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The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

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101–110 of 314 posts

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#101

“for how we live is so far removed from how we ought to live, that he who abandons what is done for what ought to be done, will rather bring about his own ruin than his preservation.” - Niccolò Machiavelli

Not sure how that applies here, but it's a nice quote that seems to ring true.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#102

I am a recovering nitrous oxide addict who once set himself on fire, so I understand the terrible predicament he found himself in. Many people do nitrous recreationally as a party drug, but there's a reason they call it 'hippie crack.' Some become obsessed with it

The dangers of nitrous are hypoxia, B vitamin depletion, nerve damage, dissociative effects and extreme compulsion to use. I was in treatment with a dentist's wife, who really screwed herself in a bad way with all of these effects and could hardly walk because of nerve damage to her feet.

I forgot to mention, it's a rich man's drug, another way it's similar to cocaine. I probably spent $150,000 on cases of whippets (25 boxes x 24 whippets to a box.) My first reaction to Tony Hsieh and nitrous was "He had too much money for his own good." I ran out of money before I could kill myself with it.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nitrous in cars cools the chamber allowing you to add more fuel/oxygen. It’s also not for “super charged” engines specifically.

That's not how I understand it. You may be referring to some other use I am not aware of. I'm not a car guy. "A nitrous oxide engine is an internal combustion engine in which oxygen for burning the fuel comes from the decomposition of nitrous oxide, N2O, rather than air. The system increases the engine's power output by allowing fuel to be burned at a higher-than-normal rate, because of the higher partial pressure of…

Supercharged usually refers to an engine with a supercharger, which is a crankshaft driven pump used to force more air into the engine. It is similar to a turbocharger, except a turbo is driven by exhaust gas.

N2O is typically used with a normally aspirated gasoline engine. It's just another way to get more oxygen into the combustion chamber.

https://www.racingjunk.com/news/drag-race-101-its-a-gas/

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#104

I am a recovering nitrous oxide addict who once set himself on fire, so I understand the terrible predicament he found himself in. Many people do nitrous recreationally as a party drug, but there's a reason they call it 'hippie crack.' Some become obsessed with it

The documentary of Steve-O's (from Jackass fame) descent into madness via nitrous oxide and other drugs was terrifying. The way he would convulse and then have conversations with his Mom and talk to the voices in his head? The whole thing left me speechless.

Steve-O Demise & Rise [MTV Special]:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ulzP2XUOg

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#106

I am a recovering nitrous oxide addict who once set himself on fire, so I understand the terrible predicament he found himself in. Many people do nitrous recreationally as a party drug, but there's a reason they call it 'hippie crack.' Some become obsessed with it

I think one "advantage" could be that it's an invisible drug. People don't know that you're doing it, unless of course you have neurological or organ damage, but even then it could be explained away.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#107
post #85
post #14

Some of the speculation in this thread [1], originally flagged as hearsay, seems to be confirmed by this article, namely his use of nitrous oxide. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25235843

"Some of the speculation in this thread [1], originally flagged as hearsay, seems to be confirmed by this article, namely his use of nitrous oxide." Sorry to be daft ... in the prior HN discussion, which you linked to, people spoke of "nitrous ... and a candle obsession" ... candles are mentioned several times ... Is that a euphemism ? Or is there some connection in nitrous usage ? Or is it, simply, he really liked b…

Per the article, candles were relevant to his fire fixation. He also had a fixation on figuring out what his body could live without. Including food and oxygen. Nitrous oxide was one of the ways he would deprive himself of oxygen.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#108

I am a recovering nitrous oxide addict who once set himself on fire, so I understand the terrible predicament he found himself in. Many people do nitrous recreationally as a party drug, but there's a reason they call it 'hippie crack.' Some become obsessed with it

The documentary of Steve-O's (from Jackass fame) descent into madness via nitrous oxide and other drugs was terrifying. The way he would convulse and then have conversations with his Mom and talk to the voices in his head? The whole thing left me speechless. Steve-O Demise & Rise [MTV Special]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1ulzP2XUOg

He mixed a lot of drugs. It's a wonder his heart didn't give out.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#109
post #6

Someone mentioned this here on HN and possibly setting the house on fire but was dismissed as unfounded. I actually realise that they knew something... It is sad that Tony Hsieh didn’t get the help that he needed and instead tried to self medicate in order to get away from all that. This recurrent story where extremely intelligent people are battling mental health issues and cannot speak out because the stigma behind…

> This recurrent story where extremely intelligent people are battling mental health issues and cannot speak out because the stigma behind this issue is too damaging is why we need to normalize the discourse around mental health if we want to avoid this type of tragedies. Where exactly is the "stigma" of mental health in tech nowadays? We're blasted day and night to the point where apparently every other person is "b…

There is no stigma in the pretty words from HR and massive stigma in the actions of HR

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#110

It's the saddest article I have read in a while. Tony Hsieh was an amazing human being. The manner of his passing from the world does not take away from the good he did while alive.

Maybe sharing the circumstances of his death will also do some good if it encourages others with friends or loved ones who have mental illness to do something before it is too late.

One of my friends has been spiraling out of control for the past few months. I have tried and tried to help them. I'm going to keep trying.

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