Love them too, I would say some of it is a bit cringe now, although probably a not inaccurate depiction of attitudes contemporary with the character and funny as hell. It is a very nice change of pace from Sharpe's boy scout about everything attitude.
I should have added detail and not just snark. That phone is very specifically targeted to Linux systems administrators or programmers, which is why I'm legitimately surprised Baruth hadn't heard of it. The underlying Linux operating system it uses didn't support SMS/MMS until the last year or so, for instance. Its performance as a phone is... so-so. It does not work with your iMessage. It cannot install your favorite Android app from the Play Store.
There's been classic programmer drama about how it technically supports, but makes it difficult to install, other operating systems besides PureOS.
The one thing it has on its competing privacy-oriented super 1337 hacker phones is that you can order an all-USA component model with a custom sparkly glitter pattern painted on the case to let you know whether the NSA/FBI intercepted it while shipping to you. :)
The top comment sums it up nicely for all those products. "Most "reviews" expect a polished OS that "just works" when this device isn't ready for daily use unless you're a tinkerer who can spend time bug reporting, searching for answers, reflashing when (not if) things go wrong." Most of the early users were expected to contribute kernel drivers for the phones' components, so they have functioning WiFi and cameras. The cameras still don't really work, last I read.
If you don't understand what a bootloader is and have never debugged error messages from a Unix program, I would strongly suggest not trying any of these devices and buying a regular flip-phone if you're concerned about contributing to the insane data troves that Apple and Google keep on you.
Bro, READ HACKER NEWS MORE. I mean, at least skim the headlines. n-gate.com stopped posting his mocking summary of the day's top posts, which would bring you amusement for 10-20 minutes of skimming his archives.
That a wonderful concept on many levels. That such a conceptually simple thing must cost 2K to bring to market compared to mainstream phones is sad. something something if something is cheap/free you are the product. If it also included encrypted peer to peer communication to skirt the networks, whoa nelly.
They don't make duck apparel but I've been pleased with both blue and black denim jeans from Texas Jeans. They say everything is Made in USA and my experience with their customer service has been great. A pair of jeans is about $60.
When I’m master of my own domain (working from home) it’s in a ratty old tshirt and a $4 pair of Amazon Starter brand (who knew they were still around?) shorts. Because if I’m sitting in front of my computer for 8-9-10 hours by myself I’m going to be comfortable and that’s comfortable. When I’m in the office, I see the same 8-10 people every single day, and I basically wear only LL Bean because they offer tall sized shirts and I have a looong torso (6’, 28” inseam). It’s cheap, lasts, and is formal enough to pass muster with the dress code. ’m not customer facing and I’m in an industry where zero people are concerned about vanity of impressing anyone else (food/agriculture). If I was a billionaire and running a company and working basically 12-15-18 hours a day you’d find my ass in whatever was the most comfortable athleisure I could find too.
my wife works in the tech sector and finds herself telling a surprising number of people, "you can't wear a hoodie to a meeting. hoodies are for founders."
When I worked in granite I wore cheap athletic pants, a capeshit t-shirt, and a hoodie. Of course, I had no meetings to go to and a boss who was desperate to keep me because he knew no one else could do my job, so that helped. At the county courthouse I can't bring myself not to wear nicer clothes, but I do seek out the softest, most comfortable pants I can find. They almost always have an elastic waistband. I'm too low on the seniority list to be invited to any important meetings. I have no one to impress anymore!
I used to dress “nice” when I worked in the office (dress shirt, jeans, wingtips, sport coat). After awhile, it got old. No different than having to wear a crappy Aramark polo and work pants when I worked at Advance.
Now, I spend half of my time working out in the plant. 99% of the time I’m wearing a branded UA polo, Wrangler “dad” jeans, and a pair of company-supplied Thorogoods. It’s like being paroled.
Oddly enough, it’s the guys actually working on the line who are showing up in tracksuits and sneakers.
On this, I've been meaning to drop a comment about Round House denim here for a minute. USA-made, raw-ish (only one of their styles is actually advertised as raw, but their nominally-not-raw cowboy cut are still pretty dye-heavy and crinkly out of the packaging), some non-dadcore cuts that still work with thicker legs, and reasonably priced. Too soon to say anything conclusive about durability, but they seem fine. Basically, I think the Round House 1903 is as close as you're gonna get to a USA-made Wrangler 13MWZ rigid, which were my previous go-to. Recommended.
Very true. It's less of a total puzzler than Bezos, who got a trillion dollars or whatever and then started dating someone older and uglier than his existing woman, at unimaginable cost.
I have bought a metric butt ton of Dearborn Denim. They basically fit me perfectly which is something that never happens. It's as if they thought fat white male was a large market or something. The jeans are good but they aren't the sturdiest per se. The crotchal region wears thin after a while, taint specifically. I don't think this has anything to do with my scrotum. I actually their t shirts are the their best items.
I have a similar story but the only wear showing on my Dearborn Denim pants is on the cuffs. I bought two pairs of the khaki-look which Jack recommended, and then two pairs of more traditional jeans in a "no, honey, you can't wash them with anything else you don't want to dye" blue finish. I'll buy more soon, if I can keep the lost inches off my waist.
I bought the grey, black, khaki, and a couple of the traditional look jeans and one of them fit the wash alone category. You should try their t shirts.
I should also give credit here: whenever my Dearborn Denim Dark Wash jeans would leave dye stains on the pleather seats in my car (lo, unto the 10th washing) I used the Car Guys Super Cleaner spray which Jack had recommended to wipe it away.
By which I am further reminded: Jack, any suggestions on keeping up Honda steering wheel finishes? My 2018 Pilot’s wheel has alternate bare spots and some sort of crackle in the ‘leather.’
Do they offer repairs? I bought Detroit Denim because of the free lifetime repairs for life. One pair I bought in ~2017 is still kicking, despite having been in for repairs at least half a dozen times.
Timely article. Apparently I decided a while ago I’d never where less than a 32 again and threw those jeans out. Now I need some smaller britches. I can’t bring myself to pay Levi’s Woke n Co any longer.
I have two articles of clothing that fall into costume and clothing categories. Both waxed canvas. The clothing, a Ship John Wills jacket that I wear the hell out of. Pretty spendy at nearly $500 and has a long wait list. It’s a tank and looks badass. The costume is a pair of waxed canvas GN.01 work pants from Red Clouds Collective. I have absolutely no use for those things and I’ve yet to break them in because of it. I hope to have a reason one day. I’ve been eyeballin’ some LC King and Grease Point stuff lately. I feel it fits in the clothing category for me. My sweatshop Carhartt Berwick jacket gets a lot of use because it’s just really comfortable.
I met a few of the RCC people at "The 1 Show" in Portland five years ago. I don't feel hip enough for their stuff but I like what they're doing. They even have a usa Made antifa accessory:
That’s hilarious. The owner of Ship John has taken an axe to the noggin outside his shop by some local ne're-do-wells . Had custom made signs stolen off his store front. A brute force attack to the roll up door in the back of the shop and most recently a break in where some choice garments and some Gransfors Brüks axes were made off with. The video footage wasn’t clear enough to see an RCC logo on the masks though.
Unfortunately for me, someone who was an avid poster on the cesspool that is r/malefashionadvice about 10-11 years ago, I will always associate Pointer brand duck products with 90 lb comp sci undergrads with a trust fund instead of anyone remotely working class.
I like the idea of this, because a hundred or so dollars for American pants seems eminently reasonable - I've spent at least that much on non-USA pants. I also love that they're available in 36" inseam. Unfortunately, I am much too tall and slim for relaxed straight usually - it's not a look that is generally flattering on me. It does make me wish that I could find an American manufacturer of the more technical kind of "work" pants, as it clearly is possible to profitably manufacture pants as a reasonable price point in America.
I actually check their stuff out regularly - I will need to actually the pull the trigger, there's always some very cool, unique-looking stuff. I think what's kept me from ordering so far is the wait - delayed gratification is not my strong suit - one of my (many) character flaws. I also love the colors they do their shirts in, but like almost every place, they don't offer tall sizes in their shirt/t-shirts. I suffered through regular shirt sizes for most of my life, but recently started grabbing tall sizes and it's just so much better.
$100 seems expensive to me, as I am some sort of awful cheap-ass when it comes to clothes. The reason for this is that I started poking around the thrift stores and discovered I could get all these fancy brands for $7 instead of $100.
It may take me months to find the right thing, but I do. It helps that I like bringing the element of chance into purchases -- the universe will provide me with the right pants when it sees fit to do so.
Some of those 1620 pants really seem to hit the mark in terms of a stretch-style work pant, thanks! I wish they gave some measurements for the fit, but I might just roll the dice.
Jack, any experience with their shirts? I’m intrigued by some of their offerings, but fit is everything...I’m pretty long and wide in the torso and usually look for XLTall or 2XLTall.
Gettees makes Pima cotton shirts here in Detroit. ~$30 each and they’ve held up well. I’ve had two that get almost weekly wear and haven’t had any issues after 3-4 years. They’re only now just starting to fade.
Point of contention, have you considered that maybe Zuck married for love, not looks? You dunk on him a lot for how much he “paid” for his wife, but maybe two lizards really can just fall in love.
Anything's possible. They started dating when he was still in school.
I don't understand anything about him, to be honest. Most companies at least START with good intentions: Let's build a car! Let's engineer a better toilet paper roll holder! Zuck and FB started with the intent of manipulating people and violating their privacy. Facebook in general has been responsible for more everyday misery than any other company in human history.
Somebody like Zuck likely has a pretty calculated approach to choosing a mate. Mind and pedigree over looks. They're both wooden frumps, so it's fine. I do this to an extent, but ultimately my inner shallow asshole wins out and I talk myself out of situations with average looking women that might have been great otherwise.
Maybe he's miserable and regrets not aiming higher, or maybe he's too spergy to care. I'll reserve judgement until he pulls a Bezos and dumps her for a post-wall bimbo or turns out to be an Epstein Island philanderer like Gates.
This reminds me of something I read once about there being four types of couples, and the last causes us to recoil in disgust and conspiracy theories:
1: Handsome man with beautiful woman. All is right with the world.
2: Ugly man with ugly woman. All is right, if depressingly so, with the world.
3: Ugly man with beautiful woman. Okay, mismatch to be sure, but she sees something in him we don't. Maybe he's funny, or kind, or rich or amazing in bed.
4: Normal-looking man with ugly woman. Oh God, what's wrong with HIM? Can't he do better? Especially with his money? He must be psychologically damaged.
It's depressing how common it is to see an attractive woman with some total piece of shit-looking ugly guy. Some broke-looking, tatted-up guy who likely cheats and/or beats her. And they've always got a kid in tow. As much as I've come to understand why this is over the years, it never ceases to disappoint.
Conversely, guys with fat wives, wives who are more tatted up than they are, or wives who are just slovenly and unpleasant, make me laugh like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop.
In sitcoms, you see Couple # 3 all the time. But in real life, the most common sight is #4, a normal-looking man with a hambeast of a wife. I see it everywhere. Is a man marrying a 6, who then slides into a 3 or 4, some sort of strategy on his part to protect himself from an adulterous mate?
If you're not in the top 20 percent of men, you will have a fattie or nothing. The top 20 percent of men are dating multiple women. Can't blame the girls. They have their careers to keep them busy now. So why not take their limited time off work and spend it with someone more attractive? Who cares if they're not exclusive? She has Daddy Corporation now and Daddy Government later.
Ill chuck you my conundrum, Jack. In the sea of college, most truly attractive girls are looking for short term shit and have no real ambitions for children or marriage. I have my pick of these despite fairly average looks (the blanks can be filled as to why this is so). Thus I can spend my college years sleeping with an array of rather attractive women with a panoply of mental issues and an aversion to marriage. If they want kids, they say they’ll wait until their mid 30s (something Im not going to do. My own parents having waited until 40, I’d like my kids to know their grandparents). Or conversely I can get into a serious relationship with a girl I’ve been talking to: on the zaftig side (but working to lose it) with a very pretty face; but stratospheric IQ (at my school on the most prestigious scholarship given only to 3 of 10,000 students in the respective freshman classes); wants 3-4 kids; has reasonable views on family, marriage, etc. Less striking than most girls I’ve been out with, but a much more mature, reasonable and conservative person.
I'm probably not qualified to answer given some of my other comments, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Does she rings your bell, even with the fuller figure? Then give it a shot.
Weren't you also sleeping with some woman in her 30s? If marriage and children is a priority for you, stop doing shit like that. Honestly ask yourself what you'll regret more, missing out on finding somebody hotter, or missing out on an otherwise-suitable partner because of thicker than you'd like?
Looks fade. If you agree on the big stuff, and she is logical and practical— I would go for it. Make sure you both know what the other is passionate about. Fine if you don’t share those passions; but you each have to be ok with the other following them. Together or not.
My first wife was hotter than the surface of the sun when I met her. Because she had an astounding rack for an 18-year-old. I now recognize that to be the warning sign that it is!
They don't have to be a fattie, but there does have to be another negative reason for why they're interested in you. Every woman I've been with had a pretty nice body. Or maybe I'm just sandbagging my quality as a man a bit too much.
Oddly enough, the women who ghosted me the quickest in favor of somebody else or their careers were the most average looking ones.
And yeah, I don't blame them either. They have a wealth of better options and don't need me. But trying to land dates with those odds, while simultaneously job hunting with equally bad odds, is pretty fucking soul crushing.
*shrugs* there are lots of people out there that are satisfied with so-so relationships/looks/lives in spite of options. Zucks thing seems to be clinging to control of his empire of dirt, and not much else.
Without getting into a rating system too deep, I would say Bezos and Zuck are with women who are worst Hollywood Homely.
I mean sure, in my fantasy that I have that much money I am with (fill in your ideal hottie), but I don't have that much money so maybe I just would be with someone who doesn't annoy me, and doesn't disgust me.
Being "landed gentry" and "gainfully employed" have pretty much always been mutually exclusive. I'm glad to see you're a full service author.
Productive labor is for Nobodies, who exist to serve the needs of their betters.
How do you like Earth so far?
Oh, and I completely agree with you about Facebook.
Hey- I read all your books, I’m a big fan!
Love them too, I would say some of it is a bit cringe now, although probably a not inaccurate depiction of attitudes contemporary with the character and funny as hell. It is a very nice change of pace from Sharpe's boy scout about everything attitude.
Unrelated to pants, but on the made in USA topic, does anyone have any knowledge about our experience with the Librem 5 USA phone from Purism?
https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa/
Holy shit.
I had no idea this even existed.
I'd read your detailed analysis and tech breakdown on that phone and your thoughts on ease of use, etc...
I should have added detail and not just snark. That phone is very specifically targeted to Linux systems administrators or programmers, which is why I'm legitimately surprised Baruth hadn't heard of it. The underlying Linux operating system it uses didn't support SMS/MMS until the last year or so, for instance. Its performance as a phone is... so-so. It does not work with your iMessage. It cannot install your favorite Android app from the Play Store.
There's been classic programmer drama about how it technically supports, but makes it difficult to install, other operating systems besides PureOS.
The one thing it has on its competing privacy-oriented super 1337 hacker phones is that you can order an all-USA component model with a custom sparkly glitter pattern painted on the case to let you know whether the NSA/FBI intercepted it while shipping to you. :)
Here are people commenting on the limitations of the three most popular non-Apple, non-Google phone: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28164208
The top comment sums it up nicely for all those products. "Most "reviews" expect a polished OS that "just works" when this device isn't ready for daily use unless you're a tinkerer who can spend time bug reporting, searching for answers, reflashing when (not if) things go wrong." Most of the early users were expected to contribute kernel drivers for the phones' components, so they have functioning WiFi and cameras. The cameras still don't really work, last I read.
If you don't understand what a bootloader is and have never debugged error messages from a Unix program, I would strongly suggest not trying any of these devices and buying a regular flip-phone if you're concerned about contributing to the insane data troves that Apple and Google keep on you.
Adding to Chuck S and Keith below— compare/contrast with Apple and Android would be extremely helpful. (If you decide to do a review, that is.)
I imagine lots of people would be interested in these things; their marketing department needs to get it in gear!
I envision a shot of a white balloon floating overhead…(voice over) “Sick of funding stuff like this? Try the Librem 5…”
Genius! You’re hired! Haha
Bro, READ HACKER NEWS MORE. I mean, at least skim the headlines. n-gate.com stopped posting his mocking summary of the day's top posts, which would bring you amusement for 10-20 minutes of skimming his archives.
That is rad. Let me know how it goes.
That a wonderful concept on many levels. That such a conceptually simple thing must cost 2K to bring to market compared to mainstream phones is sad. something something if something is cheap/free you are the product. If it also included encrypted peer to peer communication to skirt the networks, whoa nelly.
I don't value phones enough to spend more than $200, so couldn't bring myself to get this one, however, I like that this exists.
They don't make duck apparel but I've been pleased with both blue and black denim jeans from Texas Jeans. They say everything is Made in USA and my experience with their customer service has been great. A pair of jeans is about $60.
When I’m master of my own domain (working from home) it’s in a ratty old tshirt and a $4 pair of Amazon Starter brand (who knew they were still around?) shorts. Because if I’m sitting in front of my computer for 8-9-10 hours by myself I’m going to be comfortable and that’s comfortable. When I’m in the office, I see the same 8-10 people every single day, and I basically wear only LL Bean because they offer tall sized shirts and I have a looong torso (6’, 28” inseam). It’s cheap, lasts, and is formal enough to pass muster with the dress code. ’m not customer facing and I’m in an industry where zero people are concerned about vanity of impressing anyone else (food/agriculture). If I was a billionaire and running a company and working basically 12-15-18 hours a day you’d find my ass in whatever was the most comfortable athleisure I could find too.
my wife works in the tech sector and finds herself telling a surprising number of people, "you can't wear a hoodie to a meeting. hoodies are for founders."
When I worked in granite I wore cheap athletic pants, a capeshit t-shirt, and a hoodie. Of course, I had no meetings to go to and a boss who was desperate to keep me because he knew no one else could do my job, so that helped. At the county courthouse I can't bring myself not to wear nicer clothes, but I do seek out the softest, most comfortable pants I can find. They almost always have an elastic waistband. I'm too low on the seniority list to be invited to any important meetings. I have no one to impress anymore!
" I'm too low on the seniority list to be invited to any important meetings."
Be grateful.
I used to dress “nice” when I worked in the office (dress shirt, jeans, wingtips, sport coat). After awhile, it got old. No different than having to wear a crappy Aramark polo and work pants when I worked at Advance.
Now, I spend half of my time working out in the plant. 99% of the time I’m wearing a branded UA polo, Wrangler “dad” jeans, and a pair of company-supplied Thorogoods. It’s like being paroled.
Oddly enough, it’s the guys actually working on the line who are showing up in tracksuits and sneakers.
On this, I've been meaning to drop a comment about Round House denim here for a minute. USA-made, raw-ish (only one of their styles is actually advertised as raw, but their nominally-not-raw cowboy cut are still pretty dye-heavy and crinkly out of the packaging), some non-dadcore cuts that still work with thicker legs, and reasonably priced. Too soon to say anything conclusive about durability, but they seem fine. Basically, I think the Round House 1903 is as close as you're gonna get to a USA-made Wrangler 13MWZ rigid, which were my previous go-to. Recommended.
To be fair, Mrs. Zuck was around long before he was worth $50k, never mind $50bn
Very true. It's less of a total puzzler than Bezos, who got a trillion dollars or whatever and then started dating someone older and uglier than his existing woman, at unimaginable cost.
fair, but unless I am mistaken, he made up that cost and more since handing it to her...
I have bought a metric butt ton of Dearborn Denim. They basically fit me perfectly which is something that never happens. It's as if they thought fat white male was a large market or something. The jeans are good but they aren't the sturdiest per se. The crotchal region wears thin after a while, taint specifically. I don't think this has anything to do with my scrotum. I actually their t shirts are the their best items.
I have a similar story but the only wear showing on my Dearborn Denim pants is on the cuffs. I bought two pairs of the khaki-look which Jack recommended, and then two pairs of more traditional jeans in a "no, honey, you can't wash them with anything else you don't want to dye" blue finish. I'll buy more soon, if I can keep the lost inches off my waist.
I bought the grey, black, khaki, and a couple of the traditional look jeans and one of them fit the wash alone category. You should try their t shirts.
I should also give credit here: whenever my Dearborn Denim Dark Wash jeans would leave dye stains on the pleather seats in my car (lo, unto the 10th washing) I used the Car Guys Super Cleaner spray which Jack had recommended to wipe it away.
By which I am further reminded: Jack, any suggestions on keeping up Honda steering wheel finishes? My 2018 Pilot’s wheel has alternate bare spots and some sort of crackle in the ‘leather.’
Do they offer repairs? I bought Detroit Denim because of the free lifetime repairs for life. One pair I bought in ~2017 is still kicking, despite having been in for repairs at least half a dozen times.
Timely article. Apparently I decided a while ago I’d never where less than a 32 again and threw those jeans out. Now I need some smaller britches. I can’t bring myself to pay Levi’s Woke n Co any longer.
I have two articles of clothing that fall into costume and clothing categories. Both waxed canvas. The clothing, a Ship John Wills jacket that I wear the hell out of. Pretty spendy at nearly $500 and has a long wait list. It’s a tank and looks badass. The costume is a pair of waxed canvas GN.01 work pants from Red Clouds Collective. I have absolutely no use for those things and I’ve yet to break them in because of it. I hope to have a reason one day. I’ve been eyeballin’ some LC King and Grease Point stuff lately. I feel it fits in the clothing category for me. My sweatshop Carhartt Berwick jacket gets a lot of use because it’s just really comfortable.
I met a few of the RCC people at "The 1 Show" in Portland five years ago. I don't feel hip enough for their stuff but I like what they're doing. They even have a usa Made antifa accessory:
https://redcloudscollective.com/collections/feature-items/products/knit-face-mask-olive
That’s hilarious. The owner of Ship John has taken an axe to the noggin outside his shop by some local ne're-do-wells . Had custom made signs stolen off his store front. A brute force attack to the roll up door in the back of the shop and most recently a break in where some choice garments and some Gransfors Brüks axes were made off with. The video footage wasn’t clear enough to see an RCC logo on the masks though.
Unfortunately for me, someone who was an avid poster on the cesspool that is r/malefashionadvice about 10-11 years ago, I will always associate Pointer brand duck products with 90 lb comp sci undergrads with a trust fund instead of anyone remotely working class.
Tyndale supplies clothes to my place of work. They have a fairly big catalog, and many of their items are made in USA.
Most of it is Fire resistant and arc flash resistant, which requires a certain level of construction, lest it be blown apart in a flash.
The jeans and duck pants are indistinguishable from non-FR stuff and the prices aren’t bad.
Here’s a link to a pair of pants at Tyndale. I don’t have these, but I’ve been happy with what I do have.
https://tyndalefrc.tyndaleusa.com/products/tyndale-mens-tick-insect-guard-frmc-summerweight-canvas-fr-pants
Those Persimmon Dye pants are absolutely gorgeous! I wish I knew about the brand before they sold out. They’re definitely gonna be on my radar now.
I like the idea of this, because a hundred or so dollars for American pants seems eminently reasonable - I've spent at least that much on non-USA pants. I also love that they're available in 36" inseam. Unfortunately, I am much too tall and slim for relaxed straight usually - it's not a look that is generally flattering on me. It does make me wish that I could find an American manufacturer of the more technical kind of "work" pants, as it clearly is possible to profitably manufacture pants as a reasonable price point in America.
Gustin has a cut for you, trust me. They have at least two pants cuts that are too slim for me!
I actually check their stuff out regularly - I will need to actually the pull the trigger, there's always some very cool, unique-looking stuff. I think what's kept me from ordering so far is the wait - delayed gratification is not my strong suit - one of my (many) character flaws. I also love the colors they do their shirts in, but like almost every place, they don't offer tall sizes in their shirt/t-shirts. I suffered through regular shirt sizes for most of my life, but recently started grabbing tall sizes and it's just so much better.
The wait isn't usually that long. Sometimes three weeks!
$100 seems expensive to me, as I am some sort of awful cheap-ass when it comes to clothes. The reason for this is that I started poking around the thrift stores and discovered I could get all these fancy brands for $7 instead of $100.
It may take me months to find the right thing, but I do. It helps that I like bringing the element of chance into purchases -- the universe will provide me with the right pants when it sees fit to do so.
Check out 1620. The inseam is made to order at checkout.
Some of those 1620 pants really seem to hit the mark in terms of a stretch-style work pant, thanks! I wish they gave some measurements for the fit, but I might just roll the dice.
Jack, any experience with their shirts? I’m intrigued by some of their offerings, but fit is everything...I’m pretty long and wide in the torso and usually look for XLTall or 2XLTall.
No experience yet! They were doing their shirts overseas for a while so I didn't get involved.
Gettees makes Pima cotton shirts here in Detroit. ~$30 each and they’ve held up well. I’ve had two that get almost weekly wear and haven’t had any issues after 3-4 years. They’re only now just starting to fade.
Respectfully good sir, would you have a link to these fine American work pants?
I could google it, but I am lazy.
https://lcking.com/collections/king-country/products/lc-king-brown-duck-bristol-5-pocket-jean?variant=32024708907075
As a paid subscriber, you're eligible to have me Google things FOR YOU, at no charge!
in that case, I'll send a private email so I don't sully my search history while simultaneously offering too much info here ...
I'll save you an email; it's "Seeking Dot Com".
didn't even use the lmgtfy.com link, now that is service! (I, I couldn't find the right pants without the link either.)
Point of contention, have you considered that maybe Zuck married for love, not looks? You dunk on him a lot for how much he “paid” for his wife, but maybe two lizards really can just fall in love.
Anything's possible. They started dating when he was still in school.
I don't understand anything about him, to be honest. Most companies at least START with good intentions: Let's build a car! Let's engineer a better toilet paper roll holder! Zuck and FB started with the intent of manipulating people and violating their privacy. Facebook in general has been responsible for more everyday misery than any other company in human history.
Looks like an android, talks like an android, walks like an android.
It's a human!
Considering that he started FB as a way to get some “friends with benefits” in college!
Somebody like Zuck likely has a pretty calculated approach to choosing a mate. Mind and pedigree over looks. They're both wooden frumps, so it's fine. I do this to an extent, but ultimately my inner shallow asshole wins out and I talk myself out of situations with average looking women that might have been great otherwise.
Maybe he's miserable and regrets not aiming higher, or maybe he's too spergy to care. I'll reserve judgement until he pulls a Bezos and dumps her for a post-wall bimbo or turns out to be an Epstein Island philanderer like Gates.
Zuckerberg is cold and calculating because there's undoubtedly something very OFF about how his mind woorks.
"She's gonna lose her looks sooner or later. Might as well head THAT off at the pass."
Something like that?
This reminds me of something I read once about there being four types of couples, and the last causes us to recoil in disgust and conspiracy theories:
1: Handsome man with beautiful woman. All is right with the world.
2: Ugly man with ugly woman. All is right, if depressingly so, with the world.
3: Ugly man with beautiful woman. Okay, mismatch to be sure, but she sees something in him we don't. Maybe he's funny, or kind, or rich or amazing in bed.
4: Normal-looking man with ugly woman. Oh God, what's wrong with HIM? Can't he do better? Especially with his money? He must be psychologically damaged.
It's depressing how common it is to see an attractive woman with some total piece of shit-looking ugly guy. Some broke-looking, tatted-up guy who likely cheats and/or beats her. And they've always got a kid in tow. As much as I've come to understand why this is over the years, it never ceases to disappoint.
Conversely, guys with fat wives, wives who are more tatted up than they are, or wives who are just slovenly and unpleasant, make me laugh like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop.
“Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street…”
“Is She Really Going Out With Him”— Joe Jackson
I was a freshman in college when that song came out. Boy, the lyrics really resonate(d) with me.
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/joejackson/isshereallygoingoutwithhim.html
In sitcoms, you see Couple # 3 all the time. But in real life, the most common sight is #4, a normal-looking man with a hambeast of a wife. I see it everywhere. Is a man marrying a 6, who then slides into a 3 or 4, some sort of strategy on his part to protect himself from an adulterous mate?
If you're not in the top 20 percent of men, you will have a fattie or nothing. The top 20 percent of men are dating multiple women. Can't blame the girls. They have their careers to keep them busy now. So why not take their limited time off work and spend it with someone more attractive? Who cares if they're not exclusive? She has Daddy Corporation now and Daddy Government later.
Ill chuck you my conundrum, Jack. In the sea of college, most truly attractive girls are looking for short term shit and have no real ambitions for children or marriage. I have my pick of these despite fairly average looks (the blanks can be filled as to why this is so). Thus I can spend my college years sleeping with an array of rather attractive women with a panoply of mental issues and an aversion to marriage. If they want kids, they say they’ll wait until their mid 30s (something Im not going to do. My own parents having waited until 40, I’d like my kids to know their grandparents). Or conversely I can get into a serious relationship with a girl I’ve been talking to: on the zaftig side (but working to lose it) with a very pretty face; but stratospheric IQ (at my school on the most prestigious scholarship given only to 3 of 10,000 students in the respective freshman classes); wants 3-4 kids; has reasonable views on family, marriage, etc. Less striking than most girls I’ve been out with, but a much more mature, reasonable and conservative person.
I'm probably not qualified to answer given some of my other comments, but don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Does she rings your bell, even with the fuller figure? Then give it a shot.
Weren't you also sleeping with some woman in her 30s? If marriage and children is a priority for you, stop doing shit like that. Honestly ask yourself what you'll regret more, missing out on finding somebody hotter, or missing out on an otherwise-suitable partner because of thicker than you'd like?
Looks fade. If you agree on the big stuff, and she is logical and practical— I would go for it. Make sure you both know what the other is passionate about. Fine if you don’t share those passions; but you each have to be ok with the other following them. Together or not.
I'll say this.
Women don't LOSE weight after college.
My first wife was hotter than the surface of the sun when I met her. Because she had an astounding rack for an 18-year-old. I now recognize that to be the warning sign that it is!
They don't have to be a fattie, but there does have to be another negative reason for why they're interested in you. Every woman I've been with had a pretty nice body. Or maybe I'm just sandbagging my quality as a man a bit too much.
Oddly enough, the women who ghosted me the quickest in favor of somebody else or their careers were the most average looking ones.
And yeah, I don't blame them either. They have a wealth of better options and don't need me. But trying to land dates with those odds, while simultaneously job hunting with equally bad odds, is pretty fucking soul crushing.
Unless you Act As If. Then you can look like Jonah Hill and be awash in poon.
*shrugs* there are lots of people out there that are satisfied with so-so relationships/looks/lives in spite of options. Zucks thing seems to be clinging to control of his empire of dirt, and not much else.
Without getting into a rating system too deep, I would say Bezos and Zuck are with women who are worst Hollywood Homely.
I mean sure, in my fantasy that I have that much money I am with (fill in your ideal hottie), but I don't have that much money so maybe I just would be with someone who doesn't annoy me, and doesn't disgust me.