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

[Fox]

I just stayed in an amazing Airbnb that had such bad profile pics that I took 40 new pics to try help them out.

What looks better...



Or...







And my photos could still be way better.

But the original photos are losing them so much business. It was ten times better than it looked.

 

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[Subsonic]

I just stayed in an amazing Airbnb that had such bad profile pics that I took 40 new pics to try help them out.

What looks better...

View attachment 55919

Or...


View attachment 55920

View attachment 55921
View attachment 55922

And my photos could still be way better.

But the original photos are losing them so much business. It was ten times better than it looked.

Might be a clue to look into renting places with bad pictures since that gives you opportunity to find hidden gems.

On the other hand, it can always look worse than the pictures...

 

[MTF]

Might be a clue to look into renting places with bad pictures since that gives you opportunity to find hidden gems.

This place had really awesome reviews so we knew it would most likely be awesome and definitely not a hidden gem.

@Fox you skipped the most awesome picture from this listing:

 

[loop101]

91% loss in 3 years. *oof*

Fort Worth's tallest building sells for just $12.3M at auction in stunning price drop

The tallest building in Fort Worth, Texas, has been bought by a bank for $12.3 million, three years after it sold $137.5 million. Burnett Plaza has 40 stories and is 567 feet tall.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

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[ZF Lee]

Rent free living is phenomenal, and worth the risk. In the world of homeless living, she had the penthouse. Pretty smart. Inflation and impossible housing costs is why squatting is also becoming an option for those who lack any moral fiber.

My guess is the lady will find another similar spot to habitate, if you have access to an electrical outlet, all sorts of comforts are possible.

I was reading a news article on how a homeless kid actually lived at the BOTTOM of a lift/elevator shaft.

He somehow hacked into the cables, and got enough power to get a stove running. In fact, the continuous smell of hotdogs was what alerted folks to his presence.

View attachment 55892I’m pretty use to the heat but damn is it getting hotter. I’m not sure if it’s even peak summer yet.

Here in Malaysia...our recent re-do of the electricity tariffs ain't making the bills easier...what with the higher air conditioner usage and all...

Forget window-washing. Air con repair works is looking pretty appealing.

NOTE: This is purely just some philosophical thinking I do, because it's fun. This topic is a deep fascination of mine.

In a world of thousands of business books, I think all of us in the apprenticeship phase of our career are trying to find answers to what to do. The question is, what is the root of all of the advice? The following excerpts, I feel, are really the root of what we're all trying to get to.

They come from a few of Nassim Taleb's books, and one of Robert Greene's books:

From Antifragile:

"The side effect of this lack of struggle is a lack of personal growth, of artistic expression, and in many cases, of valuable lessons. Without the randomness and danger of life, there’s no chance for us to benefit from antifragility. For example, one learns a language best by being immersed in it, by making mistake after mistake before learning how to communicate effectively. However, to avoid that embarrassment and struggle, we teach languages in classrooms using books and rules, and we get much worse results."

From Antifragile:

"Decisions made based on traditional intelligence - which is to say - book smarts - tend to be fragile. They can easily go wrong if you misunderstand something, or incorrectly apply your knowledge"

From Skin In The Game:

"Taleb is adamant that knowledge gained through direct experience is far more reliable than knowledge sussed out through abstract reasoning. Individuals improve by learning from painful failure. An actress could read a million books on acting theory, but if she doesn’t go out and risk falling flat in auditions or on stage, she’ll never improve."

From Fooled By Randomness:

"People tend to see examples of enormous success as representative of the kind of success any person can expect in that industry. This is called the “survivorship bias,” by which we see only the people who have “survived,” that is, thrived in any given situation, and we extrapolate lessons from their survival: mainly, that wild success can be reasonably expected. For example, when an investor strikes it rich or a writer lands a multi-million-dollar movie contract, we often internalize those successes as a likely possibility for anyone in those fields. However, to accurately evaluate the potential for success in any venture, you must consider not only the observable results but also the invisible alternatives: the possibility that those successful people might have failed had they experienced unluckier circumstances. So, to properly determine the likelihood of getting rich as a trader, you must take into account the many people who’ve attempted it and failed, not just those who’ve made a fortune. To properly judge the likelihood of getting rich through writing, you must consider all the authors who couldn’t find a publisher, or those whose published book garnered few sales, not just those who penned bestsellers."

From Mastery:

"When a system malfunctions you do not take it personally or grow despondent. It is in fact a blessing in disguise. Such malfunctions generally show you inherent flaws and meant of improvement. You simply keep tinkering until you get it right. The same should apply to an entrepreneurial venture. Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies. It is hard to find out such things form people, as they are often political with their praise and criticisms. Your failures also permit you to see the flaws of your ideas, which are only revealed in the execution of them. You learn what your audience really wants, the discrepancy between your ideas and how they affect the public."

-

Some of these things seem a little controversial and counterintuitive, especially the excerpt from Fooled by randomness.

These excerpt remind me of some things that are helpful to think about:

#1 Apprenticeship (DOING)

It's probably true that we can in essence hack time by being deeply on someone successful's side and having them invested in our success.

But the quote from fooled by randomness talks about survivorship bias. Should we disregard mentors and apprenticeships solely because of survivorship bias?

Probably not. It feels that while there might be an element of unpredictability in someone's outcome, and we probably shouldn't feel some kind of guarantee that we will be worse (or better) than our mentors, they still have followed some general guidelines, and inevitably do have experience that can help us move along quicker than they may have.

Being under them likely is infinitely better than reading books it seems, because their feedback and encouragement makes us feel purpose in taking action, and since they get behind what steps they are telling you to take, we feel more purposeful in our actions.

#2 System

If we embrace the "falling on our face" methodology + apprenticeship, and combine it with the right system (for us here on the forum that system is CENTS), it drastically improves (but does not guarantee) our chances of success.

But if we don't get lucky and win on the first try, and then decide to quit, that means that we have chosen to disregard..

#3 Probability & Grit

If we roll the dice enough times, and on each of those attempts we give it a REAL shot, and persevered on each attempt but were forced to give up on the business because it wasn't going to work, there's probably a likelihood that we're going to succeed on one of them.

The grit allows us to use those failures and understand that we have more ability than we did before taking our previous failed attempt to failure, and now can create something even better than we could previously.

Excellent topic. Could be an entire thread of its own.

While mentors aren't 'mandatory', I personally found them much healthier (mentally) especially if I could meet them face-to-face. It was better than simply sitting by myself in my room and working things out on my own. That gets real depressing at times- even for an introvert like myself.

I've often wondered why I only started meeting physical mentor figures years after I started this Fastlane journey. Perhaps indeed it was the mistakes of walking (and doing everything) alone that unconsciously hinted to me what kind of mentors that could help.

Same for people who worked under big, famous politicians. Putin was one of them. He remarked himself because he had the balls + lack of morals to solve problems that others were afraid to touch. Look at him today, President of Russia, from carrying the briefcase of the mayor of St Petersburg.

Imo THAT is the only real thing a mentor can give you, and usually it involves quite a lot of compromises to get.

Thankfully for the mentor-figures currently I have now....all I need to do is to just help with their church ministry or throw in some extra bucks to their charities...or pull in some groceries for their orphanage runs.

 

[biophase]

91% loss in 3 years. *oof*

Fort Worth's tallest building sells for just $12.3M at auction in stunning price drop

The tallest building in Fort Worth, Texas, has been bought by a bank for $12.3 million, three years after it sold $137.5 million. Burnett Plaza has 40 stories and is 567 feet tall.

www.foxbusiness.com

Wonder if this is a typo but it says the owner defaulted on a $13m loan. If that’s true, the bank did ok.

 

[mikecarlooch]

NOTE: This is purely just some philosophical thinking I do, because it's fun. This topic is a deep fascination of mine.

In a world of thousands of business books, I think all of us in the apprenticeship phase of our career are trying to find answers to what to do. The question is, what is the root of all of the advice? The following excerpts, I feel, are really the root of what we're all trying to get to.

They come from a few of Nassim Taleb's books, and one of Robert Greene's books:

From Antifragile:

"The side effect of this lack of struggle is a lack of personal growth, of artistic expression, and in many cases, of valuable lessons. Without the randomness and danger of life, there’s no chance for us to benefit from antifragility. For example, one learns a language best by being immersed in it, by making mistake after mistake before learning how to communicate effectively. However, to avoid that embarrassment and struggle, we teach languages in classrooms using books and rules, and we get much worse results."

From Antifragile:

"Decisions made based on traditional intelligence - which is to say - book smarts - tend to be fragile. They can easily go wrong if you misunderstand something, or incorrectly apply your knowledge"

From Skin In The Game:

"Taleb is adamant that knowledge gained through direct experience is far more reliable than knowledge sussed out through abstract reasoning. Individuals improve by learning from painful failure. An actress could read a million books on acting theory, but if she doesn’t go out and risk falling flat in auditions or on stage, she’ll never improve."

From Fooled By Randomness:

"People tend to see examples of enormous success as representative of the kind of success any person can expect in that industry. This is called the “survivorship bias,” by which we see only the people who have “survived,” that is, thrived in any given situation, and we extrapolate lessons from their survival: mainly, that wild success can be reasonably expected. For example, when an investor strikes it rich or a writer lands a multi-million-dollar movie contract, we often internalize those successes as a likely possibility for anyone in those fields. However, to accurately evaluate the potential for success in any venture, you must consider not only the observable results but also the invisible alternatives: the possibility that those successful people might have failed had they experienced unluckier circumstances. So, to properly determine the likelihood of getting rich as a trader, you must take into account the many people who’ve attempted it and failed, not just those who’ve made a fortune. To properly judge the likelihood of getting rich through writing, you must consider all the authors who couldn’t find a publisher, or those whose published book garnered few sales, not just those who penned bestsellers."

From Mastery:

"When a system malfunctions you do not take it personally or grow despondent. It is in fact a blessing in disguise. Such malfunctions generally show you inherent flaws and meant of improvement. You simply keep tinkering until you get it right. The same should apply to an entrepreneurial venture. Mistakes and failures are precisely your means of education. They tell you about your own inadequacies. It is hard to find out such things form people, as they are often political with their praise and criticisms. Your failures also permit you to see the flaws of your ideas, which are only revealed in the execution of them. You learn what your audience really wants, the discrepancy between your ideas and how they affect the public."

-

Some of these things seem a little controversial and counterintuitive, especially the excerpt from Fooled by randomness.

These excerpt remind me of some things that are helpful to think about:

#1 Apprenticeship (DOING)

It's probably true that we can in essence hack time by being deeply on someone successful's side and having them invested in our success.

But the quote from fooled by randomness talks about survivorship bias. Should we disregard mentors and apprenticeships solely because of survivorship bias?

Probably not. It feels that while there might be an element of unpredictability in someone's outcome, and we probably shouldn't feel some kind of guarantee that we will be worse (or better) than our mentors, they still have followed some general guidelines, and inevitably do have experience that can help us move along quicker than they may have.

Being under them likely is infinitely better than reading books it seems, because their feedback and encouragement makes us feel purpose in taking action, and since they get behind what steps they are telling you to take, we feel more purposeful in our actions.

#2 System

If we embrace the "falling on our face" methodology + apprenticeship, and combine it with the right system (for us here on the forum that system is CENTS), it drastically improves (but does not guarantee) our chances of success.

But if we don't get lucky and win on the first try, and then decide to quit, that means that we have chosen to disregard..

#3 Probability & Grit

If we roll the dice enough times, and on each of those attempts we give it a REAL shot, and persevered on each attempt but were forced to give up on the business because it wasn't going to work, there's probably a likelihood that we're going to succeed on one of them.

The grit allows us to use those failures and understand that we have more ability than we did before taking our previous failed attempt to failure, and now can create something even better than we could previously.

in regards to this, I also found this to be thought provoking:

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

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[Andy Black]

Interesting: Subbb.me - Monetize Your Discord Server

 

[Raedrum]

Some times ago I noted my life's dreams in a file.

And I couldn't find it anymore so i created a new one

But this time, I named it "Goals."

 

[MJ DeMarco]

If you want to succeed in life, you should avoid getting emotionally involved in rap feuds.

The drama, much less the outcome has zero impact on your life.

Invest your energy in things that matter and directly impact your life.

The whole thing reminds me of people who cry in the stands after their football team loses.

 

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[Fox]

@MJ DeMarco in curious your “algorithm” for the forum post of the day?

It is most likes over a 24 hour window or something more detailed.

Sometimes I think it’s a kinda random post that was solid but wasn’t the most engaged with, so not sure how it works.

 

[socaldude]

In a world of thousands of business books, I think all of us in the apprenticeship phase of our career are trying to find answers to what to do. The question is, what is the root of all of the advice? The following excerpts, I feel, are really the root of what we're all trying to get to.

Most advice from successful people is really not relatable. Most advice is completely from their own point of view and experience and not crafted towards your unique circumstances. It's very hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

We are living in very bizarre misanthropic times. The government hates citizens' guts. People wanna charge for mentoring or coaching. The opportunities these days are completely different than 20-40 years ago.

Maybe I didn't communicate this correctly but what I'm trying to say is you are pretty much on your own these days. Let's face it, no one is gonna believe in your potential or take the time to cater advice to your unique circumstances.

It's like MJ's books and this forum. I liked the books because MJ's story resonated. Most of us don't come from affluent backgrounds.

A lot of people get rich from closed circles. "Hey, I made my millions from an IT company with a military government contract!" Good luck doing that in the public domain LOL. The American economy is like that right now.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Keep on snorting folks!

 

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[DougieFresh]

Like to post something but it doesn't need its own thread?

This thread is for you!

Thought I'd create a random thoughts and chit-chat thread for anyone who'd like to post something, but it doesn't need it's own thread.

For example, I just learned today that an idea I had years ago for an airport valet service is now reality. Not only is it reality, but it is growing and grabbing funding.

The service is EXACTLY as I envisioned it would be.

OAK and LAX Long-Term Airport Parking : Never Park Again

Darn it!

The old, "Damn, I had that idea!!" strikes again!

That said, I might invest as they are taking accredited investor money.

What is wrong with the next generation of kids?

Graduates at duke walking out on Jerry Seinfeld while he explaining how he attained success?

I get they are upset with the current state of things but why choose that moment to protest.

First of all you are missing some key information which that they can carry with them for the rest of their career. Isn’t that the reason for college? To increase your chances of success?

Second of all there are high definition cameras everywhere, you can bet when they apply for jobs or a loan, the employer can just Google their commencement and can be easily seen. This can be interpreted as a protest, act of antisemitism or both.

I feel bad them. they are blowing up their futures and squandering hundreds of thousands of dollars and they doing just because their social media feed instructed them to.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that

 

[Aidan04]

Top ten reasons I hate America.

Number 10:

 

[StrikingViper69]

Top ten reasons I hate America.

Number 10:
View attachment 55941

Does it come with free Ritalin?

 

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[DougieFresh]

Top ten reasons I hate America.

Number 10:
View attachment 55941

 

[Nostalgia]

This is crazy. And very scary to say the least, all I can think about is how in the future human interaction is going to be completely neglected, and people will just be at home talking to their robots.

Nathan Espinoza on Instagram: "this feels like a huge moment in Al history #tech #techtok #chatgpt #technews ChatGPT-4o update is crazy open ai"

103K likes, 1,728 comments - nathanespinozayt on May 13, 2024: "this feels like a huge moment in Al history #tech #techtok #chatgpt #technews ChatGPT-4o update is crazy open ai".

www.instagram.com

 

[AceVentures]

DO YOU BELIEVE IN SCIENCE OR ARE YOU JUST A BIGOT?

 

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[Kevin88660]

If you need businesses ideas. I think you need to talk to real people in your area.

The internet is not the real physical world, at least not a proportionate representation of the physical world.

The best business opportunities for you could be things that are not searchable, that there is too little information available online.

Only the veterans in the industry have the data in their heads, and they have no incentives to shout in the cyberspace and create a step by step guide.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

This is crazy. And very scary to say the least, all I can think about is how in the future human interaction is going to be completely neglected, and people will just be at home talking to their robots.

Additionally, from Google, very similar...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXVvvRhiGjI

 

[Supa]

On the topic of creative ways to use AI to create value...

Not long ago I switched the calorie tracking app I use to track what I eat/drink every day.

The one I use now has an AI feature, and man is it a F*cking game changer.

Anyone who has ever tracked calories probably knows that it can be quite a bit of work to do every day, especially of you want to be as precise as possible.

What this AI feature does though, is making it a breeze to track everything you ate/drank! You just describe it in a chat box and it gives you the estimated nutrition facts for what you entered, which you can then - with two taps - log.

I always enjoyed calorie tracking, but this AI feature, built into an overall fantastic app, makes the whole process incredibly smooth and enjoyable.

And it shows a creative idea for how to use AI to create value for people.

Edit: as I didn't mention it in my post, the app is Foodnoms.

 

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[Nostalgia]

On the topic of creative ways to use AI to create value...

Not long ago I switched the calorie tracking app I use to track what I eat/drink every day.

The one I use now has an AI feature, and man is it a F*cking game changer.

Anyone who has ever tracked calories probably knows that it can be quite a bit of work to do every day, especially of you want to be as precise as possible.

What this AI feature does though, is making it a breeze to track everything you ate/drank! You just describe it in a chat box and it gives you the estimated nutrition facts for what you entered, which you can then - with two taps - log.

I always enjoyed calorie tracking, but this AI feature, built into an overall fantastic app, makes the whole process incredibly smooth and enjoyable.

And it shows a creative idea for how to use AI to create value for people.

What's the app?

 

[Antifragile]

Very well done, for “Rat Race” book promo ha! @MJ DeMarco

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1790464664024801670

edit: to make the video visible, imbedding issues

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Twitter not imbedding sucks.

Just change "x.com" to "twitter.com" and it should work. As for the video, yes, it's been posted here a dozen times over the years, one of my faves.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

@MJ DeMarco in curious your “algorithm” for the forum post of the day?

Most reactions in a 24 hour period, not rolling. Resets at the end of the day which is probably why it might not feel accurate 100% of the time.

 

[loop101]

Laramie Sheriff needs cops, Denver is defunding cops. Laramie Sheriff gets a billboard in Denver.

While Denver politicians are upset, in Laramie "It appears the marketing tactic may be working. The sheriff said they’ve already received 40 new applications."

 

[socaldude]

This is crazy. And very scary to say the least, all I can think about is how in the future human interaction is going to be completely neglected, and people will just be at home talking to their robots.

Those agencies are always trying to steal officers from each other. It can be because of Pay or Benefits.

I know there are some people on this forum who are cops.

My guess is most people don’t become cops because they can’t pass the lie detector test. Which by the way I think is a misnomer(Everything in America is a misnomer) and there is no such thing as a truth/lie detector.

There was a guy who tried to expose the lie detector after doing it for federal agencies and was railroaded a few charges by the Gov’t.

I’m no anarchist nor am I a lick•spittle that praises authority. But a lot of the issues happening here trace back to bigger causes and issues in America.

 

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[Supa]

What's the app?

It’s Foodnoms.

 

[Kevin88660]

On the topic of creative ways to use AI to create value...

Not long ago I switched the calorie tracking app I use to track what I eat/drink every day.

The one I use now has an AI feature, and man is it a F*cking game changer.

Anyone who has ever tracked calories probably knows that it can be quite a bit of work to do every day, especially of you want to be as precise as possible.

What this AI feature does though, is making it a breeze to track everything you ate/drank! You just describe it in a chat box and it gives you the estimated nutrition facts for what you entered, which you can then - with two taps - log.

I always enjoyed calorie tracking, but this AI feature, built into an overall fantastic app, makes the whole process incredibly smooth and enjoyable.

And it shows a creative idea for how to use AI to create value for people.

How does it keep track of portion? Using chatgpt 4 I could upload the image and ask it for calories count.