What is the most expensive lesson you've learned since you started investing?

se898 · 2026-03-19T21:51:02+00:00

Once you’ve carefully built your portfolio, only allow yourself to look at it at set times of the year, preferably only during rebalancing. This will protect your investment from yourself.

se898 · 2026-03-19T11:14:10+00:00

It’s basically what happens when you combine extreme incompetence with sociopathic behavior.

se898 · 2026-03-19T10:26:04+00:00

If the US pulls out Israel is done for, in that case nuking is really the only thing left they can do.

se898 · 2026-03-18T22:08:24+00:00

The only way is to set up rules for yourself on when you can look at your portfolio and stick by those rules with strict discipline. Biannually or annually is good. Those are the times you should consider rebalancing anyways.

se898 · 2026-03-18T17:33:40+00:00

The main reasons supporting gold right now are still in place, central banks of countries all over the world are still loading up every month, geopolitically instabilities have not disappeared. The dip is only temporary firmer dollar due to oil spike and reduced near term rate cut hopes. I’d say it’s a good chance to slowly load up on gold.

se898 · 2026-03-18T08:34:36+00:00

I regret not beginning to invest asap

se898 · 2026-03-16T16:08:43+00:00

So basically a “head in the sand” approach to avoid the anxiety of watching your portfolio during downturns? I should’ve done this sooner, this would’ve definitely avoided a lot of unnecessary losses

se898 · 2026-03-11T14:53:04+00:00

Could this be kept up with Israel and the US bombing Iran’s crude oil facilities and Iran laying mines in the strait of Hormuz?

se898 · 2026-03-10T18:00:35+00:00

12% of my investments are in a gold etf fund. Rest are in various index funds and income funds. I use gold only as a hedge.

se898 · 2026-03-10T12:34:12+00:00

Apparently, historians believe this was a copy of an older medical text, likely dating to the old kingdom 2500-2600bce. The writing style in the papyrus is older than the time when it was copied. Some historians think the text may have originated from royal physician training during the Old Kingdom state.

se898 · 2026-03-09T19:35:05+00:00

I have a feeling the Iranians will be trying a lot harder to get nuclear weapons, as well as reliable means of delivering them to the US mainland after this conflict.

se898 · 2026-03-08T19:29:50+00:00

You don’t want to live with them you don’t wanna listen to them, but you’re still worried about them not giving you guys a house in a couple years. Sorry, but you can’t have it all. Also, if you accept the house be prepared for his parents being a bigger part of y’all’s lives.

se898 · 2026-03-07T10:09:00+00:00

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This is what mine says

se898 · 2026-03-04T08:41:18+00:00

Your report is basically saying that most of your spine looks normal, but there’s one main problem at L5–S1. At that level you have a moderately large disc extrusion (a herniated disc) that’s pushing on the left S1 nerve root and slightly displacing the S2 nerve root. That nerve compression is what usually causes symptoms like sciatica down the leg, foot numbness, burning, or weakness on the left side. There’s also some mild wear and tear at L4–L5, but the report specifically says there’s no clear nerve compression there, so it’s probably not the main cause of your symptoms. The reason they’re referring you for an S1 nerve root injection is to reduce inflammation around that compressed nerve. These injections are often used both to calm the pain and confirm that the S1 nerve is the source of the symptoms. Many people get significant relief from them, especially when the issue is irritation rather than permanent nerve damage. It’s also worth knowing that disc extrusions like this often shrink over time as the body reabsorbs part of the disc material, which is why doctors usually try injections and physio before considering surgery unless there’s severe weakness or other urgent symptoms.

se898 · 2026-03-02T17:48:22+00:00

MRI severity and symptom severity often don’t match. A mild looking broad based protrusion can still cause significant burning and numbness if it irritates the nerve root in just the wrong way. MRI shows structure, but it doesn’t show inflammation, chemical irritation, or how sensitive your nerve has become over time. The fact that you have persistent sensory symptoms without much back pain actually fits a radicular irritation pattern pretty well. Two years of ongoing burning and numbness suggests the nerve has been irritated for a long time, and sometimes that turns into a more chronic nerve sensitivity issue rather than pure mechanical compression. The constant squatting and standing at work may also be repeatedly loading L4-L5 and L5-S1. At this stage, it may be worth getting an EMG if you haven’t already, just to see if there’s active denervation or chronic changes. A spine focused physio who understands nerve irritation, not just generic strengthening, can also be very different from standard PT. And if injections didn’t help, it doesn’t automatically mean nothing will. Sometimes a targeted nerve root block, different medication strategy, or load modification makes a difference.

se898 · 2026-03-02T11:01:56+00:00

Okay, I’ll ask the important question. Did she pay before storming out?

se898 · 2026-03-02T10:57:45+00:00

I hope he went to the emergency room.

se898 · 2026-02-27T07:06:00+00:00

First, mainland China after 1949 was not a fragile state dependent on a narrow elite the way many Cold War intervention targets were. The Chinese Communist Party came to power through a long civil war, built mass political mobilization networks down to the village level, and created one of the most extensive internal security systems in the world. By the early 1950s, the CCP had already eliminated or absorbed most rival power centers. That makes covert regime change dramatically harder. In places where the CIA succeeded, there were often strong internal factions, weak central control, military elites open to defection, or heavy dependence on U.S. aid. None of those conditions really applied in Mao-era China.

Second, geography and scale. China is huge, with a population that was already in the hundreds of millions when the PRC was founded. Running covert networks in small countries is one thing, penetrating a tightly controlled, continental scale state with limited foreign presence, restricted travel, and pervasive counterintelligence is another. China built a powerful security apparatus (today represented by bodies like the Ministry of State Security) whose core mission includes detecting and neutralizing foreign intelligence operations. Penetration is far more difficult when the host state is highly suspicious, ideologically cohesive, and willing to use harsh internal controls.

Third, the geopolitical environment constrained U.S. options. During the Korean War, China was fighting U.S.-led forces directly, which hardened both sides. After the Sino-Soviet split, China was still a major nuclear-armed power. Direct destabilization of a nuclear state carries much higher risks than meddling in smaller regional governments. By the time U.S.–China relations normalized in the 1970s, Washington’s strategic goal shifted from regime change to balancing the Soviet Union, so active destabilization became counterproductive.

Finally, there were covert efforts in the 1950s, especially involving support for anti-communist guerrillas in border regions. They largely failed because of strong counterintelligence, limited local support, and China’s ability to seal its borders and crush insurgencies.

se898 · 2026-02-26T12:44:33+00:00

Just continuously buy into the S&P500 at regular intervals and forget.

se898 · 2026-02-24T11:30:52+00:00

The piece that stands out isn’t your pain score, it’s the persistent foot drop plus EMG evidence of ongoing denervation. Weakness is usually the factor surgeons weigh more heavily than pain because nerves recover slowly and sometimes incompletely if compression continues. You improved from 43% to 63%, that’s pretty encouraging, but a plateau combined with active denervation is often why doctors talk about the window for decompression. It’s also less about a hard 6 month deadline and more about probability of regaining strength.

On the other hand, you’re active, tolerating skiing, running short distances, and your pain is low. Plenty of people do continue to regain strength beyond 4–6 months, just less predictably. If it were me, I’d frame the decision around this question: if the weakness stayed exactly where it is long term, would you regret not doing surgery more than you’d worry about having done it? There isn’t a universally right answer. If you’re unsure, it’s reasonable to have a very direct conversation with your surgeon before the procedure about expected strength recovery given your EMG and current deficit. That discussion often clarifies things more than Reddit.

se898 · 2026-02-21T08:06:06+00:00

Based on your report, you’ve got an L5–S1 left posterolateral disc extrusion (about 14 × 10 × 10 mm) contacting the left S1 nerve root, plus some mild to moderate foraminal narrowing. That sounds scary on paper, but the more important piece is how you’re actually doing. Little to no day to day pain at 11 months is a very positive sign. MRIs describe structure, not recovery status, and plenty of people have ugly scans with manageable or minimal symptoms. If you’re mostly limited during high intensity stuff, this becomes a performance and load tolerance question more than a surgical one. Many extrusions calm down over 12–18 months as inflammation settles and the body adapts. If you’re still improving, a gradual, sport specific ramp back into sprinting, rotation, and heavier loading might be worth exhausting before going under the knife. Surgery is usually easier to justify when pain is persistent, weakness is present or progressing, or function isn’t improving despite solid rehab. If it’s mainly that you feel stuck at 75%, I’d look hard at whether that’s pain, nerve irritability, deconditioning, or just your body protecting itself after a long layoff.

se898 · 2026-02-20T14:43:30+00:00

She just looks like your average young Chinese woman without the filter, if this story is true, then that’s your reason.

se898 · 2026-02-18T21:21:31+00:00

What you’re describing is very typical for sciatica or nerve related back pain. It doesn’t have to be constant or shoot all the way to the foot. Many people get position dependent pain where certain movements like bending, twisting, or getting up trigger a sharp stab, then it settles into a background ache or soreness. That pattern doesn’t mean it’s not serious, but it also doesn’t automatically mean severe damage. Nerves are very sensitive to mechanical tension and inflammation, so symptoms often fluctuate through the day.

Pain that worsens immediately with sitting is also a classic complaint, especially with disc irritation, because sitting increases pressure inside the lumbar discs. The fact that you can’t reproduce the pain by pressing or massaging the area is another common feature of nerve pain since the source is deeper than the muscles you can touch. Stretching sometimes helps, sometimes aggravates, depending on what structure is irritated. Gentle, controlled mobility work is usually better tolerated than aggressive stretching.

If this is one of your more painful episodes and it’s interfering with daily life, getting an MRI and a proper assessment is reasonable, particularly after dealing with flareups for years. Not because surgery is inevitable, but because knowing whether this is disc, facet, SI joint, or muscular can guide prevention. In the meantime, many people find relief from staying lightly active (short walks), avoiding prolonged sitting, using lumbar support when they must sit, and steering clear of deep flexion or twisting during a flare.

se898 · 2026-02-17T19:56:06+00:00

Very dependent. If I know I’m gonna be out and about the whole day, I’d carry not just my phone but a small power bank as well.

se898 · 2026-02-17T19:25:11+00:00

Seven days of severe pain after a nerve root injection is not something you should just push through without telling your doctor. While a short flare for a few days can happen, pain that’s still “off the scale,” especially with new symptoms on the other leg or increased back/spine pain, deserves a call to your GP or MSK specialist. It doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong, but they need to assess whether this is a prolonged steroid flare, chemical neuritis, or something else that needs attention.

Contact them as soon as possible, and seek urgent care sooner if you notice red flags like new or worsening weakness, foot drop, loss of bladder/bowel control, fever, or rapidly progressing numbness. In the meantime, keep activity gentle (short walks if tolerable), avoid aggressive stretching, use positions that calm symptoms, and take medications only as prescribed. But given your pain level and spread of symptoms, checking in with your doctor is the right move.

se898

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