• 7 Posts
  • 678 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
Cake day: December 1st, 2023
  • Meron35toMicroblog Memes•Reader maturityEnglish
    2·
    1 day ago

    This is exactly why I hated it. The “story” is ultimately static - Holden never develops, or faces notable consequences or even conflict with other characters for any of his actions.

    Discussing the book irl or online is usually exhausting, because when I mention that I despise the protagonist, people usually defend him, and thus, the book, on the basis of him being a traumatised teenager.

    Static stories where nothing happens can work, but only in a sort of meta way. I enjoy Philip K Dick’s novels despite nothing really happening in most of them because of the existential themes they explore.

    The most charitable “meta” interpretation I can give Catcher in the Rye is that it is a sort of commentary on how the lack of support for teenagers can cause them to self destruct and spiral. Even then, I feel that the book fails at achieving this, because Holden actively pushes away support at basically every opportunity, and has zero self awareness.

  • Meron35toMicroblog Memes•Reader maturityEnglish
    6·
    2 days ago

    This was the book I consistently hated at every age.

    I could see that he was a traumatised, lonely child. At the same time, he continuously engages in self destructive behaviour while having a superiority complex.

    I guess for the time this sort of story may have been groundbreaking, but the fact that Holden never faces any sort of reckoning makes it boring and infuriating. It needed something legendary, like the “it’s you” moment from Bojack Horseman.

  • Meron35toNews•Is the US uranium market about to go nuclear in 2026?
    2·
    3 days ago

    If every billionaire is starting their own cryptobank, what else incentivizes people to use one bank’s currency over another? It’s got to (hopefully) be something other than the reputation and trustworthiness of the men that own the bank.

    This is exactly how banking works, trust and vibes.

    The US Dollar is backed by the trust and assurance of the US government. Insert “our words are backed by nuclear weapons!” civ meme.

    There’s a very loud and vocal minority that advocates for currencies backed by natural resources. This is generally considered a terrible idea, because it means your currency is heavily tied to commodity price fluctuations, resulting in much more volatility. E.g. during recessions, governments should spend more to lift the economy, but cannot do so they pursue a Gold Standard.

  • Meron35toMemes@lemmy.ml•More than half of US families are one paycheck away from homelessness.
    32·
    5 days ago

    It’s better to think of working, middle, and upper class in terms of how much of their income derives from labour vs capital.

    Working class = majority of income from working.

    Upper class = majority of income from owning capital, i.e. can afford not to work at all.

    Middle = somewhat evenly split.

    Traditionally working class was associated with “lower” jobs such as labourers, and those working cushy office jobs usually earnt a high enough income to accumulate enough capital to become middle or upper class.

    This is more aligned with the British definition, where their “middle class” is more equivalent to the US “upper middle class.” Make no mistake though, with many jobs not paying enough to accumulate capital, professionals such as teachers, accountants, and nurses would firmly be considered working class, because they you know, need to work.

  • Meron35tomemes•Very confusing
    1·
    5 days ago

    Even the cheapest shower curtains have extra sewn in threads at the bottom which weigh them down and prevent clinging.

    Mould isn’t an issue if you’re airing out the bathroom properly, and washing the curtains every week or so.

    Glass is also prone to mould as well, but you can’t just throw out it. The tracks they require are particularly difficult to keep clean and give me the heeby jeebies.

    Washing curtains is infinitely easier than maintaining and cleaning the glass tracks.

  • Meron35tomemes•Very confusing
    2·
    6 days ago

    That’s even more confusing, why not forego the shower glass entirely and just have a shower curtain instead?

    Yes I know it’s likely retrofitted, but I won’t pass a chance to say that shower curtains are superior. Shower glass looks glossy in brochures, but everyone IRL has a sad squeegee hanging from it.

  • Meron35toCurated Tumblr@sh.itjust.works•Mastercard/Visa’s controlEnglish
    20·
    8 days ago

    Because the US still does not have instant, or near instant bank transfers. ACH bank transfers cost money per transaction, on the order of 0.30-0.50 per transaction, and can much higher for larger transactions.

    The US is just incredibly, and uniquely behind when it becomes to accessible payments. This is the reason why “FinTech” such as Cash app, PayPal, and Venmo, in addition to credit cards, are popular - they literally just don’t have the infrastructure in place for you to pay back a friend after they pay for a meal.

    Every other developed, and even some developing countries, have had fee free instant payments, for the better half of a decade. The UK/Hong Kong have Faster Payment System (FPS). Europe has SEPA, and most countries mandate that transfers cannot charge fees. Australia has Osko. India has Immediate Payments Service.

    I read horror stories of USians paying rent by writing cheques or mailing cash to avoid bank transfer fees and subsequently stressing out about fraud. This is just insane to everyone else, who just pays via instant bank transfers.