True story: Several years ago we knew a couple in Dallas, let's call them couple 1, who were great friends for a few years with another couple down the block, couple 2. One day, wife 2 suggests to wife 1 that they swap husbands one weekend while the kids are away.... Fast forward 4 months, and wife 2 and husband 1 file for divorces from their respective spouses, SAME DAY. Not only did wife 2/husband 1 keep it going in secret for 4 months, but it was wife 2's ulterior motive from the beginning. Keep in mind there are kids involved on both sides too.... Wife 2/husband 1 end up married, but have to move to a different city b/c they've been shunned from the neighborhood, country club, etc., but they don't care. 2 marriages wrecked, kids messed up.... Horrible....
A friend in college had parents who divorced due to a similar scenario and the remaining spouses married each other. He said it was very convenient as they kept the same parents after a fashion. His mom later ran out on husband #2 for a high school sweetheart. They were all college professors. Crazy stuff.
The first thing that came to mind was the song "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans. That's their take as well. When people retire, they die. So, I took my pension and changed careers.
Everybody needs a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Full heartedly agree. IMO "Boredom" as you describe is a symptom of a void. Everyone has a void. Some fill it w/ booze, others pills/powder/dope, others cleaning the same room over and over, gambling...Others fill it with something that may be more beneficial to not only themselves, but society at large. Writing a book certainly hits as a healthier contribution.
Fortunately (i suppose) I saw many of my parent's friends retire early and fill their days with a certain sport and a gluttonous diet of booze and food. They didn't last too long post retirement. I've known others' who's life was really based on just their career. Retire...no purpose left...perish.
Sad.
A reasonably healthy purpose fills that void and puts oneself and those around in an overall much better place.
I think boredom generates positive and negative results and that the positive innovation that stems from boredom overshadows any negativity that comes from the same boredom.
I quit my job as a tech executive three years ago (I was 60) but then immediately started my own business as a consultant. I'm not working as hard at my day job as I was in tech, but that's intentional because a) I have two grandkids and want the flexibility to be a larger part of their lives and b) I don't need to pull in a big income anymore. I'm also spending more time on hobbies and doing things with friends. I stay very active, it's just a more diverse and self-directed kind of active.
A week ago I met up with a friend visiting from South Carolina. He recently took a buyout from Microsoft and has no plan at all for what to do with his time. He's just unmoored, drifting along with no direction. I can't imagine living like that.
Re: the swingers in your nearby neighborhood, it proves the saying, "idle hands are the devil's playground"
Love the wife swapping points and your take on what’s really important.
It sort of reminds me of the situation in Hormuz, the wider the Middle East and their incredible fortitude in the face of incoming challenges.
This will sound harsh…and perhaps a bit depressing.
And my view of its truth/clarity/insight/consequence may/will reverb in the next decade or 2….
The USA with it mega-powerful military and worldwide influence has, effectively, been humbled by a people that have been “in their zone and fought for everything to maintain their power” for, let’s say a thousand years.
They have the endurance to last through this horrible encounter. With fortitude, patience, insights, “poker-playing” and collective messaging and strength.
And those in the US, can’t stomach a 6 minute wait at Starbucks.
I am not being judgmental, but trying to be truly observational.
Great Powers Come..and They Go. ( I now live in England…so I know how things go)
And this incredibly privileged life that we in the West have become used to has lead to idleness and wandering desires.
I don't know where to start. Besides your terrible writing style and grammar, your knowledge of history is just as bad. The current regime in Iran, which you are obviously referring to as the people who have "humbled" the USA in the Strait of Hormuz, is the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have not been in power for "a thousand years". It's the same regime that killed, at a minimum, 7k of its own people for the simple act of protesting for economic viability, let alone freedom.
As you know… I sell nudes from the 60’s and 70’s. I’ve been to the Playboy mansion, San Francisco Armory (when Kink com was there) …and just this past May during my XBiz Adult Show an after hours party at Miami Velvet (a swingers club). The people I have met aren’t bored… they simply have high sex drives. Hugh Hefner was a swinger and wasn’t bored.
I spent most of my adult life semi retired or fully at times starting at 30… I volunteered, I exercised, I lived life with staycations. Life is too short to work constantly. Personally, I have a high sex drive but only want to be with one woman… but that wasn’t always the case. My most recent girlfriend was bisexual… and was open with me on being with other women. It didn’t bother me until she was on a date with me and left with another girl and that was too much for me… But it doesn’t bother me what other people do… it’s their business. I don’t think it’s boredom… it’s sex addiction… or high sex drive… or thrill seekers… or a combination of all three.
Boredom is the people that scroll all day on social media or watch 24/7 news channels all day long. Boredom are people with no purpose.
Jared, Baseball may be the greatest game in America, Cricket is the greatest game in the world.
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out.
When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and all the men have got out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!
Where to start... Jared, I like your writing. I think I said this multiple times. And I absolutely agree: Swinging is a sure-fire way to ruin your personal life within your community. It's like actively looking for trouble and drama, and I wholeheartedly agree that this kind of hobby does come from boredom.
But this isn't a common thing. This is a rich people problem.
This is not something that the 8-9 million of Americans, who are having more than one job to make ends meet, have on their weekend agenda. This is not something that people have on their mind, when the last medical bill is now pushing them into personal bankruptcy, which another half a million of people file for due to this reason every single year. This is not something that the 17 million of Americans who are classified as living in "Broader Economic Uncertainty" go for to get their minds off.
This is what people do when they have no worries, no struggles, and no economic uncertainty.
And of course, from all these guys who are pushing all these new technologies, none of them has really thought it through. Although, I am also fairly certain that their bold predictions won't be holding water. Just imagine: Do you really want to have a robot at home doing everything for you, while being connected to the internet, recording and tracking every single detail of your life, all while being hackable by some potentially crazy nut-jobs (which there are lots on in this world)?
Do we really want to give up the last little bit of privacy that we still have, just to do... nothing? I really don't think any of this will fly. That bubble will pop very soon.
And again, your comment on communists... jeez. Give me break with this nonsense. IF you guys are so anti-communism, so why are Trump, JD, Elon, Jeff, etc. all so hell-bound on copying the Chinese and Russian systems and methods of operation? Please.
From an European point of view, what we observe based on actions and behavior of American politicians it's like that:
The American left wing wants regulated capitalism, with socialized living standards when it comes to health care and education.
The American right-wing wants unregulated capitalism, with no common goods and no governments involvement in anything.
While you can debate the ideas, it is not really debatable that having no common goods won't be good for common people - and ultimately not good for the country as a whole. That is why China is surpassing you guys, why anyone with a brain is leaving the US now, and why Americas decline is speeding up. 40 Trillion in debt and mounting, and ZERO plans on how to resolve that, all while most of the cash flows keeps shifting towards a few billionaires.
Great reply. His naive attachment to capitalism is bizarre. And, more pointedly, we don’t have a capitalist system and the innovation that stems from it. We have corporatism, which is socialism for the large companies.
Most innovation comes actually from public services, in particular universities and government research. Corporations usually don't do the heavy lifting which is not profitable. Instead, they focus on the final steps to commercialize it. This is why the agenda of the current administration will be so devastating in the long-run. With the massive anti-science stance, America has a brain-drain now, with tropes of scientists leaving the country. This will reflect in 3-4 years in the innovation cycle, and ultimately, in consumer products & services.
True story: Several years ago we knew a couple in Dallas, let's call them couple 1, who were great friends for a few years with another couple down the block, couple 2. One day, wife 2 suggests to wife 1 that they swap husbands one weekend while the kids are away.... Fast forward 4 months, and wife 2 and husband 1 file for divorces from their respective spouses, SAME DAY. Not only did wife 2/husband 1 keep it going in secret for 4 months, but it was wife 2's ulterior motive from the beginning. Keep in mind there are kids involved on both sides too.... Wife 2/husband 1 end up married, but have to move to a different city b/c they've been shunned from the neighborhood, country club, etc., but they don't care. 2 marriages wrecked, kids messed up.... Horrible....
A friend in college had parents who divorced due to a similar scenario and the remaining spouses married each other. He said it was very convenient as they kept the same parents after a fashion. His mom later ran out on husband #2 for a high school sweetheart. They were all college professors. Crazy stuff.
You are right about all of it, please don't retire. This recommendation is purely selfish.
Keep the newsletter going!
I had to look up Jonah Falcon. No idea what kind of ads I'm gonna get now
Just put Monkey Business on my never-ending amazon list.
The first thing that came to mind was the song "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans. That's their take as well. When people retire, they die. So, I took my pension and changed careers.
Everybody needs a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Full heartedly agree. IMO "Boredom" as you describe is a symptom of a void. Everyone has a void. Some fill it w/ booze, others pills/powder/dope, others cleaning the same room over and over, gambling...Others fill it with something that may be more beneficial to not only themselves, but society at large. Writing a book certainly hits as a healthier contribution.
Fortunately (i suppose) I saw many of my parent's friends retire early and fill their days with a certain sport and a gluttonous diet of booze and food. They didn't last too long post retirement. I've known others' who's life was really based on just their career. Retire...no purpose left...perish.
Sad.
A reasonably healthy purpose fills that void and puts oneself and those around in an overall much better place.
Just my one or two cents for the day.
I think boredom generates positive and negative results and that the positive innovation that stems from boredom overshadows any negativity that comes from the same boredom.
I quit my job as a tech executive three years ago (I was 60) but then immediately started my own business as a consultant. I'm not working as hard at my day job as I was in tech, but that's intentional because a) I have two grandkids and want the flexibility to be a larger part of their lives and b) I don't need to pull in a big income anymore. I'm also spending more time on hobbies and doing things with friends. I stay very active, it's just a more diverse and self-directed kind of active.
A week ago I met up with a friend visiting from South Carolina. He recently took a buyout from Microsoft and has no plan at all for what to do with his time. He's just unmoored, drifting along with no direction. I can't imagine living like that.
Re: the swingers in your nearby neighborhood, it proves the saying, "idle hands are the devil's playground"
JD.
Great Diatribe.
Love the wife swapping points and your take on what’s really important.
It sort of reminds me of the situation in Hormuz, the wider the Middle East and their incredible fortitude in the face of incoming challenges.
This will sound harsh…and perhaps a bit depressing.
And my view of its truth/clarity/insight/consequence may/will reverb in the next decade or 2….
The USA with it mega-powerful military and worldwide influence has, effectively, been humbled by a people that have been “in their zone and fought for everything to maintain their power” for, let’s say a thousand years.
They have the endurance to last through this horrible encounter. With fortitude, patience, insights, “poker-playing” and collective messaging and strength.
And those in the US, can’t stomach a 6 minute wait at Starbucks.
I am not being judgmental, but trying to be truly observational.
Great Powers Come..and They Go. ( I now live in England…so I know how things go)
And this incredibly privileged life that we in the West have become used to has lead to idleness and wandering desires.
I wish everyone Peace and Godspeed.
Thanks for Your Great Missives.
I don't know where to start. Besides your terrible writing style and grammar, your knowledge of history is just as bad. The current regime in Iran, which you are obviously referring to as the people who have "humbled" the USA in the Strait of Hormuz, is the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have not been in power for "a thousand years". It's the same regime that killed, at a minimum, 7k of its own people for the simple act of protesting for economic viability, let alone freedom.
As you know… I sell nudes from the 60’s and 70’s. I’ve been to the Playboy mansion, San Francisco Armory (when Kink com was there) …and just this past May during my XBiz Adult Show an after hours party at Miami Velvet (a swingers club). The people I have met aren’t bored… they simply have high sex drives. Hugh Hefner was a swinger and wasn’t bored.
I spent most of my adult life semi retired or fully at times starting at 30… I volunteered, I exercised, I lived life with staycations. Life is too short to work constantly. Personally, I have a high sex drive but only want to be with one woman… but that wasn’t always the case. My most recent girlfriend was bisexual… and was open with me on being with other women. It didn’t bother me until she was on a date with me and left with another girl and that was too much for me… But it doesn’t bother me what other people do… it’s their business. I don’t think it’s boredom… it’s sex addiction… or high sex drive… or thrill seekers… or a combination of all three.
Boredom is the people that scroll all day on social media or watch 24/7 news channels all day long. Boredom are people with no purpose.
Jared, Baseball may be the greatest game in America, Cricket is the greatest game in the world.
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out.
When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and all the men have got out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!
Where to start... Jared, I like your writing. I think I said this multiple times. And I absolutely agree: Swinging is a sure-fire way to ruin your personal life within your community. It's like actively looking for trouble and drama, and I wholeheartedly agree that this kind of hobby does come from boredom.
But this isn't a common thing. This is a rich people problem.
This is not something that the 8-9 million of Americans, who are having more than one job to make ends meet, have on their weekend agenda. This is not something that people have on their mind, when the last medical bill is now pushing them into personal bankruptcy, which another half a million of people file for due to this reason every single year. This is not something that the 17 million of Americans who are classified as living in "Broader Economic Uncertainty" go for to get their minds off.
This is what people do when they have no worries, no struggles, and no economic uncertainty.
And of course, from all these guys who are pushing all these new technologies, none of them has really thought it through. Although, I am also fairly certain that their bold predictions won't be holding water. Just imagine: Do you really want to have a robot at home doing everything for you, while being connected to the internet, recording and tracking every single detail of your life, all while being hackable by some potentially crazy nut-jobs (which there are lots on in this world)?
Do we really want to give up the last little bit of privacy that we still have, just to do... nothing? I really don't think any of this will fly. That bubble will pop very soon.
And again, your comment on communists... jeez. Give me break with this nonsense. IF you guys are so anti-communism, so why are Trump, JD, Elon, Jeff, etc. all so hell-bound on copying the Chinese and Russian systems and methods of operation? Please.
From an European point of view, what we observe based on actions and behavior of American politicians it's like that:
The American left wing wants regulated capitalism, with socialized living standards when it comes to health care and education.
The American right-wing wants unregulated capitalism, with no common goods and no governments involvement in anything.
While you can debate the ideas, it is not really debatable that having no common goods won't be good for common people - and ultimately not good for the country as a whole. That is why China is surpassing you guys, why anyone with a brain is leaving the US now, and why Americas decline is speeding up. 40 Trillion in debt and mounting, and ZERO plans on how to resolve that, all while most of the cash flows keeps shifting towards a few billionaires.
Great reply. His naive attachment to capitalism is bizarre. And, more pointedly, we don’t have a capitalist system and the innovation that stems from it. We have corporatism, which is socialism for the large companies.
Most innovation comes actually from public services, in particular universities and government research. Corporations usually don't do the heavy lifting which is not profitable. Instead, they focus on the final steps to commercialize it. This is why the agenda of the current administration will be so devastating in the long-run. With the massive anti-science stance, America has a brain-drain now, with tropes of scientists leaving the country. This will reflect in 3-4 years in the innovation cycle, and ultimately, in consumer products & services.
Good point. It’s like you have to invest in universities and research to see beneficial results!
A hearty NO SHIT to all of it!
I don’t know you but from your writing you seem like a sad person. 🥲
Jared is not as sad as his writing makes him seem. I think the writing flushes it out. He is a total sweetheart in person.