I’m glad that my experience has struck a note with you

I think I can answer this one. I went from being a skinhead to a (what I think is) more well adjusted person.

I wish I could write you a neat list of things that happened in order for the shift to happen but it wasn’t as clean as that.

I hit a rock bottom in my life and realized that I cannot go on any further like that. I had a sort of epiphany where I realized the floowing. “If everything I do will be criticized, then everything is permitted”.

It somehow gave me the freedom to drop everything I ever was and change myself in a way that is more freeing to myself. (If that makes sense to you). I emigrated from my country so there was no peer pressure; I talk to my family extremely rarely (once every few months), I cut off all my old “friends”. I changed the way I dress and how I carry myself through the world. I have also stopped being a believer that also altered my worldviews a lot.

I have started reading a lot more (but I have also changed my media diet), I have started learning how to draw (at 35) and generally being a sh*tty hobby artist and doing it for the joy of it. I deleted all my social media accounts, disabled history (suggestions) on youtube, unsubscribed all my streaming services and generally do as much as possible to avoid the algorythm.

I consistently go to art shows to enjoy looking at art, I go to cheap theatre shows, and dream of being able to buy tickets and see a world-class ballet show or a musical.

AAAND! I actually went out of my way to go look at the pride/CSD/gay Parade and cheered from the sidelines on.

Now don’t get me wrong. Even though I like much more the new version of myself, it wasn’t all roses. This change has immensely strained my relationship with my wife and children to the point where we were separated for over 2 years. It’s still extremely difficult for her to accept “the new me” even though in my mind I just dropped the “facade”.

I still struggle with finding new circle of friends. I do have a lot of people “in my circle” but those people come and go. I tried to make friendships with LGBT people, but after telling them that I used to be something else and that I’m changing myself, they tend to drop me like a hot potato. In general people are having much harder time making sense of the new me than before.

Ja, das auch.

Meiner Meinung nach gibt es Tausende, wenn nicht Hunderttausende bessere Dinge in der deutschen Kultur als Bier und Brezeln.

In der gleichen Art könnte man beispielsweise sagen, dass Japan = Sushi.

Oh wow! Ich finde es echt geil.

Aus der Perspektive eines Zuwanderers finde ich es geschmackvoll, dass es dort keine Brezeln, Bier und bayerische Tracht gibt.

Ich finde, dass die deutsche Kultur deutlich breiter und interessanter ist als nur Bier und Brezeln.

please do

I’m really happy for you that you’ve had that experience.

Sadly I’m too self-repressed to enjoy something like that.

Ich bin überzeugt, dass sich die CDU mit einer Koalition mit der AfD politisch ins eigene Bein schießen wird.

Ein großer Anteil der CDU-Wähler könnte sich deswegen verraten fühlen und folglich die Grünen wählen. Etwas, das bei den letzten Wahlen (in Ba-Wü) bereits in kleinerem Umfang passiert ist.

It just so happened that in Stuttgart there were protests and police in fact did blow one guy’s eye out of the socket in a very similar way you said.

I thought that you’re referring to that.

You’re from Stuttgart

w they can get Grok to fart out a logo or a poster in 15 seconds and not have to talk to an artist, they’re all set.

As much as I would like it not to be true, I think that you’re right.

Even though the “posters” and “graphics” that AI spits out are just awful/distasteful/etc. those very things are 80% of what people hire graphic designers for. (I know I am one). Most bosses want something NOW! If it looks presentable, it’s good enough.

In my opionion AI would hollow out the “entry level” tasks that small to mid-clients hire graphic designers for. What I think would survive are the “big ticket” projects, where human expertise would be hired. But again, those projects are few and far inbetween, and only a handful of designers are able to deliver work on such a high level.

I’m glad for you that you were lucky to have such friends

I used to own a business with employees. It was a small company objectively, but in a small town where I’m from that was a HUGE deal.

The company survived COVID, but due to total chaos with supply chains that happened after covid, my business got on hard times. I saw the writing on the wall, and started firing my employees and closing the company in order not for things to get any worse. I closed my company and landed a job in another company; a never missed a single salary.

It’s absolutely shocking how quickly everyone drops you once they hear you’ve gotten on “hard times”. All my friends, relatives, in-laws… EVERYONE drops you like you’re burning pile of shit. Want to call an old friend for drinks? You’re out of luck, nobody is taking your calls anymore, because now you’re a “failure”.

And let me repeat once again that I haven’t gotten into any BIG trouble, just closed everything down before it did actually SHTF. It’s just the optics of “being in a bad place” and poof everyone’s gone! You’re on your own now.

Oh boy yes. It’s absolutely brutal how quickly everyone drops you once you hit hard times.

No, and that’s a good thing.

To quote John Water: “If 8 milion people like it, then it’s probabbly not good”.

I used to work in the industry from 2012 until 2023.

Yes, building private PV plants has become exponentially cheaper than it was in 2010s, and there are nowdays so many privately owned PV-systems that on sunny days Germany does often have an oversupply of electricity. (that problem can be solved with Smart-grid systems)

But that’s not the real reason. One reason I see is that because of extremely high grants that has become a fertile ground for embezelment. The second reason I see is that for the most installing companies installing PV systems on residential homes is a pain in the a** and not a moneymaker anymore. Even in Germany many small-to-middle sized companies have gone bankrupt or are struggling. What has remaind are the giants who are able to compete on infrastructure level PV-plants (and who also have other sources of income) or micro-companies “with a single van”.

I would say that the times have changed and with it the way residental-PV is treated by the governments.

Exactly. Most men tend to stop celebrating their birthdays in their early teens.

Yeah, there’s a certain age after which you kinda stop caring about your own birthday.

Absolutely true…

Sadly it’s true for most professions. Your first priority is always to sell the idea to your management that you’re worth keeping. Only afterwards comes the lesser priority of actually doing your job.

Welcome to hell of modern employment.

Oh wow, what a great resource!

Thank you for the tip! (that’s what she said)

yup, gotta change up your media consumption.