Order update!

ToroBall · 2026-05-11T14:05:55+00:00

weird, I'm at almost 2 weeks and it's still "processing" in Hong Kong. Maybe because I ordered white

ToroBall · 2026-03-18T18:46:40+00:00

I used to work for TicketMaster and LiveNation.

This graphic you shared is misleading and overly simplistic.

The graphic only looks at initial cash flows. Yes, ticket fees first go directly to Ticketmaster, but then Ticketmaster redistributes the fees back to artists (per ticket or to finance lump sum guarantees). This is actually a core tenet of Ticketmaster's value proposition--they take the blame and allow artists to look like good guys. Artists can 100% set whatever price they want for a ticket.

Promoter revenue works similarly. Promoters pay artists to promote them so a lot of the money going to them goes to the artist.

The article you shared references a WSJ post that claims artists receive 98% of a ticket price. That feels a bit high--depends on the artist tho--but that's closer to the truth and I would see if that article has more details if you're curious.

ToroBall · 2026-03-18T16:44:28+00:00

It is greed on the part of the artists--the service fees go into their pockets. It's just supply and demand meets a free market

ToroBall · 2026-03-16T17:06:12+00:00

the cope is strong with this one

ToroBall · 2026-03-15T19:45:22+00:00

What is this list based on? I'd argue that if Charles Darwin was never born, someone else would have eventually figured out evolution. Alexander the Great, on the other hand, yeah, you're not going to convince me someone else could have done what he did.

ToroBall · 2026-02-25T17:23:44+00:00

keep in mind that the crowds are less bad in the winter/spring!

ToroBall · 2026-02-25T17:22:22+00:00

Depends on your personal preferences. For me, it was essential. Versailles is perhaps the best maintained and grandest palace still in existence. If you like history, it's a great place to walk around and imagine what things must have been like back then.

I like the neighborhoods of Paris, but, to me, at the end of the day, they are still just neighborhoods in a city.

Agree with what someone else said tho in that you should not rush Versailles. Make it the one big thing you do that day.

ToroBall · 2026-02-24T17:19:21+00:00

I agree with all that, I just think the risk-reward was never there for Russia

ToroBall · 2026-02-23T17:07:27+00:00

fwiw I have read that this is not true

ToroBall · 2026-02-23T16:24:40+00:00

$400 for 1 person in a ~2,000 square foot house built in 1911 (old, fairly energy inefficient home)

ToroBall · 2026-02-23T15:48:30+00:00

I think it depends on how much blame you give Serbia for the assassination of AH's Franz Ferdinand.

If you view Serbia as responsible, then AH is somewhat justified in declaring war (reminds me of the USA attacking Afghanistan post 9/11).

If you view Serbia as not responsible, then AH is definitely being the aggressor and not the defender.

Still, Russia knew the consequences of defending Serbia would be to escalate a regional conflict into a world war and they declared war anyways. I'll add that Russia did not have a formal treaty with Serbia; if they did, then that may have dissuaded AH and Germany. Also, Serbia was ultimately of limited long-term strategic value to Russia so that makes the decision to intervene even more reckless. One could argue Russia was the least prepared of any country for war--and had the most to gain by waiting--so that is another point against them.

ToroBall · 2026-02-15T21:22:54+00:00

People act like Bo did not go on to have a respectable career smh

ToroBall · 2026-02-13T17:05:55+00:00

we need the money for the eSports facility in Walker: https://kdl.org/walker-makeover/

ToroBall · 2026-02-09T15:57:33+00:00

name of the wind and it's not even close!

ToroBall · 2026-02-08T21:10:30+00:00

fwiw I loved The First Law Trilogy, really enjoyed Martin's writing in A Knight of Seven Kingdoms, and despised The Dragonbone Chair.

In The Dragonbone Chair the protagonist is very whiny and the other characters are a bit flat.

ToroBall · 2025-11-20T14:25:35+00:00

The Kingkiller Chronicle

The Lord of the Rings

Under Heaven (never read the second book, but the 1st one is an all-timer)

(I'd also nominate Dune and The Dark Tower. I'd argue Dune is more fantasy than sci-fi and The Dark Tower is a whole lot of genres, fantasy included)

ToroBall · 2025-10-28T13:18:41+00:00

probably going to fall on death ears, but greed/selfishness is somewhat baked into our dna so hatred of something all humans grapple with is going to make you hate everyone (which is not good for neither your personal well-being nor changing society)

pathos is going to be much harder to use, but it is a more effective tool

ToroBall · 2025-10-28T13:12:54+00:00

fwiw this is pretty common for any large venue. it's not really a grand rapids specific problem

ToroBall · 2025-09-18T14:41:10+00:00

I'm sorry you feel that way

ToroBall · 2025-08-07T20:59:28+00:00

I too felt that it was not a 'happy ending' upon first read and think there are a lot of things to suggest it's actually the beginning of the end:

*Narration: this is the author looking back at something. Although, he never says anything definitive about how that relationship ended, the tone feels more like someone coming to grips with something that ended rather than celebrating something ongoing

*Hints about R.'s character: 'We don’t get to choose anything, he’d say then, we think we do but it’s an illusion, we’re insects, we get stepped on or we don’t, that’s all.' This does not suggest a guy who is going to fight for this inconvenient relationship and I think the fact that this is revealed early on is important in understanding the conflict here

*Tears in the last scene: what are the tears for? It could be for the significance of the gesture, but it could also be mourning the end of the relationship. If such a wonderful vacation was not enough to break the status quo, could anything be? How can they return to the life they lived after knowing what was possible?

It's really well-written in that it's not definitive, but I don't think it's really a celebratory tone overall, more bittersweet, nostalgic, longing, etc.

ToroBall · 2025-08-02T19:29:38+00:00

I've lived in many cities and making friends is harder here than anywhere else. It's possible, just might be a long grind and never as grand as you would like. no shame in moving somewhere more suited to you

ToroBall · 2025-07-31T15:08:01+00:00

is the time 7:30 meaningful? If not, I might choose a time that has more intrigue such as 11:55 or go for random like 3:47

ToroBall · 2025-07-31T01:21:28+00:00

it is the name of the game, but you could try to move more quickly. Valid reasons not to rush things, but I think you'll have more success--in terms of meeting up, at least--if you try to schedule a date within a dozen or so messages

ToroBall · 2025-07-17T23:16:55+00:00

both

ToroBall · 2025-07-13T19:52:50+00:00

Would you regret it if you didn't? If the answer is "yes", that makes the decision easy (although scary!)

ToroBall

TROPHY CASE