matthewb (matthewb)

how serious can any talk of a commune/self-sustainability trend be when a small plot of land is a quarter million dollars and building materials are hundreds per sq ft of finished house

• 554 replies
• 6 recasts
• 957 reactions

many people involved with or adjacent to the industry make it their full-time job to self-deprecate and whine about crypto… probably in part because it’s a great engagement hack. really there’s not much to it. there’s a handful of crypto products or protocols that actually make money and are sustainable. hyperliquid, aave, a few others. think everything else is stupid? okay, build something better then. no? then why stick around as a permanent member of the peanut gallery? the cultural commentary is just beyond stale. oh there’s lots of scams? you must work in auditing, forensics, security, etc. then. no? so you’re just here to observe that everything is horrible? sounds pretty bleak. personally I’m mostly interested in commentary from those with skin in the game, otherwise it’s just throwing popcorn from the cheap seats.

• 94 replies
• 47 recasts
• 881 reactions

you can just do things (propose to the love of your life)

• 151 replies
• 26 recasts
• 497 reactions

here is the thing... pretty much anything in your everyday life can be a "hobby" if you sufficiently hyperfixate. you do not need to accept slop in any dimension. doesn't matter if it's socks, coffee, paint, baseboards, light bulbs, olive oil, whatever. the amount of effort required to properly research niches has never been lower. you ostensibly have god in your pocket, the excuses are fewer and fewer by the day. just one example: we need new desks. if I google "standing desk" I get all of these desperate canadian companies trying to PPC ad me into buying their knockoff workplace furniture with horrific laminate wood grains. instead, I can feed chat corporate workplace furniture catalogues and fully spec out a desk to whatever specifications I want. fully custom, made by Knoll. normally B2B procurement like this is a pain but from my first email I knew exactly what I wanted, all of the product codes, etc. previously you had to be neurotic to live like this, today you can be a weird combo of tasteful, picky, and lazy.

• 39 replies
• 7 recasts
• 316 reactions