throwaway657656

Whenever I take the first bite into an energy or protein bar I pause with surprise because of how sweet it is. Then I ask myself, "how is this not a candy bar?"

Two weeks ago I was an excited entrepreneur/engineer and looked forward to building new products that improved peoples lives. But with an inability to estimate my product COGS and consumer confidence diminishing, I'm giving that up (edit: for now).

We went from win-win capitalism to a pump and dump economy. That happened so fast. I can't comment on your site because I find this all so vile.

Your repeated comment is only half right. This has moved from win-win to lose-lose.

I did talk to a doctor. He quoted me $12,000 for a surgery that sounded excessive and had a long recovery time. I try to get second opinions, but doctors are so busy that I never get a call back or schedule many months out.

Oddly the wealthier I get the more I distrust doctors. Why perform a $300 tooth filling, example, when you can creatively justify a $5000 root canal and crown. They know I have the money and their kids private school ain't cheap.

My small business produces a niche consumer electronic device. Anyone watching us operate would say that our product is Made in the USA. But the components of our product are sourced and pre-processed all over the world and our COGS just increased significantly due to tariffs.

We now have to raise our prices, but our Made in China competitors have to increase theirs even more. That isn't a net benefit for us, given the product is "nice to have" and does not have an inelastic price.

If my sales drop by 50% and the Chinese competitors drop by 75%, is that winning ? I am still in shock and denial by all this. After 11 years in business, this manufactured/avoidable crisis can't be what ends us.

You are right. Accepting $200k for one prisoner is not worth risking all future contracts from this temperamental US administration.

If the El Salvadorian gov't is corrupt enough to run an international pay-based prison, couldn't they also accept a payment, from anyone, for releasing an international prisoner? The logistics after release would be secondary but at least we'd know they aren't being abused in what is effectively a dark-site.

But if the current administration is offering $20k a year for imprisonment (rough guess) then they might want $200k to free him.

US citizens may not want to travel internationally because they don't trust US customs and border agents upon their return.

About 20 years ago a customs agent asked me, "are you thanking the lord Jesus Christ that you have returned safely to America". You just tell them what they wanted to hear and you were fine. Now if I am not mistaken, they can demand you unlock your phone which might show you were at a Tesla Takedown rally, or purchased a movie ticket to No Other Land, or whatever else is deemed verboten. I am unclear how long a citizen can be detained/delayed by a customs agent without cause.

He seems to have solved a mindset issue that eludes others like myself.

I reduced to 24hr billable hours a week thinking that it would help with burnout. Instead my ego is constantly deflated given that I am now the least productive developer on the team given all others work 40hrs+ and my meeting/coding ratio has become unbearable. The resulting competition anxiety ensures I think about the project all the time. The resulting lack of energy has affected my other projects/interests.

This is 100% in my head as my supervisor is happy with my output. But I can't escape it. I often lie down, stare at the ceiling for answers, only to find myself in a worse state.

No, this isn't about oligarchs. This is about sadists some of whom happen to be oligarchs whose singular goal is to make the non-MAGA sad. It is working.

It's not enough to have personal optimism you need a community/culture of optimists.

~10 years ago that was there in a big way for tech. It was peak YC prestige. HBO's Silicon Valley brought the start-up struggles/drama into the mainstream. Most people who worked hard were rewarded. Large in-person tech meetups provided a venue to share your success story.

The tech industry now feels bloated, mundane, low-value/rent-seeking, or as a net-negative for society. It isn't fun to share your success since it comes off as boasting instead of inspiring.

How I miss 2014. I was productive, optimistic, and energetic in a way I can barely comprehend now.

That's my point. It reminds me of when the greatest smart contract writers in the world got "hacked" by what was in the retrospect, a rookie error. We now have ETH and ETC which no one at the time (I'm a former miner) would have thought was possible.