More gear though....

This seems to be working well.  I've added an iPhone and and iPad to the technology mix so I'm no mobile as well.  I've also got a backpack of gear for stormchasing (Nikon with lenses, small HD videocam, tripod, i7 based laptop with editing (photo and video) software that sits under the desk until I head out on a stormchasing trip.

I have noticed that I've accumulated a HUGE amount of digital stuff.  I've got about 200,000 MP3's (songs), a huge array of links, games, email accounts, profiles on dozens of different services and social networks tons of books on the Kindle app on the iPad, and several blogs.  I wonder if I'm replacing my material stuff with digital stuff.

I'll have to explore that a little more with time.  Am I just replacing my atom based stuff with zero and one based stuff?  Interesting idea.

Another area to explore is personal relationships.  I've led a pretty monkish life the last few years and cut back on 'real' relationships (although the social network side of things seems to have exploded.. lots of digital friends... people I know online but no where else).  Another aspect of this de-materialization to explore.

And less still...

I continue to shrink the material footprint.  Most of my personal stuff now fits in a 10X12 foot room.  Still too many computer-ish things, but it's controllable.

I'm looking at two mac mini's.. one hooked to a 40" flatscreen mounted on the wall, and the other hooked to two 27" monitors.  An iphone, ipad, some NR headphones and a Mac Air laptop.  A small fridge full of yogurt, protein drinks and veggies.  A desk with a chair.  An air bed with a foam topper and linen.  Jeans, shirts, sport coats, socks, underwear, 2 pair of shoes and an overcoat all in one closet.  Oh.. an one car (a 2011 Kia Sportage EX) parked on the street.

An internet connection.  No cable or phone, just Internet.

That's about it.  Some boxes (mostly old records and old pictures) in storage at my parents in the crawlspace.

I.. think... I'm pretty much there.  I love it.

And it continues....

I'm finding the 'less stuff' life is a good one. I rent a small loft, about 750 SF, close to work (very close, like, 100 yards close) in an area rich in places to eat, things to do and things to see. When you only have 750 SF to fill, it doesn't take long, and it doesn't take much.

I've pared down the clothing to 3 pair of jeans, 2 pair of black pants, an assortment of black shirts and a couple of black sport coats. 1 brand of black socks (no more keeping matched socks in order!) and basic under garments from that iconic Fruit of the Loom bunch.

My one weakness is still technology and I have too many computers, but I'm slowly getting rid of them as well. Eventually, I'll get down to a desktop, 1 laptop and a tablet, but it's going to take a few months (it is, afterall, an addiction of sorts).

Overall, very happy with the simple life when it comes to material things.

Next up: food. How much, really do you need in the kitchen? I'm going to find out!

De-meterializing online

I've found that maintaining an 'adequate' online social presence is almost as demanding as owning alot of stuff.

Blogging requires weekly (and preferably daily) entries to keep your audience coming back (or subscribed to the RSS feed) for more.

Just BEING on facebook, myspace or any of the other sites out there requires 'a few hours' to a day or two, per month (for some per week) to keep up with the 'social interation' required to be an active user.

Twitter... don't get me started. And the social pressure it creates ('you should get on twitter more often'... got that again this Saturday from a dear friend).

I'm very tempted to shut down all the online social interaction stuff as well (including this blog). I've largely done it but it keeps poking at me, trying to pull me back.

Like owning stuff and feeling owned by it, owning a blog/twitter/facebook account also feels like I'm owned by it (it, literally, requires you feed it). If you don't feed them, they start to yell at you (usually through your friends).

Renting money

I love this quote (from http://patrick.net/housing/crash3.html):

"If you don't own a house but want to live in one, your choice is to rent a house or rent money to buy a house. To rent money is to take out a loan. A mortgage is a money-rental agreement. House renters take no risk at all, but money-renting owners take on the huge risk of falling house prices, as well as all the costs of repairs, insurance, property taxes, etc. Since you can rent a house for 2% of its price, but have to pay 6% to borrow the equivalent amount of money, it is much cheaper to rent the house than to rent the money."

It's true.. you can rent a place to live, or, you can rent money, at a higher cost and alot of risk, to get a place to live.

That's why I sold my pr0perty and now am a happy renter.

Black Friday

Today is Black Friday, that day after Thanksgiving when the American Christmas Shopping season kicks into gear. It is an orgy of consumer consumption. I wonder how much of this stuff that's bought today really matters very much. How much improves a life (how many different ways home food processors chop a carrot, afterall?).

I'm not even leaving the house today. Those shoppers are like hungry packs looking for the best parking place, the best deal and the shortest line. Aggresive, hungry and intent on winning.

Safer to just watch the crappy after Thanksgiving TV, write some, read some, game a bit and relax.

less is more

Sometimes a simple presentation is all you need.

Less is more

view presentation (tags: meditation development sustainable more)