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Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

blog.lawnstarter.com

61–70 of 97 posts

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#62
post #48

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from."

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from." That actually sounds crass and a bit stupid. Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit, and SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles. I agree with the sentiment of, "Don't assume someone's an idiot because he does physical labor". But it shouldn't take a fucking ugl…

Thanks for reading my comment in the most argumentative way possible! Yes, pedantically pointing out that owning (or leasing) a car beyond ones means is both possible and foolish, while claiming to agree with the main point but then belittling it anyway by declaring it obvious -- that's why I keep coming back to HN.

What I learned from you today, is that I'm the real asshole, because I keep coming back and reading this crap.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#63
I grew up with a father who owned garbage companies and caught a lot of shit about it when I was a kid, but for as "unsexy" as garbage is, it's a goldmine(esp things like owning landfills). I live in DC, if I had a lawn(condo) I would have you cut it. Good luck

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#64
post #48

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from."

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from." That actually sounds crass and a bit stupid. Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit, and SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles. I agree with the sentiment of, "Don't assume someone's an idiot because he does physical labor". But it shouldn't take a fucking ugl…

> Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit

i take the point that you hate cars, but this isn't actually true.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#65
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Join us and help change change the world" - _every valley startup ever_

The world must be one hell of a shitty place if it needs to be changed so much every single time.

The world is extremely shitty place and you dont see that only because, I assume, you are the part of the top earning cohort.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#66
post #42
post #14

Lawns are conspicuous consumption at its finest; improving them is not making the world a better place. This is one case where the guilt is telling you something.

Would you prefer to have a road/more dense urban space/a parking garage? I agree with you in that I wouldn't find my own personal lawn satisfying, but lawns are not nearly the worst option. Humans need outdoor space - the lawn also benefits people passing by.

More dense urban space, yes. Once you increase the housing density you can have walkable/cycleable cities and decent public transport rather than urban sprawl.

I'm in favour of open, green spaces for people to play or relax, but that doesn't happen on lawns; public parks (at least as implemented here in Europe) offer much more chance for everyone to enjoy, and socially rather than on their own.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#67
post #65
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world must be one hell of a shitty place if it needs to be changed so much every single time.

The world is extremely shitty place and you dont see that only because, I assume, you are the part of the top earning cohort.

And how many tech startups serve any other cohort?

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#68
post #48

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from."

A quote I once heard from a very bright hedge-fund guy: "My gardener drives a Mercedes SUV. There is no one I can't learn something from." That actually sounds crass and a bit stupid. Any idiot can buy an SUV on credit, and SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles. I agree with the sentiment of, "Don't assume someone's an idiot because he does physical labor". But it shouldn't take a fucking ugl…

SUVs just show that one has shitty, suburban taste in vehicles.

You make an impressive number of assumptions! SUV's have plenty of use outside of suburbia, and perhaps a gardener (who likely drives a truck for work) might want his personal vehicle to have space for transporting the odd lawn-mower or towing ability to move his work trailer, should his work truck be in the shop or what have you. You know, things that a gardener might feasibly do, that a Tesla Roadster cannot.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#69
The validity of this approach depends entirely on your goals. If you just want to run a successful business, then by all means, mow lawns for a living. However, if you have passion for a particular market or technology, then you'll be bored mowing lawns, even if you make money at it.

Re: Drop the ego and prove "I could make that so much better"

#70
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a great comment recently about "social" game developers being like heroin dealers who don't use their own product and look down on their customers, and "traditional" game developers being like cannabis dealers who are happy to smoke it with the customer.

We don't look down on our customers at all. But certainly, those in-charge of design don't care where the line is. If the change is a net profit increase (almost exclusively, we go on insider's reports from other studios on how their changes worked out) we do it. As a developer I put up as much resistance as possible when it feels absolutely ridiculous - when design becomes more about tricking people into accidentall…

At one point we made the flow for connecting to Facebook pretty ambiguous, where "Skip" meant yes and "Continue" meant no.

Wow wow wow. That is beyond ambiguous into downright misleading. I've always stayed away from these games because I largely don't find them fun, but now I have the additional reason that they are trying to fuck me from the moment they are installed. I didn't realize it was quite that bad.

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