<![CDATA[Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett.]]>Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. The more the world gets more cruel and unfair, the more I miss him.

Plus the Vimes boots theory remains the greatest piece of economics ever written.

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/985a0cfd-7902-4590-afef-9fd617a0fb49/happy-birthday-sir-terry-pratchett.RSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 00:24:07 GMTTue, 28 Apr 2026 17:11:53 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:49:48 GMT]]>Well this blew up 🤯

If you already know Sir Terry Pratchett's work, I hope it was a lovely reminder of what a genius he was.

If you've never heard of Sir Terry Pratchett, I hope you feel inspired to check out the Discworld series of books, which honestly just get better and better as they go.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116488548407611472https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116488548407611472Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:49:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:19:22 GMT]]>@wiredfool Yep, as I said in a reply to someone else "Vimes likes the shitty boots, they let him feel the cobbles of the city under his feet in a way that the rich will never feel. But his feet are still wet."

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116488192807858778https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116488192807858778Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:19:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:13:27 GMT]]>@derbadian
What I find so hilarious about that is that Vimes doesn’t like nice boots. He’s a barefoot shoes fan (to use nonfictional modern terms).

He wants soles thin enough to be able to read the cobbles and pavers as he walks the beat, (or walked somewhere with a blindfold) so that he can feel the texture of the city and know exactly where he is.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/wiredfool/statuses/116488169546575101https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/wiredfool/statuses/116488169546575101Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:13:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:43:28 GMT]]>@derbadian @onepict

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/rebelrebel62/statuses/116487815717370336https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mstdn.social/users/rebelrebel62/statuses/116487815717370336Wed, 29 Apr 2026 11:43:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:11:04 GMT]]>@eestileib Once the author has written something and published it, it's up to the reader what it means. There's no right or wrong.

To me there's a lot going on, being poor is expensive, making (and keeping) money when you're rich is easy, etc.

Vimes likes the shitty boots, they let him feel the cobbles of the city under his feet in a way that the rich will never feel. But his feet are still wet.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116487452389181311https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mas.to/users/derbadian/statuses/116487452389181311Wed, 29 Apr 2026 10:11:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:27:18 GMT]]>@derbadian

I read this as the bourgeois being better off than the poor for this reason; a moderate stake lets you live like that.

The rich buy stupidly overpriced boots to gatekeep, it's not the same.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/eestileib/statuses/116487044397146996https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/eestileib/statuses/116487044397146996Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:27:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:00:48 GMT]]>@imalcolm
Yes!
@derbadian

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://det.social/users/leipoa/statuses/116486940158512487https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://det.social/users/leipoa/statuses/116486940158512487Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:00:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:59:27 GMT]]>@leipoa

It was reading Lords and Ladies many years ago that first made me question how much elf-lore in mythology and fantasy is just propaganda... 😉

@derbadian

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/imalcolm/statuses/116486934876134179https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/imalcolm/statuses/116486934876134179Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:59:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:19:34 GMT]]>@derbadian This theory is brilliant!

I have a corollary to this theory- people who can afford all the bells and whistles of a product actually don’t use those products anyway, because they can literally get other people to get their things done, so the whole thing is moot. Tiered product options are just scams by capitalism

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://beige.party/users/farah/statuses/116486778055895977https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://beige.party/users/farah/statuses/116486778055895977Wed, 29 Apr 2026 07:19:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:15:16 GMT]]>@derbadian poor def have higher COL for necessities. like a trap

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/synlogic4242/statuses/116485345512753299https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.vivaldi.net/users/synlogic4242/statuses/116485345512753299Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:15:16 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:06:18 GMT]]>@derbadian I use this anecdote to explain systemic poverty to people all the time. Terry Pratchett was the best. RIP.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/rebelyn2/statuses/116485310272646273https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/rebelyn2/statuses/116485310272646273Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:06:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:01:51 GMT]]>@derbadian things are pretty much this in the 21st century but with investment and tax efficiency.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/johnefrancis/statuses/116485292761636174https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/johnefrancis/statuses/116485292761636174Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:01:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:01:33 GMT]]>@derbadian

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.green/users/patzer/statuses/116485055672497032https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.green/users/patzer/statuses/116485055672497032Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:01:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:48:30 GMT]]>@derbadian somebody wrote a couple of decades ago that middle-class people were fucked because they'd become convinced they were spending money on "investments" when they were actually just expenses. Houses. Cars. Babies. Furniture.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/the_turtle/statuses/116485004341419492https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.sdf.org/users/the_turtle/statuses/116485004341419492Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:48:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:47:05 GMT]]>@derbadian aka "being poor is expensive."

Even if you play your bad hand really well and you save up for the better boots and then use the saved money to save up for the better gloves and then use the saved money to save up for the better coat, and after years you have all the better stuff, meanwhile some other guy had all of it from the get-go, and now he has the ultra-better stuff.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/renardboy/statuses/116484998815816305https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/renardboy/statuses/116484998815816305Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:47:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:28:40 GMT]]>@derbadian If one is able to extrapolate this to "being able to spend more can save you money in the long run" instead of "expensive products are better value" then its a useful idea.

Being able to buy property saves you rent. Being able to pay fancy healthcare potentially saves you from suffering&paying more from getting really sick.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chaos.social/users/EinsPossum/statuses/116484454541763059https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chaos.social/users/EinsPossum/statuses/116484454541763059Tue, 28 Apr 2026 21:28:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:53:53 GMT]]>@derbadian
May his name be forever remembered.
We've just finished reading "Lords and Ladies" to the children a. because it is great fun and b. to counterbalance the adoration for elves caused by a Lord of the Rings marathon at our local cinema (which was great fun as well).

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://det.social/users/leipoa/statuses/116484317771120672https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://det.social/users/leipoa/statuses/116484317771120672Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:53:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:17:13 GMT]]>@derbadian This is very true logic, unfortunately 😿

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/em_and_future_cats/statuses/116484173587600855https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/em_and_future_cats/statuses/116484173587600855Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:17:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:09:18 GMT]]>@billiglarper There is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
@derbadian

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chaos.social/users/txt_file/statuses/116484142414348163https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://chaos.social/users/txt_file/statuses/116484142414348163Tue, 28 Apr 2026 20:09:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:23:20 GMT]]>@derbadian
Being poor is very expensive!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/brouhaha/statuses/116483961708198702https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/brouhaha/statuses/116483961708198702Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:23:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:59:36 GMT]]>@derbadian @count_01 He was so clear-eyed about human failings, and yet so humane.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116483868354179933https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/ap/users/116274777763908831/statuses/116483868354179933Tue, 28 Apr 2026 18:59:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Happy birthday Sir Terry Pratchett. on Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:48:41 GMT]]>@derbadian

Thanks for the boot theory quote!

I've been looking on it for a while now, but couldn't find it on the usual quote pages.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://rollenspiel.social/users/billiglarper/statuses/116483589522218242https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://rollenspiel.social/users/billiglarper/statuses/116483589522218242Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:48:41 GMT