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Random Chat, Thoughts, Posts, and/or Rants Thread

biophase

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Renewed Passport in October, booked a basic economy flight out of the country for October through Kayak for American Airlines. Passport is not going to make it in time. I'm out of $1200+ in travel expenses, despite...

- Expediting the passport
- Booking travel insurance
- Called AA, no refunds, no changes, no upgrades, not even for a fee
- Called the gov to make an in-person appointment since I have imminent international travel within 14 days... not a single office out of the 26 in the entire country can see me

The pinnacle of a bureaucratic, sauntering shitshow combined with a monopolized industry too big too fail. Wish I had a legitimate cause to dispute it on the credit card, but surely they've covered themselves quite well here.

Industry needs innovation and new players.
What about using the travel insurance. What are the provisions for you to make a claim?
 
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Andy Black

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Looks like the next big thing that will make you millions is no longer the next big thing...


Out Podcasting, In AI and newsletters.

I think the newsletters cycle will be short due to proliferation and it is impossible to read 10 newsletters a day. That's my struggle already.

This cycle has been repeating ever since the Internet became a thing 25+ years ago.
I think it's down to discoverabilty/marketing. Creators like creating and often lose heart because they can't get found above the noise and don't get enough feedback to keep going. Platforms love all this user-generated-content though, and are happy people get onto content treadmills.

A current gold rush is short video leading to longer form video. Podcasts on YouTube seem to be doing well. YouTube seems to be just growing and growing. If I was to create a podcast I'd make it a video podcast and host it on YouTube.

AI to help create content will only go so far if folks still can't get their content in front of people.

As always, those who know how to give people and platforms what they want are the ones who'll succeed. "Create it and they will come" isn't a great strategy for most. You'd have to take a leaf out of MJ's or James Jani's book and create a productocracy.
 

Here

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Maybe the next big thing will be using AI to consume information instead of to create it. People will have AI working for them, to only let through information that is relevant to them. This is basically what parts of the human brain do with all the raw stimuli that comes in from sense organs. Anti-spam for your brain.
Readwise is working on that already. Readwise Reader: The first read-it-later app built for power readers.
 
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Choate

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What about using the travel insurance. What are the provisions for you to make a claim?

It seems rather limited, falling under trip cancellation (pre-existing medical condition), trip interruption, travel/trip delay coverage, emergency medical/dental coverage, and emergency transport. Reached out to my congressman, last shot at expediting it, if not maybe I'll try to finagle a cancellation under the first.

I think it's down to discoverabilty/marketing. Creators like creating and often lose heart because they can't get found above the noise and don't get enough feedback to keep going. Platforms love all this user-generated-content though, and are happy people get onto content treadmills.

A current gold rush is short video leading to longer form video. Podcasts on YouTube seem to be doing well. YouTube seems to be just growing and growing. If I was to create a podcast I'd make it a video podcast and host it on YouTube.

AI to help create content will only go so far if folks still can't get their content in front of people.

As always, those who know how to give people and platforms what they want are the ones who'll succeed. "Create it and they will come" isn't a great strategy for most. You'd have to take a leaf out of MJ's or James Jani's book and create a productocracy.

These platforms have always felt like content black holes, ever consuming and requiring more and more to keep going, with yesterday's content disappearing (or last week's, last month's, whatever the timeline is). Agree on YouTube being the way to go though, if a choice had to be made. But ultimately should tie back to a productocracy, or at least serve a purpose in building something the creator controls, like an email list.
 

Kak

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Looks like the next big thing that will make you millions is no longer the next big thing...


Out Podcasting, In AI and newsletters.

I think the newsletters cycle will be short due to proliferation and it is impossible to read 10 newsletters a day. That's my struggle already.

This cycle has been repeating ever since the Internet became a thing 25+ years ago.
Good! Too much noise in the space.

Not that I am counting on the show making millions even if it someday does. It has already opened some interesting doors for me and is partially responsible for some dealings. So, it's worth it to me.

I have strategic partners all over the place that love the show.
 
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Antifragile

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I thought even in Canada we already got the memo on ineffectiveness of the "carrier" vaccine. This is still a thing? Really?

I'll just go back under my rock, it's cozy here. See nothing, know nothing, bothers me nothing.
 

piano

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/rant
Had a private conversation with a teacher today.
The convo was supposed to be about the lessons and what happens in them but this shit teacher instead started talking about how I was 'bothering' a lot of teachers. Proved her wrong in a polite manner. Then she said that I have given her a bad impression of me and that I'll need to wash it off me during the next lessons. Ms. Garbage literally said in the lesson before that she was "dynamic" and that she was objective and thus always have equal chances to get a good grade in every lesson or some shit. Wtf??
Man, if you wouldn't get castrated when speaking your actual mind in school, I would have F*cking destroyed her (verbally). At the end she was just smiling at me. I just had a plain face. F*cking dissappointed at this monkey.
She thinks that she is some kind of all-knowing monk and guardian and thus has to "challenge" me ("foR My greater g0oD").
Yeah bitch, challenge me with the most retarded, ununderstanding and IMPOSSIBLE things you expect from me.
Homework is to explain the bold words in the text. I explain every bold word and she says that we should have explained some random a$$ monkey disease as well that appeared in the text once "because that's what a good student does".
F*ck you F*ck you F*ck you F*ck you F*ck you.
/rant over
 

fmvpinho

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I may be proven wrong on this, but my mom who's a doctor bought up a point that made me a bit skeptical about Teslas.

She was telling me how being inside of a tesla is kind of like the unhealthy radiation that you get from staring at a screen too close to your face for too long (EMF), except now your entire body is inside of it.

Does this apply to all electric vehicles or just Teslas?
 
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Mammoth

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Quick question to those of you in Europe:

When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

My answer rates aren’t as good as in North America and I’m wondering if trying from a European number would change that.
 

Andy Black

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Quick question to those of you in Europe:

When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

My answer rates aren’t as good as in North America and I’m wondering if trying from a European number would change that.
I've never had a random US number calling.

I don't answer random numbers unless I'm expecting a call.

If I get a random number calling that's outside the UK or Ireland then I'm definitely not answering. (I'm English living in Ireland.)
 

Mammoth

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I've never had a random US number calling.

I don't answer random numbers unless I'm expecting a call.

If I get a random number calling that's outside the UK or Ireland then I'm definitely not answering. (I'm English living in Ireland.)
Thanks Andy. Good to know.
I’d say the bulk of the prospects are in the UK so maybe a phone number there wouldn’t be a bad idea.
 
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Xeon

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4580812339_59fe17fbd3_c.jpg
 

Xeon

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Patryk.

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Quick question to those of you in Europe:

When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

My answer rates aren’t as good as in North America and I’m wondering if trying from a European number would change that.
I usually answer calls as you never know what "happened". Never had a call from US it would be odd but I think I would answer to just to ask from where you have my number hah
 
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StrikingViper69

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Quick question to those of you in Europe:

When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

My answer rates aren’t as good as in North America and I’m wondering if trying from a European number would change that.

Some European service providers will charge for receiving international calls... so that will definitely put people off answering a random cold call. I'd expect local numbers to definitely help.
 

UK_Mike

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When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

Scammers (in particular, but I expect others could) seem to be able to fake caller ID in any case, so I can get a call that appears to be from a UK number but isn't, or vice versa. Used mostly to look like a bank phone number in order to talk the vulnerable into parting with money.
 

UK_Mike

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I'm sure it depends on the item, like @UK_Mike said, but also the store. I think a lot of these sales are bullsh*t, purely for marketing, but I can't confirm. This is speculation. But I believe it WORKS. It is effective. So - yeah. Fake sales = moneymaker.

Example:
Unnamed guitar store buys expensive strung piece of wood for $1,000 and plans to sell it for $1,800.
They put a tag on it with a crossed out price of $2,500 and big bold all caps letters that say SALE.
They spend lots of money on direct-mail advertising to aspiring musicians about said sale.
They sell a lot of guitars at exactly the price they always intended, many with extra credit/financing to boot. Not to mention accessories and gift cards that won't get used.

In the UK there are rules about special offer prices - the item has to have been on sale for the full price for a certain amount of time in order to be able to advertise it as the original price and the new one as a discount. But it's a bit sketchy - for example if you have more than one store, I think it only needs to have been on offer at the full price at one of your stores for a certain number of days, so many chains just stick full-priced items in central London outlets where they might just get tourists and the wealthy buying without questioning the price. If you're going to make enough off the item, I guess it doesn't matter that you have to wait a little while with it on sale at too much. It's probably also why places like Euro Car Parts have perpetual discount codes on their web site, but then abandon them for a few days, usually the few days where I need to buy something.

(Again, I'm a little out of date on stuff, but it's the kind of regulation we probably wouldn't have dispensed with.)
 
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Mammoth

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I usually answer calls as you never know what "happened". Never had a call from US it would be odd but I think I would answer to just to ask from where you have my number hah
Oddly, I haven't had anyone answer in Poland yet. Moreso in Western Europe.

Some European service providers will charge for receiving international calls... so that will definitely put people off answering a random cold call. I'd expect local numbers to definitely help.
That's great to know...I'm glad I asked. Thanks.
Scammers (in particular, but I expect others could) seem to be able to fake caller ID in any case, so I can get a call that appears to be from a UK number but isn't, or vice versa. Used mostly to look like a bank phone number in order to talk the vulnerable into parting with money.
Yeah most of the sales engagement platforms are US based and supply US numbers. I'd have to buy a UK # from somewhere else, but it seems that it'll be worth it.
 

piano

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Quick question to those of you in Europe:

When you see a a random US number calling, do you answer it?

My answer rates aren’t as good as in North America and I’m wondering if trying from a European number would change that.
I have never been called by any American. Heck, I don't even know their number thing lol
 

Skroob

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ZF Lee

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But, what should we do? Should we stay in the family that makes your life harder?
If they just nag, try to understand what trigger points they have and avoid them.

Of course if they want to rob you…injure you…get far away. Understand your boundaries and set them straight. And respect theirs too.

But if your red line for cutting contact with family is just a 5-min nagging from mum/dad…then good luck…

The way how you solve family conflicts will spill over to how you solve other real-world conflicts too.
 

GPM

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I watched the first episode of The Last of Us recently. I cried like a little baby at a certain point near the start of it.

Ever since becoming a father I just can't handle shows or anything where kids get hurt. All I can think about is my kids and how much it would absolutely destroy me if something happened to them.
 

Xeon

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GPM

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Kak

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Robdavis

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I'd have to buy a UK # from somewhere else, but it seems that it'll be worth it.
The biggest Telco in the UK is BT. Find them at bt.com . They used to be nationalised and so had a monopoly, but they were privatised about 30 years ago and now have competitors. However they are still the biggest landline company in the UK. They may not be the cheapest, so you might go with someone else, but if they can't help you no one can.
 

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