like this is worth my effort because it might actually save lives, and if it is even one life, it would be worth my time and effort. It also shouldn't be terribly hard to produce, and I could offer it as a freebie.

Question is, what should I title it? I don't like to write books without first having them titled.

I originally just thought of calling it "DARE" but it seems a bit bland and doesn't really describe the content.

Then I thought of calling it Asymmetric Stupidity ... but sometimes poor decisions are stupid decisions, just not well thought out.

DARE to DARE?

Any ideas?

Please share and contribute to the brainstorm -- read this thread if you DO NOT know what a DARE is.

Sliced and Diced!
Sounds kind of deathly, but the realism of it is the truth.
Samurai Warrior thinking i suppose. lol

 

[Simon Angel]

How to Destroy Your Life in 5 Seconds
And most importantly, how to avoid being a statistic

Gone In 5 Seconds
How a simple lapse in judgment WILL destroy your whole life

Brain Fart Your Way to Total Annihilation!

How to Ruin Your Life In 3 Simple Steps!

Game Over: How A Simple Lapse In Judgment Can Ruin Your Whole Life

I obviously went for a more morbid angle. Hey if the media can do it, why can't I?

Hope this helps.

 

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[Boogie]

This is a web page of alcoholism rates by country and by country by sex. It does not go into car accidents, but the stats are interesting. For instance, the USA doesn't make it into the top 10 for male alcoholism, but it ranks #1 for female alcoholism.

Alcoholism by Country 2024

worldpopulationreview.com

Additionally, each country in turn is linked to info of current population including birth, death, and immigration information. It also has population growth forecasts. The country population pages have links to city, state, and territories as well. The population growth statistics are fantastic. Comparing growth in China, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela to the USA is an eye opener.

 

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[Ing]

Yes, I also don't trust this institution at all.
However all the data points in the same direction: alcohol is one of the most dangerous substances used by people today.

Most dangerous only because its legal to buy.
If government would forbid alcohol, the numbers of alcohol accidents would go down immediately.