ffj's Early Retirement (round 2)

[ertyu]

It's miserable in the shade, too, we get that temp/humidity too. Good on you to stand up for yourself, hopefully second guy will realize you did him a solid letting him take on more of the responsibility so he can build skills. I'd definitely remind him that "hey this week I was tied up with Other Guy but in the future, I won't be coming out in this weather regardless, power to anyone that can handle it, I can't." It's no joke, laborers here would start at 5 am and work until 10 - 10:30 am tops, and then after sundown. Sucks ass when the leaf blowers or construction site noise starts when my white collar ass still has 2-3 hours of sleep to go, but I get it.

[delay]

This heat though man. It will be 96F tomorrow with 55% humidity. That's 36C for everybody else in the world . It's miserable in the open sun.

Thanks for your reply, I enjoyed reading it. On a positive note, midsummer is now 2 months ago, the sun is already weakening on its way to winter. May tomorrow be more to your liking than expected!

[suomalainen]

Boundary maintenance is one of the most important adult skills, imho, and boundary testing is one of the most fraught relationship situations. Sometimes, the only way to maintain a "friendship" is to lose a boundary, and the only way to maintain a boundary is to lose (risk losing) a "friend". I bet you can guess which way is the way I'd recommend.

That said, other people are much better at "velvet glove" when I am all "iron fist". Can't help it. My velvet glove was worn thin by childhood bullshit, so my patience for other peoples' self-centered, myopic demands on my time is consistently hovering near zero.

Edit: Also, your property is gorgeous. Envious of your access and opportunity to work the land and with your hands as and how you like.

[ffj]

@ertyu, delay



Both jobs are done! We finished the deck around 11 in the morning and I immediately went to my buddies job and helped him finish his job. Fortunately there was a huge oak tree towering over the house where he was working and a breeze! Complete contrast to where I had been working.

My instincts were correct. My buddy was complaining on how long his job was taking but that was because he wasn't prepared to tackle it himself, although eventually he would have but his profit margin would have been quite narrow. He didn't have all of the correct tools, or supplies like the correct fasteners on hand but more importantly he didn't know what he needed before he showed up. All of these shortcomings he was laying at my feet and all I had was one request which he ignored.

But we had it under control in about an hour once I brought the right tools and experience. I left after that so he could do the small stuff to finish.

Is there a lesson here? I don't know. I'm old enough now to where I evaluate everything I do and reflect if this is something I want to spend my life energy on and whether it is worth it. I resent others deciding where my life energy is spent. That is why I have given this small disagreement so much thought, because it represents more than a simple job.

[ffj]

@suo

I've clashed with this guy before. He's actually a friend whose good attributes far outweigh his bad, but holy shit he tries my patience at times. And like you, I am a very blunt person that isn't afraid to speak his thoughts. Unfortunately, this doesn't make me immune from people pushing bullshit.

I am a believer in people facing consequences for their decision-making, good and bad, all of it earned. I tried to make it a teaching moment when I did show up by taking over and very quickly doing the job he was attempting. I had the knowledge, the experience, and the tools. I wanted to emphasize the disparity in what each of us brought to the table. If he was embarrassed so be it, but maybe next time he'll be a bit more hesitant to ignore my requests.

Or it reinforced that he could make good money off my abilities. We'll see what the future brings but I'm not doing this again unless it is quite beneficial to me.

Thanks for the compliment on the property. I've worked very hard on this land to improve it. I try to emphasize its natural attributes.

[ffj]

I got her tuned up! I am quite impressed with the results:



Something I noticed was that the blade had a very subtle concave ground to it already on the cutting edge. To the point it didn't even look like it had that relief at all. But when I sharpened it on the Japanese wet stones it was there. Now the wood above is somewhat soft (eastern red cedar) but the finish this plane produces is quite nice. If you ever want to get into a Zen frame of mind buy some Japanese wet stones.





I would like to thank @dustBowl over on the fixit thread for turning me on to the rust removal formula he discovered. This hay trolley was a rusted mess before I soaked it in the solution. The wheels would barely turn and the carriage wouldn't swivel. Plus I had to do a lot of work just to get the moving pulley released. It all works now though, and for $50 bucks it was worth buying. I may incorporate it into my treehouse at some point.



In other news I finally received a phone call from a potential employer who offered me $12/hour to be a groundskeeper. I then asked about the job I actually applied for and she responded that they had filled it. But not to worry, I could be a painter for $15/hour if I didn't want to mow grass for 8 hours a day. I then asked again about the job I applied for and told her I had noticed that it had to be re-filled less than 5 months from the previous posting and emphasized that is what interests me. I should have asked what that position paid but I didn't think about it.

I have come to the conclusion that chasing some fairy tail from an employer isn't time well spent. If I am going to make work interesting and pay well it will be up to me and me alone. So even though I don't care for working on decks I performed a bid on another job today. Fairly uninteresting but it beats the shit out of standing on a ladder painting all day for 15 an hour. Five hundred a day versus five hundred a week is an easy choice.

My YouTube account attracts individuals from time to time that love to comment on how I am wrong. Surprisingly, quite rare, as most of the comments are positive, but it happens. And it is always somebody that wants to split hairs and tell me how they would have done it. These types just don't understand that something can exist other than their perceptions and I have a rule that I will respond to them respectfully because I hate these chicken-shit creators that curate their comments, deleting or isolating anything negative. Within reason of course. Some people are literally crazy.

I just challenged my latest naysayer to a video stand-off. And that if it was good I would promote it. This is either a smart move to shut him up or my downfall. We will see.

[ertyu]

I then asked about the job I actually applied for and she responded that they had filled it. But not to worry, I could be a painter for $15/hour if I didn't want to mow grass for 8 hours a day. I then asked again about the job I applied for and told her I had noticed that it had to be re-filled less than 5 months from the previous posting and emphasized that is what interests me.

Bait and switch. The actually desirable position was probably not even real. Hearing similar stories from all sorts of friends: position advertised as fully WFH, they apply, they hear back, "well the fully WFH is filled but we can offer you a position where you need to come in twice a week." And so forth. Both white and blue collar.

I just challenged my latest naysayer to a video stand-off. And that if it was good I would promote it. This is either a smart move to shut him up or my downfall. We will see.

youtube drama seems to be popular with viewers. Content creators responding to other creators, content creators beefing with each other or otherwise exchanging smart aleck lines, etc. The guy who challenged you over bullshit probably did so deliberately, knowing that it's likely to drive engagement, especially if you are the more popular channel and he gets promoted by association. If you don't let it get to you, it's a win-win in terms of viewing stats, even if it may not feel like a meaningful type of content to create.

[loutfard]

Creatorship is often a choice between profitability and respect for your audience. No difference between pre-internet street performers and youtube creators in that regard.

The winners are the bank accounts of you as a content creator and those of Sergei, Larry and us as shareholders.

The losers to the extent one drowns one's message in optimisation for views are the sheeple audience and one's self-respect as a creator.

[Frita]

Is there a lesson here? I don't know. I'm old enough now to where I evaluate everything I do and reflect if this is something I want to spend my life energy on and whether it is worth it. I resent others deciding where my life energy is spent. That is why I have given this small disagreement so much thought, because it represents more than a simple job.

This is interesting. Yesterday I was listening to Noah Rasheta’s podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s ... 0666576581) in which he suggested a possible long-term view of the lesson, “I wonder what I will learn from this at some point in the future.” Just as it was more that a simple (and beautifully done) job for you, the lesson could be equally layered.

[ffj]

@ertyu

I didn't think about that. What is kind of annoying is that I am willing to accept a wage lower than normal, even volunteer, if the opportunity was interesting. But I'm not going to perform physically demanding work unless it pays well. If I had to start over financially I would just start my own business. I wouldn't have a choice otherwise to be frank, as the wages most of these companies are offering are wages I was making 30 years ago. Think about that.

@ertyu, loutfard

This one particular dude is becoming an issue. I'm really hesitant to block someone because I pride myself on hearing arguments out but he's started to hurl insults. I don't want nor need the drama.

I've always enjoyed the comment section of any creator if they allowed free discussion. You can learn so much from others whether they agree or not on a particular issue and a lively back and forth is invigorating. But once the insults start the game is over and ruined for everyone. I've been quite fortunate so far in avoiding this particular type of individual but I knew it was coming for two reasons:

It's YouTube, and my particular niche draws heavily from that poisoned well. I call them safety nazi's, because they always use "safety" as an excuse for why they are so OCD about everything. If you dare do anything that deviates from their regimented program (in their mind) then you are endangering everybody.* They have a special ability to quell any sort of blossoming enthusiasm with their need for perfectionism as determined by them and their heavy-handed messaging. They remove all of the fun from the learning process. Example:

Instructor: tie an anchor around that tree
Student: copy that sir

Student ties the anchor

Instructor: why did you tie that particular anchor?
Student: because it's safe, acceptable, and performs the job. also, it's an anchor that is accepted in our SOP's
Instructor: you should have tied this other anchor
Student: what is wrong with the one I tied?
Instructor: this one I wanted you to tie is better
Student: why is it better? and why won't the one I tied work? both are in our SOP's as acceptable. should we remove the one I tied from our playbook?
Instructor: no, it's fine. but you should have tied the one I wanted
Student: why? you didn't specify which one you wanted and both are acceptable according to our SOP's?!
Instructor: you should have known
Student: I think I am going to drop out of the program














*mind you, I'm not advocating being stupid around gravity, but there is wiggle room in rope work

[ffj]

@frita

I'll have to check it out. So thanks for that link. I could stand to extend some grace and look at the larger picture.

[Gilberto de Piento]

Dealing with this dude seems like it is adding stress and hassles to your life. I understand your philosophy around comment moderation but it's definitely ok to block people like that if they are not bringing anything useful to the conversation. Some people thrive on sucking up other people's time and energy ("energy vampires"). It's easy for them online. They post a throwaway comment and it takes 10 seconds. You spend an hour responding and have it running in the background in your head for a week. It doesn't seem like you got into you tubing to battle jerks. Then again, maybe it blow up and you will be the next YouTube millionaire.

[ffj]

@gilberto

The only stress is him influencing others into thinking I don't know what I am talking about. When at the heart of his disagreement it is simply philosophical in nature, guised as a safety concern. I really don't care that this particular individual doesn't agree with me.

If he persists with insulting behavior then I will remove him, but if he raises good questions that is fine by me. I have no problem defending my positions and I am thankful when mistakes are pointed out. But they've all been minor mistakes and very few, nothing that would get someone hurt. For some people though there is no distinction between a minor mistake and total incompetence. It's easy to pass judgement behind an anonymous keyboard.

And no, it won't blow up because he's refused my challenge. Also, it wouldn't blow up if he had accepted as I operate in a very narrow space on YouTube.

You know who is really bad about these feuds on YouTube? Gun channels. Oh my god, you would think we were in middle school based on these grown men bitching about each other. It is so bad and once again it all comes down to personal opinion. It does generate views though.

What is also interesting is the number of views these women get for showing some side boob or a bikini shot in a hot spring. It is striking to me how this would influence so many men (and women) when there is so much porn that doesn't hide anything. Why settle for a quick shot of some chick diving into the water when you could see everything and much more for the same number of keyboard strikes? It's perplexing, but it definitely works.

[mountainFrugal]

You know who is really bad about these feuds on YouTube? Gun channels. Oh my god, you would think we were in middle school based on these grown men bitching about each other. It is so bad and once again it all comes down to personal opinion. It does generate views though.

Topical quote : "We should restore the practice of dueling. It might improve manners around here." -Edward Abbey

[ffj]

Desert Solitaire

One of the best books ever written

[zbigi]

Topical quote : "We should restore the practice of dueling. It might improve manners around here." -Edward Abbey

In the US, people can carry concealed weapons, which serves similar purpose. My understanding is that people in the US are generally very polite, compared to global average.

[chenda]

It's unfortunately the case it's very difficult to succeed on you tube as a women unless you're an attractive young female who produces clickable thumbnails.

[ffj]

@zbigi

Around my neck of the woods you'll occasionally see open carry, a pistol on the hip for the most part. I don't carry a gun (there is no need) but if I did it wouldn't be open carry. Why would you give away a tactical advantage? You very well may end up getting shot first in a bad situation because you are a known threat. I do wonder though how much crime has been prevented when a criminal has moved on after seeing someone with a gun?

And we are polite, especially in the South. It's a cultural thing, more to do with our prosperity as a country than whether we are armed or not. I guess it doesn't hurt that we can defend ourselves if need be.

@chenda

I wouldn't be so pessimistic. I can think of quite a few channels run by women that are very successful that don't rely on states of semi-dress or nudity. Regular looking women. Not beautiful but certainly not ugly either. They get a lot of male subscribers by just being competent in jobs that men either work in or respect. Farmers, welders, homesteaders, tree cutters, electricians, etc. Guys instantly know whether they are full of shit or not because they do the same jobs.

And there are lots of successful channels run by women that focus on typical interests of women. Make-up, fashion, home interior, genealogy, linguistics, home goods, crafts, etc. Some of these women are young and attractive but many aren't. Most of their audience are women but they still do quite well.

However, they should just have a section on YouTube for mild porn so these poor girls won't have to feign being interesting to show their boobs. None of these men care about your philosophical take on life as you sit by the stream in the woods, they just want to see your ass that you showcased in your thumbnail.

[chenda]

@ffj

That's good to hear. You tube at it's best is probably one of the greatest learning resources ever invented (imo it poses a serious challenge to traditional taught academia) but it comes with a lot of nonsense as well. Some chiropractor channels, for example, are so blatantly sexualised but apparently it's 'educational' so almost anything goes.

[suomalainen]

...chiropractor channels you say ...