2020-12-27

While I'm getting political news from Ars Technica, Scalia. The neighbors, who I shall refer to as the Flanders, were watching Star Trek last weekend. This seemed out of character, given the Friday Bible study group. Worse, the episode "Return of Archons" is about a computer, Landru, that has held a society in stasis for centuries. Kirk gives Landru a stern talking to, and Landru agrees to let the society evolve. All religion that relies on an untouchable magisterium, and Scalia's untouchable Constitution, aim for a stasis, in which the golden age, having been determined as the way things were when you were younger and music still made sense, must continue forever. In the same way as trusting all important decisions to bronze age zelots' bed time stories seems a tad irresponsible to everyone else, believing that the founders' intent a) was unified and knowable b) was not the complete opposite of his opinion (such as disagreeing with both the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. If you are going to order off the menu, just admit you are making stuff up. That's ok, you are on the Supreme Court.) c) would be not abhorrent to modern society (slaves, compromises about slaves, or even the concept that only the wealthiest white male landowner was worthy enough to rebel against his government (given that the US government has been crushing revolt by everyone else since 1783)) d) would be at all relevant to the particulars of every case, seems a bit like an abdication of will, a "submission", if you know what I mean. Unique among the god-computers that get Kirk-ed, Landru does not explode. It is possible to accept new ideas. So here's to the Supreme Court's Weyoun. Perhaps the next clone will be a little more flexible.

• - I'm Standing on a Million Lives: Slightly more interesting isekai premise (also, not actually isekai), mix of wish fulfilment fun and gobslay grimdark. Also, after credit bit.
• - Iwakakeru -Sport Climbing Girls-: was expecting butts for days, got a weirdly compelling sports drama
• * JUJUTSU KAISEN: The stuff going on in the background alone would be a good show.
• Rail Romanesque: train girl fetish material
• TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You: Not terrible, but sure who the target audience is. Not pervy enough, but also not educational/realistic enough. Probably just somebody's wifu that got out in the world.
• With a Dog AND a Cat, Every Day is Fun: From KuramaScarlet "Garfield: Japan Edition."
• Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon: "Nande natsukashi", though I didn't actually finish Inuyasha on Toonami
• Anime KAPIBARASAN: Does not appear to have a hidden tragic backstory, or 2 foxes running the hot springs.
• Grand Blues!: Short and easily skippable, but enjoyably stupid.
• * BURN THE WITCH: The Neil Gaiman anime
• Noblesse: Mostly the Frankenstein bothered me, but it isn't bad. Thought on all these OP MC wish fulfillment shows: Hellsing, great show, OP character who is so OP even he is bored with life. Key point: Alucard is not the main character.
• + That is the Bottleneck: Wut? Short, horror? existential comedy?
• <Dogeza> I Tried Asking While Kowtowing: did not even start, also resent having to manually escape the title.

• Money is not a marker of your worth, or even the worth of your labor. It is a marker of economic activity, but, again, it is not numerically related to the value of that activity to you or society.
• The key to acquiring money is to generate economic activity. Traditionally, this has been extracting value from the environment, like turning dirt into crops, rock into ore, trees into lumber/houses.
• The path to success is to do something that is disproportionally rewarded. This might be a job that massively rewarded, like a CEO, or some sort of viral success, like a popular musician. Good luck with that, but the predictable key to achieving large amounts of wealth is to realize the economic activity creating money doesn't have to be performed by you.
• This is "rent-seeking behavior". This includes actual rent, usury, and investing. The future may involve owning robots or replicators or intellectual property.
• Investing in companies through stocks or bonds is a way to get a slice of the economic activity of that company.
• Individual companies succeed or fail at random so the ideal investment is a bit in a lot of companies. This is a mutual fund.
• Buying a mutual fund is itself an economic transaction. The owners of the fund will collect an annual rent. Buying a "low load" fund that has a low annual cost will take less over time, and a lot less over a long time. Some funds might be worth additional cost, but the bulk of any long term fund should be as low cost as possible.
• Similarly, individual stocks are a higher risk, higher return that can be worth it, but only as a game to play once the nest egg is set in safer funds.
• Early Retirement: If you have enough investment return to pay yourself your current salary, or a lower salary that is enough for your lifestyle and savings for emergencies, you can retire. Your money is doing your job. If you have both an early retirement and retirement account, you can do the math to spend down the early retirement account then retire, but this is additional risk. You could spend more than planned and run out of money and not be able to access the retirement funds without massive fees.
• Also note that early retirement depends on your lifestyle. If you can live well cheaply, that considerably reduces the amount of investment you need, and thus the amount you need to earn.
• If you are nearing retirement, it's less safe to put everything into stocks, but nothing else right now has much of a return. As many different types of funds as possible would help. Withdrawing from funds that are up will avoid taking a loss from the funds that are down. Conversely, taking a mix from both could minimize capital gains taxes. Maintaining several years of minimal expenses in safer investments would also help weather most down-turns.
• Once you have created your retirement plans, resist the temptation to fiddle with it to maximize gains. Correct any errors, but long term investing is about setting the foundation and letting it grow. Don't check your balances except on an annual schedule.

• Misfit of Demon King Academy: overpowered MC shouts at things. The 3 second rule was genuinely hilarious, though.
• Monster Girl Doctor: extremely low grade fan service. Cockblocked Interspecies Reviewers
• + The God of High School: More style than substance, but seems fun. The nanobot auto-repair is introduced, but totally skips over how this whole thing is some Altered Carbon type blood sport performed for the viewer's inhuman pleasure.
• Peter Grill and the Philosopher's Time: Beta Interspecies Reviewers, but less sex positive, also the censored version on CR so why even bother
• Rent-a-Girlfriend: some sort of incel empowerment fantasy
• Ninja Collection: beginner production?
• GIBIATE: "The illness is named 'Gibia' - after being rich in variety like gibier." Lolwut? Reverse meta isekai, which is nice enough as a new concept, but nobody seems to think that is at all odd. Show itself is confused, poor cg, jojo characters
• Mr Love: Queen's Choice: The Trade Federation of harems

1. ✓ I feel my competence declining.
2. ✓ Those close to me begin to notice that I am not as sharp as I used to be.
3. Other people receive the social and professional attention I used to receive.
4. ✓ I have to decrease my workload and step back from daily activities I once completed with ease.
5. I am no longer able to work.
6. Many people I meet do not recognize me or know me for my previous work.
7. ✓ I am still alive, but professionally I am no one.
8. ✓ I lose the ability to communicate my thoughts and ideas to those around me.
9. I am dead, and I am no longer remembered at all for my accomplishments.

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• - Tower of God: No Abyss, MC a chosen potato, but good stuff
• The 8th son? Are you kidding me?: low grade isekai
• + SING "YESTERDAY" FOR ME: kind of depressing drama
• + My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!: isekai, but novel concept and unexpectedly cute
• - Princess Connect! Re: Dive: Game adaptation, isekai, the title looks like a sequel, stupid, but cute
• Shadowverse: I lasted until the shouting started, which is the first scene
• Woodpecker Detective's Office: real authors open a fictional detective agency, plant evidence, fail to solve crime

• + Somali and the Forest Spirit: Not Duane and Sette, but cute
• Asteroid in Love: SoL, not sure if the trope inversion is enough to sustain a series. Also, there's a Vixen Optics, but they don't have a fox logo? Did they get sued by Nintendo over Star Fox?
• * Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!: seemed autobiographical, extremely weird
• + ROOM CAMP: Laid Back short
• * Seton Academy: Join the Pack!: It's never explained why some are animals and some are animal ear girls.
• Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga: jokes are made, but mostly boring. The live action end is cute.
• A Destructive God Sits Next To Me: been done better
• * In/Spectre: Very Bakemonogatari
• * Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Tiny QB
• - Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove it:
• Nekopara: low grade fan service
• Hentatsu: "live" day-time TV chat show? 3-min, and connected, so probably best to binge watch the season
• + Dorohedoro: Not Dororo, but fun, bloody
• Darwin's Game: I almost skipped it because of the intro, but it was very Mirai Nikki.