I started this post six months ago. It was originally titled, "Being Sexy is a Depreciating Asset". That seemed a little too incel-ish, so I stuck it on the shelf. Then I came across this recently-published study of dating habits and decided to dust off the original thesis, as it appears that being sexy is indeed a depreciating asset. 

There's a little renaissance of plastic conservation (mostly about not using straws). Reading these clap-myself-on-the-back posts reminds me that we seem to be missing the point when it comes to being earth friendly.  

Short post today on a trend I see in literature, movies and theater that I have never heard anyone comment on. There is a decent-sized sample of literature where, for lack of a better term, the plot is driven by what I'm calling "Sex Rage (TM)", essentially the actions stemming from the failure of the protagonist to get laid or have their emotional/intimacy needs met by their romantic interest. 

I don't just show ya'll the smart things I do. This blog is all about showcasing the shit ideas and things that never should have been. Like this ill-advised investment in Moviepass, AKA Helios and Matheson. 

How's that for a clickbait title?

Story time: It was our first date. I was just coming off another outing (with a different woman) where I was basically sexually assaulted in an elevator (a story for another day), so it would be an understatement to say that my expectations were low going in. To make matters worse, this new girl had emailed me the day before we were scheduled to go out to say that she was sick and needed to reschedule. In the online dating world, this is code for, 'I'm going out with someone I like better - you are the backup' or 'This is the last message you'll ever hear - Imabout to go ghost mode on yo ass.'

Holy shit, people. I can't take all this Facebook noise in the latest immigration kerfuffle. Time to scream a little dose of reality into the void: I'm going to tell you a hard truth that you'll most likely disagree with if you have ANY opinion on immigration, either way. 

For too many years to remember, I was humiliated by presidential fitness test. Out of morbid curiosity, I went online (do we ever really leave online these days?) to see what the requirements were. Maybe I could do a little better at 38 than I did at 12. I was shocked to discover that they were discontinued in 2013. ​

I rarely make financial predictions. And when I do, they're never bold. I believe stuff like, "the market always goes up over time" and "timing the market is for dummies" and not much else. 

That said, I do think that home ownership is due for a pretty decent correction. I believe this so much that Susan and I are holding off on buying a home. And I thought I'd share my reasons for hesitating. It might not help if you just threw in on a new place, but if you're wavering or entering the market, I'd urge you to wait a little longer. ​

I was doing some work regarding identification of genes that have an association with suicide (looking at you, SKA2) and found myself thinking about suicide patterns. In particular, I was thinking about a 2013 report that military suicides had increased to the point where there were more suicides than combat casualties (terrible, awful idea for a military commercial: "Marines: so tough that the only ones who can kill us are... ourselves). This thread led me to the following question: did invading Iraq/Afghanistan cost more lives than doing nothing? Did we (our government, but us in effect) kill more of ourselves trying to solve a problem than died in the precipitating incident?

So I took a gander at casualties, which led me to suicides which led me to thinking about the article I'd mentioned. There are some underlying assumptions for this idea, one of them being that there is an association between combat and PTSD which would be reflected in an elevated suicide rate. I had a hypothesis about this: more combat = more suicides. 

I was bullshitting with some colleagues years ago and the conversation strayed to ridiculous hypotheticals. The following scenario came up:

​You're a spy in a foreign country and must pass for a local. You look the part, but you don't understand or speak the language. Not at all; in fact, you can only say one phrase in the country's native tongue (albeit with a perfect local accent). The question: What is the one phrase you would choose, knowing it is the only thing you could utter in any given situation.

​My answer: "Don't fuck it up."