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Sending post to the US is a nightmare these days. I have friends there, and they’re just receiving their Christmas cards now! They’re just cards! I don’t even dare to send gift boxes any more like I used to. Soon I’ll have to send my cards in July. I wonder what’s happening.
Speaking of gifts, a friend of mine had sent me some Ticonderoga pencils from the US, that I had been hearing so much about. I already used up one and they’re… interesting. They’re supposed to be HB pencils, but they’re so soft and dark that they feel morel like Faber Castell 4B. They don’t really keep their point very well and smear easily, so they’re better for shading than underdrawings. They move really well with a stomper. Also, when you sharpen them, the wood feels like plastic (it’s wood, though. Just different to what I’m used to). I will use them up fast, I think.
So here it is, everything you never wanted to know about the most famous American pencil.
I’ve been thinking about universal income. Imagine the situation: AI and robots and automation and whatever else become really good. To maximise profits corporations replace workers with them more and more. People lose their jobs, which means they lose their buying power, which means they aren’t consuming the products and services the corporations that once employed them provide, which means the corporations and their shareholders don’t make money anymore.
So clearly in this sort of situation it is to the benefit of these corporations and those who own them to set up some sort of universal income. In their benevolence they will allow the former workforce to have just enough to drive a mid-sized Audi, to buy a thing or two from Gucci or Chanel every once in a while, to eat out at a restaurant few times a month, and to subscribe to a handful of streaming services to fill up their time and keep them occupied. Gather up all the capital, give out just enough to keep the peace.
How is this any different from right now though?
Speaking of capital though, my stock portfolio has taken quite a dive since February 28th. As has most people’s, I imagine. But I learnt very early on after getting into investing that dips like these are nothing but opportunities to buy at a discount. So, that’s what I’ve been doing. It always feels a little weird, though. Like, they’re launching missiles all over the place, people are dying, and I’m kinda taking advantage of it.
I truly feel like I have some inside you there are two wolves shit going on. I always daydream about overthrowing capitalism, and then I whip out my phone and check how my portfolio is doing. It’s like I’m doing anti-praxis.