patrick.net
An Antidote to Corporate Media
1,249,228 comments by 14,901 users - AmericanKulak, DhammaStep online now
invite response« First « Previous Comments 108 - 123 of 123 Search these comments
freak80
2012 Jul 9, 12:42am
Latin America has a number of nice countries to live in
Really? I was under the impression that they were mostly corrupt and filled with drug-related violence.
Vicente
2012 Jul 9, 12:57am
This thread reflects the American attitudes about "consumerism".
Often we LAUD the things we like about it, and attribute them to our innate brilliance in coming up with them.
Many however attribute the negative sides of consumerism to the "other" or "those people", never themselves or the society they live in. It's always CRASS people or "material girls" that make the WRONG use of it and look like idiots. You of course don't care about what the neighbors think one whit right?
Classic case of poor craftsmen blaming their tools.
The thing that bugs me, is that the general case seems to be blaming poor people reaching above their station. If you have 12 yachts and 14 mansions you are not crass of course.
freak80
2012 Jul 9, 1:40am
Many however attribute the negative sides of consumerism to the "other" or "those people", never themselves or the society they live in. It's always CRASS people or "material girls" that make the WRONG use of it and look like idiots. You of course don't care about what the neighbors think one whit right?
I think you're right. We all live in this toxic culture where "keeping up" is the be-all and end-all.
New Renter
2012 Jul 9, 3:37am
It only failed when the question of homosexuality was defined equally with "sex"
I don't think it is that simple. My understanding is that there was also a perception that women would enter the workforce only to leave after a few years to raise their children. Bosses were less willing to mentor even the brightest up and comers only to lose their investment within a few years.
stoutfiles that's funny. I hadn't thought of that. Now the flashback to MadTV "Lowered Expectations"
Brentok may be able to get by fine. If you are not trying to attract chicks you can really save a ton and no one will bother you at all.
Guys who lose all interest in women can 1. eat in cheap restaurants 2. wear sweatpants or goodwill clothing 3. drive a heap 4. ride a bike and skip the car 5. not spend money traveling together to club med and suchlike. 6. no gifts, flowers, etc. to be bought.
Most people seek security and this is what I derive my extreme cheapskate-ism from. I fear lack of money more than the ridicule of people who are usually broke keeping up the appearance of wealth.
freak80
2012 Jul 9, 4:25am
Most people seek security and this is what I derive my extreme cheapskate-ism from. I fear lack of money more than the ridicule of people who are usually broke keeping up the appearance of wealth.
I'm the same way.
New Renter
2012 Jul 9, 7:36am
It is possible to live cheapy in a small house outside of major metro areas. This has been my reference guide, and it is the wave of the future.
Hey Apocolypsefuck is ...your name here, you should check this out.
freak80
2012 Jul 9, 8:41am
It is possible to live cheapy in a small house outside of major metro areas. This has been my reference guide, and it is the wave of the future.
lol. Try living on solar power here in upstate NY and the rest of the Northeast. Good luck! You'll need it.
New Renter
2012 Jul 9, 11:08am
lol. Try living on solar power here in upstate NY and the rest of the Northeast. Good luck! You'll need it.
In that case get your hands on one of these babies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_4S
10 MW of safe, clean reliable nuclear power.
JodyChunder
2012 Jul 9, 11:16am
Jody, I do not doubt that being free with your money to impress the girls is necessary at your age and position.
nonono...look don't go getting the wrong idea on that. I've always been a king farouk around these parts even when I was busticated. I make a splash because it is an APHRODISIAC on top of my own natural charms.Double dynamite. The thing what makes it so exciting for a woman is that it tells her you ain't the kinda dude to play it safe. Not a coward. Everyone will tell you a lady wants security and that is true. But Danger is what makes them keep straying over to Jody Chunders side of the street.
I respect your caution with $$ but cheapness is not an aphrodisiac. ask any lady., any honest one.
JodyChunder
2012 Jul 9, 2:09pm
No, I just get my clothes from ebay, buying someone else's mistakes. You've misunderstood me again. Being cheap doesn't mean that you go without neccessities,
It wasn't that at all, I just figured you to be even more progressive than most. I applaud nudists and naturalists. Savagery and barbarianism is my kinda thing.
I hate wearing clothes and have ever since I was a boy but if I have to I only wear the high dollar stuff. High thread count sheets also.
C Boy
2012 Jul 9, 2:09pm
lol. Try living on solar power here in upstate NY and the rest of the Northeast. Good luck! You'll need it.
In that case get your hands on one of these babies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_4S
10 MW of safe, clean reliable nuclear power.
I seem to recall an article about Con Ed installing small solar panels on the tops of all its electrical poles in the NYC area.
freak80
2012 Jul 9, 2:10pm
In that case get your hands on one of these babies:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_4S
10 MW of safe, clean reliable nuclear power.
Give me a couple billion and I'll buy one! :-)
jody, I am in complete agreement. I have yet to meet a woman who likes a guy who is "cheap".
The notion is against our biology and evolution.
My rule of thumb is generosity in their presence 1. if I want more than company later 2. if it does not involve buying clothes, etc. (lingerie an obvious exception) 3. it's a reasonable restaurant.
For example, I would NEVER take a woman to Etoile in Napa for the dinner "tasting menu" at $90/ person. Never, ever happen.
If the restaurant she wants to go to seems too expensive I say I am in the mood for another cuisine. E.G. "Gee I am really in the mood for Thai/Vietnamese/etc.
Sushi is the kiss of death. I claim some kind of aversion to it. Of course that's untrue, in Kesennuma Miyagi Japan they had (gone now) the finest sushi in Japan and I ate it up ;)
It's a delicate balance, protect your budget for the future, let loose a little dough so women don't hate you, and never give the impression that your cheapness is *permanent*.
« First « Previous Comments 108 - 123 of 123 Search these comments
What if people just live somewhere but don't buy it?
In the Bay Area, in retirement Mexico, where ever.
That's me. A boomer on the threshold of retirement who owns nothing now and intends to buy nothing in the future. Not car, not house, none of it. Anywhere.
What comes of your speculation then?
Why do I need to own stuff when I can rent it for a fraction of the price? In the US, in Ecuador, in China? Why would I sink my hard earned money into a speculative venture when all I really want to do is live? I can live well without *owning* stuff.
What if more people like me stop buying losing propositions like real estate; we rent, we quit driving around in money sucking cars (we take the bus) we completely opt out of the ownership system?~(I have)~where does that land all of your speculative economic theories?
What happens then?
You quaintly think there aren't more people like me? People who realize that owning stuff is indentured servitude?
I had a meeting today with a financial planner and laid out my thoughts. Move somewhere outside the US, live off the stipends of minimal SSI and small other money, and just....exist. He was flabbergasted. Apparently no other client had ever come into his office without big plans for starting a business overseas and buying a place and making it big, big, bigger. My plan was small, small, smaller. We are 60 something Americans getting ready to drop off the radar.
Anybody with an ounce of good sense can see that buying property ANYWHERE is a risk that need not be taken. You can rent a place to live anywhere in the world and be money ahead. Roof over your head, done.
You real estate fools yammering amongst yourselves have each other convinced that money invested is money earned in the right amount in the right place in the right times and: voila! You're rich!
Meanwhile I'm sneaking out the back door, keeping my mouth shut and my money to myself and out of the taxman's hands....because I rent everything! And when I'm done with it I give it back to the owner who is paying the freight.
I do not understand the American obsession with *ownership*. I'm into the much cheaper and more useful *usership*.
People, you have been philosophically and financially fleeced.
#housing