Archive for July 2011
An Adjustment and the Religion of Stuff
I can safely say I have learned more in my time of unemployment than I have in the entirety of my life so far. With so much free time, I’ve read a lot of books I had been meaning to read but “never had the time”. I (and my wife) had also had to make changes in how we purchase, where, when, and why. In a word, we’ve become more efficient.
We have this idea in our society that we don’t have the time to do things. That’s bs. We make time for whatever we want to do. Granted, most of us, desire to work for a large portion of our weekly/daylight time. We chose (or are lucky and have) the ability to work because we like money. We like money, because it affords us to buy stuff.
The Religion of Stuff.
I used to be a pious member of this religion. The joy of buying something new, grabbing, and indiscriminately buying it. I took for granted in my daily purchases for what in some parts of the world is a weeks/months worth of income. Now, I buy only the luxury items that I know I will enjoy, for a long time. Gone is the impulse buy. We can survive on one income. It would just take an adjustment.
But it’s an adjustment we need to make as a country. We don’t need two incomes. We don’t need everything new, we don’t need to buy shiny stuff. Sure, there’s a time and a place, but the problems arise because the things we either have to (or choose to) replace aren’t made for longevity.
Be thrifty, don’t buy into the keeping up with the Jones. Live within your means, and live the best you can within those means. I have many friends who feel the need to constantly make more and more money. When really (and perhaps its critical of me) but what they are trying hard to do is live outside a sustainable way of life. Maybe they bought a house that, though large and really nice, wasn’t fundamentally necessary to their life. Or maybe you have two brand new cars. I can appreciate having one new car, as constant repairs can be a real drag on your financing. But buying two cars on credit seems a little absurd now. To be fair, when I’m able to, I do plan to buy a new car. But It’s not going to be some fancy shiny thing. I want something with four doors, a wheel, and maybe a stereo.
What would I recommend? If you’re shopping for the big ticket items, like a house, look around, find a deal. Find something that needs some tlc. A good roof and a solid exterior without rot is a great place to start. A starter home is called that because it’s where you start. Don’t buy the house you want to end up in right off the bat, even if you can afford it (or think you can). Better to live somewhere where if there’s an unexpected bill, you aren’t having to worry about a roof.
Buy a newer, but still used, car. A lot of dealers will sell a warranty on “certified” preowned (used) cars. You aren’t paying for the initial depreciation that happens when you buy a new car (when you buy a new car, you’re immediately in the whole for quite a bit once you drive it off a lot).
If you feel that need for impulse buying on something. Perhaps a new dress, new pair of shoes, stop and wait a week. We’ve been trained that “it could be gone if you don’t buy it now”, but frankly, the extra time to think is good for you. Maybe you don’t really need it, or perhaps you were just having a really bad day and only would have purchased said item because of the mood you are in.
There’s some logic to credit. Buying a new washer, dryer, and other energy efficient appliances can save you money in the long term–especially if you are a home owner. Try to have 25-50% of the cost up front, and look for financing offers. Yes, they tend to be in 6-12 months, but really you should have your debts paid off quickly, they aren’t something you want to hang on to.
Live well and within your means. We get trapped by the ideals of consumerism, and seek for greater levels of employment, for little or no real gain. Will that promotion for 2.5% really bring an increase of 2.5% or more of happiness to your life? Most of the people I know who “climb” the ladder, get more and more haggard the higher they climb. Don’t sell your happiness, there’s no price high enough. And no one is willing to pay for it if it’s something your losing on a daily basis.
SGU-The Nerd Rage holocaust (spoilers)
*I will open that this rant will contain expletives. I know, it’s very base of me and I do actually have the lexicon to overcome the common for letter word. But there is a visceralness to the expletive that means it must be used to convey the sheer depth, loathing, and soul wrenching screaming that I must let out*
SGU had promise. It had the backing over ten years of sci-fi nerdom behind it. My fellow nerds we’re foaming at the mouth, and yes a few of us were even doing inappropriate things to stuffed animals in sheer excitement.
The premise was kind of phenomenal and revolutionary to the franchise of Stargate–that a new team unlocked the last digit of the infamous Gate and dialed into an Ancient ship.
But the real kicker was that the ship was actually ancient. Like, archaic. Jankity. Broke-ass. Yeah, up until this point Ancient technology was like a finally tuned relic. Sure it was old, but it always looked shiny and it generally tended to work within 30 mins.
No, the Destiny was broke as hell. And I loved it. It made sense, it was beautiful, and there was an air of survival (survivor?) to it. No way home, and the ship they were on literally had pieces falling off.
How could you fuck it up?
I must pause for a moment in my rant to explain, in what I think at least, is the some genius of the original Stargate franchise. In the first episode (technically two, for anyone who wants to split hairs), we find out every pertinent story element.
You know who the good guys are. Space MacGyver, the perky intelligent blond, the witty-know-it-all, and the renegade alien.
The bad guys. Tyrants enslaving space humans hell bent on intergalactic domination.
And a StarGate. A mythical device that let people travel through space (and in time, in a couple of episodes).
Done. First episode (Children of the Gods) is still one of the singular greatest sci fi tv ever. Outside of the Entirety of Battlestar Gallactica.
However, Sgu deviates entirely from this tried and true method. We have no clue who the hero is. The know-it-all is an asshole who vascilates between good guy and bad guy I kept hoping he died horribly in every episode. I one he gets his ass left on a planet, a la Khan from Star Trek.
We didn’t even know entirely what the premise of the show is (you find it mid way through season 2 btw, so if you’re just starting out with the series you have a long way to go).
They rested everything on the fact that they could sell a show to fanboys of the franchise. And, honestly, that’s all the show had going for it. There really wasn’t a lot of StarGate involved.
Now, I still think the premise the used in season 2 for motivation could have made a decent show. We needed to have found it our around episode 4. The first three episodes were good (they stabilized life on the ship). I would have liked to have seen more exploration of this ancient ship that had been around for millions of years. But they dropped the ball on nearly everything else. Protagonist, antagonist, aliens, too many subplots, and the ancient speaking-stones were used but they detracted from the whole concept of being lost in space. If you can make a long distance call home, there’s no real sense of urgency
Argh, I can’t even finish this coherently I’m filled with so much nerdrage. My wife was begging me to stop watching the show.
On various forms of Foodism
I think I should formally declare, and perhaps clarify (if at all possible), my position on Foodisms. Veganism and Vegetarianism in particular.
If you have some higher calling to avoid meat, as is the case of most Buddhist and Hindu persons (as my understanding), I hold no malice toward your choice at all. On the contrary, as a virtue of their (your?) faith, it makes sense to me. I know quite a few monks who are vegetarians, and they’re generally well adjusted and content people (oneness with you universe? who doesn’t want that! think of the social change!).
I also hold no contention for someone who is unable, horror of horrors, to digest or consume meat product. One of life’s great tragedies has befallen you, and I weep for you. Here I’m just allergic to onion and ginger, but I know people who cannot actually digest meat. Tragic.
No, its the patchouli smelling hippies in the town that I grew up in that made me detest and loathe the words “vegan entree”. It’s a base choice around the idea that somehow killing an animal purely for consumption is wrong. I try before any delicious meal involving meat to think of the animal, find gratefulness in its life, that it is now completing the circle of life (do I need to give credit to Disney in order to escape a reaming?).
I’m an apex predator. You are too, it’s why you have those nice flesh cutting teeth in your jaw, and a brain that lets you understand the rudimentary workings of a gun. It’s this last part that the mighty tiger or raptor failed to learn.
It’s some sort of fad. I understand that eating a lot of meat is not healthy. That human kind was not meant to subsist solely on bacon and pork product alone. But have you seen how yellow they look? It’s just not normal. Let alone not many of them or going to be getting into an MMA competition anytime either.
Moral obligation via Divine Purpose or gastronomic incompatibility.
Otherwise, order a steak. Medium-rare please.
OneMoreGrunt 