251–260 of 332 posts
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Everything you describe is a tool. I think there's a difference between unnecessary stuff, and tools.
The average guy who owns a toolbox will never use 80% of the stuff in that box. He owns the tools "just in case."
99% of the time, people buy tools when they have a need for them.
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Your original post says, 'baking' and 'running' with no context. People's ideas of seemingly simple tasks evolves as they get into it. If you are just baking bread sure, you could do that with minimal equipment. But if you want to bake a cake, you need a cake tin, scales etc. If you wanted a really fancy cake... If you want to run around the park, sure, pair of sneakers. I know ultra marathoners. When they enter a ra…
You really don't need a cake tin to make a cake. A sauce pan can actually be really convenient due to the handle, the release thing is generally useful, but you can also use a liner. I have watched a professional baker make several high end cakes and she used very few specialized tools. The icing/Pastry bag was really the only non standard cooking item. Remember, people want to sell you stuff. That does not make stuf…
Now your box of liners consumes the space that your cake tin would, and you haven't changed anything.
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I want to live like this too, but I need tools. I need automotive tools. I can't afford mechanics bills, nor trust the workmanship. I need tools to repair watches--which turned into a side business. Plus I have home contractor tools. It's the tools that has me waited down. I have a library I can thin down, but it's hard. It's 99 percent refrence. And the first editions--well I like them more than some people. I would…
I don't know why but this was really moving. Upsetting, a little, maybe, but so moving.
Edit - just realised mc has been behind many of the most interesting comments I've read over the last few months. Might not agree with it all, but enjoy reading them!
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I'd like to emphasize that I have absolutely nothing against gear. But I'm a little surprised that people continue to insist that no, one really needs lots of stuff . It's just not true that you need a huge variety of stuff for over $1,000 to bake bread. Think about it. The history of bread goes back thirty thousand years . You don't need a cupcake tray. You don't even need a baguette pan to make decent baguettes. I'…
Sure, no one truly needs anything, but having the right tools can make a huge difference between merely being able to do something, and doing that something well . I think we all can understand the nerd impulse to really want to get into something, learn as much about it as possible, and do it well. Having the right tools can easily be the difference between a given hobby being rewarding or frustrating, because you c…
I'm in a position similar to Sivers, in that I don't have a permanent home, and I'm unlikely to find one in the near future. Like him I'm in a furnished apartment with barely any stuff of my own save for clothes, a laptop, a phone, a kindle, and a handful of other belongings. Some days I really yearn for a place of my own, and the things I could have in there...
But when I read someone saying they cannot wrap their head around how anyone could be fulfilled with living like Sivers... I feel obliged to respond. This is how my life is, and it's fine, I'm quite happy.
I play music with my friends in a rental rehearsal space, I meditate, I take photos with my phone, I code on my laptop, I discuss things, I read, all those things I listed. It's not some awful deprived life of poverty just because I don't have several bags of camera equipment!
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Me too. I wish there were an "Uber for photography lenses", an "Uber for power tools", and so on which deliver these items to you on demand, pick them back up when you're done, and charge appropriately you for the rental.
There are several places both by-mail and in person that I have rented lenses.
On third thought, maybe Amazon could just do this ...
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And even if you have a hobby that requires things, receiving them as gifts is not a good idea. Can you imagine musician who received his musical instruments as gifts instead of carefully choosing them himself?
Yup. Wishlists are a wonderful solution to this problem. You indicate which specific item you want, perhaps with a justification for why, and someone has the option of getting it for you, or not. Or just giving you some cash to go towards getting that one particular item. Of course, gifts in the $300+ range are relatively rare, so most musicians won't usually have to worry about someone getting them the wrong, but hi…
The music instrument market is weirder now and uses cost as a race and class filter to keep the wrong people out. Collecting $25K for a conservatory class instrument in gift certificates in 2016 is a bit unreasonable, but "in the old days" they gave out scholarships based on ability and didn't use the art as a filter on finances, race, and class like they filter for today. Even today you could collect enough gift certs to get an instrument for the joy of music and learning, just not to get a scholarship.
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Between my wife and I, the policy has been to go out and spend time together instead of buying gifts. I don't try to push this onto others but it does work with most of my close friends as well.
"my wife and me"
I can very much relate to this; my motto is "you don't own stuff; the stuff owns you". And every time I've moved, I was amazed at just how much stuff one (even unwillingly) accumulates, and how liberating it feels to get rid of it. I also prefer to own just a few high quality and/or useful things over having a 'ton of crap'.
"To achieve full freedom in life, you must never own more than seven things, or else they'll own you!"
I won't spoil the rest.
[1] Thorn - Freedom in Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBcLtOaYvPI
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I'd like to emphasize that I have absolutely nothing against gear. But I'm a little surprised that people continue to insist that no, one really needs lots of stuff . It's just not true that you need a huge variety of stuff for over $1,000 to bake bread. Think about it. The history of bread goes back thirty thousand years . You don't need a cupcake tray. You don't even need a baguette pan to make decent baguettes. I'…
> It's just not true that you need a huge variety of stuff for over $1,000 to bake bread. Think about it. The history of bread goes back thirty thousand years. "You don't need a guitar to make music, because people once made music by banging two sticks together". I mean, the GP even specifically mentioned pie tins, cake containers, cupcake trays, and you retort with "baking is nothing but bread"? "You don't need stuf…
I do go barefoot a lot when it's warm enough. Running, too. So, yeah, if the climate allows, you don't even need shoes. How nice!