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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

#281

Post by globular-toast »

qmr wrote: post #58
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…

Have you ever been on a motorcycle? Closest feeling you can get to flying and a helluva lot cheaper. Bike costs are line noise, (cheap!) planes I fly are better part of $200 an hour. I get what you're saying though. Barely been on bike since latest baby and wondering if I should just sell them for now. As much as I miss riding and wife misses riding with me, if the worst were to happen, yikes.

Yeah, I think this is the point. It's a "legal high" of sorts and a dangerous one. That flying feeling is addictive. Some are lucky enough to grow out of it, some aren't.

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

#282

Post by [deleted] »

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).

[deleted]

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

#283

Post by aquariusDue »

carlio wrote: post #232
orthecreedence wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really great point, and shows a deep understanding of how consistently humorless HN users are! If you want, I can show several more examples of people knee-jerk downvoting things that are actually pretty funny.

There's always been a general pushback on HN against turning threads into a series of quippy oneliners. It tends toward having a serious discussion about a topic, rather than farming low-effort humour for upvotes. I consider this a good thing, as there are plenty of other places where that is rewarded.

I agree though from my experience on HN people tend to upvote these funny quips instead of abstaining. Yet generally when I write something meaningful I get meaningful replies in return sans upvotes and I treasure those much more.

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

#284

Post by stringfood »

zuzululu wrote: post #268
stringfood wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 14-year-old addict reselling Adderall to classmates to feed his own habit isn't a 'trafficker' who 'destroyed countless lives'

IF you read the full story that was his gate way drug and he graduated into selling hard drugs so he could use harder drugs. It's incredibly sad to see people not realize that drugs can do enormous harm just as a terrorist would inflict upon the population. The fact that people here are upset that other countries recognize the enormity of going easy on drug pushers but show no empathy for victims of drug use is quite…

the drugs he describes selling are prescription pills and a research chemical that was legal when he sold it, and his conviction was a 'low-grade felony'

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

#285

Post by TylerE »

hnlmorg wrote: post #279
shrubby wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. In a healthy society there would be no need for intoxicants with so severe harms (BBC list for substances by harm is a good reference) and thus no exposure for a addictive substance. Now the norm decides that, almost without exceptions, we must all be exposed.

What’s healthy isn’t complete abstinence, it’s moderation. This is true of coffee, sugar, alcohol, social gatherings, work, play, and everything else in life.

That is true of some things, but the modern evidence is quite clear on the healthiest amount of alcohol being zero.

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

#286

Post by [deleted] »

13hours wrote: post #274

Many very interesting stories here of people that took similar paths. As the parent of a teenager that used to be an absolute model student, but recently (last year) started rebellious behaviour, tanking their academics with it, I'm curious how many with similar stories think they would have or could have taken a different path with better or different parental support? We're trying our very best to support and guide…

[deleted]

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

#287

Post by user_7832 »

mapassthebeans wrote: post #239
user_7832 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So... going by the story, I guess you never did go to the doctor to get diagnosed for adhd? (Yeah, armchair doctor and all that. But doesn't make it wrong or at least worth a look.)

Nah, definitely not ADHD. Wrote that quickly from my phone, which is why it's so scatter brained.

Good if you're sure of it.

Fwiw, I didn't mention it because of your writing style at all, I wrote it because you literally said

> Couldn't sit still.

Also, for anyone curious, drug use and being in prison is much more common amongst adhd folk than the general population. A staggering 25% (approximately) of prison population is ADHD [1], far higher than the general population.

1 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4301200/

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

#288

Post by emmelaich »

SpecStudioHN wrote: post #251
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…

i’ve been through all of this, and it turned out fine. seriously people don’t hold a drug bust against you, if you can do the job. i’ve lived on the road, camped in Golden Gate Park, attended several Rainbow Gatherings, etc. after spending years in India as a monk, i couldn’t find a place in american society. i bootstrapped a new identity that let me live as a teacher and developer; but i had to move to Śrī Laṅkā to…

True, you can even get a government security clearance. They hold financial debts, gambling history, and dubious associations against you much more.

*Providing the drug use was short lived.

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

#289

Post by jon-wood »

throwawaytea wrote: post #235
user_7832 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And to whoever downvoted me, I've successfully "diagnosed" (read - identified) multiple friends already. NDs often have decent ND-radars.

I've had a few people tell me that I definitely have ADHD, even an internal medicine doctor and a neuro radiology friend. But I always change the subject. Let's say they are correct. What would the solution look like from there? As an example, and this is only 1% of it, but I have had my utilities turned off several times for not paying bills, while having $400k in the bank.

It took the collapse of my marriage for me to finally do something about the rampant ADHD that has been a feature of my life for 40 years, and yes, part of that collapse was when someone from the gas company showed up to turn off the supply unless I paid the bill right now, which of course I could easily do.

It took me five years to actually get to a point of a) having a diagnosis and b) getting medication. Most of that was due to the perverse way this process works in the UK, where to get a diagnosis of executive dysfunction you have to do a ton of personal admin, after which you’ll be handed another todo list in order to be able to get drugs prescribed.

I’m now on a good dose of drugs and I honestly mourn for the decades of my life I could have been feeling how I do now had I known. They don’t make everything better, it’s still an effort to make myself focus on the things I should be focusing on, but once I am focusing on them I’m able to continue doing so, and I no longer find myself having done no work for the last week because I was putting off a ten minute task I didn’t want to do. Despite spending 12 hours a day with a steady stream of amphetamines being released into my blood stream my blood pressure has dropped significantly since starting the drugs because I’m no longer in a constant state of low grade panic at all the things I’m not doing.

Please, go get a diagnosis (or not, maybe they’re all wrong). Talk to whoever you’re referred to about options, decide whether drugs are something you want to try. Give yourself options at least because it is possible to stop playing life on hard mode.

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

#290

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

moi2388 wrote: post #240
shrubby wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well said here. We don't have a honest discussion about the progression of addiction so the choices are not visible, until later. The first beer is the most critical choice, yet it's made for us (in 99% of the cases) by our peers. So is it a choice really? We're routine (addiction) prone herd animals and as long as we pretend otherwise (free will and the likes) we're stuck in repeating this.

Why is the first beer the most critical choice? Why isn’t the last beer the most critical one, for example?

When the train hits you, it isn’t the caboose that kills you.
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