I believe our culture has a strong bias against improvisation, and I have mixed feelings about this. With a few carpentry skills, the majority of furnishings in our lives could be created instead of purchased, but it takes advanced skills to stain, polish, or upholster furniture, and the average person does not possess these skills. […]
Month: December 2020
Best and Worst Purchases of 2020
Another year has passed, so it’s time to look back at whether I spent money on good things that improve my life, or useless crap! Having last year’s best and worst in mind I think helped me make better choices this year, as the “worst” section has been harder for me to figure out. But […]
Weights
Ah, weights. A key staple of most guys’ possessions. There’s so much to be said about these. In 9th grade, my gym class did a rotation through weights training, and I thought it was kind of fun, so I asked for a weight set for Christmas. I still have this set. I’ve used it off […]
Quality vs Expense
In theory, the price of a thing is a function of its labor cost and the capital required to produce it, with a markup for profit. Sellers usually seek to maximize this profit, but competition drives it down. If the expense of labor and capital cannot be covered, the company goes out of business or […]
Simple vs Robust Solutions to Money Questions
Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. I feel this applies quite succinctly to most of the money decisions a person can make in their life. The greatest challenge with the subject of money is just how subjective and pliable it can be. Every person is different, every history is different, every preference is […]
Collections and Hoarding
Despite being fascinated by history, I don’t have a particularly strong desire to own it. I can appreciate the process of finding old things for a collection, and I can appreciate seeing the things themselves, but the acquisition always makes me a little uncomfortable. How badly do I want a basement full of old stuff? […]