Imagining better priorities for yourself

I really enjoyed this NYT article about setting new priorities in the post Covid world. Maybe I am just a math nerd but he does an interesting job of quantifying our priorities.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/opinion/covid-pandemic-depressing-math.html?smid=em-share

We underestimate future possibilities for the same reason we overestimate the time we have left with those we love: our intuition is not very imaginative. It’s a human instinct to believe the life we’re used to is how things will always be, both the good parts and the bad.

Wallowing in regret carries an implicit assumption that we had agency in the past — that we could have had those other life paths if only we had made better decisions. When we think about the future, though, that feeling of agency often disappears, which can leave us feeling resigned and even hopeless.

But the life we’ll be living 10 years from now will largely be determined not by our past selves but by our present and future selves. If we imagine what we might regret down the road, it’s very much in our hands to do something about it now.

This is the good news about being a human. The time we have left with family and friends is not a law of nature like the weeks we have left to live. It’s a function of priorities and decisions.

Is it just me or did Crypto jump the shark last night

The Crypto companies went all out on advertising spending last night during the Superbowl. This is one of many articles about how they dominated the airways. https://fortune.com/2022/02/03/crypto-super-bowl-commercials-binance/

I will be the first to admit that I don't really get Crypto currencies. It is more than just having a limited understanding of them. I just don't get why they exist in a broad market. It seems to me that they have limited uses for limited kinds of people like criminals and anarchists. All of the rest just seems like hype and the fear of missing out. Which is where the Super Bowl advertising spree comes in to fuel even more hype and FOMO.

I don't particularly have any gripe with the concept as long as they don't undermine actual currency that we all depend on.

But if I am going to adopt any means of currency, I have two major hurdles: A) Confidence that it is at least real enough not to burn me and B) Widespread places where I can use it

I don't see either of those things even close to being true yet. Maybe Bitcoin is conceivable in the 5-10 year horizon but it isn't there yet.

The problem I see is that there are dozens of different crypto currencies and there isn't room for more than 1-2. Meanwhile, the proliferation and ultimate failure of the rest is simply going to undermine the potential of the few.

Meanwhile, the entire argument for crypto seem to be in the speculation and trading realm. Which seems particularly suspect to me. Without a widespread marketplace actually utilizing the currency, it seems even more theoretical than ever.

Or, maybe I am just old.

Outrage of the day

So there is this...

https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-state-university-sex-week-event-encourages-students-to-thank-abortion-providers

The vaccine mandate falls and I'm not mad about it

So this happened today https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/13/scotus-blocks-bidens-workplace-vaccine-rule-527054

But I have to say, I am not upset. I expect this opinion to be very unpopular but hear me out.

Here are three thoughts.

1. They have already accomplished most of what they could
2. Things were about to get very messy
3. I did not see a clear exit strategy

I have to say I was never a big fan. I have been uneasy about it in ways that may have been solved today. So allow me to elaborate on my above thoughts.

1. Many companies pushed forward and set early deadlines that have already motivated most of the reasonable fence sitters. Those are gains that cannot be taken back. What is left are the stubborn hold-outs that are desperately hoping for a medical or health exemption. It seems to me like we have already gotten much of the benefit that was ever available.

2. Going forward, things were going to get very messy to actually enforce the mandate. The hardened hold-outs were mostly going to ride this to the bitter end. We were going to see daily stories about denied waivers and employee terminations. All of this in the face of staffing issues, inflation, product shortages, etc. It was going to be a PR nightmare and we were going to create a shitload of martyrs in the process. Most of that would come with very few additional vaccinations.

3. I don't for one second believe that #2 was going to play out quickly. I suspect it would take till at least the end of the year to really close the books on enforcement due to court challenges and appeals, etc.. Personally, I think the Omicron wave may be the last serious wave to this pandemic. The infection rates are high and fast and have dropped off precipitously in other Countries. The net result of that could leave a relatively resistant Country better prepared to fight off future waves. Combined with better treatments and higher vaccine rates, things are better now than they were six months ago. Which begs the question, would we be enforcing this mandate on a population that no longer wants it. I could easily see a time when the population feels like we are past this and the Government is left wondering what to do with the mandate. Enforce it even though it no longer feels necessary? Forget it and empower the martyrs? Revoke it at the last minute? It just seems like a mess.

So I say this is an ugly end that might have avoided an even uglier end. I would just release a strongly worded statement to the effect of "we tried to do the right thing but those partisan assholes over there have left us to suffer more pain and suffering every bit of which will now be their fault"

I fully expect to take a lot of grief in the comments so do your worst.