misteraven

Since I just posted in the reunion thread…

Who would you love to see back on here? Wondering if we can take a stab at rallying up and exercise our networking and online sleuthing skills to get back in touch with people? Feels like things are gaining traction and shouldn’t take a ton more to fuel that momentum and really tip things over.

I’m not a fan of commodity production. I try to approach production with intention and craft. For that reason, I don’t ship tees in bulk / printer folds. That’s when they take a take a stack (usually 10 or 12) and fold in half and then dump into a box (rarely a lined or bagged box). Instead, we mechanically fold everything by default. We allow clients to choose whether they want to bag and label (extra charge), but if a client doesn’t care enough about their brand to fold them neat and precisely, they really aren’t the right fit for our facility. Here’s a video of us doing some fold / bag / labeling for my friend Andy Stumpf from Cleared Hot Podcast. We are able to track garments individually down our folding line through a series of sensors, which can be configured so that each item is labeled individually (example, if they need to be numbered, serialized or individually personalized). We can fold at a rate up to 800 pieces an hour and program everything from fold lines, final fold size, wait times, pressures and stack heights. We also build the bag on the fly, in real time and can also program in final bag size according to any spec supplied by a client or fulfillment center. We can then auto label, which is also computer controlled, to generate any label detail / art needed, as well as precisely place the label wherever instructed; front, back and any part of either side. Anyhow, this is what it looks like in action… IMG_9596.mov

Yes we do vinyl stickers as well. Here’s an advanced peak at something coming pretty soon. 12ozProphet community here on the forum gets the first look but Gusto and myself will be announcing this pretty soon. He rocked this classic art and I think we did him justice translating his art into a super impressive little sticker jam. (pictures don’t even do it justice tbh). Another step towards the return of the 12ozProphet brand. Likewise, next week we’ll be doing a free sticker give away on the 12ozProphet Instagram and here on the forum so stay tuned (no, not for the stickers here, which will also be announced and made available separately). Anyhow, planning to start pushing new stickers pretty hard soon, but we also offer this as a service for anyone interested (100 piece minimum).

Few questions… Not sure I’ll garner enough responses to get a true read, but… 1. Favorite tee color? (so far, it’s been almost entirely limited to black and white) 2. long sleeve or short sleeve? I’ve done both and probably driven by climate, but I love tees with sleeve hits and longer sleeves have more real estate for graphics. 3. Subtle or loud graphics? Most I’ve done have been pretty loud. Graffiti is in your face and generally high energy. Most my ideas and design reflect or are inspired by that. 4. Heavyweight, midweight or lightweight tees? Personally prefer heavyweight. Feels more lux, quality and generally lasts far longer. 5. Standard or loose fit? Prefer standard since you can always size up if you want it looser, though not the same as the boxy, drop shoulder, cozy couture fit that seems to have been the trend these last years. 6. Value vs Cost proposition… I’ve always tried my best to elevate and execute at the highest levels. Packaging, complex production and techniques and more detail and concept driven ideas than average (IMO). From the zine, to the books, to the brand as a whole, I’ve always aspired to try and exceed expectations and create products that the young me would have flipped over. Obviously that all comes at a cost. Worth it or do you just want a standard shirt that’s cool enough so you can rep a brand you like on a budget? ———— Especially curious to hear from people that have experience in the industry like @Joker @dekayfa @glorydaysetc.

Not zombies this time, but a pretty fun read so far. Pandemic story that starts a little slow but has started ramping up. Always fun to read about how people react in extreme situations.

I’d love to see someone summarize and provide a couple links to this story. I believe most have heard of that scandal, but I’m not sure most really understand what happened with it. It kinda popped up and like most scandals, got washed away pretty quickly. Also like most, there’s so much shit flying around, it’s tough to really process the specifics, let alone navigate the opinions and misinformation. Anyone want to take on appending that to story to this thread?

That’s a huge accomplishment, congratulations man! I know how hard this to do, so pretty huge for you to not just think or talk about it, but get it done. Best of luck as you continue. @ndv I could potentially stock it on the online store but I can’t print it. I actually just finished a book recently on an entirely other subject from graff, but I printed in Croatia. I don’t own offset printing presses and getting stuff like that done is already prohibitively expensive off shore and near impossible domestically. If people wanted to t-shirts or stickers, that’s a different story.

On mortgages, at least in the USA, interest is stacked at the front of the term and not distributed equally across the term. The interest total is bundled into the mortgage and all of it compounded over time. So between prioritized in such a way for you to service that part first, it cumulative in that the total is compounded. This is why paying extra towards principal has such large effects. Also note that there is no prepayment penalty. That is law at the federal level. So if you can service the principal in its entirely, you only pay interest up to that moment and the rest disappears. The trick here, for those considering paying it off their mortgage quickly, is to look at the bigger picture. If you’re disciplined, it’s all math… If your mortgage is 4%, then can you make your money work for you to return better than that 4%. For example, if a certain investment has shown with a large degree of consistency that it can return 12%, then it would be foolish to pay off your mortgage early to save on 4%. You’d be better served making that investment to net out 8% after eating the interest on your mortgage. Work smarter and harder…

@Mercer I fall in your boat as far as being wrong. I got vaccinated but chose the J&J version as my understanding was it was a more conventional version and not mRNA based. I didn’t trust it, but I trusted the mRNA one even less, let alone having to take the mRNA version twice. I only did it for my wife and never wanted it. I was against it pretty much from the start, minus the natural uncertainty I think most felt about it all. By the time I got it, it was obvious that the reports didn’t match up to what I was observing and that the statistics, even if correct in their entirety, added up to a death rate of a tiny fraction of 1%. Pretty certain I said as much in the official thread on all that. Obviously a lot of people died, but not enough to over take a lot of other things that kill humans that go largely ignored at worst or get half hearted attention at best. Once they offered and then celebrated getting a vax for free Krispy Kream donuts, it was so ironic and such a massive surreal contradiction in my mind that I just could never go back to believing any of it.. Seemed straight out of the Onion or Babylon Bee. But it was important to my wife and I’ve always believed I’d put myself in harms way to protect my family, so was able to set aside my own position and do what she wanted me to do. Sucks, but I thought it through and did what I felt I needed to. I respect whatever position people have, up until we get to the point of mandates and trying to coerce / shame others. As an adult, it’s your body and your choice. Your rights only extend to yourself and not over the freedom, health or happiness of anyone else. It’s an individual choice and though ultimately I was arguably coerced into it myself, ultimately I made my choice. It is super fucked no matter how you spin it, to strong arm another person into doing anything, let alone injecting an experimental vaccine or any vaccine for that matter. I do hope as a country we learn from that experience and see it as a dark part of history whether you trust all the “experts” or see it as some sort of twisted conspiracy. We are definitely worse off as a nation in many regards having gone through it. The divisiveness as a country that was massively amplified with how they managed it, not being the least of it. Whichever side of the political divide you are on, I hope we all see what took place as massive government overreach. That they way overplayed their hand. And that they can’t be trusted. That regardless of political affiliation, or none at all, that all of us are best served being entirely skeptical of anything and everything that government has to say. That all of it should be heavily scrutinized independently and collectively and that every word, every action should be seen as wrong and invalid until they can convince most of the people otherwise. Trust and truth isn’t implied or expected and and every single step is proven and earned and then again on the next breath.

Alive because of the intelligence that they gather and share. Guaranteed he gets huge checks for that data from the government and plenty from commercial data mining and retargeting, which is their stated business model. FB you sent the main part. Data collection by way of their authentication gateway and tracking across that and platforms like FB and IG are.

Driving so I’ll respond later, but thought this was awesome,,,

Thinking you can raise your ask simply because interest rates go down isn’t really explaining the situation and isn’t necessarily true. it has been the general rule of thumb in how our system has largely behaved. We see a dynamic right now where there’s a total imbalance, which is the result of lot of things from debasement of our currency to artificially, unrealistically low rates for far too long. Interest rates are down from late last year. Unfortunately it doesn’t come close to being the sub 3 - 4% rates @Mercer got. Fact is that more than 80% of all mortgages nationally are that low. To get people to give those up is all but impossible because the interest savings is profound on a purchase that big for that long. You either have to throw ridiculous money at it or drop rates to within eyesight of those 3 - 4% mortgages. As we sit now, neither is possible. Houses (and most everything) is feeling unaffordable. If values go up even more, that is at odds with compelling anyone to sell a home. To level up, they have to come deep out of pocket. Then you have high interest rates contributing to a significantly higher payment on top of that. This is grossly simplifying but not about people not having enough money. It’s the consequences of government playing stupid games and your money losing its purchasing power. only fix is a major correction and that is going to be painful for most of us. There’s no easy fix at this point to correct the fuckery that’s taken place. This is reflected in how parabolic all the charts have become… Household debt, government debt etc. Now layer in how next year a massive portion of the federal debt comes to term. In the past they’ve refinanced it away. This time refinancing would entail an 2 - 2.5x the interest rate and they are already deep in deficit and struggling to make the interest payments (never mind the principal). Then add in the USA in the midst of losing global reserve status as it feeds off everything from BRICS to crypto and the natural consequences of that. Going to get wild and I’ll predict will have people with “jobs” reminiscing about having a roof over their head, let alone one they own. My two cents.

I think the discrepancy in what @Merceris saying and the responses pushing back is that obviously if you’re already an adult and slogging away for $21 an hour, no doubt it’ll be a tougher situation to rectify versus a young adult that’s following a plan like that. Stands to reason, as well as proven out from my own personal experience, that every year that goes by, it becomes increasingly difficult. I think this scenario is similar to the debate on “livable wage”… Reality is that despite what McDonalds might claim on their hiring page, working there is not a career. It is a stepping stone to acquire experience and earn a little money as you do so. It’s a stepping stone. If you end up there as an adult, depending on it to live your life, than clearly you’ve been steady making bad decisions for quite a while. At that point you ended up in a low income “job” versus a “career”, Besides careers having a “career path”, even then you’ll be best served having plans and goals, as well as a certain amount of discipline to not only develop both, but to methodically working towards both. From my point of view, we’re looking at the consequences of decades of dumbing people down and teaching them to be dependent. I’m pretty sure everyone here can relate to the sense of urgency you have to make money when you’re suddenly out of the nest and forced to earn your way versus the oblivious bliss of coming home to your room, dinner and clean laundry when you live at home with your parents. When people are dependent, it puts you at the mercy of whoever is carrying your wait. If you’re a kid, it’s your parents. If you’re an adult, it’s government. Obviously if you’re independently sustaining yourself, you’re largely responsible only to yourself and have the freedom to tell everyone to go fuck. I also believe to avoid more people recognizing that simple truth, is to tangle carrots while also ensuring that they’re all arguing with each other. Anyhow, getting a bit off topic and bordering on turning this into a news section post, but to simply address the theme of the last couple posts… If you are an adult and your options are limited to a $21 hr job, then you kind of fucked up. That doesn’t mean you can buckle down, get your shit together and double time it to make up for lost time. But to wallow in a job, then complain that it’s not enough to live off while waiting on the government to remedy your situation isn’t really much of a plan and the consequences of putting yourself into that situation will have consequences such as not enough money to cover the cost of an adult live. This is to say that you are behind the curve in every way. That’s a sucky spot to be in so instead of complaining, change your situation. That brings us back full circle.. Developing a plan, setting goals and then methodically chasing both. Something we are all supposed to be doing as a mature child, growing into a young adult. So yeah, @Mercer blocked out a pretty straight forward view. The math is simple, even if undoubtedly subject to differences in region when it comes to specific numbers. He’s not saying a kid or young adult can step into it. He’s saying an adult, that’s been conducting themselves as an adult, can manage it. He even broke it out into a progressive scale which obviously is based upon financial success. Again, rooted in having a plan, setting goals and working diligently towards both. Easier for some than others, but all of us or subject to the consequences of not doing it - whether it’s being dependent on someone else to pickup the tab or suffering through what happens when nobody does.

Maybe this is a news thread with the rules we made since this thread was created. If it gets contentious, we’ll move it. That said, in the years since, with everything that’s come out, officially and conspiracy / conjecture, what are everyone’s thoughts on this? I’m most especially interested in hearing from those that have already posted a position / opinion, especially in this thread. Again, not trying to get contentious or divisive, but has your stance changed since we now have quite a bit of hind sight we can look on?

Another thread that I feel has become more important with time. I started this at the near height of COVID and have a feeling as we continue on, it’s going to really separate those capable of living a half decent life from those that end up pretty fucked for being dependent on systems that not only do not have your best interest at heart, but appear to be outright trying to fuck you. Then there’s plenty of shit going sideways, spiraling and collapsing as well. I know @Mercercan speak quite a bit on the topic, both from book smarts and personal experience since I watched him slowly evolve this mindset over the past many years now. Hoping a few more of our family on here recognizes what we’ve been ringing the bell about. Not to get doomsday prepper on motherfuckers but hedging your bets is wise and reality is you’re engineering a better life and destiny you have a little more control over versus waking up to realize you’re totally fucked because you trusted total strangers to do as they promised rather than follow the obvious track record of control and cash grab.

Anyone else try this? What’s your experience been? Maybe it’s an excuse but feel like I can’t get rid of my phone because of work and responsibilities. But damn, miss the days before smart phones.

Damn, forgot about this one and crazy to see how long I’ve been focused on clean eating. I’ve tried my best this last year to almost exclusively eat whole foods. Basically if it has to list ingredients, I don’t eat it (as best as I can maintain). I’m currently somewhere between Keto and Carnivore and I also try to reduce my eating window to 4 hours out of 24, meaning one meal a day, maybe a second meal about half the time. Usually lighter and try to not wait more than 4 hours after the first meal. Basically it’s fasting. I’ve really done a lot of study and experimenting in this regard with the hopes of giving me every possible advantage to better equip myself to deal with all the stress and anxiety in my life as well as just be healthier and happier in general. it’s been years since I’ve actually eaten sugar directly in anything I cook or drink. In fact, if I do happen to consume anything not a whole food, then I’ll scrutinize the label for added sugar, any fucked up ingredients and even avoid the scam ingredients like “natural flavor” since in reality there’s little oversight, no accountability and it’s a loophole to infuse a lot of nasty shit that is usually more about engineering cravings than “flavoring” anything. Good app for anyone interested (and on iOS) is Trash Panda: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/trash-panda-food-scanner/id1539759995 That said, consistent, meaningful exercise has still been a massive challenge for me.

post #2 from @earmuffs. I was saying the same thing at the time and crazy to look back and realize that it was exponentially easier to buy a house in 2019 than it is today in 2024. Not to be on this depressive, critical tip as I look back on some older threads but damn, wonder how long this continues to go off the rails before guillotines maybe become a thing again. Thread made me think of some fairly recent conversations I’ve had with @Mercer

12oz ahead of the curve with the pedo bear shit. Went from a joke to a sad reality.

+2 years.

https://daisydiskapp.com/# little late with this. Sorry, hopefully it’s still helpful.

Damn, what happened to @Crocodile Tears ?

Enjoy while you can. Soon it’ll be so easy to generate with AI that I’ll bet it won’t be worth it for woman to bother with anymore.