Simulacra

It's like the hacker that hacks into a company to schedule himself for a job interview

This feels like doxxing.

Ms. Holmes and her partner seem unhinged just a little bit… the Elizabeth distortion field. I think the film did more damage than it helped, and I can't help but come away with the feeling that she's even more guilty than I previously thought.

I'm saving for it! The fee is $350-400 to adopt, so it will just take me a little time.

I'm working on this actually. I had a dog for 12 years and she really kept me going. Saved me. But she died a couple years ago, literally the day after one of my parents, and it's been tough. But I'm really thinking about getting another dog; I really want to get another dog.

This was a tough article for me. I'm only alive because I have to be. I have one family member left in poor health, and they depend on me, but when they are gone, I don't really see the point of sticking around. I am simply sticking around for them.

The last thing I will do is die alone, or worse, confined to a nursing home, abused by underpaid staff. Yes: I have tried over 15 medication's, therapy, you name it. I came to the conclusion a few years ago that accepting that my life has an end, and they I will make that decision to end it, has been comforting. I feel like it's the only, perhaps last control, I might ever have

The dating apps have zero incentive to change. Bandaids like photo verification are minimally effective at best.

It reminds me of those things that restaurants put on your table that you're supposed to use to play games, or pay with, but just end up spying on you and getting in the way. Like Olive Garden.

No, universal base income doesn't work. It doesn't count for extra money in the system. If everyone's getting an extra $500 a month, businesses and everyone else are gonna raise their prices by $500. And you can't stop that without dictatorial control over the market. Additional income helps, but if everyone's getting the same thing, it's just a stimulus checks all over again, which led to inflation. UBI doesn't work at all.

And I would bet dollars to donuts that someone at that company would respond "who's going to hack a refrigerator? Heh"

"and if your employees try to obfuscate and turn on disrupting noise in the background, our proprietary AI helps filter that so you always know how productive your employees are being"

I would not be surprised if it's north of 70%.

This sill last about .. 4 days, 2 weeks at most, before a federal district judge puts an injunction on it.

This is beautiful. Bravo. You created an opportunity for someone to thrive and grow. There are few higher callings to humanity than that, IMHO.

I also did something sort of similar: I had a close friend in Brazil (former roommate when he eas in the US; self deported) who was going through a very difficult time. As an experiment..I gave him $100/month, no strings attached. Blow it on food and games, rent, whatever he wants.

Tl;dr it went very well, his life significantly improved, I did it because he was my friend, I had the money, and wanted to see what would happen.

We Skyped after his shift ended one night and he was very depressed. With a VPN and a credit card I ordered him Dominos to cheer him up. I sent a feast that.. only cost me $10.[1]

Realizing the exchange rate benefit, I got the idea of giving him $100 each month as an experiment; $500 Brazilian Reals.

I wanted to know if the extra money would help and if I could use the exchange rate to help my friend get to a better place in life. Sort of a UBI but not quite.

Now, $100 to me is a bit of money, but 500 BR to him was a crazy amount of money to be given.

Over six months, it allowed him to quit his job at McDonald's, get out of a financially unstable roommate situation, move closer to his family in his own place, and find a better job. He started dating again.

I told him I would commit to a year, but he actually said at the 6.5 month mark that he's doing so well that I don't have to keep giving him money.

Three years later he's still doing great. I have concluded from this that more money in our pocket always helps, but there is a certain responsibility (maybe in general) needed when a gift like that lands in our laps. It can be easy to blow it [2] but just as easy to use it to move life forward.

It has certainly made me more ..aware/appreciative of my privilege and (sometimes fragile) security.

[1]. Two medium four topping pizzas, two 2-litre bottles of soda, breadsticks, and chicken nuggets.

[2]. I was once given a generous stipend from the Student Government of $140 which I did not use for school supplies, rent, or even groceries. Nope. I bought alcohol.