Why do people buy crap?

PJ_Soul

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
Driving is essential for millions of people.

Yes, but many, many people could do a lot more to make it non-essential.
That's right Brian, I don't have a car, and I have been car-free all my life, and happily so (I did learn to drive of course - it's a necessary skill, in case of emergencies). I feel like most people are slaves to their cars. And actually some people think I'm some kind of weirdo for being car-free, which is frustrating and ridiculous. I went out of my way to make sure that this would be possible, namely by making sure my home and work were in the right place to make driving unnecessary (outside of the very occasional cab ride). And a huge bonus: I only spend about $1100 on transportation in a whole year!

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^
Not convincing enough.
If you want to do a road trip how do you do it?
Sorry, bus doesn't count.
I am tired of being made to feel guilty of the sheer luck of being born in a first world country.
I like driving, a lot.
Choosing where you work is not always an option. Let alone having the foresight to know if you will need a car.
I happily pass on that earning your licence to drive at 16 is a passage.

PJ_Soul

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
Not convincing enough.
If you want to do a road trip how do you do it?
Sorry, bus doesn't count.
I am tired of being made to feel guilty of the sheer luck of being born in a first world country.
I like driving, a lot.
Choosing where you work is not always an option. Let alone having the foresight to know if you will need a car.
I happily pass on that earning your licence to drive at 16 is a passage.

For a road trip whoever I'm going with will use their car, since everyone else in the world seems to drive. I'll pitch in for gas and can share the driving (why do you assume not having a car means not learning to drive?? I already said I did learn to drive; it's weird to not know how). Or just rent a car, duh. Who the fuck goes on a road trip on a bus??
You don't seem to understand how it's done. You don't choose where you live that THEN find a job. You find a job, and then try and live close to it.
But why in the hell are you defensive?? I wasn't laying a guilt trip. You almost seem to be guilty already and are trying to defend yourself. I already said that it's true driving is essential for some. My point was simply that many people could do more to avoid having to drive (i.e. the people who justify owning a car by saying they need it for an occasional road trip, lol).

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^
Not being defensive.
You use other peoples cars to get around - when called for.
As a car owner people like that get tiring after awhile. It's not even about splitting gas.
I know how it works, but at times you may just have to move because of the job you choose.

PJ_Soul

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
Not being defensive.
You use other peoples cars to get around - when called for.
As a car owner people like that get tiring after awhile. It's not even about splitting gas.
I know how it works, but at times you may just have to move because of the job you choose.

You were being defensive, lol.
I assure you that no one minds. I don't ask them to drive. EVER. I make a point of not doing that, specifically because I don't want my choices to put others out. But at any rate, I wouldn't give a flying fuck is some asshole found my choice not to have a car tiresome. I'm tired of their fucking pollution, so I guess we're even.

hedonist

To be fair (and while I think being able to live, work, get around, without having to drive is laudable), I wouldn't put cars in the same category as general crap.

(unless you have a Smartcar )

brianlux

hedonist said:

To be fair (and while I think being able to live, work, get around, without having to drive is laudable), I wouldn't put cars in the same category as general crap.

(unless you have a Smartcar )

I have to say, Hedo, I would put most cars in the category as crap since most of them are crap. Even Toyota. I have a friend who is a California State mechanic and an expert on Toyotas and he told me that the some of the Toyota dealerships were complaining that the first two or three generation Prius were built too well, that none of their parts broke down quickly enough. I knew a design mechanic many years ago who explained how an automobile could be manufactured that would last a person their lifetime with only minimal basic upkeep and repair. That car does not exist today. It's called "planned obsolescence".

PJFan, you are correct in stating that driving is essential for millions of people but is it not true that not all driving is essential, perhaps even that the majority of driving is non-essential? How many people do you know use the term "no-drive days"? Doesn't everyone have at least one no-drive days each week? I would think so but I doubt most do. How many ride share?

Again, Kudos to PJ_Soul. When I lived in the Bay Area I rarely drove. I can't do that where I live now which is unfortunate and frustrating. I chose to turn down a volunteer opportunity with one of my favorite conservation organizations because they said I would have to do a 260 mile round trip commute once a month. No way would that make sense!

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^
My no drive day means taking the car instead of the minivan.

ldent42

I don't know how to drive.

Why is that weird?

HesCalledDyer

bootlegger10 said:

I don't know much about engineered food. If the earth is going to have 8-10 billion people on it, does anyone think we'll need companies like Monsanto to engineer crops that are more drought resistant to feed the masses? Obviously it is a trade off to health, but is that a trade we will have to make? Do people think that we can grow food the old fashioned way and still feed 10 billion people?

Sorry if a dumb question.

Not a dumb question at all. We don't feed the 7 billion we already have.

PJ_Soul

ldent42 said:

I don't know how to drive.

Why is that weird?

Well weird might be a bad choice of words, but I figure it's a skill one should have (even if they never use it) for safety's sake. What if there is an emergency and you HAVE to drive? That's what would worry me.
But nevertheless, good for you for not having a gas guzzler.

ldent42

PJ_Soul said:

ldent42 said:

I don't know how to drive.

Why is that weird?

Well weird might be a bad choice of words, but I figure it's a skill one should have (even if they never use it) for safety's sake. What if there is an emergency and you HAVE to drive? That's what would worry me.
But nevertheless, good for you for not having a gas guzzler.

You figure like if there's an earthquake and the ground is splitting in half really quickly and the only way to outrun it is by getting in a car on an empty stretch of road? I mean I'm pretty sure I could figure it out in those circumstances. Right pedal means go right? I mean for actual emergencies, it's not exactly rocket science.

Gotta understand too, I live on an island. I ain't going nowhere in a hurry in the event of some kind of evacuation. If it ever comes to that I'd have better luck on foot or by boat. I mean even during the Blackout that was demonstrated pretty well.

hedonist

brianlux said:

hedonist said:

To be fair (and while I think being able to live, work, get around, without having to drive is laudable), I wouldn't put cars in the same category as general crap.

(unless you have a Smartcar )

I have to say, Hedo, I would put most cars in the category as crap since most of them are crap. Even Toyota. I have a friend who is a California State mechanic and an expert on Toyotas and he told me that the some of the Toyota dealerships were complaining that the first two or three generation Prius were built too well, that none of their parts broke down quickly enough. I knew a design mechanic many years ago who explained how an automobile could be manufactured that would last a person their lifetime with only minimal basic upkeep and repair. That car does not exist today. It's called "planned obsolescence".

PJFan, you are correct in stating that driving is essential for millions of people but is it not true that not all driving is essential, perhaps even that the majority of driving is non-essential? How many people do you know use the term "no-drive days"? Doesn't everyone have at least one no-drive days each week? I would think so but I doubt most do. How many ride share?

Again, Kudos to PJ_Soul. When I lived in the Bay Area I rarely drove. I can't do that where I live now which is unfortunate and frustrating. I chose to turn down a volunteer opportunity with one of my favorite conservation organizations because they said I would have to do a 260 mile round trip commute once a month. No way would that make sense!

B, it's like appliances are now made. JUST enough to make you pay for it...and then pay more for repairs or a replacement.

I'm thankful my '97 Integra lasted 18 years. Hope my Scion does too!

My no-drive days are the weekends, when my hermit-like ass mostly stays in

ldent42

hedonist said:

brianlux said:

hedonist said:

To be fair (and while I think being able to live, work, get around, without having to drive is laudable), I wouldn't put cars in the same category as general crap.

(unless you have a Smartcar )

I have to say, Hedo, I would put most cars in the category as crap since most of them are crap. Even Toyota. I have a friend who is a California State mechanic and an expert on Toyotas and he told me that the some of the Toyota dealerships were complaining that the first two or three generation Prius were built too well, that none of their parts broke down quickly enough. I knew a design mechanic many years ago who explained how an automobile could be manufactured that would last a person their lifetime with only minimal basic upkeep and repair. That car does not exist today. It's called "planned obsolescence".

PJFan, you are correct in stating that driving is essential for millions of people but is it not true that not all driving is essential, perhaps even that the majority of driving is non-essential? How many people do you know use the term "no-drive days"? Doesn't everyone have at least one no-drive days each week? I would think so but I doubt most do. How many ride share?

Again, Kudos to PJ_Soul. When I lived in the Bay Area I rarely drove. I can't do that where I live now which is unfortunate and frustrating. I chose to turn down a volunteer opportunity with one of my favorite conservation organizations because they said I would have to do a 260 mile round trip commute once a month. No way would that make sense!

B, it's like appliances are now made. JUST enough to make you pay for it...and then pay more for repairs or a replacement.

I'm thankful my '97 Integra lasted 18 years. Hope my Scion does too!

My no-drive days are the weekends, when my hermit-like ass mostly stays in

Does anyone even repair appliances anymore? There aren't even any shops that do repairs around here anymore. EVERYTHING is disposable now.

I gotta throw this out there even though it's a pretty dumb thing to say. For as much as we are talking about changes that can be made on the individual level, and of course since there's a lot of people there's a sizable impact it could have - don't you think change on an industrial level would be a more impactful response? Have you seen the shit that goes on in nursing homes and hospitals? Talk about wasteful...

hedonist

Ident, bought our fridge, stove, etc. in 1991 and never needed a repair but they need replacing (not working as they should and sure they're sapping energy). Guess we'll have to shell out a good couple thousand.

Wastefulness drives me fucking nuts!

PJfanwillneverleave1

^^^
I hung on so long to my old fridge that it actually spoke to me one day and said "Hey Asshole, I don't work anymore, it is always crowded in here and I can't keep up with your demand to keep your refridgerated goods at a suitable degree.
Replace me.

brianlux

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
My no drive day means taking the car instead of the minivan.

That is not a "no drive day".

ldent42 said:

I don't know how to drive.

Why is that weird?

Not weird at all.

"Girls love ponies and boys love machines. Grown men and women love to walk."
-Edward Abbey

hedonist

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
I hung on so long to my old fridge that it actually spoke to me one day and said "Hey Asshole, I don't work anymore, it is always crowded in here and I can't keep up with your demand to keep your refridgerated goods at a suitable degree.
Replace me.

It called you an asshole?

Sorry, had to .

Brian, your pony remark - though a bit sexist courtesy of Abbey - reminded me of and made me smile at that damned Seinfeld ep.

My cousin had pony!

brianlux

hedonist said:

PJfanwillneverleave1 said:

^^^
I hung on so long to my old fridge that it actually spoke to me one day and said "Hey Asshole, I don't work anymore, it is always crowded in here and I can't keep up with your demand to keep your refridgerated goods at a suitable degree.
Replace me.

It called you an asshole?

Sorry, had to .

Brian, your pony remark - though a bit sexist courtesy of Abbey - reminded me of and made me smile at that damned Seinfeld ep.

My cousin had pony!

Abbey was a little course at times, it's true, but I think the jab was equal to men and women on this one. He loved horses by the way and drove a big red Cadillac. He was a bit of an enigma.

HughFreakingDillon

I used to, and sometimes still do, buy stuff to fill some hole in my soul. I almost always feel guilty about it afterwards. I used to be really bad. i'd buy anything off ebay music-related that had the word "limited" attached to it. I am in the process of getting rid of most of the stuff I have that I don't need/use. I hate having STUFF. I find it actually bothers me, so I'm getting rid of it. Stuff doesn't make a person happy. at least not me.