Oddbean

I normally keep my Uber rides under 45 mins. But for a few reasons I ended up just getting a two-hour Uber from an airport the other day. The driver was nice but was like, “damn lol I hope Uber pays me well for this”. The issue with long rides is that the Uber driver is far away after the ride in a new territory and has to try to earn rides back to their normal location. He asked if he could at least stop for coffee or something and I said of course. So we go for a while and eventually pull over over at a convenience store and he goes to get some coffee and a snack. I go out and get a coffee too and then I pick up his tab and pay for both of us. Uber ended up calling both of us for a health check because the car was stopped. Buying him a coffee opened him up a bit so we talked for a while. He asked where I was coming from and I said Egypt, and he said he was from Ghana. While chatting and me explaining why I am coming from Egypt, he made a great point that in many places outside of the US, family is a big deal whereas in the US, it is much diminished. And as a result, it’s very important to build connections with neighbors and coworkers in place of that. Even just tell people “good morning” if you usually see them on the way to work so that people know who you are. He came to the US alone four years ago so that is something he describes having learned and a strategy he is using. Anyway as we pulled up to my destination I gave him an unusually big tip to compensate any inconvenience or unpaid time he might have getting back. A few mins later my doorbell rang and he had come up to say was super thankful for the big tip. The Uber algorithm had kind of screwed him over and the trip price (and thus his share) was low for the hassle, and he felt screwed over by Uber, but then he saw my tip which instantly fixed it. I should have checked to see if he had a lightning wallet or tried to convince him to download one if not, because then I could have done one of those social media “okay everybody tip this guy” posts. :/

What would you usually say to someone when they ask you how do I exchange for Fiat when they’ve downloaded a LN wallet? Even if the right thing for them to do would be to hold it. They’ll probably ask

Vitalik isn’t as popular around these parts, but he has the right idea about Uber and what a decentralized blockchain can do. https://image.nostr.build/ccb1ffedee697754f93e8cd0a8e63d45187448cd1d4b5b07391d022aba2e693a.jpg

日本の都市部(東京以外の地方都市も含める)では隣に誰が住んでいるのか知らないしあいさつもしない。おじいちゃんおばあちゃんや子供たち、海外から来た留学生などは公園でよく話したり遊んだりしている。大人たちは孤立している。 In urban areas of Japan (including regional cities outside of Tokyo), people do not know who lives next door and do not greet each other. Grandparents, children, and foreign students from abroad often talk and play in parks. Adults are isolated.

The nature of Amami Oshima is wonderful. it is cold in November, so Beppu Onsen might be better than Amami Oshima. you can see beautiful autumn leaves in November. 奄美大島 https://www.exploreamami.com/ 別府温泉 https://beppu-tourism.com/en/ 京都の紅葉 https://souda-kyoto.jp/guide/season/koyo/index.html

A lot of cultures it’s the norm to have several generations living under one roof. I wonder if we should be striving more towards that, ideologically, at least. Maybe we’d have less welfare, and a dependency on the state.

I almost had the chance to work for Uber but got rejected eventually. I am glad that I didn't have to work for Uber because the interview was unpleasant for me. I have a theory which I believe to be true for most internet service companies. If we have an open source car service server, similar to a Nostr relay, that can be operated by regional unions of drivers, the cost will be much lower because no single entity needs to operate such a huge car calling network. The cost is lower, then the driver can get a bigger share. It's not like Uber's people are intrinsically evil. It's the system's setup can't make them do it. Centralization is expensive. Of course, Uber as it is now, has no incentive to do so. The engineering complexity of Uber is also very high. But we can start this social technological experiment with smaller things such as social media and documentation tools. If we are sucessful in these battles, we can bring the war to other areas such as shared ride, e-commerce and more.

Some have fabricated lies that something was left behind to be able to contact the driver without exchanging real numbers. Probably a little extra given the situation. Thanks for sharing. I tend to tip half of what the original fare is so that they aren’t going back home empty handed. Maybe double makes sense considering the cut Uber/Lyft takes.

What a warm thing to wake up to! Like a cake that's just been out of the oven! 🫢 GM plebs! ☀️ nostr:nevent1qqsqjwnq9tqwdm3ue90jtl03uak9zh8rl7hrm2rwm0c9xuqm3c33hfgpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqzyr4tpe6k6v4cp0x5vneas39cqspsxp66z04tcdve5a3vntr6hy057qcyqqqqqqg67yvzx

in many places outside of the US, family is a big deal whereas in the US, it is much diminished. And as a result, it’s very important to build connections with neighbors and coworkers in place of that. That 1st sentence is sad but the 2nd is sadder. Have always been, “Not here to make friends but to work.”

Read why you have to behave US American here on nostr if you want to make it into the workdays and hearts of other npub's. tl;dr: Say gm, pv & gn. 🤣 Thank you @LynAlden for your #triplog. Can you do one the next time you forcefully put some psychoactive substances into your body? 🤙😋💆‍♂️🧭🏔️ nostr:nevent1qqsqjwnq9tqwdm3ue90jtl03uak9zh8rl7hrm2rwm0c9xuqm3c33hfgpr9mhxue69uhhqatjv9mxjerp9ehx7um5wghxcctwvspzp64suatdx2uqhn2xfu7cgjuqgqcrqadp864uxkv6wckf43atj860qvzqqqqqqyzpu42r

"n the US, it is much diminished" This part. This US behavior is no coincidence, it is intentionally like that, not allowing people to socialize, hence having more control over them. Internet is breaking all that, finally, and hopefully.

Yeah next time you should get to download a bitcoin wallet to tip them in Sats. I find it very pragmaticly helpful to not just talk to them about the problems but give them a hint to the solution eventhough sometimes I fail to convence them download a wallet but at least I try

Just started paying my pool cleaner in SATS, to his Muun wallet. He understands the volatility, but his reaction when seeing $240.00 become $248.11 the next day absolutely priceless. Starting to see the Store of Value concept.

Personally, I’ve rarely used a Lyft or ____ (once, for free cuz Finance guy friend who is big into 🇬🇧Neil Gaiman called one for me using his account) cuz do NOT feel safe using them UNLESS driver is a woman. Not really a good idea for a girl (esp if she’s been drinking) to get into a car driven by some random guy, doesn’t matter if they did background check cuz girls have been sexually assaulted by drivers of BOTH companies. I’m much more likely to use a cab cuz they’ve been with company so there’s history and accountability for who the drivers are. And if anything shady happens, you can just SUE the cab company! Also, surge pricing is bullshit, taking advantage of people and situations and a cab ride is actually cheaper! I just have friends pick me up and drop me off.

Rule #1 Only tip in bitcoin.... Its a win in every way: - they have a wallet and you support circular economy - they dont have a wallet and install one so we got one more potential bitcoiner - they dont have it and don't want it. They still have heard about bitcoin one more time and one day when they keep hearing about it they will try it. And you keep your sats in your pocket to use them elsewhere where they more valued and help progress bitcoin and a better world.

saying hello to people throughout the day and making sure that they remember you is a strategy that is widely used for solo female travellers as it helps dissuade malicious people who may otherwise see us as an easy target

Good for you for your generosity to that Uber driver! I have seen personally how that Uber takes 50-60% of the fare, while it's the driver who is doing all the work, using his or her gas, their time, paying for their own insurance and maintenance, etc. I can't wait until a decentralized rideshare app, perhaps based on Nostr, disrupts Uber and Lyft, and returns the money and power back to the drivers, and the customers...

Uber and Lyft only exist because of fiat and the free money policies of the 2010s. They lost money with every ride for over a decade. Uber just now made its first net income in Q2 2023: $394M after losing $31.5B since the was founded. This is not profit from small operations that can be assumed to grow once they scale. They are already at scale. At this rate, VCs will break even in 29 years and get their expected ROI in maybe another 10….