About Not Owning Sh*t • Hacker News Board

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#91

Post by jrs235 » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:06 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #41

I applaud his lifestyle, but the post reminded me of an insightful joke. Q: How do you know when someone doesn't own a TV? A: They tell you. Again, I like his decisions. I hope I don't sound like other posters putting him down or defensive things like he must be rich to live poor, which miss the point. He just seems to be bragging about it. Why not just not have a lot of stuff and leave it at that? If you want to ins…

I tend to refrain from telling people how much TV I don't watch until they ask about a show or commercial they have seen or are following and wonder if I follow.

Please don't downvote me but what's that saying again?...

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

I would place discussing TV shows / commercials, unless they spark discussion about ideas (like "that's an awesome marketing strategy/use of psychology" or "do you think the world could really be headed towards that scenario?"), somewhere between average and small minds.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#92

Post by rdouble » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:07 PM UTC

harshaw wrote: post #42

Don't you people have any hobbies? For me it is cycling. My bike is my most important possession along with the various tools, wheels, spare bikes, etc. I mean, I get the whole zen thing but life is too short to not have anything . If you do anything outdoors you need equipment (you can rent some equipment but that gets old fast).

One thing I've noticed about the latest tech bubble is that nobody has any hobbies, besides going out to restaurants and maybe (no offense) bicycles.

In the past bubble it seemed like 65% of the programmers were artists or musicians and had really involved hobbies like motorcycle racing, flying helicopters, target shooting, archery, paragliding, building their own kiteboard equipment or violin or solar car, etc.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#93

Post by anabis » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:10 PM UTC

I just think of stuff as investment. The tablet you bought and never use is just an investment thats not paying out. Selling it second-hand, or keeping it in hope of discovering a good game on it later are both valid choices. Contrary to the article, I think rich people should buy wacky stuff and try to find good uses for it, and then blog about it.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#94

Post by parasight » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:14 PM UTC

wbachnik wrote: post #6

Just wait till you get a wife ;-)

I don't understand why people think his lifestyle is generally incompatible with having a girlfriend. Of course it is incompatible with most people in the western world, but it seems some people think it is more so with women. Someone care to elaborate?

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#95

Post by smackfu » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:23 PM UTC

>a few devices to get my work done >I don’t fear losing stuff, I don’t even think about it.

This is the part that seems to be hard for people that try to do this. Yes, in our modern world, it is amazing what you can do with a smart phone and a laptop and minimize stuff. But it also makes us very reliant on those same devices. If you have no stuff, and suddenly can't find your phone, the utopian "I don't fear losing things" goes right out the window.

(Although I will say iCloud backups certainly help with this on the phone side. I don't really fear losing anything if I lose my phone, which is nice.)

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#96

Post by niels_olson » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:23 PM UTC

jrs235 wrote: post #91

spodek wrote: post #41

I applaud his lifestyle, but the post reminded me of an insightful joke. Q: How do you know when someone doesn't own a TV? A: They tell you. Again, I like his decisions. I hope I don't sound like other posters putting him down or defensive things like he must be rich to live poor, which miss the point. He just seems to be bragging about it. Why not just not have a lot of stuff and leave it at that? If you want to ins…

I tend to refrain from telling people how much TV I don't watch until they ask about a show or commercial they have seen or are following and wonder if I follow. Please don't downvote me but what's that saying again?... "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." I would place discussing TV shows / commercials, unless they spark discussion about ideas (like "that's an awesom…

> I tend to refrain from telling people how much TV I don't watch until they ask about a show or commercial they have seen or are following and wonder if I follow

Same here. It's not until the conversation would falter that I offer up that I don't own a TV. The moment is pretty clear: when people are relishing their recounting of a bit and start looking frustrated when I have no nonverbal feedback to help fuel the exchange.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#97

Post by thoughtcriminal » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:36 PM UTC

Nursie wrote: post #48

thoughtcriminal wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird. I read the post and asked myself "where's the news?" I thought the majority of HN readers lived like this. I do, but without the custom tailoring or whatever he was talking about. I can't afford that right now. Owning lots of stuff is a burden. Really is.

Can I ask how old you are? I don't want to be surrounded by clutter, but 'having a nice household environment', which involves the ownership of a fair amount of stuff, is high up on my list of things that make my life comfortable.

Forty.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#98

Post by bergie » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:42 PM UTC

Having a lot of stuff can slow you down. Here is the set we moved to Berlin with (two people, both programmers):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bergie/7662550710/in/set-721576...

Of course, since then stuff has accumulated a bit, especially when we had to buy the furniture from the previous tenant when renting a flat. But those we can again sell onwards when and if we decide to move out...

And it should be noted, it was nice to be able to do a move with just checked in luggage on a regular flight. No container ships or moving trucks involved:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bergie/7662558538/in/set-721576...

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#99

Post by Nursie » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:45 PM UTC

thoughtcriminal wrote: post #97

Nursie wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask how old you are? I don't want to be surrounded by clutter, but 'having a nice household environment', which involves the ownership of a fair amount of stuff, is high up on my list of things that make my life comfortable.

Forty.

Fair enough, you have a few years on me, and that was not what I was expecting!

I don't know anybody beyond their 20s that lives with quite such an extreme ethos about this whole thing. And most of my friends are hackers in one way or another.

That said they're also mostly British and not part of startup culture.

Re: About Not Owning Sh*t

#100

Post by corresation » Mon, Feb 11, 2013, 3:46 PM UTC

1337biz wrote: post #55

What resonates with me extremely well is the way he prioritizes work and eating quality. The older I get the more I realize the importance of these things. Having down time, either through technical or health difficulties, is just not worth it. I also get his never-eat-at-home idea. It just takes time and effort to buy and cook stuff which is better spent on things more enjoyable. Fortunately the health food/organic…

I find your notion about eating at home a bit saddening. Making absolutely incredible food at home is simple and can be enormously enjoyable. The whole process of eating out is far more time consuming and limiting.

I recommend Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course. Actually not kidding. It is one of the most recent eye-opening eating-incredible-food-easily-at-home shows.