Wow, this hits hard. I became a fan because my father-in-law was a big fan. I was amazed at the business side of the artist. The way he basically turned a single hit album from 1977 into a life-long career and a giant enterprise delivering a lifestyle or vacation message to help millions of us let go of the everyday.
Not enough people are happy these days. I read about people that haven't taken a vacation in years -- slowly turning into automotons by the gears of capitalism. The grind of life is a real thing.
Many bosses are small, angry people, and live to make their employees hell. Maybe not on purpose, always, but it was the style of management they worked through and know of no other kind.
That smile of him on the sailboat is awesome. I'm glad he got to live his life that way. I wish more people were able to do that.
Codin' on my laptop,
watching the clock tock
All of these errors pop up on the screen...
Fixing my syntax, I fire up emacs...
compile again, hope now my code's clean
Struggling again with debugging my shitty code,
Searching for my lost semicolon,
Some people say that there’s maintainers to blame
But I know... it’s nobody’s fault
Don’t know the reason,
my eyes started seizin,
Stare at screens all night, one more pot of brew...
Empty bags of Doritos,
I'm covered in Cheetos,
And still how to solve it, I haven't a clue
Struggling again with debugging my shitty code,
Searching for my lost semicolon,
Some people say that there’s maintainers to blame
Now I think, hell, it could be my fault
I've broken the code base,
ruined each of the edge case
Get an exception, pull up the console
My heart starts to flutter,
as I consider the other,
Jobs and lives that I could have chose
Struggling again with debugging my shitty code,
Searching for my lost semicolon,
Some people say that there’s maintainers to blame
But I know... it’s my own damn fault
Years ago I met Jimmy Buffett. I was working at AT&T Labs in Florham Park, NJ and we (or rather, some real audio researchers) had developed a multi-microphone spatial recording rig that we wanted to use for streaming concerts. Buffett was interested in talking to us about streaming music to his Margaritaville locations. The talks went nowhere, but I had the pleasure of giving a demo to Jimmy Buffett -- who was really honestly impressed and picked out subtle details in the recording. The only other thing I remember about the experience was that he flew into New Jersey on his own seaplane (as in, he allegedly did the flying.)
More likely than an allegation, Buffett was lucky enough to in fact be a pilot and owned a Grumman Widgeon seaplane[1] until he was lucky enough to survive abruptly decommissioning the plane[2] in 1994.
He’ll be missed. I’m a (relatively) young fan of his and been to several shows over the last 20 years.
He’s of course best known for Margaritaville and Come Monday. But theres a wealth of great storytelling and sing-along type songs in his catalog.
A few of my favorites if you’re interested in exploring:
A lot of memories from his music, but one that frequently pops into my head was Cheeseburger in Paradise being used in a SeaQuest episode that had a side-plot of a contraband REAL BEEF HAMBURGER.
Sucks. 76 doesn’t even seem that old really, it’s like a young senior age. Plenty of people often live 10 or even 20 years longer, often without being a billionaire too.
I'm still surprised by how bad our "transformative" healthcare remains. People worth a billion dollars can afford extreme extravagances in day-to-day life (and frequently indulge in them), yet when it comes to extending lifespans, billionaires don't seem to live much longer than anyone else.
Regardless, RIP Jimmy Buffet. Some great songs and a seemingly very savvy businessman.
My point is they're tilting at windmills talking about "transformative" healthcare as if Jimmy's death was some indictment of the US healthcare system that could be used for whatever partisan ends that poster wants.
Jimmy had functionally unlimited resources at his disposal. He just ran into the inconvenient fact that eventually, we all still die. That should be humbling for all of us, not an excuse to go on a rant about US healthcare. He was lucky enough to be a person who would have had access to the best care money could buy . . . but it turned out money still can't buy immortality. Again, that should be humbling, not an excuse to "fight the man." At least he wasn't stupid enough to pull a Steve Jobs and try to fight cancer with fruit juice.
I got introduced to his music when I went on a High Adventure trip with the Boy Scouts to the Florida Keys with my dad in the 90s. I won't claim his catalog is Beethoven, but it was a fun bond to have with my Mom and Dad. And when now and then he dropped the cheeseball "island" act, he wrote some very heartfelt ballads. I'm sad he's gone, because he brought some joy to my family over the years. But when it's someone's time, it's their time, and I'll take more time to be glad he had the musical career he did than I will to hijack his death for a policy rant.
I don't think they are saying "live forever". I think they are wondering why such a wealthy individual died in his 70s, where living into your 90s isn't entirely uncommon.
As someone whose parents are pushing that age, and whose grandparents did years ago, it's not that simple. Someone's personal medical situation and what they do and don't have matters a lot more 70+. Diabetes, cancer, and heart disease in particular; I've lost colleagues to the last two as young as their 40s and 50s.
When the dice of fate come up snake-eyes, whether due to an undiagnosed problem that got missed or wonky genetics, it's your time, and no one is entitled to live into their 90s.
>I'm still surprised by how bad our "transformative" healthcare remains
You're comparing it to itself and surprised that it doesn't look exceptional in comparison. But in 1800, 46% of people in the US died before the age of six.
Nothing like exercise, good sleep, and a good diet for healthspan and longevity. Those are a state of mind and mostly available to anyone. Money could buy a good personal trainer, chef and a quiet, dark sleeping room, but you still have to want it and do it. No purchaseable intervention can build muscle and stability. Some pills can help with memory though at least. And money can buy a decent doctor. Vampiring blood from the young is a possible financial advantage.
GP's comment is flagged so I can't read it and comment directly. But there's just a... chill vibe that Jimmy managed to capture. His voice wasn't phenomenal. His lyrics were great. Music was good.
But the vibe... he really, really nailed the beachy vibe (even despise being an incredibly astute businessman)
I know this is past the fold and you're probably never going to read it, but there's a difference between saying something is bad and saying it just isn't for you. Any famous performer, by definition, has someone who values their work.
