On the eve of Monday, 22 May 2023, smoke billowed from the basement of the Manila Central Post Office in Lawton, Manila. Shortly after, the flame that made the smoke became fire. The fire then spread and crawled its way up the building. Paper, wood, and other materials in the post office served as kindling to feed the fire, which grew it into a roaring blaze. For the next 30 hours, one of Manila’s great landmarks stayed alight, to the horror of eyewitnesses and the citizens of Manila. (more…)
Bear with me while I ramble about an analogy that may take at least 2,000 words to explain. This is a world I’ve been exploring for the past three months, and I’ve been having fun learning about it thus far. Coming into the game this late, I believe I’ve been seeing it in a unique light, different from how most people see it. Money — the thing which makes our world go round — is much like the forces that govern fantasy worlds. Many seek its power, but few harness it. (more…)
It’s high time I write more about finance on this blog. Unlike the last time, when I wrote about the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021, I now have actual skin in the game. For the past three months, I’ve been getting into stock trading, and it has been both a blast due to the learning experience and a stressful experience due to the initially losing trades. I knew what I was getting into, but I didn’t know that I was going into a market that was scarred by the ravages of 2022. Let’s talk about bank runs and the ongoing nightmare of the 2023 market. (more…)
I’ve written a good bit about military history on this blog, comparing generals to martial artists and professional gamers. Since I’ve been learning more about them and their battles, perhaps it’s time I specifically focus on them to expound on what made them tick and what interests me about their motivations and leadership. Each has their own motivations and styles of leadership, but there was one who was way ahead of his time and displayed a quality similar to entrepreneurs and world leaders of today. (more…)
This is a follow-up to one of my favorite blog posts I’ve ever written. It’s understandable why defense is seen as lame and boring, while self-sacrificial offense is seen as valiant and entertaining. We can have idiots who deliberately put themselves in harm’s way and get people cheering their lungs off while downing gallons of Bud Light, then not be given even an ounce of shit about when they can barely remember their own names years down the line. That’s especially true for combat sports, but we can also look at other fields as well and see how the fundamentally sound are also given the short end of the stick, even in hindsight. (more…)
This post is meant to rectify an old blog post I wrote about well-meaning idiots, specifically the inventor Dr. Thomas Midgley, Jr. In that post, I put him in the same category as John Chau, the American missionary who willingly got himself killed by traveling to the Sentinel Islands to preach the Gospel to its infamously solitary natives. But now, I know better. It turns out Midgley wasn’t merely just a well-meaning idiot who didn’t intend any harm, but a greedy asshole who set upon the world his products that poisoned the air. (more…)
Recent events, including the pandemic and the presidential election, had me thinking about the insufficiencies of government, people’s unwillingness to cooperate, and all the obstacles in enforcing law during national and global crises. As this trend continues, I’m seeing the rise of our machine overlords. As artificial intelligence improves, the world will likely be predominantly ruled by AI by the 22nd century. I wish for things to speed up so we get to our destination sooner, but these things take time. I’ll regret not being able to live long enough to see that. (more…)
While watching a YouTube video on South Africa, discussing how it’s on the cusp of a civil war due to its geography and demographics throughout history, I looked at the YouTube comments and related Reddit thread. I saw how the South African viewers didn’t like how the video avoided the elephant in the room, which was corruption. I then saw that it’s the common theme in the comments of that video series in that channel. While many countries seem to have all the geographical and historical odds stacked against them, what really holds them back is persistent corruption in their governments and societies. (more…)
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine heads towards 30 whole days, my initial analysis of the whole thing not lasting for more than a month due to how the war is likely draining Russian coffers and resources, not to mention the sanctions and corporate pullouts, is likely not coming to pass. We have now entered a period of uncertainty, wherein we don’t know for sure when it will end and if Putin will actually prevail. I then watched a video by TLDR News on what the future may bring. (more…)
Remember how sad it was when Future Trunks told everyone that Goku was going to die not in battle against the Androids, but from a disease? The strongest warrior in the universe, the protector of Earth, and a picture of superhuman health, killed by illness. This is what has been happening to a lot of people recently due to this blasted pandemic, including martial artists and tough guys of all sorts who think COVID-19 is either an imaginary problem or an opponent they can knock out or submit on their own. (more…)
As you read this, you might’ve heard the news by now. Wall Street is currently in chaos, even more so than the #OccupyWallStreet protests of almost ten years ago. While that consisted of picketing and civil disobedience, which could be curtailed and discouraged by police action, this unprecedented event in Wall Street history is done by turning their weapons against them, thanks to an online community called WallStreetBets. (more…)
The last two weeks have been rather weird for me. I came out with that vlog for Retro Gaming Expo on the Facebook page and got a good number of positive reactions to it, which is gratifying. However, my desire to record more AVDRshows was hampered by indecision and anxiety as I planned to have one on current events (from three weeks ago). Unfortunately, I sat on it for too long and it’s no longer relevant, so I now salvage what I had by putting it all here. (more…)
