I have built two home walls this year. The one in my garage is 11 feet wide, nine feet tall, and 47 degrees overhanging. The one in the backyard of my parents鈥� house (where I spent the summer) is eight feet wide, 11 feet tall, 41 degrees overhanging, and set with a 2016 Moonboard. Building these walls was something of a culmination for me: definitive proof that, after two decades of commuting to the gym, I finally have the disposable income to train at home. Neither wall, however, is even remotely as photogenic as the 83-foot mistake currently at 16 Minetta Lane in New York City鈥檚 uber-posh West Village.

Did I just say mistake?

I guess I did.

But before I explain, let me first admit that the rest of 16 Minetta certainly looks pretty sweet鈥攁lmost infinitely nicer than the roach-ridden one-bedroom my wife and I once shared in Prospect Park South. The mansion was designed by architect Adam Kushner, and it served as a primary residence for him and his family for several years. It鈥檚 4,200 square feet across seven floors. It has four bedrooms and five bathrooms. It has multiple fireplaces, a private courtyard, multiple terraces and balconies, a private roof deck, 23-foot living room ceilings, and stylish piles of cordwood providing rustic decoration throughout. The only true eyesore, in my plebeian opinion, is the 83-foot climbing wall.

The wall begins at the basement level and 鈥渃limbs鈥� up the northwest side (morning sun, evening shade) of an enclosed, glass-topped courtyard. For the first four stories it looks much like any other pre-21st century climbing wall: vertical and brown-tinted, with tape designating certain routes. But then it escapes through a retractable glass roof. And for the next three stories, as you ascend into the air above the West Village, the wall material is glass, which offers the climber sweeping views of Manhattan and allows envious passersby on the street to compete over who can take the least-flattering butt shots.

Pretty cool, huh?

Sure. But you鈥檇 think an architect with an $20 million home would have invested in a slightly more interesting arrangement of wall angles (dead vertical being perhaps the single worst angle after dead flat), and a slightly more thrilling set of holds. In photos, the vertical wall is, admittedly, broken by a few large volume, but is it even possible to climb its weird slug-shaped overhang without dabbing against the facade of the building? And those holds! They look like used gym holds from the 90s鈥攃halkless, slippery, and ergonomically fucked. ( gorgeous wood grips would have fit the home鈥檚 timber-themed decor far better.) When I first looked at the pictures, I immediately thought that while the house looks like it was designed by someone who knows a thing or two about houses, the climbing wall looks like it was designed by someone who knows almost nothing about climbing.

This is sort of鈥攂ut not exactly鈥攖rue.聽 According to a 2021 about 16 Minetta in Gripped, Kushner began rock climbing in the 1980s and used day trips to the Gunks as an 鈥渁ntidote鈥� to the urban bustle. He never led harder than 5.6 trad, and he never followed harder than 5.8, but he was emotionally devoted to the sport, and he鈥檚 since translated the meaning it brought to his life into a design element in his architecture, even (according to Gripped) incorporating a wall used during the X Games into one of his earlier projects.

In this sense, Kushner鈥檚 home wall seems designed to serve more of a metaphorical function than a physical one. I mean, it literally begins in a forever-shadowy basement courtyard, pierces a glass ceiling, and loses even the visibly restrictive nature of鈥攚ell鈥攁 wall by turning translucent. It is, quite literally, an escape from the confines of a closed-in city home.

Yet I can鈥檛 help but sense that the climbing wall鈥檚 upward-reaching, unenclosed nature also鈥攁nd ironically鈥攎imics a famous feature of one of history鈥檚 most restrictive architectural structures: the high towers of a Disney-style castle. This makes sense to me. Because city mansions are a bit like castles, designed to make the wealthy feel separate and safe from the commoners in the street, and the climbing wall at 16 Minetta is little more than a 21st century version of the high tower from which a king, or a prince, or cloistered maiden might gaze while simultaneously submitting themselves to the admiration of those below.

Accidental? I think not. 鈥淭he city park is right across from us,鈥� Kushner told Gripped in 2021. 鈥淲e certainly draw a crowd.鈥�

The appropriation of climbing and climbing walls by non-climbers isn鈥檛 particularly new. Hollywood has made hay out of misrepresenting the sport for decades. And artificial climbing walls鈥攐r their genetically tortured cousins鈥攈ave been popping up in fairs, parks, weight gyms, and cruise ships for decades, attracting kids and scorn and in seemingly equal measure.

But what鈥檚 interesting about Kushner鈥檚 version at 16 Minetta is the combination of utility and location. This isn鈥檛 a state fair. This is a home. Which means that this wall is something that Kushner and his family looked at, and lived next to, for years. And though the wall鈥檚 design is pretty mediocre from a climbing standpoint, it is functional. You can lead climb or top rope. You can crimp, drop-knee, or pump off huge greasy volumes. And according to Gripped, the wall hosts鈥攐r did in 2021鈥攕ome relatively challenging routes. While Kushner remains a novice, his son took to the sport pretty well and set climbs as hard as 5.11鈥攖hough, judging from photos, it seems he either didn鈥檛 use chalk or, for cleanliness reasons, wasn鈥檛 allowed to, so who knows how hard the climbs actually were.

Of course, the thought of Kushner鈥檚 teenage son spending hours hanging on his family鈥檚 wall, testing moves, setting 5.11s, and mocking his old man鈥攖hat makes me happy. But it also makes me a little lonely on his behalf. Because when teenagers find climbing, they generally find a community to go along with it. But I suspect that having a wall like this in your house would inspire the opposite. Does that make him a Rapunzel figure鈥攖rapped in his high tower, in need of escape? Probably not. But for most of us, gyms are social鈥攁nd it鈥檚 that part of their functionality.

I have nothing against Kushner. If he and his son are happy lapping a vertical wall while the plebes ogle them from the street below鈥攆ine. But regardless of how dysfunctional the wall is from a climber perspective, I do think it鈥檚 there鈥檚 something meaningful about the fact that Kushner鈥檚 home climbing wall is being marketed as a central design element of an $20 million mansion that Kushner (a famous and influential architect, remember) considers 鈥渄eeply philosophical鈥� and 鈥渢he culmination of [his] dream.鈥�

Meaningful how? I don鈥檛 know if I can answer that in any concise and singular way. Perhaps it鈥檚 meaningful in the same kind of way that $1,590 Louis Vuitton chalk bag was meaningful: an implication that our sport is now mainstream enough to be mined for symbolism by people who don鈥檛 actually engage in the sport. Or perhaps it鈥檚 meaningful in the same way that Eddie Bauer鈥檚 to fire all its climbing athletes and replace them with Instagram influencers is meaningful: a reminder that, in our late capitalist society, semblance is more marketable than the real thing. Or perhaps it鈥檚 meaningful in the same kind of way that recent climbing gym are meaningful: a reminder that our gyms, which were once owned by climbers and run for climbers, are now overseen by executives whose fundamental allegiance is not to their customers or the employees but to the already-wealthy investors who expect the gym to maximize their returns. In other words: a reminder that our sport is now quite literally being defined by wealthy people who have no emotional investment in it.

Indeed, in a full-circle moment, Kushner has been part of that process, too. His architectural firm, , and his construction company, the , led the of Brooklyn Boulders鈥檚 former home, at 575 Degraw Street in Gowanus, for the Brooklyn Bouldering Project. Brooklyn Boulders was my old local gym, so I can attest to the fact that it was a dilapidated tear-down. There were no showers or saunas or yoga rooms. The roof often leaked. In the winter, frigid air plowed through single pane warehouse windows, and in summer, the place smelled like someone was trying to roast old socks in an oven.

But I鈥檓 old enough to remember the days before Brooklyn Boulders鈥檚 management ran it into the ground, when BKB鈥攂ack then the only commercial climbing gym in the city鈥攚as a legitimately beloved training hub whose densely set walls and wide range of difficulties attracted folks like Ty Landman, Phil Schaal, and Ashima Shiraishi. So it鈥檚 a little sad to know that Kushner Studios and the In-House Group finalized that gym鈥檚 long transformation into something very different: a mirror image of every other chichi commercial gym out there. Yoga studio! Coworking space! Yet another gigantic facility that doesn鈥檛 have very many problems because we don鈥檛 want to pay our setters but we鈥檒l attempt to disguise that by splashing colorful macros across the walls and then quiet dissent from core climbers by throwing a Tension Board 2 into one corner!

Perfect. Just what our sport needs.

But I鈥檒l tell you this: If you gave me 16 Minetta, I鈥檇 at least consider tearing it down to build a real rock gym. The sort of core community center that, for a few years, Brooklyn Boulders managed to be. Maybe we can shape some good old timber crimps from those piles of ornamental firewood.

Related:

The post Why This $20 Million Mansion鈥檚 Gigantic Home Wall Is Just Plain Stupid appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

My friends have more money than me and always want to take trips that I can’t afford. But I hate missing out on being with them. What should I do?

This is a super frustrating problem, compounded by the fact that the language we use around money (or lack thereof) is often dizzyingly non-specific. When someone says, 鈥淚鈥檓 broke,鈥� they could mean, 鈥淢y bank account is in the negative and I don鈥檛 know how I鈥檒l eat this month,鈥� or they could mean, 鈥淢y next trust fund payment doesn鈥檛 come in until Tuesday.鈥�

Money is precise, of course, but in a group of friends, it鈥檚 also relative. We measure our finances against our peers, but we don鈥檛 actually know how much money they have, so instead we measure against what we think they have, though that estimate may be wildly different from the truth. Add that to issues of shifting employment, debt, and family responsibility, and it鈥檚 no wonder that talking about money can be awkward with even the closest friends.

This is all to say that your experience is, unfortunately, common, because it鈥檚 exceedingly rare for a group of people to be in the exact same financial boat, let alone consistently so. In fact, I wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if someone else in your friend group is in the same situation as you are, but hasn鈥檛 known how to speak up.

And speaking up is exactly what you should do, even if it feels uncomfortable. But first, figure out your budget, so that you can talk specifics. (When it comes to money, people tend to interpret ambiguous statements by projecting their own experience, which isn鈥檛 exactly going to help you here.) What amount can you spend on adventures with your friends? Are you able to afford the occasional bigger trip, as long as it鈥檚 not a regular occurrence? Or is your budget basically zero? What would be a comfortable amount for you to spend? If you come to them with numbers鈥斺�淗ey guys, I really want to do this, but my fun budget this month is a hundred dollars鈥濃�攖hen it鈥檚 going to be much easier for your friends to adjust their plans accordingly.

Remember, your friends want your company. It鈥檚 completely normal (and great) for groups of buddies to adjust to each other鈥檚 limitations. Maybe you plan your hangouts for Saturdays, because someone has to work on Sunday. Or you when you鈥檙e hiking, because someone鈥檚 allergic to peanuts. That鈥檚 not hardship; it鈥檚 friendship. Supporting each other, and making adjustments, is part of what community is all about.

How to Plan Budget-Friendly Trips

Your friends may be able to help support you on trips they鈥檝e already planned, like by letting you sleep in their hotel room or packing food instead of stopping at restaurants along the way. They might still take the occasional trip you can鈥檛 afford, but overall, if they鈥檙e considerate, they鈥檒l keep your budget in mind.

That said, if you really want group trips that stick to your budget, the best way to ensure they happen is by planning them yourself. This is true for anyone who has limitations that their friends don鈥檛, whether those limitations are financial, physical, or something else. Your friends may not understand your criteria, even if they want to. But if you plan something and invite them, they鈥檒l be delighted鈥攁nd you鈥檒l know that the trip works for you, too.

What are your friends into? What seems fun to you? The great thing about outdoor travel is that it can be dirt cheap (no pun intended) or even free, if you take advantage of public land, shared equipment, or stuff you already have. Keep an eye out for community events, or natural phenomena like migrations or meteor showers that make even a local jaunt feel exciting. Or try something new, like foraging, and do the research yourself ahead of time. Remember that adventures aren鈥檛 fun because they鈥檙e expensive; they鈥檙e fun because of good company, or because you鈥檙e stepping outside your daily life and exploring.

If someone reading this column is the friend with more money, let this be a reminder to be considerate, and to hold off on making assumptions about what your friends can afford. Remember that amounts of money that feel small to you can cause a lot of stress for your friends, which is the last thing you want to do! That鈥檚 not to say that you should stop inviting people on trips that may be out of their budget; it鈥檚 on them to say yes or no, and everyone likes to be invited, even if they don鈥檛 ultimately come along. But try to balance those with cheaper activities鈥攐r better yet, free ones. You want your friends to know that you don鈥檛 love their company because of what they can pay for, or what you get to do together. You love their company because of who they are.

Blair Braverman writes our Tough Love column. Her favorite cheap adventure is river tubing: park one car down-river, then carpool upstream and float your way back down. In her experience, old-school tire inner tubes are often less than $10 and less likely to pop than low- or mid-priced float tubes.

The post I鈥檓 Broke, But My Friends Keep Planning Expensive Group Vacations appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It often feels like going green takes a bite out of your wallet. Organic produce, sustainably sourced apparel, electric cars, renewable energy鈥攎any of these cost more than traditional goods and services, and the increased prices can force us to make a tough decision. Do we do what鈥檚 right for the planet, or make smart financial choices? It’s painful that going green and saving money can often feel mutually exclusive.

I recently discovered that they don’t have to be.

When I started writing this column almost exactly one year ago, my goal was to examine all facets of my life and try to make more sustainable choices every day. I also began tracking how this lifestyle impacted my bank account. After a year, I have been pleasantly surprised. It turns out I have actually saved money鈥攂y my count, approximately $9,000.

I analyzed the green products and habits that helped me save the most cash, and have distilled them down into 11 easy actions. They鈥檙e accessible choices we can all make鈥搕he ones that don鈥檛 require fat initial investments. (I bit the bullet and bought an EV, which saved me $700+ in gas last year, but I didn鈥檛 include that savings in my tally.)

Most聽importantly, these habits have brought me joy, taught me new lessons and skills, and opened my eyes to the many benefits of going through daily life with a sustainable mindset.

How to Save Money While Going Green

I crunched all these numbers using the following assumptions: family of four, New England weather, and local prices. The savings below are conservative estimates.

Shopping Secondhand

Almost everything I鈥檝e bought in the last year has been thrifted, from clothing to kitchen gadgets to garden tools. I鈥檝e scored $230 designer jeans for $8, $150 Brooks Brothers shirts for my sons at $4 apiece, and a fancy $120 rice cooker for $10. And the big score: I found two huge stone planters that would have cost me $1,000 at Pottery Barn. I scooped them up at an estate sale for $20 each.

All told, I saved big in the last year by staying off of Amazon, avoiding spontaneous shopping, and buying most of what I need or want in a pre-loved condition. Plus, thrifting鈥攐r treasure hunting, as I have come to think of it鈥攈as become not only a way of life, but a hobby. I love trolling the shops on weekends, even if only to search for mason jars.

Total annual savings: at least $3,500

Shopping My Fridge

I used to go to the market almost every day. I鈥檇 decide what to make for dinner based on what I was craving or a request from one of my kids and head off with my ingredient list. Now, I do one big shop on the weekend, list in hand. On weekdays, I contemplate the contents of my fridge and pantry and see what meals聽I can create. Not only does it cut down on food waste (because I use things up before they spoil), it鈥檚 become like a daily puzzle-solving game and I estimate that it saves me about $50 a week. Some recent creations that did not disappoint: veggie fried rice (I make this about once every two weeks), oatmeal fruit smoothies, gojuchang buttered noodles with cucumber salad, chopped Greek salad, and roasted veggie barley soup.

Total annual savings: $2,600

Cooking Plant-Based Twice a Week

The production of meat across the globe accounts for of plant-based foods, according to a 2021 study on nature.com. Turns out a heavy meat-based diet is equally harmful to our bank accounts. I routinely pay $14 for a package of three organic chicken breasts and $16 for two pounds of organic hamburger meat. By simply subbing in dried black beans one night (for a hearty chili) and dried garbanzo beans (for a spicy veggie curry), I save $26 per week, plus have plenty of leftovers for lunches.

Total annual savings: $1,352

Growing My Own Fresh Herbs

I frequently cook with herbs. My typical daily intake includes a big handful of mint in my smoothie, or a mound of cilantro and parsley on my stir fry. Buying fresh herbs at the grocery store has always ticked me off鈥攎ostly because of the plastic packaging. I hadn鈥檛 given much thought to how much money I was spending, until I did. I actually made a spreadsheet of how often I use a package worth of herbs: parsley, cilantro, basil and chives every week; mont, thyme, and rosemary every other week; dill once a month; bay and sage a couple times a year. Then I tallied up my savings by growing my own, which I鈥檝e been doing for several years鈥搒ome in planters and some in garden beds. Not only was the savings pretty staggering, but I realized that always having the herbs on hand makes me use them more. Plus they鈥檙e pretty.

Total annual savings: $352

Growing My Own Greens

I grow lettuce, spinach, chard (as well as radishes, beets, and carrots) from June to October each year. This saves me a bundle and reduces my household plastic intake considerably (since the best lettuces always come in that annoying clamshell packaging). I鈥檓 fortunate to have nice big garden beds, but I have friends who grow them all year round using an aerogarden. Proof that (literally) going green can save you money.

Total annual savings: $320

Make My Own Sparkling Water

We go through a lot of fizzy water in my house. It鈥檚 a much healthier alternative to soda, but the price adds up and the recycling bin fills quickly with cans. But I thrifted a $150 Soda Stream for $12 bucks and now I make my own, often adding a squeeze of citrus.

Total annual savings: $286

Turning Down the Heat

We all have sweaters and puffies and beanies鈥攍et鈥檚 use them! My colleagues who I see every day on Zoom can confirm that I鈥檓 always bundled up. But doing so lets me keep the thermostat at 60 degrees Fahrenheit聽all winter long (despite the complaints of my family). Your savings will vary depending on where you live and how you heat your house.

Total annual savings: $270

Swapping Paper Towels for Reusables

My family used to rip through a few rolls of paper towels each week before I stopped buying them. Now we use washable instead (and also stopped buying kitchen sponges). I got a 24-pack for $38.

Total annual savings: $156

Swapping Ziplocs and Plastic Wrap for Reusable Food Storage

Google tells me that the average American family goes through 500 plastic storage bags per year, and that sounds about right to me if you鈥檙e using them only once and they鈥檙e your main source of storage. Back when I packed school lunches for my kids, I鈥檇 blow through 4 to 6 a day without thinking about it. Stretch-Tite plastic wrap was also one of my go-tos, and I used to buy several rolls a year. But now I store everything in reusable, preferably glass storage containers, silicone bags, thrifted mason jars, and repurposed pickle and peanut butter jars.

Total annual savings: $115

Composting

My passion for growing my own food has sprouted into many new sub-hobbies like canning, jelly-making, pickling, and naturally, composting. I used to buy six or聽seven bags of organic compost for my garden each year at about $17 a pop. Now I make my own, which is a fun science experiment with the added benefit of obliterating food waste in my house.

Total annual savings: $102

Subbing Soap Nuts for Liquid Laundry Soap

After a deep investigation into laundry pods and so-called 鈥済reen鈥� laundry sheets, I went in search of a way to clean my family鈥檚 clothes without plastic and toxic chemicals and discovered聽. They鈥檙e actually hard-shelled berries that grow in tropical climates and contain saponin, a natural soap. I put five in a little muslin sack, add a few drops of lavender oil per load, and get five to eight loads out of each batch (adding more lavender for each load). Once spent, the nuts go right into my compost. Although it鈥檚 not a huge money saver, I like that I鈥檓 avoiding all those plastic jugs and keeping bad chemicals out of my clothes and the water table.

Total annual savings: $23

Lessons Learned and Money Saved by Going Green

It might sound corny, but making these changes in my life has brought me great joy: puttering in my garden, treasure hunting in thrift stores and at estate sales, proudly serving my home-grown veggies to hungry loved ones.

These habits have sparked more mindfulness about the things I do and don鈥檛 need and taught me to question my consumerism every day. I鈥檝e been hesitant about sustainability evangelizing in the past, not wanting to seem righteous or preachy. But now that I鈥檝e seen how much cash there is to be saved by making these small changes and the pride and joy that comes with it, I鈥檒l gladly talk your ear off about how going green can save you money.

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, and鈥攜es鈥攚ealthier. 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 head of sustainability, Kristin Hostetter, explores small lifestyle tweaks that can make a big impact. Write to her at climateneutral-ish@outsideinc.com.

The post I Saved $9,000 Last Year by Going Green. Here鈥檚 How. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Inflation has caused the prices of just about everything to go up, from eggs to lumber to our beloved vacations. Skyrocketing flight and car rental prices mean vacations are often the first thing to get cut from the budget when money gets tight. But it doesn鈥檛 have to be that way. With an RV, vacations are actually easier and more affordable than most people think, and you鈥檒l be protected from the worst of inflation. Here鈥檚 how to save on money this summer鈥攁nd on trips far into the future鈥攚ithout sacrificing fun.

Consider a Budget-Friendly RV

The nice thing about RVs is that they come in so many styles and sizes, and there are great options at every price point. The found that one type鈥攖owable trailers鈥攐ffers the most savings over time. One clear benefit: a travel trailer can turn your SUV or truck into an adventure rig without sacrificing access to your daily driver. No need to transfer car seats or other accessories back and forth. These models also offer the convenience of being able to unhitch your camper and drive to more rugged locations, scout the road ahead, or take a day trip in a more nimble and fuel-efficient vehicle.聽

Save on Daily Costs

The truth is that while towable models are the most cost-effective model, RV vacations on the whole than trips that require flights and hotels. The travel site estimates that flights will hit an average of $350 this summer and hotels will average $212 per night. If you鈥檙e traveling with your family, looking for fun activities, and eating most of your meals out, you can see how quickly costs will start to add up. While annual maintenance and insurance should be factored in when considering purchasing a towable trailer, an RV vacation is quite cheap: just gas, campsite fees, and food to prepare at camp. RV campsites can be as cheap as $25 a night, and it鈥檚 free to camp at dispersed sites (often called boondocking) on the country鈥檚 millions of acres of public land.

Avoid the Hassle

In summer, airports are busy and can be especially stressful. With an RV trip, you can avoid all the usual headaches of air travel. No TSA line, no airport parking, no canceled flights or delayed bags, no expensive food, and no wasted time. You can start your vacation the second you shut your front door behind you. Plus, there鈥檚 no need to find someone to watch your dog while you鈥檙e gone, because you can just bring them along with you. Does your kid want to bring their best friend? No problem, pick them up on your way out of town. Throw in bikes, in-line skates, or paddleboards and skip paying for rentals when you arrive at your destination. Remember to double-check the weight capacity of your RV before packing to ensure a safe and fun travel experience.聽

Enjoy Travel Flexibility

Staying flexible is key, especially in uncertain economic times. With an RV, you can easily adjust your travel plans to meet your budget鈥攊t鈥檚 simple to head out to nearby locales every weekend if you want. If the budget is tight, look for a state park within an hour or two from home and save on gas. Or set up your rig for a cozy driveway slumber party and create a staycation for free. If you鈥檙e too busy to spend a lot of time on logistics and planning, don鈥檛 stress. and inspiration to help you quickly put together your next trip.

Maximize Savings

Mind your budget by using gas apps, like GasBuddy, to help find the cheapest prices at gas stations along your route. Before you leave home you can plug your route into to make sure your desired plan fits your budget. And it鈥檚 easy to save on campground fees. Search for free or cheap campsites and for more free options. If you have BLM or U.S. Forest Service land near you, call the local field office to get a ranger鈥檚 insight on the best dispersed campsite options and to help determine if you can tow your trailer there. Another option for finding unique places to stay is a membership with . For $99 per year, you can have unlimited overnight camping at any of its 795 participating wineries, 1,722 farms, 576 breweries and distilleries, and 1,329 other locations.

Don鈥檛 just go on a trip, go on a real vacation. There鈥檚 a real vacation for every occasion and everyone. You can go when you want, where you want, and however you want. Learn more at and follow on Instagram for more inspiration to hit the road.

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Five people were killed this week when they took an experimental submarine, the聽Titan,聽into ocean depths to visit the wreck of the RMS Titanic. Yesterday, search and rescue officials confirmed the vessel had seemingly imploded.

Internet reactions to the tragedy continue to range from compassion to outright vitriol directed at both the submersible鈥檚 maker, Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate, and its paying passengers: Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood.

Why the mixed emotions? Is it because the submersible ride cost a steep $250,000 per-person鈥攗naffordable for most鈥攁nd because at least two of the passengers were billionaires? Or, because despite dire warnings from industry peers about the safety and functionality of Stockton’s Titan submersible, he and his tourist crew went anyways? Or, because we put dangerous faith in innovators and these missions sometimes result in loss of life? Or, perhaps, it’s simply easier in today’s digital age to weigh in on disasters from behind a screen鈥攑ositive or negative.

鈥淩ich people taking risks outdoors is nothing new,鈥� explains Dr. Len Necefer, an 国产吃瓜黑料 contributor who works at the intersection of Indigenous peoples, natural resources, and environmental policy. 鈥淔rom Christopher Columbus to Richard Branson, money and resources have historically brought the ability to do dumb, dangerous stuff.鈥�

We asked Dr. Necefer, along with Matthew Scott, an 国产吃瓜黑料 contributor and Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and frequent leader of vehicle-based expeditions through some of the world鈥檚 most remote places, to examine some of the social media memes, comments, and reactions聽to this tragedy.

https://twitter.com/superking1816/status/1672224657142054912?t=OiTonpD0Z9wbPyJCXJ2TCQ&s=19

鈥�$250,000 is a lot of money. Couldn鈥檛 it have been better spent helping people in need?鈥�

Scott: That kind of coin is being thrown around daily, all around you. When I see a person of extreme affluence spending their money on experiences, instead of a gold-encrusted steak from that terrible Salt Bae guy鈥擨 support it.

Dr. Necefer: This particular adventure is one of the dumb outcomes of a gross misallocation of society鈥檚 resources. Let鈥檚 not forget the other stories from just this past week of in the Mediterranean and outside the Canary Islands.

The willingness to allow certain people to die while every effort is made to save others is a really dark reflection on humanity…

— Olabode (@olabode_szn)

鈥淚t鈥檚 unethical for billionaires to exist at all since the only path to hoarding so much wealth involves exploiting others. Good riddance.鈥�

Scott: Billionaires are a by-product of the values and legislation that a majority of society supports. If society didn鈥檛 want billionaires, we could tax them out of existence with the stroke of a pen. But deep down, you want to be a billionaire the same as I do.

Dr. Necefer: I鈥檓 sure OceanGate, the people in it, and anyone who decided that it was a good idea to associate with this mission聽are going to get sued out of existence. I can just see those wrongful death lawyers wringing their hands together in delight with the money they鈥檒l make on the stupid litigation that will come from this. Who knows, maybe a new billionaire will be minted through these lawsuits?

鈥淭hat sub looked sketchy. It was stupid for anyone to even get on it.鈥�

Scott: There鈥檚 no way in hell I鈥檇 get on a submarine controlled by a knock-off game controller. But let鈥檚 not forget that some of the people on that submarine鈥攚hich included elected members of the Explorer鈥檚 Club鈥攈ad legitimate deep sea submarine experience, including at the Titanic site. They obviously felt comfortable enough to strap themselves in. There are few, if any, regulations or standards for submersibles capable of this depth. You have to accept this risk before doing something like this.

Dr. Necefer: Let鈥檚 quote OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush: 鈥淪afety is just pure waste.鈥�

鈥淭he passengers were just paying for a seat, they鈥檙e not real adventurers.鈥�

Scott: 鈥淭he battle for authenticity, as viewed through someone else鈥檚 eyes, is a battle you will never win. How many people reading this went on a gap-year backpacking trip to Thailand where they spent a couple weeks getting drunk and then went home to brag about their 鈥渁dventure?鈥� These folks bolted themselves into a steel tube and went to the bottom of the ocean. Sounds like an adventure to me.

Dr. Necefer: Honestly, if I had access to this kind of money? Hell yeah I鈥檇 do it. But hell no would I think of myself as an adventurer.

https://twitter.com/KhandakerMunta/status/1671671157106573314?t=4_V1Mzwb6TlcDMnzO-9Cmw&s=19

鈥淭hey were just watching the trip through a 21-inch TV screen from inside the sub, and occasionally through a tiny porthole. What was the point?鈥�

Scott: Were you expecting a double bay window with a screen door? This is 3,000 meters below sea level. The small porthole was the entire point of the trip鈥攖o see the wreck of the Titanic with your own eyes.

Dr. Necefer: From what I can see from the vessel鈥檚 layout, the toilet has a direct view out of the porthole. Talk about a million dollar view, huh?

鈥淪tockton was just exploiting gullible rich people to pay for his research.鈥�

Scott: It鈥檚 really easy to point fingers at this early stage. When you consider the exploration credentials and accomplishments of some of the expedition members, my opinion is that you鈥檇 be hard pressed to take advantage of those guys without them knowing what they were getting into.

Dr. Necefer: Good marketing can convince people to do just about anything. Up to, and including, spending a quarter of a million dollars on a vacation they鈥檒l never come home from.

For those who keep saying "it's cruel to laugh at him , y'all are just jealous"
Just want to point at the jackass who said "safety is pure waste" and dimwit billionaires who actually listened to him deserve this.

— HeZukka (@SpaceBoiAhmed)

鈥淭hese guys argued against government regulations and purposefully chose to operate in gray areas. Why did they expect those same governments to come to their aid once they got into trouble?鈥�

Scott: Let鈥檚 be humans here for a second. If someone had the assets necessary to help, why wouldn鈥檛 they?

The outrage comes from dissimilar responses to two disasters happening at similar times鈥攖he migrant ship disaster off Greece, and this OceanGate thing. But, the resources and training of the combined United States and Canadian Coast Guards, plus the United States Navy, are also dissimilar from the training and resources of Greek government responders.

Dr. Necefer: Of course we should ensure that search and rescue services remain accessible without a paywall. But damn, reaching Titanic depths is a next level SAR mission. There should at least be contingencies paid by the wealthy people who do stuff like this. You know, like taxes.

鈥淎t what point does extreme risk taking become unethical?鈥�

Scott: Walking out of your front door comes with risks. Staying inside raises certain risks. Everything is a risk. Racing drivers, who often come from the same financial group that undertake extravagant trips like this, die all the time. They assume the risk, and that risk is their own. You have no idea how much stupid money is being spent in that world. Winning the Baja 1000 costs millions. Winning a Formula One constructor鈥檚 championship? Billions. Risk taking becomes unethical when you鈥檙e endangering lives other than your own without their full knowledge or understanding. If those folks willingly got on a submarine which they knew was experimental with a window that was rated for less than half of the pressure and depth they were going to, that鈥檚 on them. But if they were misled鈥攖here鈥檚 an ethical issue.

Dr. Necefer: I am fully in support of people taking risks if they鈥檙e fully aware of the dangers involved. These folks should be able to get their submarine thing on, but should also be aware that society is going to have little sympathy when things go wrong.

鈥淒eep ocean and outer space travel should be regulated by governments.鈥�

Scott: We have to be careful that as a society we do not regulate ourselves into complacency. The survival of our species largely depends on furthering our understanding of the unknown.

Deep ocean exploration will never fall under the realm of public transportation. It is inherently experimental. However, space travel might one day become commonplace, and just like our governments agree on air travel regulations, there will need to be space travel regulations.

Dr. Necefer: I鈥檓 not an expert in either ocean or space tourism, but pulling from environmental and technology policy: we cannot let private actors externalize costs and risks to society. In this particular instance OceanGate was circumventing safety regulations by calling this vehicle 鈥渆xperimental.鈥� When the experiment predictably goes wrong then the coast guards of two nations come try to save them? Yeah great business planning there.

鈥淲hy is there so much hate around this?

Scott: In our highly unequal world, this was a look over the fence between the haves, and have-nots for a lot of people.

Trips of this cost are happening all over the world, all of the time. It鈥檚 crude to say, but $250,000 to go to the bottom of the ocean and see the Titanic is an incredible bargain. Right now, as we speak, dozens of ultra-wealthy people are paying that just in jet fuel to hop back and forth across the Atlantic in their Gulfstreams.

In my opinion, this Netflix-special-waiting-to-happen has clearly triggered people鈥檚 feelings,聽but it鈥檚 not really about submarine travel鈥攊t鈥檚 about the perceived differences in treatment between the poor and the wealthy.

Dr. Necefer: This is just an easy target for justified frustrations about society.

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罢丑别听online auction of items from Forrest Fenn鈥檚 famed treasure chest closed on Tuesday. In total, the sale generated $1,307,946.

All 476 artifacts in the collection were sold, and a total of 1,643 people placed bids for a piece of the fortune, Heritage Auctions communications director Robert Wilonsky told 国产吃瓜黑料.

brought in the most cash, with the highest bidder taking it home for $55,200. The next highest price was for聽a purportedly containing Fenn鈥檚 20,000-word autobiography, which went for $48,000. In his 2010 memoir The Thrill of the Chase, Fenn wrote that he included the autobiography 鈥渂ecause maybe the lucky finder would want to know a little about the foolish person who abandoned such an opulent cache.鈥�

The sale is yet another wrinkle in the saga sparked by Fenn in 2010, when the late art dealer hid the chest filled with gold and jewels somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Obsessives searched far and wide in pursuit of the riches, with a 24-line poem as their only clue. One man served time in prison for at Yellowstone National Park. while looking for the cache.

The Dallas-based auction house acquired the bulk of the treasure from Tesouro Sagrado Holdings, LLC, which bought the chest from Michigan native Jack Stuef, the man who found Fenn鈥檚 treasure in 2020. A few of the items, including the chest and dragon bracelet, were kept by the proprietors of Tesouro Sagrado Holdings.

last month, Stuef said he no longer owns any of the treasure and has no financial interest in its sale.聽聽

鈥淎fter my identity was revealed almost two years ago, some fans of the treasure hunt reached out to tell me they hoped they could purchase an item from the treasure to commemorate their own adventures searching for it,鈥� Stuef wrote. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy that today those people finally have the opportunity to do so, with a large number of items from which to choose.鈥�

Fenn, who died in 2020 at age 90, admitted he never knew how much the treasure was actually worth. Nevertheless, news reports over the years have thrown around estimates of $1 million to $5 million.

This auction is not a definitive valuation of the treasure鈥攏ot all of the items in the chest were up for sale, after all鈥攂ut we now know that you can buy a decent chunk of Fenn鈥檚 curiosities for less than the asking price of聽.

The post Forrest Fenn鈥檚 Treasure Sells for Less than a Condo in This Mountain Town appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Welcome to Tough Love. We鈥檙e answering your questions about dating, breakups, and everything in between. Our advice giver is Blair Braverman, dogsled racer and author of . Have a question of your own? Write to us at聽toughlove@outsideinc.com.

My partner and I have had a somewhat dodgy relationship for years. He chooses to work seven days a week, we don鈥檛 take vacations together (OK, we took one for ten days last year), he seldom comes to any of my family events, and I am persona non grata at dinners with the mother of his younger son (they had broken up years before I met him). We share many interests, and share dinners, nights, and breakfasts. We live together, even though he tends to assert that we do not.

We both had dogs. In the fullness of time, my dog died of old age, and his did too.

I was sad, of course. At the same time, I thought that we鈥檇 be able to spend more time together. We could travel, spend more evenings out, and stuff like that that dog care had prohibited. He began to talk about getting another dog, and I was very clear about wanting to wait. I wanted to do some activities that having dogs had prevented, like going sailing (which we both love) or taking camping trips and hikes. Surprise! He bought a dog鈥攁 large, somewhat difficult breed鈥攅ven though I asked him not to. Why? 鈥淪he had such a cute face.鈥� She鈥檚 sweet, but damn, she鈥檚 not what I would have chosen.

We鈥檝e had this dog for two years, and my fears were justified. All we do together is tend and walk the dog. It takes about three hours a day, which is pretty much all the free time we have. We are back to spending our time together on dinner, dogs, and the very occasional Netflix series. I have to do everything I love alone.聽

Do you have any ideas about how to resolve this conundrum?

Dogs are a lot of work, but there聽are ways to streamline things a bit, especially if you have the budget or the resourcefulness. For instance, you could hire a dog walker or find a great doggie daycare, or alternate walks with a dog-owning friend or neighbor. The thing is, though, I suspect that getting outside help with the dog wouldn鈥檛 really solve your problems. It could make things easier, but you still might end up in the same pattern, because in this case the dog is more of a symptom than a cause.

It sounds like you and your partner are on different pages about a lot of things. You live together, but he claims you don鈥檛? That suggests a much bigger story, one I can hardly guess about here. It鈥檚 also unclear how much parenting plays a role in your lives. But maybe, for our purposes, it comes down to this: things are complicated鈥攍ife always is鈥攂ut in your heart, you really just want to spend more quality time with your partner. And it must be incredibly frustrating and sad not to get that, and not to feel that he values it, too.

Your partner wasn鈥檛 willing to compromise about waiting on a dog (and yeah, I definitely have strong feelings about bringing a dog into a household that isn鈥檛 on board and ready), but is he willing to compromise in other ways? For instance: If you explain how much it matters to you, is he open to taking a certain amount of time off work, even a half-day a week or one weekend a month, and spending that time together? If he鈥檚 not, that reflects a bigger problem in your relationship, one you might want to work on with therapy, or at least through some very serious conversations. (I suspect you鈥檇 benefit from that kind of intentional relationship work anyway.) But if he鈥檚 open to making time, it could have a big impact.

The good news is that the three activities you mentioned鈥攕ailing, camping, and hiking鈥攁ll have the potential to be dog-friendly. Of course I don鈥檛 know your dog; maybe she gets violently seasick, or you don鈥檛 have access to a boat that she鈥檚 allowed on. But if you have a hike you鈥檇 like to go on, or a camping trip, and your partner agrees to be available, you can almost certainly plan the trip in such a way that you can bring the dog along. Your excursions may not happen as often as you like, and they may not be as spontaneous, but they can happen鈥攁nd that might be enough to help you move forward.

I鈥檓 trying to decide how to best use a small nest egg I鈥檝e scrounged together over the past year ($5,000). I鈥檓 55, semi-retired, and had a heart transplant in 2015 but am in good health. I鈥檝e had the desire to do some travel for decades, but kids/work/divorce/bills/doctors always took precedence, and I feel like I only have a limited number of years left to do some active travel that is meaningful to me. Specifically, I鈥檓 thinking of buying a used car and just doing some serious road tripping, going on an epic vacation in Central America for a few weeks, or spending a summer canoeing in Northern California and prospecting for gold. Do any of these sound reasonable or am I just living in a dream world? Thanks for any insight or advice!

I鈥檓 so glad to hear you鈥檙e in good health these days! If this is $5,000 that you can afford to spend, then it鈥檚 not unreasonable at all to use it for a grand adventure. In fact, that sounds like an excellent way to spend both your money and your summer, and this seems like a good time in your life to travel. Each of those three trip options would be amazing, and whichever one you choose, I know you鈥檒l find it meaningful indeed. Sure, right now it鈥檚 a dream world鈥攂ut dreaming is the first step to making things real. Happy travels!

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