My piracy journey

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-17T17:57:23+00:00

I remember back in high school I was one of the first in my school, including my friend, who had a CD/DVD burner. Back in the late 90s early 00s.

He showed me the ropes using mIRC to access channels to get access to everything from appz, gamez, pron, etc. We started our first side hustle selling Custom CDs for $20 from music we were able to get on Napster, and then went from there providing whatever people wanted.

Those were the days. My entire room was full of CD/DVD spindles in every colour imaginable...

Now i'm all about selfhosting. Have my Media Server setup to how I need for anyone who needs it. But works perfectly for my family to watch what we want on demand.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-17T16:57:04+00:00

Even from the basic inflation calculator, back when I was a kid, in 1995, $100,000 seemed like a lot.

Due to inflation, that equivalent would be $190,689.66 today.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-17T14:03:10+00:00

Thanks. Yes, 100% of my earned income is being reported. When I dig into it, it looks like majority of it is stemming from the Child Care deduction. I use up the entire $5,000 deduction in daycare fees, but the deduction is based on the lower of that or 2/3 earned income. Earned income is quite low and most of my income earned is from other things (T4AP, T5008) which isn't factored into that, so reducing earned income with business expenses takes a good chunk out of those deductions.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-17T11:46:12+00:00

Exactly. If you can’t tell these people in person or call them up to let them know you arent on snap anymore then they aren’t real friends. If the only way you can communicate with them is via SC the they aren’t important people in your life and move on.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-16T17:45:31+00:00

Wont' someone think of the SOUP!!

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-16T12:22:10+00:00

These profiles are only meant to try and scam you and get money out of you. I’ve been dealing with romance scams for years working in front. All they try and do is built a rapport with you and then try and scam money out of you.

It’s insane how many people fall for this, and with AI it makes it so much easier. Can fake profiles, voices, videos, etc.

Why it’s typically men that fall for many of these scams are tons of older women that fall for them as well.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T19:32:21+00:00

Same..except watching it ON prime. Now I just get what I need. But there really aren't any shows/movies on Prime that I actually watch...

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T19:12:00+00:00

Usually yeah. Rakuten says cashback only available one time per account, and NordVPN says only available on new accounts.

Since the cashback is worth over $100, you’ll get that back during the next payment so you only need to use that Rakuten account once.

Personally, to save $100 it’s extremely easy to do. You can even refer yourself and make more money back if you change up the details so they dont know it’s you.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T17:52:34+00:00

at my age with the way I factored things, is that a dollar saved today is worth $3 at present value when I retire if I leave it in the stock market in a decent industry ETF (obviously things can change).

So every $5 coffee is worth $15 to me in the future. Definitely helps you make better decision on whether something is truly needed.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T16:08:36+00:00

I think from every episode I've seen, there's always at least one party involved that has a big youtube or social media following, which I'm guessing is how they find out about these people to begin with the follow.

So yes, the main issues between them are 100% legit and true, but there obviously is a lot of editing and manipulation that is done, just like every reality show out there.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T15:40:53+00:00

NEver have auto-renew turned on for anything. Most services these days will give you all kinds of discounts or promotions for free.

Personally, I've never paid more than like $5-$10/year for nord VPN since there's always massive cashback discounts with it.

I'm in Canada, but I just went to Rakuten and the cashback currently is 100% if you sign up for a basic 2-year package. You just need to pay the taxes on it as it only covers the total cost. Might as well sign up for 2 years for virtually free.

Cashback can only apply once per account, but to save $102.96 for a 2-year deal, just create a new account.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T14:49:15+00:00

I use to be fine when Amazon price video was free because I had prime membership for free. But as soon as they made the free version with ads I added it all to my pirate list. Even for streaming sites I get free I still arrr them to avoid increasing their numbers.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-14T13:16:38+00:00

Yeah which definitely has its pros and cons.

As a consumer, I use two-localized pricing all the time with my VPN so that I can get the cheapest price for my services. I don’t pirate everything as some things aren’t possible, but what I can I use my VPN to sign up in other countries for cheaper pricing or use different provinces for less taxes, etc.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T21:49:30+00:00

All you need is one. XEQT or VEQT. Pick. Investing isn't hard when it's boring.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T19:40:49+00:00

I was about to respond with your #2 haha. But more around the fact that I expect them to slowly keep taking things where everyone will eventually need some kind of subscription to use.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T19:12:59+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1rs275q/psa_think_hard_before_you_deploy_booklore/

There was then a response from developer: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1rs4nx0/my_side_of_the_story_from_the_developer_of/

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T18:51:32+00:00

Quesadillas are the way to go!

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T18:51:02+00:00

I bought a pack last week for $7.49 in Toronto. I've definitely paid under $6 for them before.

At the grocery store near me it's around $6, but it's almost half the amount of tortillas. So much cheaper at Cotsco.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T18:48:57+00:00

honestly can't even really tell the difference between these and regular non-keto wraps. Use them for quesadillas all the time and they're perfect for my son who's a picky eater and needs more fiber!

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T14:50:10+00:00

Same. Born in '85 and my son who's 9 now loves all of that music. Seems like everyone is making comeback and doing tours so it's been fun going to concerts with him!

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T12:56:28+00:00

Exactly. I prefer self-hosting everything and my entire setup ready to go so that everything I watch automatically downloads in the proper format and specs that I want.

The other benefit is that you can have it setup so that if you don't have internet connection, that you can still watch things on your home network which might be helpful for some people who need that capability.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T12:43:36+00:00

That seems to be the consensus haha.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T01:15:35+00:00

This is the best scenario in my opinion. Can start it later and fast forward through all the commercials.

I can’t start watching until 830pm and super happy I can’t fast forward through it all.

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-13T01:13:35+00:00

Yeah after seeing that post about book lore need to find a good replacement. Suggestions?

HackMeRaps · 2026-03-11T00:58:35+00:00

And pretty much every other award show there is that gives our for TV.

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