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In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

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Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#131

Post by burntsushi »

mhb wrote: post #47
burntsushi wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is roughly what I do (in the sense that I buy in bulk and freeze stuff), but note that it essentially requires you to not only purchase an extra freezer, but also run it and have the extra space for it. So this strategy does require some capital investment. It's not much, but I have friends that just couldn't do this. (Not necessarily because of the capital required, but because there is just no space for a free…

You really don't need an extra freezer to buy 3/5/10 pounds of chicken instead of 1/2 pound.

Oh okay, you surely know what's in my freezer. I guess my stuffed freezer wasn't actually stuffed and I didn't need to buy the extra freezer.

Maybe, you know, chicken isn't the only thing in my freezer.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#132

Post by leobg »

dkarl wrote: post #44
belugacat wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nuance to all of this obviously, as with anything cultural, but in short - yes. Large swaths of the US population have been deprived of food culture for several generations now. There are many exceptions of course - Latino family bbqs in Southern California, or Cajun crawfish boils, are examples of food culture that’s well and alive that I’ve experienced personally. But you also have many Americans for whom…

It's amazing how strong this mental erasure of food is, to the point of overriding individual tendencies. I recently lent my car to a guy who is the epitome of do-it-yourself. He lives in a tiny house that he built himself, complete with electricity, running water, and sewage. He drives ancient cars because he would rather know how to fix every part of them than have an actually reliable car. He doesn't cut his own h…

Does he know that that’s what you think about him? I’m wondering how he’d react if he read this post and this characterization of him.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#133

Post by lovich »

googlryas wrote: post #128
lovich wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re not self inflicted losses because it’s a constitutionally guaranteed service. Making a profit is not the point. Ensuring that every citizen has access to the communication network as a right is why the USPS does this

Nothing in the constitution indicates what kind of parcels the mail service should deliver. They already refuse to deliver certain types of parcels - are they violating the constitution by doing so?

Who cares? Engage with the argument that it’s self inflicted losses. If it’s a service for citizens then by definition it cannot have losses because it is _not_ a business.

Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#134

Post by eru »

lovich wrote: post #133
googlryas wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing in the constitution indicates what kind of parcels the mail service should deliver. They already refuse to deliver certain types of parcels - are they violating the constitution by doing so?

Who cares? Engage with the argument that it’s self inflicted losses. If it’s a service for citizens then by definition it cannot have losses because it is _not_ a business. Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation

> Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Post

Postal systems were initially brought under government control as a cash cow.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#135

Post by solardev »

notyourday wrote: post #124
solardev wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, I've been trying to make good fried rice for like thirty years. Let me know if you figure it out... supposedly needs a lava-hot wok and a gallon of oil or something.

While this is a comedy, the actual fried rice is excellent, including the tricks that most Westerners don't get - for example re-purposing stale rice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGBP3sG3a9Y P.S. The owner of the shop also makes the fried rice so you can compare the two slightly different approaches.

Hahahaha, this was fantastic. And educational!

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#136

Post by eru »

eru wrote: post #134
lovich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who cares? Engage with the argument that it’s self inflicted losses. If it’s a service for citizens then by definition it cannot have losses because it is _not_ a business. Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation

> Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Post Postal systems were initially brought under government control as a cash cow.

P.S. See also Wikipedia on the Postal Clause:

> The Postal Clause was added to the Constitution to facilitate interstate communication as well as to create a source of revenue for the early United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_Clause

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#137

Post by mhb »

burntsushi wrote: post #131
mhb wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really don't need an extra freezer to buy 3/5/10 pounds of chicken instead of 1/2 pound.

Oh okay, you surely know what's in my freezer. I guess my stuffed freezer wasn't actually stuffed and I didn't need to buy the extra freezer. Maybe, you know, chicken isn't the only thing in my freezer.

So you extrapolate, to the general population, your need for an extra freezer as an obstacle to reducing the cost of buying in bulk but your objection to my comment is that it is not relevant to you in particular?

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#138

Post by lovich »

eru wrote: post #134
lovich wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who cares? Engage with the argument that it’s self inflicted losses. If it’s a service for citizens then by definition it cannot have losses because it is _not_ a business. Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation

> Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Post Postal systems were initially brought under government control as a cash cow.

Responding to this a bit late, but your link is showing me a system that involves a fixed rate for a service if I’m interpreting this correctly?

I would need to be given some sort of argument that this was a cash cow and not a service that is absorbing a massive amount of risk by giving a static price in the face of a constantly changing business world.

Every company I’ve worked at has been massively adverse to any risk because that can scale to infinite. Offering a service for a static price sounds exactly like something that is ignoring the idea of profit and loss as a metric to compare itself to in exchange for making sure everyone has access to the service

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#139

Post by eru »

lovich wrote: post #138
eru wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Even applying the idea of profit and loss to the post office is using a paradigm against it that does not fit the reason for its creation See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Post Postal systems were initially brought under government control as a cash cow.

Responding to this a bit late, but your link is showing me a system that involves a fixed rate for a service if I’m interpreting this correctly? I would need to be given some sort of argument that this was a cash cow and not a service that is absorbing a massive amount of risk by giving a static price in the face of a constantly changing business world. Every company I’ve worked at has been massively adverse to any r…

See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32260699 for the American situation.

> Offering a service for a static price sounds exactly like something that is ignoring the idea of profit and loss as a metric to compare itself to in exchange for making sure everyone has access to the service[.]

The Penny Post was a profit driven private enterprise. There might or might not have been a more profitable pricing strategy for them, I don't know. Neither me nor business people have perfect knowledge (and don't need it to make markets work).

Compare to how Coca Cola cost a Nickel for 70 years. See eg https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/11/15/165143816/why-...

> Every company I’ve worked at has been massively adverse to any risk because that can scale to infinite.

Keep in mind that prices under a gold or silver standard were more stable in the long run than under modern-day 2% inflation targeting.

(The short run was not necessarily as stable as today.)

> I would need to be given some sort of argument that this was a cash cow [...]

How about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Penny_Post#Takeover_of_... ?

> [...] and not a service that is absorbing a massive amount of risk by giving a static price in the face of a constantly changing business world.

Huh? It's not like the penny post would have been subject to sudden denial of service attacks from the Internet..

They always had the option of raising prices or turning away customers, in case they had temporarily too much demand or their costs would rise.

Re: In Remote Alaska, Meal Planning Is Everything

#140

Post by burntsushi »

mhb wrote: post #137
burntsushi wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh okay, you surely know what's in my freezer. I guess my stuffed freezer wasn't actually stuffed and I didn't need to buy the extra freezer. Maybe, you know, chicken isn't the only thing in my freezer.

So you extrapolate, to the general population, your need for an extra freezer as an obstacle to reducing the cost of buying in bulk but your objection to my comment is that it is not relevant to you in particular?

I didn't extrapolate anywhere. You're making shit up and reading things that aren't there.

And my objection to your comment is I think pretty universally applicable.

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