NeuroTypical

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Posts posted by NeuroTypical

  1. 55 minutes ago, zil2 said:

    The Antics of Klaw and Smoke on TLF*.

    We have a new "puppy".  Yes, very young, in the same way baby elephants can be very young too.  When she gets zoomies the house shakes and the furniture gets rearranged. 

    We also have an elderly cat who is so utterly disgusted at the new arrival, she can't even.  We thought she might be reaching the end of her life and not make it through the winter, but she seems to be running strong on her endless hatred of this doggo.

  2. The fam went and saw One Life last night.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Life_(2023_film)

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    based on the true story of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton as he looks back on his past efforts to help groups of Jewish children in German-occupied Czechoslovakia to hide and flee in 1938–39, just before the beginning of World War II.

    I can highly, highly recommend it.  Everyone should know the story.  Inspiring and important reminder of how average folks can rise to the occasion.  Anthony Hopkins and all the other actors did an amazing job.  Easier to watch and less traumatizing/extreme/violent/shocking than Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan.   Excellent movie for older teens on up. 

    In my life, as the son of a WWII vet, I've felt the pressing need to preserve and pass along the lessons my dad's generation learned.  This movie really really helped me forward that goal with my older daughter.

  3. Sad but true.  In the case of global economic collapse, the downfall of our nation, or zombie apocalypse, our 401ks may or may not continue to generate 4-7% yearly returns.

    I mean, I get what you're saying.  I was raised by a child of the great depression, and I'm aware that 3 generations of Americans have grown up in the greatest bunch of successful economic expansion ever experienced by humans.  The rest of human history is hardly as rosy.  And I'm sort of a similar mind that we're overdue for a massive Great Depression-like reset.  But Imma keep my 401k as central to my retirement planning, and Imma keep training my newly-employed kid to do the same.

  4. 2 minutes ago, JohnsonJones said:

    I don't think privatization is really the answer either if we see what is going on with the 401K's out there today.  We have been fortunate with the Stock Market, but it's largely a gambling scheme with how people handle their stuff today and I'm not so sure that's the best way to do things either.  All it takes is a really massive crash that could take a couple decades to recover from and that will kill a WHOLE LOT of people who have 401K's for retirement.  Do that with SS as well and you could have a complete collapse of people's retirements.

    Heh - two choices:   1-The government will take care of you and make all the decisions.   2-People take charge of their own futures and some of 'em will screw up and ruin their futures.

    401ks have been providing tax-advantaged reliable 4-8% returns since they were invented.  If you started investing at age 20, and then there's a massive crash when you reach age 65 and your account suddenly dropped 40% in value, you'd still have more money to pull out of it than you'll see back from social security taxes of the same amount over the same timeframe.

    Investing in the stock market is no more a gambling scheme, than sticking cash in a coffee can, or buying gold, or investing in real estate.  Gambling is gambling.  There is no risk until you decide to gamble, then the odds favor the house.  Having money and doing something with it is not gambling.  The risk exists no matter what you do, you have say in increasing or decreasing your risk, but you can't eliminate the risk.

  5. 4 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

    The easiest solution is to raise taxes on Social Security[...]At the same time, do NOT increase the limits on how much one can withdraw.

    Secondary would be to simply raise the retirement age.

    Yep, those are both ideas that could, individually implemented, kick the can down the road for another couple generations.

    To solve the larger issue, that of a shrinking workforce, a growing retiree base, and a declining population, I'm in favor of doing some sort of privatization.  Pretty much any hypothetical math done by any economist all say the same thing: Folks would do far better by investing $$ in the market, than they do by giving it to the government who will 'take care of you' in return.  Astronomically better.  

    Of course, we can't just ditch SSI taxes and force younger folks to save, because that would mean all the retired folks' SSI checks would stop.  So the solution there would have to be some sort of hybrid system that allows workers (and those entering the workforce) to both invest for themselves, and pay for the old people.  Probably also coupled with raising the retirement age.  And phased in over decades to ease the shock of transition.

  6. 8 hours ago, LDSGator said:

    Glad she’s taking it well. Better than I would. 

    Apparently, she's a character actor (i.e. starving theater kid hungry for gigs), and seems to be having a wonderful time riding the publicity.  I just saw her starring in an ad on tiktok.   That picture and all the news might be the best thing that ever happened to her career.  If she's got a bit of talent, she could ride the wave into greater and greater things.  

  7. 8 minutes ago, Traveler said:

    if someone past the age of 60 decides to purchase their first motorcycle to fulfill some dream – they have a 70% chance of dying on that motorcycle.

    I'll always be a fan of Peter Boyles, who was an AM radio talk show host in Denver for a lot of decades.  I started listening the week before 9/11 happened.  He recently retired, but still acts as guest host and does a show on Saturdays.  He's in his '80's now, last I heard he still rides his motorcycle to Sturgis every year.  

    Peter was often talking about the professional wrestlers he knew, and how similar the profession was to both circus/carnival performers, and politicians.  There are portions of all 3 professions that require genuine skill and competition, a portion that involves deciding how certain things will go ahead of time, and a portion that is 100% an act for an audience.  They all involve stakeholders that must be kept happy with your performance.  They all involve personalities rising and falling in prominence in a continual churn.  He'd meet with wrestlers before and after their matches, as they'd sit in their dressing rooms and talk politics.  He wasn't the least surprised that Jessie Ventura became the 38th Governor of Minnesota, based on how often Jessie would talk politics after the show. 

    BhUguHr3HiIUqxxvcPTNrbLl1KR4ai9YV5p710j3o2LnK25PO_y-mWhBvHYWScwu97eFpsjRI6pxH-RmAT6pUt3W6wiECzVBLf819yRcY0nH1vaMx_xLV-NkXdCopqvvc_WjQScVentura.jpg

     

     

  8. This is a good forum for any "Mormons seem weird" topics you may have as well.   It's possible that your spiritual experiences may lead you to conclude that the CoJCoLDS is Christ's church, and where you should be.  If that's the result, there can be a little culture shock, because our church is more than a church, it's a lifestyle.  And there are some interesting cultural oddities that come with the lifestyle.  Some we can explain doctrinally, others we tend to be embarrassed by. :D

     

  9. 30 minutes ago, EH12NG said:

    Forums are soon to be archives. A lot of people just wake up and realise its an exercise in diminishing returns so they pack up and go do something with their lives, while others, continue to cultivate a sad ego driven persona, i presume, to counter balance an unhappy or unfulfilled life. 

     

    Heh - well, you can't please everyone I guess.  At the risk of going full-blown passive-aggressive, would you say your post here is an example of a sad ego driven persona, or a counter balance to an unhappy/unfulfilled life?

    From where I'm standing, it's not the heaviness of the subject that's an issue.  The only thing that gets threads locked is an abundance of folks abusing the site rules, usually #1-3.

    LM (head toxic windbag)

     

     

     

  10. Fun story: We moderators have a private forum for talking about moderator stuff like account warnings and bans and stuff.  We also have a forum open to everyone to talk to moderators about moderator stuff.  One time I got those mixed up, and talked in the open forum about a problematic poster, and then the problematic poster saw my post and life was awkward for a bit.

    Moral of the story: When you skip all the forums except for General Discussion, ya miss the juicy stuff!

  11. Thread closed.   As a reminder, here are some of the site rules:

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    2. Please be conscious of the fact that although Third Hour is aimed towards an LDS audience, that the membership of this site consists of friends from an array of different backgrounds, beliefs, and cultures. Please be respectful and courteous to all, and know that everyone who is willing to follow the Rules and Terms of Third Hour are welcome to participate and be a member of Third Hour. 

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    3. Personal attacks, name calling, flaming, and judgments against other members will not be tolerated.

     

  12. 4 hours ago, askandanswer said:

    If I'd provided just $1,000 to support the missionary efforts of a church whose missionaries taught that this was a false church I think I might have to answer yes to that question.

    It's an interesting dilemma, but one I had to abandon decades ago.  It used to bug me that this or that gas station got their oil from this or that nation that occasionally spoke about their duty to kill Americans, or clothing produced in nations that make use of child or slave labor.  The mortal, secular rules that govern the earth at this time just make it impossible to participate in civilization without doing occasional business with your enemies. 

    Our church has historical tidbits about making food (and beer) from our own farms only, but I haven't heard anything like that in like a century.

     

  13. Meanwhile, in San Francisco...

    Voters empower cops, reform welfare: Is San Francisco still a liberal bastion? - The San Francisco Standard news

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    Famously liberal San Francisco appeared to lurch to the right Tuesday, or at least move closer to the center, as frustrated voters approved two key propositions: one that increases police surveillance powers and curbs citizen oversight, and a second that will require some welfare recipients to be screened for drug use.

    Polling has shown that San Franciscans are fed up with the record drug deaths, the bodies and needles strewn on sidewalks, the tents that dot their daily commutes, the retail theft and bipping—oh, the bipping!—and the shuttered businesses they once frequented.

    But few could have predicted Tuesday's results would be this decisive, elevating conversations of whether San Francisco is shifting away from being the beacon of liberalism that ruins Thanksgiving dinner conversations and gets Fox News execs sweaty.