On Fri, Sep 09, 2011 at 12:26:38PM +0530, Deepa Mohan wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 10:55 AM, Kragen Javier Sitaker <kra...@canonical.org
> > wrote:
> > So I left out things that only applied in one of those two places, like
> > "shop at garage sales" (I don't know what the equivalent of a garage sale
> > is here; maybe an estate auction?) and "learn Spanish so you don't get
> > charged a higher price" (rarely useful in the US and even more rarely
> > useful in India, I imagine).
>
> Actually, knowing the local language IS very useful in India, I find.
No doubt. But probably not often Spanish. Maybe Portuguese occasionally.
> > Maybe you should share a generator with them as well as a vacuum cleaner.
>
> I'm afraid I cannot spend $128 to run one small vac at a time! I do have a
> "UPS"...a set of batteries that charges off the mains, and keeps power
> going during power cuts. This is investment enough for me...and it will keep
> only the 5-amp circuits going, not the 15-amp one, which is what I would
> need for a 1000+ watt vacuum (a lesser-wattage vac isn't effective, I've
> noticed.)
US$128 would be a lesser burden if you could share it with three or four
neighbors. Although you might need a slightly bigger generator to run a
kilowatt vacuum.
> > Cleaning rugs with a vacuum cleaner is a lot easier than beating your rugs
> > periodically, and the rugs last longer.
>
> I agree. Beating, I find, just re-settles the dust!
Well, yes. When I've beaten rugs, I take them outside first, so the dust
re-settles on the street. That's why I find vacuuming easier. :)
> one. I've demonstrated it to them, until someone asked me if I was working
> for the company for commission!
Haha!
> > At Velatropa, an ecovillage I visit periodically near here, they have very
> > unreliable mains power. They have a broken laptop there that charges its
> > battery from the mains power when there is some, and its battery powers
> > several tiny fractional-watt white LED lights at night, which illuminate
> > the kitchen enough to cook by. When they have mains power, they can also
> > use the laptop with a discarded CRT monitor they've hooked up to it.
>
> This seems a good solution for some of the villages near the forest where I
> volunteer regularly! Let me see how I can implement this in the
> power-starved villages there.
I'll ask the Velatropans for more details the next time I'm there.
> > Deepa:
> > > Can I wear dollar-store flipflops (which is the *cool* way of mentioning
> > > our very own "hawaii chappals* to a play, to a meeting?
> >
> > It probably depends on how stuck-up the other people at the play or meeting
> > are. I wore them to meetings all day today ("CISL", the "International
> > Free Software Conference", or rather one of a number of conferences with
> > that name). I do that several times a week. I was probably wearing them
> > the last time I went to a play.
>
> It's not only a question of "stuck up". I walk to the theatre that I do play
> reviews for. I don't want open footwear for the 4 km walk.
Aha, I see. Because of poop on the streets, or what? That's the most
unpleasant problem with them here. One careless step, and you have a nasty
mess stuck to your foot until you can get some place with water and soap.
When I go 4 km, I almost invariably take a bicycle (or a bus if it's practical
and I don't want to use the bicycle).
> I sometimes go to conduct formal interviews. I do not like the way I look
> with rubber footwear!
Well, that's a matter of preference, et de gustibus non est disputandum; I was
only trying to answer the question, "*Can* I."
> And I often take children and adults on nature trails...I would definitely
> not wear any open footwear in the forest areas. So I've compromised...I don't
> wear leather...I buy closed shoes, and wear them in almost all situations.
What's up with the forest areas? Snakes, thistles? I think people have been
wearing sandals in forest areas for millennia.
> > > As for sharpening knives...I've not sharpened a knife in more than a
> > > decade....
> >
> > Why is that? Do you not cook, do you cook with dull knives (dangerous and
> > limiting), or do you have someone else who sharpens your knives for you?
>
> I have five very expensive (practically Madhu Menon-class) surgical-steel
> knives, to do all my different types of cutting/chopping/paring. Sharpening
> these knives doesn't work, and I bought some about five or six years ago
> after realizing that fact.
Hmm, the surgical-steel knives I have are not designed to last very long; the
blades are gamma-ray-sterilized and disposable so you don't contaminate a
patient with the blood of the previous patient. Perhaps your knives are made
from a harder grade of surgical steel than those, though.
Why does sharpening them not work? Surely sharpening must have been a part of
the process by which they were manufactured originally, no?
> Now...when these wear out..I'll invest in some more expensive ones. I *love*
> my knives, and don't let anyone else use them :)
I'm sure that helps in keeping them sharp longer :)
> I have contributed, alas, to the demise of the knife-sharpener's
> livelihood....
I'm perfectly happy for knife-sharpeners to have to learn a new trade, but I
don't want to cut tomatoes with a dull knife.
> > I don't think I've ever been a particularly conspicuous consumer. I
> > appreciate your feedback, though. It's highly educational, if
> > unintentionally amusing.
>
> That was a general rant, I don't think YOU in particular may be a
> conspicuous consumer, but the easy assumption that I can vacuum/ buy a
> cycle/do other things to "improve" my consumption, irked me. Now I am
> unirked by your response, and clarifications. The solutions (which work for
> you!) are still bah-worthy for me, but yes, I agree that they may work for
> someone else on this list!
:)
What's the obstacle to buying a bicycle? Are they extremely expensive?
Surely any person could "improve" their consumption along any particular axis;
none of us are perfect, and even if we were, none of us are optimizing our
consumption for a single variable. Frugality consists of optimizing your life
for more prosperity at a given level of income, but of course you are correct
that the steps to improve along that axis are different for different people.
> I think I was judgemental....and crabby and grumpy..... I am sorry about
> that.I am not usually so! And if I was unintentionally amusing, I'm glad
> about that.
No worries. I hope you're feeling better now.
> It was just that as an Indian, I've been the recipient of the kind of
> restrictions a doctor-after-eating-too-well places on a poor patient..."Don't
> consume too much! Eat less of pate de foie gras... and go easy on the
> caviar!"...Patient: "Huh? What's pate? what's caviar?" I've been told not to
> run my car out too often. I do NOT use a car on a daily basis!
Haha!
> So...cheers, and thank you for responding :) I will go for my bucket-bath
> now.
It's been a pleasure :)
Kragen
