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I want to live like Costco people

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Re: I want to live like Costco people

#461

Post by ericd »

whyenot wrote: post #404
henryfjordan wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's 1655 calories in a pound of uncooked rice, so with 330lbs you are sitting at ~1500 calories a day for a whole year. You wouldn't starve to death, but you'd absolutely want to supplement (both for more calories and probably for vitamins). But also you'd be eating that rice every single day pretty much, how else are you getting through that much rice?

Wouldn't you also need at least a little protein? and some lipids? For example, there is a lot more in Soylent than just rice flour. Oh, are we talking brown rice or white rice? That seems like it might make a huge difference, not only in nutrition, but also pooping.

For commoners in Feudal Japan, it would’ve been unpolished/brown rice, refining rice was labor intensive/expensive. When accessibility of white rice spread due to automation making it much cheaper, in the 1800s, it caused a huge epidemic of beriberi, which had once been a rich man’s disease, and killed a huge number of people.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#462

Post by dekhn »

jsbisviewtiful wrote: post #170
throw0101c wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Careful - even Gen-Z is looking at Kirkland clothing for certain pieces […] I've heard good things about their wool socks.

They used to be better but I stopped buying them after COVID related supply chain problems lowered the quality, at least a few years ago. Dunno if they rebounded. Supposedly they are made in the same factory as Smartwool

Making two products in the same factory does not necessarily mean they are identical.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#463

Post by lavezzi »

tavavex wrote: post #88

The author's view is alien to me. It paints Costco as some sort of cultural retirement home. A boring place for boring people, not just a big store in a warehouse. I know that displaying brand affinity towards some companies is seen as tasteful and praiseworthy in our cultures, but I didn't realize many people extended this view to something as basic and pragmatic as the place they go to buy flour or whatever.

> It paints Costco as some sort of cultural retirement home.

which is fitting since the author used the phase "cheugy" unironically.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#464

Post by Isthatablackgsd »

ethagnawl wrote: post #397

> the great parking lot of dreams I don't know what Costco parking lots in the PNW are like but in the NE, they're a nightmare. People racing around, lining up and jockeying for spots, enormous carts careening around and being left ... wherever because people can't be bothered to put them back. My family has a membership but I permanently opted out after one trip to the Danbury, CT location. > otherwise you are rarel…

> That is, until they try to stop you from leaving the store with your property until you show them a receipt.

The accountholder is required to show it, It is in Costco's terms and conditions.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#465

Post by ishouldstayaway »

defrost wrote: post #444
ishouldstayaway wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How so?

Quantity. The original usage of Gourmand was synonymous with gluttony and excess; while a gourmet might be satisfied with exquisitely prepared micro portions tucked away within an expansive plate criss crossed by a drizzle of ??, a gourmand wants the full stack pyramided to the maximal stope angle.

2: one who is heartily interested in good food and drink

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gourmand

Been a long time since it was purely about quantity.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#466

Post by guessmyname »

mc3301 wrote: post #454
austinl wrote: post #361

Feudal Japan had a measurement called the "koku", which is roughly the amount of rice needed to feed a person for a year: about 330 lb. You can now buy 50 lb. of rice at Costco for $30, which is a few hours of work at minimum wage. To me, that is a modern marvel. I don't want people to buy things that they don't need, and I also don't like the crowds, but I can't help but feel grateful for a stocked grocery store tha…

Too bad in Japan that it's about 30USD for an 11 lb (5kg) of bad of rice. Japanese rice, in Japan, is nearly 5 times more expensive. (Note that last year, 5kg bags were as much as 8000jpy for standard rice, prices have come down a bit, but not a lot.)

That’s because the rice sold in Japan is generally the highest quality, so it makes sense that it costs more than the rice exported overseas to places like American supermarkets and Costco. The rice you see in US stores is usually a lower grade than what stays in Japan, though not necessarily “low quality.” Japan has historically been pretty selective about what gets exported versus kept for domestic consumption.

There’s also been a rice shortage/crisis in Japan recently, which has pushed prices up even more. See here → https://www.borgenmagazine.com/japans-rice-crisis/ and here → https://old.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/1kthwmr/e/

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#467

Post by defrost »

ishouldstayaway wrote: post #465
defrost wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quantity. The original usage of Gourmand was synonymous with gluttony and excess; while a gourmet might be satisfied with exquisitely prepared micro portions tucked away within an expansive plate criss crossed by a drizzle of ??, a gourmand wants the full stack pyramided to the maximal stope angle.

2: one who is heartily interested in good food and drink https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gourmand Been a long time since it was purely about quantity.

Well, you had to go to #2 of several definitions in an American English dictionary for that secondary devolved meaning.

Additionally, "heartily interested" in English usage implies an enthusiastic excess, large amounts, etc.

Still, it appears we agree about the original and primary usage.

As does your link via #1

You're doing okay on stope angle I'm guessing.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#468

Post by frakkingcylons »

edwcross wrote: post #455

It must be an issue with the European implementation, but I have a Costco not very far from home, and yet I never stepped inside. Because simply asking to see what it sells requires me to subscribe upfront. It's not like I cannot buy without a membership card; that is perfectly understandable. But I cannot even see what's sold inside, which prevents me from knowing if I actually want to become a member. They do have…

Yes it works that way in the US. You could go in with a friend with a membership or simply be reincarnated as a child of Costco members.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#469

Post by lmm »

freetime2 wrote: post #330
crooked-v wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the kinds of people who post on HN, the real savings of a Costco membership is that they regularly have high-end electronics, appliances, and home furnishings at $50-100 or more off retail elsewhere. Get a robot vacuum or a couch or a VR headset for $100 off and your membership's already paid for itself that year. For several years, if you need to replace a refrigerator or washing machine.

> Get a robot vacuum or a couch or a VR headset for $100 off and your membership's already paid for itself that year I think one danger with Costco is that it encourages overconsumption. It may feel like you're saving money - but you'd save even more just not buying a robot vaccum or VR headset. If you do the research and decide you would benefit from a robot vacuum, compare different models to decide on the best fit…

> If you do the research and decide you would benefit from a robot vacuum, compare different models to decide on the best fit for your needs, and then check prices at different stores and find that it's cheapest at Costco - then yeah I'd say you're saving money.

That sounds like you might well be spending more time than the money you're saving.

Re: I want to live like Costco people

#470

Post by lmm »

foresto wrote: post #200
sidrag22 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What I want is an anti-costco. More like a bodega. Still curated, maybe a larger mark-up, but smaller quantities of everything. Half loaves of bread, small bags of frozen veg, enough sugar or flour to bake just a couple batches. This is becoming even harder to achieve nowadays, there is all this variety in size of products and more and more over the years(at least in the midwest) it seems that grocery stores want t…

> the 8 oz will be on sale but only if you buy at least 2 or 3, its incredibly frustrating. Have you tested this by buying just one, and checking the price on the receipt? I ask because someone once told me this was illegal in the US; that a shop was allowed to display the sale price only for a larger quantity, but they had to honor the same price per unit if you only bought one. (I think we were discussing produce a…

> I ask because someone once told me this was illegal in the US; that a shop was allowed to display the sale price only for a larger quantity, but they had to honor the same price per unit if you only bought one.

No, WTF? That's not a thing, why would you even credit such obvious nonsense?

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