[cardguy]

lol - yeah - I am fascinated by the fall of Japan as well. I have read some books in that area as well.

Are you Japanese yourself? Or do you just enjoy studying it because it reminds you of the frailty of human predictions?

This is a book I read awhile ago which takes a critical look at Japanese culture and the workings of their economy.

http://www.amazon.com/Kamikaze-Economics...B009MMUP5W

It is a surprising and fascinating book.

[Suits]

(06-01-2014 08:55 AM)cardguy Wrote:  

Are you Japanese yourself? Or do you just enjoy studying it because it reminds you of the frailty of human predictions?

I'm not Japanese in the least.

Having those books on my bookshelf makes it more fun to listen to other people's predictions about China.

[cardguy]

Absolutely - I draw a lot of parallels as well.

Who knows what will happened with China. But my thinking is that China is built on a giant property bubble which will soon burst and fuck up the worlds economy.

[Suits]

(06-01-2014 09:16 AM)cardguy Wrote:  

Absolutely - I draw a lot of parallels as well.

Who knows what will happened with China. But my thinking is that China is built on a giant property bubble which will soon burst and fuck up the worlds economy.

Rule number 1 of China watching: Anyone who says that they know what is going to happen is a fricken tool.

We've been getting it wrong for decades and decades now...basically ever since "professional China watcher" became a career.

Usually, the safest bet is to predict that absolutely nothing is going to happen that won't blow over in a month or so.

That isn't to say that nothing crazy is going to happen, but rather that predicting it has always been impossible. Better to assume nothing at all.

[cardguy]

It reminds me of Nassim Taleb and his talk of 'Black Swans'.

We need a similar concept to describe the idea of people convinced something big is bound to happen - when in fact it is likely that nothing big will happen.

Maybe in this case the 'Black Swan' is that nothing will happen?

[Suits]

(06-01-2014 09:31 AM)cardguy Wrote:  

It reminds me of Nassim Taleb and his talk of 'Black Swans'.

We need a similar concept to describe the idea of people convinced something big is bound to happen - when in fact it is likely that nothing big will happen.

Maybe in this case the 'Black Swan' is that nothing will happen?

Things are always happening in China. Understanding their significance is another matter.

I would assume that many things fall into the same category.

You could pull a Samseau and say that since no one predicted WWI or WWII, therefore that must mean that another WW is right around the corner.

Or you could accept that no one predicted WWI and WWII for the same reason that what happens next in the world is always hard to predict, whether it be a war or something entirely different.

[johnbozzz]

Carpentry. I've come up with a solid model for a cutting board. Learned from my father in my early teens and I now sell the stuff I make online.

[El Padrone]

Chess. A mindless and boring game for the vast majority. But how can you not love this game?

[Easy_C]

Nice necro.

I actually have a...similar interest. Chess I like a lot in theory but I find the 8x8 grid to be extremely restrictive. I've moved on to a similar tabletop game called Warmachine that's minis based. The gameplay is different but most of the overall strategic considerations are very similar and it's actually played at events very similar to chess, complete with using chess clocks to time and and you losing if you run out.

It also helps that, as toxic as geek culture is these days, that most of my local group is the happy exception. We've got a few hipsters as the general exception but most of them are blue collar trade workers including one guy that's a monster: his biceps are the size of my thighs.

I like it because it helps train me with something I'm weak at, which is being extremely conscientious in my thinking. The culture around the game is focused almost entirely on competitive play and there are a lot of rules interactions that can have dramatic impact. As a result being anything other than measured and deliberate is swiftly punished. I can be a bit scatter-brained sometimes so having this exercise to force me to be the opposite way is good for me.

[Bazzwaldo]

Diving in rivers and the ocean for really old bottles

[Donfitz007]

Smoking cigars and drinking for the actual taste.....at the age of 25 it’s sad my favorite past time is a maduro, scotch and a good book

Also bushcraft seems to be a weird interest to people.

[El Padrone]

Reading. Im always shocked at the near total lack of interest most people I meet have in it. An elder colleague could simply not grasp what I was doing reading 50 Cent's The 50th Law. Sad.

[Syberpunk]

(10-29-2018 02:17 PM)El Padrone Wrote:  

Reading. Im always shocked at the near total lack of interest most people I meet have in it. An elder colleague could simply not grasp what I was doing reading 50 Cent's The 50th Law. Sad.

I would argue this is is most people actually. I don't how book stores stay open to be honest. Even more perplexing (considering its 99% free) is the lack of interest in anything on the internet outside Facebook and one or two other sites is bizarre. And these are smart people! When I was a kid I read the newspaper constantly back to back just for curiosity!

I was always liked the way Owen Cook (Tyler of RSD) put it years ago:

"Wealthy productive, successful people decided to put millions of dollars of information in a 10 dollar softcover book and then went through line by line with PROFESSIONAL EDITORS and you're not going to read it? Their distilled life and advice, presented to you for a pifling fee so you don't have to repeat the mistakes they did and you won't read it?"

The drole and hilarious Jim Rohn puts it well, this applies to so much of life, timeless:

I like collecting razors and brushes, Edwin Jagger, Gilette Fatboys and Slims, Merkur 34HD...they last lifetimes, and I do cold shaving because I have sensitive Irish skin to the elements, cold water soothes and allows me to shave every damn day at the same time and I enjoy the hell out of it so much. Its like meditation, and great chasing the rabbit game to get it all the hairs whittled down to the skin. I'm a simple man really. Cold shower followed by cold shaves in the dead quiet of the dark morning at 5am and you're set to battle the day.

[wellrockthecity]

(10-29-2018 02:44 PM)Syberpunk Wrote:  

I like collecting razors and brushes, Edwin Jagger, Gilette Fatboys and Slims, Merkur 34HD...they last lifetimes, and I do cold shaving because I have sensitive Irish skin to the elements, cold water soothes and allows me to shave every damn day at the same time and I enjoy the hell out of it so much. Its like meditation, and great chasing the rabbit game to get it all the hairs whittled down to the skin. I'm a simple man really. Cold shower followed by cold shaves in the dead quiet of the dark morning at 5am and you're set to battle the day.

I have a big collection of straight razors, brushes and shaving soaps. I must have 50 soaps from all around the world (including Arko, Cella, Valobra, Pereira Shavery etc.).

My top razor is a custom made one from an Italian handcraft which must be worth around 600 euros (it was given to me as a gift).

I also have a ~200 pocket knives collection.

On my unusual interests I am really big into Lucha Libre and Puroresu (might not be as unusual for some people in this forum but none of my friends like wrestling).

[ilostabet]

- composing music (and being a music nerd)
- zoology, especially marine zoology, and in particular sharks.
- snooker and table tennis (not studying, just playing)

[heavy]

(10-29-2018 03:38 PM)ilostabet Wrote:  

...
- zoology, especially marine zoology, and in particular sharks.
...

   

[Rush87]

(05-18-2014 08:29 AM)Renberg Wrote:  

Black holes.

I like pink holes.

[mr-ed209]

Snooker. Something about it is so mesmerising and I got slightly obsessed with playing back in university when I lived opposite a 24hr snooker hall. Would just nip over for half an hour on quiet nights. Watching it is oddly satisfying, the clink of the balls, the wholesomeness of a well put together break. Sometimes just have it playing in the background while I do work stuff, it's like golf on valium.

[El Padrone]

Astronomy. Reading led me to it. The vast scale of our universe humbles me. Now I have great difficulty finding someone to discuss things like pulsars, dark energy, space exploration, the breathtaking amazingness ofscience etc. Key quote I've internalized "No Data, No Truth". I also now understand key science concepts like "heat death", the second law of Thermodynamics, the nature of gravity and a vacuum, photons, the scientific process etc. Not bad for a finance guy, right? Read guys, read!

[Donfitz007]

I have an unnatural and pitiful fascination with Batman and Nightwing. I constantly look up ways and techniques to train like them. Read books I think they would have read, and eat what I think they would eat. My goal in life is to be as realistically close to Batman as possible.

[Meliorare93]

ethnobotany especially entheogens, occultism, biohacking, dark haunting music almost nobody likes etc

[flad]

(10-29-2018 04:12 PM)Rush87 Wrote:  

(05-18-2014 08:29 AM)Renberg Wrote:  

Black holes.

I like pink holes.

pink > black

especially nowadays more and more people notice how fraudulent the theory of black holes are.

And why they were invented.
pink holes are for creating life. black holes are for keeping people spiritually small and dumb.

[El Padrone]

Following real estate focused sites like Curbed, Therealdeal and 6sqft. And oh, Mansionglobal, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com. Its a messy business. I feel for the agents when I see under their forced smiles the damning phrase "no recent sales".

[estraudi]

The history of the Third Reich creating a special division "Division Azul" so that Spaniards could fight alongside the Nazis on the eastern front.
Shit, I even want a shirt with their logo on it, given they also recruited from my family's territory(murcia).