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Why I don't want stuff

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Re: Why I don't want stuff

#311

Post by Retric »

0xffff2 wrote: post #292
Retric wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your confusing flexibility with necessity. You can get really serious about say photographing bugs with a single camera. It's not going to be as widely useful, but trying to do everything is a great way to fail. Consider, nobody says you need an electron microscope to get serious about photography, but they can take some amazing photos even without using photons...

You're confusing your idea of what a photographer does with "photography" as a subject. Photography is an incredibly diverse hobby and profession. Yes, it is possible to only buy one small subset of equipment that lets you photograph a single very specific things well, but I've never met a photographer with such narrow interests. Even professional photographers that only do a specific kind of photography professional…

Far from it, you can also have video games as a hobby and use a 5 year old laptop. A teen that can only afford one camera is not necessarily less into there hobby.

I have even known someone to go the other way and sell off there kit for a point and shoot. They where into candid photos so always having a camera was more important than fiddling with a massive beast.

Granted, camera's are cheap to most of the HN crowd, even blowing 30k over 20 years is just not a big deal. But, just because gear is 'cheap' and 'better' does not make it necessary.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#312

Post by fgimenez »

nostromo wrote: post #91
0xffff2 wrote: post #70

I can appreciate the sentiment, but I actually like doing things. Don't get me wrong, I probably spend much more time than most in front of my computer, but even so. I'm a photographer -> Two bags full of camera gear, tripod... I'm a hiker/backpacker -> Backpack, tent, sleeping bag, hiking boots... I'm a cyclist -> Bike, helmet, gloves, pump... I'm a computer engineer -> Solder station, wire cutters, crimping tools..…

I wish there was a startup in this space. I have so much house maintenance stuff. For example, I only really need a ladder once a year. But I keep it around forever because when you need a ladder, you need a ladder . I would love to not have to store and maintain all this stuff and to just request it on demand. Can someone solve that for me? I'm embarrassed to admit that sometimes it's easier for me to just buy a new…

Like Omni (https://www.beomni.com/)?

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#313

Post by noir_lord »

whitegrape wrote: post #213
noir_lord wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dropped the first 60 in 4 months, that didn't feel great, 1500 calories a day for 4 months got old really fast but yeah physically I feel better than I have in a long time. Also according to NHS guidelines as of a few weeks ago I'm no longer even overweight I'm in the healthy range (not that I entirely trust their crude BMI stuff) which is a nice place to be.

Nice. Did you just do it with strict calorie watching or some other diet? My friend lost his 100lbs in about 5-6 months on Keto, I've used it to lose 50lbs quickly myself, I think it makes the lower calorie count hard to notice... In his case he avoided the clothing problem by wearing all his old clothes he's had in storage boxes for years since they no longer fit.

Straight calorie counting, had a fancy spreadsheet I logged everything I ate with calorie counts, it predicted weekly and monthly weight loss plus expected goal weight date etc (I was out by a week, I hit target early as was averaging 1430 a day not 1500).

The prediction based on 3500 calories equally 1lb of weight loss was remarkably accurate for me.

I also took supplements since 1500 a day is considered very borderline for a man and I'm quite big naturally.

Supplemented with cod liver oil, multivitamin, vitamin D and calcium and used dissolvable fibre drinks (one side effect of not eating a lot is unfortunate).

Breakfast was porridge (plain oats, no salt, sugar or honey), lunch was no fat cottage cheese with salad, tea was either pork, chicken or fish with steamed veggies.

Occasionally I'd eat McDonalds if the the junk craving was too strong (because it has accurate calorie counts).

Drank a lot of water as well, probably 5-6 pints a day plus coffee and diet energy drinks for pick me ups.

It was actually pretty easy once I got past the first week.

The hard part since has been eating clean and still getting 2500 calories, it's amazing when you cut out sugar and really high fat stuff how much you have to eat to get 2500 calories, its the equiv of 2.5kg of regular cottage cheese!.

Blood pressure went down, insulin response is normal and I feel better generally than I have done in ten years despite my ongoing medical problems, you truly are what you eat.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#314

Post by dennyis »

rrauenza wrote: post #307
banterfoil wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always wanted see a business have a facility that operates similar to a fitness gym. Except instead of weights and exercise equipment, the facility would have table saws, and other power tools. There are so many tools that I own, that I really only need once in a blue moon. I would totally buy a subscription to a facility that allowed me access to these kinds of tools. There are probably a lot of legal implica…

Like the Tech Shop? http://www.techshop.ws/tools_and_equipment.html

Yea I've been meaning to get down to Chandler and check out Tech Shop for a while. Kind of like the gym lol.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#315

Post by markmontymark »

philh wrote: post #121
markmontymark wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are filled with what emotions when you: - donate - after talking to a friend you realize you have something you don't want you can give them - talk to a neighbor and realize you can clear out space in a garage or house or shed by giving them something - just throw something in an alley and someone comes by within the hour and happily loads it up in a truck for use or selling elsewhere Sorry if you can't see the p…

That's not the point. If I want to do good, I can choose to do good. I don't want someone else choosing how I do good. If those things are positive, if I feel good about them, then I can do them, whether or not someone has given me a gift I don't want.

My "spare me" could really have been summarized as "1st world problems". Giving stuff away to needy trumps my own personal feelings of "obligated to do something with a gift given to me". Maybe I over-prioritize in my head about this kinda thing, but reading OP post about experiencing stress sounds kinda lame or just words from too young a person.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#316

Post by banterfoil »

rrauenza wrote: post #307
banterfoil wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always wanted see a business have a facility that operates similar to a fitness gym. Except instead of weights and exercise equipment, the facility would have table saws, and other power tools. There are so many tools that I own, that I really only need once in a blue moon. I would totally buy a subscription to a facility that allowed me access to these kinds of tools. There are probably a lot of legal implica…

Like the Tech Shop? http://www.techshop.ws/tools_and_equipment.html

Ahh yes exactly! I have never seen this before. Thanks for sharing.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#317

Post by mitchtbaum »

ashmud wrote: post #136
nostromo wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was a startup in this space. I have so much house maintenance stuff. For example, I only really need a ladder once a year. But I keep it around forever because when you need a ladder, you need a ladder . I would love to not have to store and maintain all this stuff and to just request it on demand. Can someone solve that for me? I'm embarrassed to admit that sometimes it's easier for me to just buy a new…

I am surprised big box hardware stores do not have programs to rent out bigger ladders. Personally, I do need a smaller ladder frequently, though. Community/family can be a good way to share tools, too. I have re-bought tools/parts I was fairly certain I already had, but simply did not have the time to sift through things to find. Especially for home projects that I had a small window to work on and I did not do my d…

> Community/family can be a good way to share tools, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich#Tools_for_Convivia...

Dougald Hine had a great talk I saw on Vimeo, I believe (it was ~7 years ago), where he went in depth on Ivan Illich's life and work, and he also mentioned how monks used to keep books hidden in nooks and crannies spread about, and they shared their locations and movements with one another in a p2p fashion after hiding them, using them, and getting more info about them and their users.

Also, before couchsurfing.whatever, I head from a very early adopter, that in his youth, his community kept notebooks of who had a couch, where, and how to reach them. Then you could find hosts with the same algorithm as a DHT-like PageRank kinda thing (friend of a friend of a very good friend... said ___; is it true, can we ___?).

So, I guess that for Derek (and other people who already have what they need and have comfort in life), a good gift from these people he mentioned would rather go to someone else, directly, who he would in some way see a benefit, indirectly or very indirectly.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#318

Post by shalmanese »

danans wrote: post #106
nostromo wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was a startup in this space. I have so much house maintenance stuff. For example, I only really need a ladder once a year. But I keep it around forever because when you need a ladder, you need a ladder . I would love to not have to store and maintain all this stuff and to just request it on demand. Can someone solve that for me? I'm embarrassed to admit that sometimes it's easier for me to just buy a new…

In my neighborhood we all borrow each others gear, whether it's home improvement stuff, or occasionally used outdoor sports gear. Any startup in this space would have to establish the "trust" feature of a sharing community, which is a feature that a friendly neighborhood has built-in. You might be on to something if you find an easy way for people to publish their inventory of stuff to a trusted group of neighbors, m…

Apart from all the other issues mentioned in this thread, one of the issues that stymies products like this is the asymmetric nature of delivery networks. From a user experience perspective, it's a lot easier to deliver something TO a person's house than it is to deliver something FROM a person's house. After your first attempt trying to return a tool, you become discouraged from ever trying again.

But you know what, we actually have a highly efficient system for transporting packages from people's houses, it's called the trash and recycling network. I wonder if there's an opportunity there to leverage this network... Imagine if returning something was as easy as wrapping it in a special plastic bag and then throwing it in your recycle bin. On the truck, special sensors would detect the presence of the bag and shunt it to a separate storage area of the truck and, from the depot, it would be placed in the conventional mail stream and sent to where it needed to be.

Probably crazy unworkable but fun to think about :).

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#319

Post by Grishnakh »

geebee wrote: post #278
Grishnakh wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cost of renting something and having to pay for delivery is probably going to be more than just buying it outright and owning it after that for whenever you need it again. Plus, the rental company is undoubtedly going to charge you jacked-up late fees when it turns out you don't get your project done on time and need to keep the tool for another day. When it's so cheap to just go buy a workable tool from Harbor F…

You've identified why I have so much clutter in my garage and house. I do exactly this - it's cheap to buy most of these tools compared to the cost of renting, and there's a surprising amount of overhead and liability in renting stuff. That said, I do think there's something off about my accounting. I live in SF - the tool may cost X dollars, but what's the yearly rent on the square footage that the tool occupies? Ju…

Instead of renting, it would probably make more sense for you to buy the tool, use it for a while, and when you're done with it, resell it on Craigslist. Given all the hassle that goes with renting (as you mentioned), reselling on CL is probably no more hassle. And you'll wind up saving a lot of money too.

Re: Why I don't want stuff

#320

Post by Grishnakh »

jessaustin wrote: post #281
Grishnakh wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, and the stuff they rent is probably mostly old junk and beat to hell because renters don't take care of stuff. It's probably a lot cheaper to just go to Harbor Freight and buy a tool there than to rent something.

This really varies. On numerous occasions, I've gone to the rental place, taken one look at the machine, and then immediately left said rental place. Once, I had to wait for the dude to take the brand-new backpack leaf blower out of the box and pour in the first bottle of oil. I had no problem waiting that time. It's always a good idea to have the dude start the motor before you load up. Harbor Freight is great for h…

The last mechanic I talked to said Snap-On tools had become overpriced junk, and Harbor Freight tools were a much better value. This is for hand tools, mind you. All the hand tools I've gotten from HF in the past few years have been excellent, better than anything I ever got from Craftsman (except torque wrenches; I haven't tried HF's, and my old Craftsman torque wrenches are excellent).

Yeah, if I were a professional, I wouldn't use HF power tools either. But we're talking about DIYers here, not pros. And even good-quality name-brand tools from Lowe's/HD are a better value than renting.

The only place I can see where renting a tool makes sense is for something pretty large, that costs at least $500. For instance, a ditch digger is something I would rent, not buy: it's big, needs maintenance, and probably costs several thousand dollars new. And it's not something I'd need to use much, probably only once. But power tool that costs $80? Just buy it. I'll come out way ahead buying it, using it, and then reselling it on Craigslist than renting it.

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