Aqua Buddha

Started this thread as a sociological discussion and it's turned into a Dear Penthouse forum....

I completely agree. I'm curious on the cross tabs on this virginity thing. How many of the virgins never went to college? My guess is that it's a lot. They either didn't go or went and washed out and as a result of both, their financial future is bleak and as a result of that, they're not meeting girls.

God, that's a sad story. Either that or he's using the archetype of the "unattainable women" to shield him from real intimacy. He's comfortable in his life for some reason and waiting for "The One" gives him a pass. (Plenty of people do this.) A theme in this thread is unrealistic expectations but that's natural for most everyone and not exclusive to gender. I hear men bitching about women's expectations, but then you got men who want a hot girl, good job, likes sports, great sense of humor, blah, blah, blah, and meanwhile they're just some guy.

Derek Thompson of the Ringer did a really good podcast about that. Gender Wars Within Gen Z: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gender-war-within-gen-z/id1594471023?i=1000644344517 He profiles young men in the US, Europe and South Korea for different reasons. In each case, there was a level of male entitlement both economically and sexually that was not being met. He made the point that the upscale men aren't as angsty because they have options in both. Whereas, the working class men were angry because of failed expectations. (The women did not have the same level of entitlement and in the US, it was white males for obvious reasons.) He then gets into the self sorting. I do think he's onto something. The young men are falling behind in society for reasons mostly their fault but they don't see it that way. As a result, they're behind economically and can't get women. The pod is worth a listen. I thought it was only going on here but it's going on all over the first world.

I found this chart. Does anyone besides me find this troubling? Granted, its from 2018, but I can't imagine the trend is any different now. Also, 30% is now low and 30 years old is not young. That being said, I'd point to the rise of smart phones and internet porn being ubiquitous as the beginning in 2008 as the main drivers. That's obvious, though. However, is this harmful to society as a whole? I know the Baptists who want to police our tingly parts to make sure they don't touch may like this trend but let's look at the other side. I've seen some data about how young men and women are starting to self segregate with various factors. (Politics, education, etc.) We watched "Girls State" on Apple and it touched on this. They were on the same campus as Boys State but it was like watching two different universes. You could tell the girls didn't want anything to do with them. When you get past smart phones and the internet, what's puzzles me is how young men just aren't interested in getting laid, to be blunt. Back in the Gen X days, literally everything we did was in order to get girls. Get a job, get a car, drive, go to college, make money, stay in shape, etc. were ALL to get girls. It was rare if you were still a virgin at 18 and especially if you still were in college. When you take away that ambition as a heterosexual (and maybe homosexual) male, there is no reason to get off your mom's couch and put down the controller. I think there are long term downsides to this, though. With the self sorting and the lack of ambition by young men to get women, you'll see marriage rates and household formation plummet even more than what they are now. More troublesome, though, is we'll have an entire generation of angry incels, if we're not there already. They'll blame the women (of course). It can't be their fault they can't get a girl. They'll just get angrier. I saw a stat a few weeks ago that I'm sure I could dig up if I wanted that said the % of Gen Z women that identified as bi-sexual FAR outstripped women from other generations and then Gen Z men as well. I took that to mean as the young men were so unimpressive that they were willing to give the other team a try even if they'd prefer to find a man. This is also at a time where it's easier than it ever has been to get laid through dating apps, internet, etc. If I were single and had nothing on my radar, I could prolly get laid within a week and get married in six months. I might not like how that ends up but the point is that it's easy if you're motivated and have just a little bit of skill. Thoughts from this august body of mostly older (Gen X and above) men?

Does anyone else think Boston would lose not only to Denver but also OKC, Minny, and maybe the Clippers?

That was a key move but they also just have better shooters now than they did then. Worst shooters for them now are Giddey and Dory and they're not terrible, whereas those teams in the past would have 2-3 guys at a time on the court who lacked basic offensive skills. (The Presti archetype was a shooting guard who couldn't shoot.)

Yeah, I've watched them a lot the past few years and that's spot on. Presti was always obsessed with position less basketball and he got that on defense back then but he had guys with literally zero offensive skills, which lead to KD and Russ having to play hero ball. With this group, they've got 10 guys who can get up and down the floor, move, and they can all shoot. With the exception of Chet, they're completely interchangeable on offense and even Chet can handle and shoot. They're still good on defense, though.

They have 63 at the half. They're shooting 59% and 55% from 3.

It's the perfect solution for both. He's not winning anything in Phoenix, he'd fit in perfect in OKC, they're the only ones with assets, and it's a great story. Also, if it matters, Chet has KD's shoe. (That may not matter at all.)

Watch OKC offer some package of firsts and players (not the big 3) and nab him after next season. Suns then restart with that and Booker or trade Booker and restart with all of that.

Yeah, Beal is guaranteed $57M in 2027 for God's sake and he played 53 games this year, which is the most since 2020.

You forgot the veiled trade request earlier this year but that about covers it. In all fairness to LeBron, though, he won titles with three different teams. Durant won with GS, who won before he got there and after he left. As far as pure basketball talent, Durant might be on Mt Rushmore. If it's just one on one scoring ability, I'd take him over anyone today. Might be the best pure scorer in NBA history. However, his self awareness and leadership are subpar. You can take a pass on the leadership but the self awareness is the thing. No one besides him thought the Phoenix thing would work and now he's stuck there. He's like a rich guy in a bad marriage with no prenup. He just needs to make it work somehow.

Durant gonna ask for another trade. Maybe he'll go to a team with 2-3 of his friends. They'll all be wing players. No depth. He'll wonder why he can't win there and then go somewhere else.

Fucking well done. Well...done

I was wondering that, too, until we went to Italy and my wife insisted on going by the AAA office to get some paperwork for temporary drivers licenses and whatnot. Seemed like a blast of a place to work. You'd get to talk to people all day about where they're going and why they're going there. A couple in there with us was a very Americanized Iranian couple, prolly in their mid 30's. He was going back to Iran to visit his grandmother for the first time in 20+ years. Might have found my retirement job if they're still around.

I eat 1-2 pieces of lean skirt steak and 3 eggs. Lots of protein, no carbs. May need to shake up your workout if you want to get into that range.

Had my six month labs today for testosterone shots. 6'0" tall here and at the beginning, I was 219. Down to 215 now. (Had a bit of a fat weekend, though.) However, body fat % went from 24% to 16% in that span. Skeletal muscle mass went from 95 lbs to 105 lbs. Both significant changes and improvements. Also made changes to diet and fitness but these testosterone shots are cheat codes.

Yeah, despite being thin and light and some positions, OKC is good on defense. (They're long.) On NO's last possession, OKC had SGA, Dort, Cason Wallace, and Chet on the floor. Good luck with that. (Jalen Williams isn't terrible, either.)

OKC will win the series but it'll be ugly as all of their games with NO are. NO is just long, big, and physical, with or without Zion and that's a bad matchup for OKC but they just have the better players. The Clippers are actually a better matchup. They might have an easier time with them. They'd lose in like 5 games to Denver is my guess.

The Nephew out for Game 1. Lulz.

I guess that's the only way he can get into college.