How to Torrent (and Why You're a Filthy Sinner for Doing It)

Pff, whatever.

Pirate.

That's what you'll be called if you torrent. You'll be a real scurvy dog, complete with a parrot on your shoulder and all the muskets you can work with your hook hand.

A lot of people think they're cool. Well, guess what? They're not. Pirates are only cool for 5-year-old boy birthday parties. So there.

Despite that, I'm about to teach you how to spot all the filthy, naughty tools that it takes to become one of those eye-patched fools.

Why Luigi is better than Mario

Initial Comparisons

Mario and Luigi are brothers. The best we can decipher, their last name is inexplicably also "Mario." Why? Because when you think of, say, the Koch brothers you don't assume that one of them has the first name "Koch." Mario Mario is a dumb name, I'll say it. Luigi Mario isn't much better, but at least his parents didn't hate him. Point Luigi.

Luigi has played second fiddle even since they were children, and certainly since they were first brought into this world. He's only ever been tossed a bone whenever his brother has somehow been caught in over his head. Despite decades of this, you rarely see him trying to usurp the spotlight out from under "everyone's" favourite plumber. He is Mario's second-in-command, and as that phrase goes, "If you want to make someone disappear, make them vice president." It's also been shown that silver medalists are less happy/satisfied than bronze medalists. Despite all of this, he doesn't ever seem to be bothered or complain about it. Point Luigi.

What Drives Human Behavior? (Pt III)

Relevant enough.

Ladies and Gentlemen..

Welcome to the third - and final - part of this ever-exciting series of Value! For those of you just tuning in, you can find Part I here and Part II here. Ever feel like you're putting in all the work and your friend or partner is not pulling their weight in the relationship?! Let's begin by looking at how value imbalances in relationships work.

Imbalance

As a quick refresher:

• Fountainheads: People who give as much value as possible
• Vacuums: People who take as much value as possible

Most people have an intrinsic feeling when they are being taken advantage of. Sometimes fountainheads will find themselves in situations where it was once balanced, but the scales have become one-sided. It's up to the Fountainhead to address this situation and rectify it by either stopping the ongoing exchange, or changing it. Why is it up to the fountainhead? Because the vacuum may not even notice that they're doing it.

What Drives Human Behavior? (Pt.II)

Welcome back

For those of you who tuned in earlier this week: Good to see you again! If you are just tuning in, you may want to consider going back to read the first part. The rest of you, let's dig in!

Value Exchanges

Nearly every interaction between people is a value exchange. You plop down to turn on the telly and watch some shows. The value provided you is clear: entertainment.

The television industry, the network, and the content producers are all working together to provide enough value to convince you to willingly pay the various fees for the products you are now enjoying. You are paying them for the effort they put in, and you are receiving the ability to indulge in these products whenever you are willing and able. They provide the value of entertainment, and you provide cash and advertising revenue witnessed throughout the programs.

What Drives Human Behavior? (Pt.I)

Phrenology: Where your courage can easily outweigh your parental love

I used to be depressive and negative.

I used to think that talking about happy fluff was a pointless activity when we should talk about heavier, more meaningful - but horribly depressing - topics. I used to think things like "When did people stop caring about what was true, or correct, and become mentally lazy?"

Take a guess at how popular I was.

Looking back, I'm surprised people put up with me as much as they did. I even had a girlfriend who was out of my league, but somehow neither of us seemed to know it.

People did occasionally avoid me, however. I was lazy, I was a downer, and I was selfish. I have a label for people like younger me, but I'll get to that later.

How to Manage your Time Effectively

Don't spend it lounging around

It's ironic that I've been putting off writing this post. As it's been said, the people who are the most knowledgeable on a topic are the ones who have had to struggle with the issue the most. After all, if it came naturally, what advice could they give on improving it?

I've got a number of techniques I find helpful, but here are just some of the more prominent ones in my toolbelt:

Break Down Barriers

I've read before that if an activity takes more than 10 seconds to set up, you're 80% less likely to do it. While these numbers are awfully round and off the top of my head, I haven't been able to find the research to back it up. If someone could help me out with that, I'd really appreciate it.