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Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

gavinray97.github.io

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Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#161

Post by whatever1 »

mapassthebeans wrote: post #148

Had similarly unorthodox path to tech, albeit without the drug addiction or prison. 90s early internet/BBS punk rocker/computer nerd. Hated school angry. Dropped out to work as a bike messenger for 5 years before packing a bag and moving west randomly. Couldn't sit still. Rode freight trains around the country for a few months. Washed dishes and landscaped to cover my cheap rent till that fell thru. Discovered shop l…

Looking In retrospect, if you were a policy maker today how would you try to prevent the new generation for having to go through this (today your path likely would not be viable due to fentanyl).

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#162

Post by reassess_blind »

antonvs wrote: post #61
khazhoux wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing articles by hand isn’t just smart— it’s important. No shortcuts. No filler. No excuses. Key insight: relying on AI for writing assistance helps neither the author nor the audience.

Ironically saying "isn’t just smart— it’s important" (complete with em-dash!) and "No shortcuts. No filler. No excuses." sounds very AI-generated. Not saying it is, just pointing out how messed up the world we live in now is. But... was it?

That’s the unlock.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#164

Post by susiecambria »

As others have said, thank you for sharing.

Every time I read stories like this my heart hurts. And I feel like I've been punched in the gut.

Every single time I read stories like this all my shit comes to the surface. Thank goodness for mental health professionals and prescription drugs.

No matter how I feel about your experiences, I want to know more. I want others to feel like they can share with people who are ready to listen and be supportive however we can.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#165

Post by paulryanrogers »

coldtea wrote: post #114
qmr wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> chronically adverse culture That's the thing. On a bike you can do everything right and still lose. California is one of the safer places to ride given how many bikes are here and I've still had too many near misses as a trained, experienced, and conservative rider. Most people put 1-2k miles a year on their bikes, when I was riding often I put on 2-3k/ month.

> That's the thing. On a bike you can do everything right and still lose. Same with anything in life. Same with a car, just less so. Of course you could also stay at home, wearing protective bumper suit 24/7 (and can still die from any number of things anyway). At some point there's a tradeoff people make. Some people make it where the tradeoff slider says "motorcycle", rather than stop at "car". And I'm not talking…

> Same with a car, just less so.

So not the same?

> Of course you could also stay at home, wearing protective bumper suit 24/7

Quite an extreme and useless comparison. There's a large spectrum of transportation and entertainment options between motorcycle riding and home bound bumper suit at all times.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#166

Post by ProllyInfamous »

embedding-shape wrote: post #123
robobro wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Indonesia. We have the highest per-capita rate of bike ownership in the world. I have seen what happens to motorcycle riders when there are accidents and I have seen what happens to car drivers when there are accidents. I won't get into the gory details but I avoid using bikes as much as possible.

And I've seen what happens when pedestrians get hit by a car going way too fast, it sucks, and is horrible, but also besides the point. Not to say one has worse/better accidents, motorcycles accidents obviously has a much higher fatality and serious injuries risk, hard to deny.

>but also besides the point.

Hard disagree.

Both pedestrians and motorcyclists are raw to the elements, entirely. At least when on roadways an automobile provides a chassis/rollcage.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#167

Post by [deleted] »

Aeolun wrote: post #153

I feel like US is ridiculously hard on even low grade drugs. Half of my high school would have gone to prison in the US. Sending a 14 year old convicted of drug crimes anywhere but a location that will help them is bizarre. Sending them to a max security anything leaves me speechless.

[deleted]

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#168

Post by isityettime »

whatever1 wrote: post #161
mapassthebeans wrote: post #148

Had similarly unorthodox path to tech, albeit without the drug addiction or prison. 90s early internet/BBS punk rocker/computer nerd. Hated school angry. Dropped out to work as a bike messenger for 5 years before packing a bag and moving west randomly. Couldn't sit still. Rode freight trains around the country for a few months. Washed dishes and landscaped to cover my cheap rent till that fell thru. Discovered shop l…

Looking In retrospect, if you were a policy maker today how would you try to prevent the new generation for having to go through this (today your path likely would not be viable due to fentanyl).

Maybe also worth asking what he's doing along those lines as a father. Probably some interventions are in reach for the state, and there are some other things that parents are best positioned to do. He might have some insight into both.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#169

Post by sirsinsalot »

ProllyInfamous wrote: post #20

Please don't get a motorcycle: A good felon buddy of mine has been out now for 4 years. He slowly built a car repair business, with steady clientele, and got his life back on track – including reasonable sobriety and a steady relationship. He and his girl would cruise around often, enjoying their newfound happiness . Last week he totaled his Harley and his body (destroyed bike, multiple broken bones). Total reset. He…

I ride. No way in hell I'd ride in the US.

Re: Building from zero after addiction, prison, and a felony

#170

Post by bartread »

20wenty wrote: post #112
khazhoux wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Writing articles by hand isn’t just smart— it’s important. No shortcuts. No filler. No excuses. Key insight: relying on AI for writing assistance helps neither the author nor the audience.

It was incredibly refreshing to read an honest story, warts and all, written by a human. And equally infuriating to read a comment about it written by AI.

I had assumed the comment you’re responding to is tongue in cheek but it’s honestly hard to tell sometimes.
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