They make little stick-on thermal pad squares that you put in between the bottom of M.2 SSD sticks and the top of the motherboard to help heat dissipation.

I've thought about picking up and going somewhere else. I live in the greater Detroit area and while we have pockets of parks and sidewalks, it's very car-centric. Everything was built to sprawl outward, so it's difficult to get anywhere of worth without getting in the car.

It's been difficult to plan or even imagine where I'd go or what I'd actually be looking for (and if it would be better or worse than my current circumstances). I bought my condo after I graduated in Covid times and there's been a lot of pressure building between the two poles of "I'd really like a place that give me a bit more privacy and a garage/workshop space" and "I have locked in such a good rate that I will never ever see again".

I've been trying to explore getting a remote/online kind of job to alleviate that kind of stress because in theory it would give me a lot of flexibility to try things without having to worry about locality and commuting. With the current state of affairs in the country/world though, I'm not sure if that's realistic or if I'll need to settle for something less optimal in the meantime.

You're probably right though on just needing a change of scenery. Just gotta figure out how to actually make something like that happen.

I'd agree that a lack of a goal/purpose is a part of the problem and some of my better moments has been when I've had a big project to cook on.

I just have a very hard time internally generating those kinds of goals that matter enough to have staying power. Like you said though, I've been (for better or worse) outsourcing some of that to helping my friends and neighbors with some of their problems which at least gets me doing something.

It does leave me feeling a little hollow though, like I don't have anything of importance inside to actually care about and be motivated by. And it does sometimes lead to feeling like I'm just around to help people do things instead of being around because I'm wanted around for who I am (I don't think it's really like this, but I do get those kinds of feelings).

I'm very aware of this kind of cycle, it's pretty much to a T how things work for me.

I find it really frustrating that you just don't get a lot of say in what/when/how those interests or fixations are or how they shift.

I think even that makes some of the social things I talked about even harder because you usually meet people fixed around a specific group or hobby focus. So when your interest shifts, you lose your link to the group you were spending time with. And then even if your interest comes back around, you have to contend with it being months or years since you came around (and you'll probably do the same thing again)...

But you definitely get it. There's probably some way to work around it, but I consider it a real coin flip on whether it's helpful or harmful at any given time.

Thank you everyone for taking a moment to share your wisdom and your words of encouragement. It's been helpful to see that other people have had similar moments and gotten through it. Even though it's very cliche and I know that it's like that, it's still at least a little reassuring to hear personally.

I hope you have a great day and I hope you get the opportunity to be there for others in your lives.

This is genuinely how I tell people about both of them.

It's unfortunate how tightly coupled military, engineering and $$ are. If you want the last two, you're working with the first...

Thank you for repping the movie Up (2009) in 2026! I admire your artistic commitment to this community.

Honestly though, that guy is having a blast and I respect it.

I highly recommend that you read the actual substack article.

The claim is based around how the original poverty line was the cost of food multiplied by 3. This assumes that food is 33% of your spending and that your other expenses are approximately the other 67%.

The $140k value is based around the fact that the ratio has shifted immensely. Food is cheap in the US relative to the other goods/services required to live in society. If you take the new ratio and extrapolate it out, the multiplier is over 10x the cost of food to account for the other components of spending.

Even if you want to debate the actual number itself. The poverty line is laughable and anyone living at it is legitimately destitute, not just in "casual poverty"

Imagine feeling smug about getting a 1-up on the people you consider heathens only for them to be 100% on board with the fake plan.

I don't even know how this would work. Project 2025 was an actual plan that discussed how to execute their vision. I don't like it but I applaud their commitment.

I don't think the Democratic establishment even has a real vision to even execute. Which means that their "plan" will be vague and non-executable. The exact opposite of what makes the Project 2025 document actually effective.