jrk_

Of all the movies Kinski has done I saw Aguirre and "The Great Silence". I really liked Aguirre because it has a more positive vibe to it. The anti-happy-end of "The Great Silence" is also very appealing, yet really depressing. Nevertheless, certainly one of the best movies I've ever seen. You can say what you want about Kinski, he was a great actor and I highly recommend watching at least some of his movies.

Thank you, now it makes sense to me! :)

Why are you so specific about 3)? If it's a joke, then sorry, I don't get it. :)

I hate to write this, but it must be more expensive than $80 to raise, brain-wash and train a human to become a suicide bomber..?

Not a contradiction. The capitalism Smith describes is actually fair.

Hey, I thought the same when reading this paragraph! :)

Are you in for living in the woods and preying for food when humanity becomes a society of degenerate VR junkies?

> I hope one day to be as passionate about _something_ as he seems to be about everything...

The last time I've been so passionate about something was when I was around 10 or 12. Since then I've trained myself to be (and act) not so passionate anymore, because it'll make you look like a weirdo to most people. However, it brought me to a point where it's hard for me to get excited about anything at all, not to speak of expressing it properly...

The real hard part comes after the initial novelty and the quick progress fade away: Staying motivated to do regular workouts without getting faster or lifting more weights every week.

This also applies to healthy eating habits. Once you've reached your target weight and the novelty wears off, it's much harder to eat clean. Personally, I like pizza once per week, usually on Friday, as celebration and reward that it's finally weekend.

For exercise it boils down to discipline. At least for me. Plus, I feel really, really bad and get in a terrible mood if I cannot physically exert myself every day.

> one Twitter post away from having your pick of three companies

Can't concur on that one. I've been looking for more than a year for a job after graduation and getting through those interviews was hard. But maybe it's different here in Europe.

Not sure which part of Europe you are speaking of, but I have to pay around 15% of my income for the (mandatory) insurance, which then provides me with (almost) unlimited health care. If you are unemployed it is a lot harder to get health benefits, especially if you are a foreigner and haven't worked (==payed for the insurance) before. Just saying, that it's not like "come here, we have free health care and everything".

Anecdotally I can tell you that I also need regular medication (not in the same range as you, but still), and I was unemployed after college for some time. I got the meds, but only because my parents paid the minimum "social tariff" for health insurance, which is around 150€/month.

> How much do you pay into those if you're not earning anything?

Afaik (and I really don't know for sure, because luckily I had never the misfortune to need it) it is paid by the welfare system. However, there are many rules and obligations to be edible and honestly, I wouldn't want to have to deal with the bureaucracy. There are several steps towards this. First, after becoming unemployed, you'll receive unemployment support, but only if you've worked before! They also demand that you use your own savings and securities to support yourself. After that runs out, you'll receive the bare minimum monthly allowance, which is around 300 to 400 Euros per month. You don't get that easily. As long as there are relatives, the state is very likely to get the money from them first. You'll also get free housing, but that's also far from what one desires (bad neighborhood, very small, etc.).

> Do you still get health benefits when unemployed?

Very likely, because health insurance is mandatory for everyone. So the system is built upon the idea that those who are able to pay also support those who are unable. However, it is very frowned upon to "abuse" this system and rest in the social hammock (that's a very literal translation, sorry). That's because the whole social system is regarded as a safety net, but not for individuals who don't want or can't contribute.

I live in Germany, and health care at a bare minimum is around 150-200€/month, which is the "social" tariff. We also have a pension system, but you also need to pay a monthly contribution, depending on your income. There are many elderly people who barely get along with the government pension right now. I think it'll only get worser in 30+ years. The idea of "reverse retirement" is appealing, but I don't know if I'd have the motivation to go to work in my 70s, when everybody around me is retiring. But it's probably a very subjective issue and I'm a bit torn about it.

Honest question: How do you handle health care issues? And how do you plan for times when you're more likely of not being able to do physical work anymore (in your 70 or 80s)?