It was terrible. The estimated casualty was just 200 when I saw it reported on TV just after it happened. The last report I've seen now say it's at least a 2000 dead, which is quite big jump. I just hope there would be no new calamity that would strike the area that would make things harder for people (saw the news about Libya being flooded).

Do you think that had the Ukrainian and Russian economies been more deeply intertwined, the war wouldn't have happened? That's possible but we also cannot ignore the realities of geopolitics. Sometimes getting a sliver of land is worth all the trouble.

While not exactly recession-proof, I would say it could be fairly resilient in the more advanced economies compared to say, some other minor luxuries. As already stated, people there tend to budget with pets in mind.

In more developing economies, probably not as much resilient. It would require that it at least have a large middle class that can afford the services/products. For example my cat had some problems giving birth (first time I actually had a cat had problems like this) and we asked around and apparently these are expensive - just as expensive as human procedures sometimes.

So yes, we can afford the food and litter so those manufacturers get a bit of our lower income money but not the vets, who would be relying on the middle class for their income.


Sadly that's the case. Most people would rather give up their pets than let their children starve.

I agree that the rich seem to be unashamed talking about money with family. They just seem to have a different attitude towards it. I think the more often you discuss a topic with your children, the more comfortable they would be with it and let's face it, money is an essential part of living and there's no harm exposing them to these concepts, especially if it'll allow them to better manage their own finances later in life.


This. I've seen adults pay just the minimum of their credit card bills and then act all surprised when they get slapped with massive amounts of interest. Or who run out of money a week before the next paycheck and have to take loans, again with large interests. I even know people who pawn their paycheck ATMs.

I don't believe those sort of people would be teaching their children good financial knowledge. So it seems adding it to curriculum is the way. At least financial education is less controversial than sex education (another topic parents tend to fail at).

Haven't thought ODing is a big contributor to death in the US. I believe it's safe to assume that it has only increased during the lockdowns and would continue to rise with the current state of the economy. I suppose the years of bad nutrition is also catching up to Americans.


Healthy food tend to be more expensive than the less healthy ones so it seem to me that vitamin/mineral supplements are pretty much necessary these days. Especially with the changes in agriculture, even fresh produce today seem to have less flavor and nutrients. Personally we only keep processed food for emergencies and still try to cook at home.

Wow, and even the incinerators are not enough. And yes properly designed windows, design the house for maximum sun absorption and heat retention. Unfortunately I don't think those living in flats have much options. I have family in Italy and they complain about the cold and are not running the heater continuously to save on gas (this was even before prices skyrocket). I can imagine it'll be much frigid in Germany. Hope they sort that all out before winter.


I don't know if you're serious about the chili part. That just trick your body into thinking you're hot. That's why Thais love them, they sweat and then it evaporates and cool them down. But yes, food is definitely important in helping keep the body warm. Maybe they can adjust the heating to be lower than they're used to and just put on an extra layer or two of clothing.

It's really ironic after they've been telling anyone to mind their emissions. This whole issue of having to reduce fuel imports from Russia really highlighted that the EU haven't really been that green, at least not as much as they advertise.


Not sure if they can grow bamboo well there in Germany but maybe they can just, you know, burn their trash in incinerators for electricity and just use electric heaters at home? Certain waste products can be turned to fuel, like how coconut shells are sometimes turned into charcoal, maybe they can find something there to burn rather than throw away.

In the end it'll also boil down to proper design. I've seen illustrations of houses that uses water heated by the sun to warm to home, maybe they do that there. I mean, the sun still shines during winter, except if there's a blizzard.

Didn't knew it was THAT high but then again I wasn't surprised that much. It's like the whole "debate" around avocado toast. Many older generations are criticizing millennials for a somewhat expensive treat and they in turn retort that they deserve to to be treated every now and then.

Many complain about not being able to have a stable career, not being able to buy their own house, etc to I think the increased purchases of luxuries go with this. "I really can't afford to invest my money on X coz it's so expensive, why be too stingy on myself, I can afford Y and I'll just buy that".

As I've mentioned in a reply to someone, it's not the pursuit of money that's does harm but pursuing money over everything else: family, morals, etc. There's a big difference between taking an OT to earn a bit more to doing something fraudulent to increase your sales figures (like in the infamous Wells Fargo case).

It's unfortunate what happened to your friend although it's not necessarily all his fault. How was a scammer even able to take out a loan in his name? Couldn't he have filed a fraud or identity theft case or something? Only reason I could think that he became legally liable for a loan is if he acted as a guarantor for someone he knew and said person just disappeared.

Thankfully it hasn't caught on in most countries. I did heard about one Pacific island where there was a suicide epidemic among teens many years ago.

Thing is, it only makes things worse for the people you are leaving behind so it's not something you should do if you love them. Even if you feel they don't love you, then it also don't make sense to suicide. If they somehow finally see your value, then you wouldn't be there to feel that love. And if they really dgaf about you, then your death meant nothing. Whichever way you look at it, you're the only one losing.


It actually take a fair amount of courage to delete yourself from existence, albeit it's misplaced courage. Might as well have redirected that into continuing your battle.

Well yes, if you can earn more by delegating a task, then that's a good reason to do it. If someone can do it better than you and you can pay that person something less than what you value your time, then good.

Money is for spending, I would say. Seriously, you don't earn money just to horde it. Not only does that make it useless, it actually lose value if used that way.

I wouldn't consider being able to simply fulfill your basic needs as being rich, you're simply getting by. Sure you are not poor (which meant lacking in certain needs) but you're not rich either.

The problem is not the luxuries per se but if you put all your efforts for chasing after luxuries. You can only get so much joy from something before it get stale and then you'd have to move on to the next thing.

Time to eat bugs I guess, just as the Emperor wills it LOL. But really, if it all comes down to dying, we'd probably end up eating bugs while the rich would still manage to have access to steak. You will eat bugs and you will be happy.


If only we can cheaply desalinate as much as we want without much environmental impact, no? Maybe that would become a thing for many countries in the future, not just desert countries.

Well less expenses, more money to spend on other more worthwhile things. So yes, you can say not buying is "earning" if you actually put the saved money on something that gain value.

I don't agree so much about refusing to "third-party" tasks. As you progress you'd want to be able to delegate/outsource many tasks to leave you with more time to then use to other more important actions. Time is something worth paying for.

I think understand what you mean. I actually know people who don't even pay their UTILITIES in full, let it accumulate and then get shocked when they got their water and electricity cut - and then have to shell out an extra fee to have it reconnected.

It's just not that easy for some of us to get a grip on these. For example when I borrow I'm not even thinking of what OP was saying that I'd be paying less or whatever, I just want to know the difference in price between getting the stuff on installment vs paying for it in full.

I'm not saying that it all depends on luck. If you really want to succeed at something, you would really need perseverance. The thing is some people just have larger safety nets thanks to luck. Say you have two people both of the same knowledge and attitude that want to be an inventor. The one that is rich and with a network can afford to make a few mistakes here and there until he succeed with his vision. The one that have to rely on his savings alone can only make so much mistakes until he's eventually forced to abandon it and be a salaryman.

I wonder how efficient using hydrogen could be. Like would it be the same as stockpiling and distributing gasoline would be. It'll be nice if the power from dams is enough to generate a good amount, especially for regions with fluctuating weather patterns.


Aw that's bummer. I'm assuming electrolysis is more expensive. If only there's something that can be done to all the carbon dioxide released in the process.

Realizing it all depends on you is the easy part, actually being able get past it is hard. Luck plays a large portion on whether you become rich or not. For example it'll be easier to become an entrepreneur in America than in many 3rd world country. The community you are born into for example also depend on luck, since it provide you your initial network.

Then we come to the personal part, like do you got the disposition to be interested in something that would become profitable later, hence becoming on of the pioneers.

I agree with the part that wages are no longer enough to keep up with the prices. However, being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. And even if you're skilled, luck also play a part, else everyone would have business. Unfortunately many businesses don't make it through their first year.

If you think about it, you can consider UBI the equivalent of "bread and circus," just give them enough to survive and not cause trouble. But then again if "they" (whoever they are) can just produce anything they want, there's really no use to keeping people around. I personally haven't made up my mind about UBI.

As for coof passports, we already had that. You can't travel to some countries without a vaxx certificate. Some countries also restricted the unvaxxed's use of public transport.