Alright, a slight change of pace on the surface but trust me it ties in.
I have too much crap. Not ordinary everyday crap, we are talking make fun of, shocking news article material, shake your head too much crap. Part nurture, part nature I hold on to "things." It isn't all bad. I use the last surviving wing pivot bolt from the American SST project as a paperweight. [here, here and here]
I've still got some selvage from the Voyager, some titanium connector nuts from Apollo, stuff like that but those are mementos. No, I'm talking -crap-; high powered magnets from a 60s harddrive, encrusted paintbrushes, every size of short lumber left over from every project of the last decade, half used sheets of sandpaper, an old pingpong table missing a wheel, O2 sensor from a vehicle gone these three years, 1/2 gallon of exterior paint from a rental disposed of in 2004, 1 1/2 gal of another from 2006, tech manuals for Macs that are in the Boston Computer Museum, RAM from the 1980s fer gawds sake, a motorized wheelchair for an ecoproject idea, 2 extra fish tanks if the 250 gal ever goes bad,... Who knows if I'll ever need them. Better to be safe than sorry.
Okay, enough confession. Where is this going? If I have too much stuff at least I am not alone. http://www.arthurhu.com/toys/sst.htm Symptom or disease? I don't know but either way, not healthy. This is one of those studies where you cannot argue with the data or conclusions but you still resist. And the bigger picture? This is the tie-in part. Casey got 7 houses at one time and needed 1 and at best deserved 1/2 of one. What if the Casey's were 5% of the recent market? Fully 1/3rd of the houses changing hands weren't needed for living in. Housing excesses could be just the last gasp of an orgy of Amerivan consuumption that has ended.
49 comments:
first!!!!
casey go to jail!
homey 4 life!
You are only first because everyone else is scratching their heads trying to figure out WTF I'm talkng about.
I'm trying to place Casey's extreme behavior in both cyclical and a larger context. The Us is going to change. A lot. It has to. Casey's cannot be repeated. Increasing urban sprawl cannot continue at the current pace. Even the middle class is about to be redefined. Casey's nonsense is just the bullseye.
Rob, et al,
Do you think the US would have as great a trade deficit (to China, etc) if the US did not have this 'admiration for accumulation'?
Hopefully I'll surprise you. Hell, no. Our trade with China at first appears to be a symptom of excessive consumptio but like most interesting things it isn't that easy. The flood of cheap goods has as much "push" as our appetite creates "pull" IMO. Would I have two nail guns unless they were $11.99 and $39.99 each? NFW, these things used to cost a couple hundred and only were owned by carpenters and roofers.
I am a japanophile so....
long story short, Japan is a very small island so people really economize, middle class families live in relatively much smaller living enviroments than Americans and use that space to the best they can, they all recycle and yes they do suffer from materialism but not to the excess americans do..
btw, they are changing their manufacturing base back to Japan in order to give people jobs, yes the production costs are higher but they have a sense of loyalty to their people as opposed to shipping jobs overseas like here.
Anon (6:13)-
Japan is a monoethnic society that is still reaping the whirlwind of its rigged, deflationary and fascist economy.
We certainly are in for big change here, but the culture and circumstances are very different.
And we'll never re-create a manufacturing base (or any other category of employment) just to give people jobs.
Rob - move a few times and you'll decide to get rid of the excess stuff. I had all my stuff in storage when I was deployed and I just started unpacking it all, I swear I could pitch entire boxes and never even notice.
I'm trying to get rid of all the extra crap now.
It's a fabulous unencumbered feeling.
Yes, I can say with absolute 30 years in the field (construction, not lettuce) certainty, those harbor freight nail guns are crap. So is all the chinese plastic bullshit in my six year old daughter's room. I have a friend from Bombay, who tells me that there is little trash in his hometown. Most of what we Americans call garbage, would be happily utilized by the average Indian (not an Americanized software geek from San Jose). Casey represents just how far reality can be stretched in a fiat currency system. We are living off the kindness of strangers, relying on our past reputation as an industrial powerhouse fueled by cheap oil. Those days are in the rear view mirror, with the only thing keeping the wheels on being the commoditizing of labor, and the petrodollar protection racket. If you stop and think about it, the neocon plan for full spectrum dominance really is the only way to keep the Megamachine churning. Hope that wasn't too esoteric
Rob Dawg,
You really need to move. Take an overseas assignment, that will force you to pare down your belongings.
I am a big packrat. But I found that when I am in a ruthless mood I can really get rid of my excess junk. Or give your stuff away.
-BC
I have too much crap, too.
According to the 2000 census, about 9% of all housing units were unoccupied. In my rural area, about 15% were unoccupied (granted, probably a higher percentage than average were uninhabitable, but still...). This figure is one of the many things that dissuades me from owning rental property, even though the price of such property is, by any measure, cheap...
Even in my desolate area, with our glut of unoccupied houses (which can presumably be used for storage), there has been an explosion in the growth of self-storage units. They're a huge eyesore, and for that reason alone I wouldn't operate one, and I don't think the market can support many more, but I do think that the current owners are making a killing... There are few encumbrances to "eviction" when someone doesn't pay rent, the land and some metal buildings, fences, and gravel are your only start-up costs, etc...
Shopping makes me anxious. However, if someone – friends or family – wants to get rid of something that I don’t think should be thrown out I’ll accept it. There seem to be mini-histories in all of the detritus. Life would be easier if the physical sheet could be compressed like data and if anyone has a way of doing so, I’d be quite interested. As far as KC is concerned, his juicing the sweet deals comment solidified my ongoing hater status.
Love,
Akubi
How can I count the ways I despise Dick Cheney… Well, one thing I learned from KC is if you publish it (and avoid paranoia by whatever means necessary) they don’t want to touch you. Not that I’m any f-ing Casey fan, but in many ways he seems like our current worst president of all times, W., with some sort of Dick F-ing Cheney in the background allowing him to occasionally sound intelligent and simultaneously scheming.
I hated Dick during the first Gulf War and I’ve been busy hating him even more for all the years since the critical stolen 2000 election. I’m real fuckin pissed about the situation as it currently stands and the downfall of democracy in this country. I’m mad, real fuckin mad, and don’t you dare touch me Dick.
Love,
Akubi
Storage facilities look rather nice in my area. Either they are built into the exisiting business park or are built to look like as though they are part of the existing housing community architecture, complete with cultured stone walls, etc.
Pare down the junk. If you haven't used it in more than 2 years, get rid of it -- either sell it, donate it to charity, or toss it in the trash, depending on what "it" is.
Before our last move, I was determined to not pay the movers to move junk, just the stuff we actually used. We hauled 2 carloads of crap to Goodwill and got a nice tax deduction, tossed out some other stuff, and sold a few things that still had value.
The Spouse is a bit of a packrat, especially where tech junk is concerned, so I need to stay on top of things to make sure we don't have a recurrence of the junk epidemic.
@Akubi-
I feel your pain on Dicky boy. Both Dick and Bush are the worst. Being somebody who has always been a conservative in the Goldwater mold, these freaks make a mockery of the Constitution and subscribe to a form of Caseynomics.
Borrow, borrow and borrow some more only to put the future into question for the coming generations.
In this coming election I LOVE Dr. Ron Paul but I doubt he'll beat the heavyweights. From the left I like Vilsack (another who doesn't have a shot).
I don't have a clue who Dr. Ron Paul is, but I am fiscally conservative yet quite liberal when it comes to individual freedom/rights. Occasionally, I tune into films for background noise but commercial television is too confusing.
"A Real Conservative,"
Isn't it a sad f-ing day in this country when we've had to witness, pay for, etc. a very bad not-funny joke - Dick and Bush.
Spaking as someone who is fiscally conservative and socially liberal, Bush is a failed president in many ways - he abandoned his base and has been a complete failure at selling his agenda, and blundering like idiots selling their war. I hate terrorism, I don't like whats coming out of the Middle East these days (which has it's root s in teh Crusades as well as US bungling in their affairs for the last 50 years), and I believe Saddam had to go. But, the US military leadership in Iraq should have been fired long ago. I have no love for George Bush, but then, I despised Bill Clinton the minute I saw him, and the pack of ass kissers and snotty, snarky student council types he brought with him. But then, most of the presidents I've witnessed have been bad one way or another, starting with Carter. Ford was bad in that he was ineffectual. Nixon was a criminal. George Sr. was weak. Reagan lost control of his administration and we got Ollie North types and massive scandal after scandal after scandal. Carter plunged the country into mire and despair and malaise.
And the ones who are running are just as bad, or worse. There is no real leadership out there, no shining lights, just more goddamned nonsense, spin, and lies -and a lot of weak, bullshit being spewed as ideas.
I've just come to loathe and despise and mistrust ALL politicians - to rise to the level of national politics one HAS to be dirty, and it's all corrupt.
I personally think we'll see a revolution or civil war before I die. Part of me welcomes it, to be honest.
I'm one of many, to whom both parties are meaningless and empty suits who do not represent our views. Will anyone ever? Doubtfully. Is there a better way? Dunno. Socialism goes against human nature (greed) and always ends up corrupted and warped. Communism is impossible on a large scale. Capitolism has it's points but the brand we have now is hopelessly fucked up.
I dunno. I've been dropping a lot of the baggage from our culture, and this thread discusses one thing I've been winning, the fight against "stuff". I have managed to ween my stuff down to a small moving van, and can move fast if I need to. I let go of owning masses of dvds, books, gadgets, art books, all the debris that filled my life but really never brought me much joy, and just added one more god damned thing I had to dust/move/trip over.
Just like my cleaned out closets, I cleaned out my politics closet. I've given up hope than any politician can rise above the crap and sewage of Washington or Sacramento, and all I hear is The Who...
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Pete was a fucking genius. Forget Obama, Hillary, George, whoever, they're all sleazbags who should be run out of town on a rail after being tarred and feathered. In our political climate, because of people like them, good honest people are terrified of running for office, because the jackals will tear them apart in public. It takes a warped mind to WANT to live in that kind of world, and our government shows how warped they truly are.
End of rant. Sorry, but I'm fed up with the lot of them. I want a Boston Tea Party, and lets start over from scratch. Fire them all, pull it all down, and rebuild. I'm just sick of it all, and sick and goddamned tired of yet another farce of an election where i have to hold my nose and choose the lesser of two evils.
Like Lewis Black said recently, "Hillary? Obama? Has this country lost it's fucking mind? That's the best we can do?"
Lewis is a fucking genius.
Dr Ron Paul is known as Dr No on the floor of the Congress.
He's run for President as a Libertarian. He believes we should go back to the gold standard. He was the only republican to vote no on the Iraq war authorization, he's outspoken on any "law" that hurts the constitution, he's as fiscally conservative as it gets and he is an outspoken critic of those who like to give themselves pork barrel projects.
Oh yes, he was the one of 2 or so votes against the Patriot Act. As a constitutional conservative, I feel this law screams Osama wins. ANY law that tears down the values of our country and constitution all in the name of false security is treasonous. Osama attacked us with the hope we'd lose our freedoms. While the PA doesn't go that far, it sure is a scary way to chip away at freedoms the constitution guarantees us.
Ben Franklin said it best about about security, "Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security."
If you are curious about a guy who would definitely be a fresh breath of air, check out Representative Ron Paul's website. He posts many of his speeches and a newsletter there.
http://www.house.gov/paul/
Anonymous,
Agreed on many of those points. A revolution is all but assured if we get another dullard as President.
More war will not fix the world and spending our kid's futures on this unnecessary war is criminal. While I am no fan of over-taxation, I believe Bush's lame tax cuts (sorry, but the only one I like is the Cap Gains benefits) only really helped 3% of this country and has created more debt. It's like Casey and his cash back schemes when he's in deep debt. We went to war and Bush gave back money that the richest didn't need.
What happened to sacrifice? My grandparents lived through the depression and WWII and sacrificed where needed.
Yes, if the economy goes into serious decline, home prices slash in half and more people get foreclosed like it or not a revolution will be coming.
My thinking is this "revolution" will be legitimate 3rd parties that will tell the Dems and GOP to shut the fuck up and sit down. I also believe some of the biggest declining cities will become inhabitable because gangs and crime will be the dominant cultures.
Good morning early Rizer!!!
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How are those short sales working for you?
A revolution is wishful thinking. I don't see how there could be a revolution without massive mobilization of youth. And unless W suddenly decides to impose a Playstation Tax, they're not going to care. They're more worried about the RIAA then they are about Iraq, the deficit, or the death of the middle class. But you touch their free downloads, and they'll cut you bitch.
The best thing that could happen right now is for the Republican Party to fracture into two or three chunks. The Dems are already fractured. Maybe then we could get some slightly legitimate representation for the people.
I know the junk pile syndrome!
We've done a reasonable job of managing it, with no self-storage units at all AND we can park both cars in the garage! I consider that to indicate the problem is reasonably under control.
Still, it took some very effective shelving/storage to do it, so maybe I do have a junk problem, but whenever I pull out some 10-year-lost and use it again, it reinforces the packrat in me. :-(
As for overseas moves paring the junk down, hardly! When we got quotes for various levels of junk, it turns out that as long as you have the container, you can basically load it full -- or half full -- for pretty much the same price. And if your junk is still boxed up from the last move, you don't even have to pay for packing! Doh! So in the interest of saving time, we send it all!
Want to really clear the junk? A friend of mine got flooded out by Katrina. He says say (now) that he's never felt so unencumbered in his life! He'd always wanted to seel of that stuff -- and he did, "to the insurance company" (that is, to you and me in a roundabout way?).
Good point NoVa sideliner,
Except my place overseas was smaller than my US residence so I had to pare down the junk. I kept the balance in storage (as the company is paying for it) but tried to junk a lot of stuff.
People who go Buddhist here get rid of everything except a few clothes, a razor and a bag. Talk about possession free! I think it is a very freeing feeling.
Yay!
-BC
The Revolucion will not be Youtubed,
Heh, heh. A Playstation Tax. Not a bad idea.
A Real Conservative (Nigel is not),
Thanks for the info. I definitely agree with his Freedom Principles, but there are a few details I have a problem with. For one thing, what the hell does "pro-family values" mean?
I think Obama is our only hope at this point.
I do agree that the PA is a constitutional travesty.
Aren't they all "pro-family values?"
LOL on that one. I agree with you, but not everybody is perfect. I am the only conservative type I know who rolls my eyes at the whole "family values" b.s.
Man, I'd give my left arm for some Suan Lo Chow Show from Mary Chung's.
Anyone want to Fedex me some?
Holy sh!t, Steph, you weren't "asked to pursue educational horizons elsewhere" from the local universities like I was? I ended up at WPI having... ummm, outived my welcome at most of the Boston area institutions.
Grendel's Den always served the best wine because it was BYO.
I wasn't asked. I chose. Either that or take a flying leap from one of the campus buildings. It was a long time ago.
I miss the food tho.
I liked my last the best. WPI was and remains extraordinary. The Boston/Cambridge area schools are as you say; buy in or opt out. 'Tute used to have annual tution protests. 'Vard would, get this, actually save money with $0 tuition. Yep, eliminate tuition and go for acceptance criteria only and they make more money, excuse me save costs. Weird on first blush but think deeper. Get rid of everthing surrounding the Bursar's Office, Student Aid, The Alumni fund admin, etc. etc. and turns out tuition doesn't cover overhead for those departments.
Oh, and the "food" pull is so strong I'm dragging the entire clan "Back East" this summer for anything resembling a fisherman's platter in Provincetown. Okay, honest, I'll be showing my eldest those stuffy unworthy and expensive schools that she really doesn't want to attend as if that will make a differnce.
Not worth it just to have a sticker for your car window.
Oh.. and an intimate knowledge of Tech Squares--something I'd probably go through life happier without.
Steph. Alright, alright. We've both dropped trousers and seen each others' tatoos. Now I know that you can not only fix your Jeep but build another one given a suitable source of iron ore.
"Intimate" knowledge of "Tech Squares." Please spare us all. In exchange I promise to never again mention "naked beer slides" or what really happened at the Coast Gaurd Academy rugby team after party. And no, I still know nothing about the pool at UNH. When will you people stop asking?
I had to respond to this one about stuff.
I've had it with stuff. We killed ourselves in the last move, moving junk. It's mostly been accumulated in the last seven years, with three kids that have come along since then and no time to pitch or sort.
From now on, I'm only going to keep Christmas ornaments and books if I have shelves for them. No more software and software manuals, outdated computer equipment, training books, videocassettes (agh), etc. etc. etc.
It's all going to be HISTORY.
BTW, you can get $70 for a 70's Star Trek alien on Ebay. :-) That kind of stuff I'm willing to sell. The rest is charity or trash.
(I had to beg to get my husband on board with this. I brought two boxes with me when we got married. He brought two truckloads). I mean, what does one *do* with old disgusting stuffed animals? Our kids look at them and go "ew". I suppose they're like Velveteen Rabbits to him. Sigh.
On Clutter ~ Solution:
Move into a small mountain cabin from a 2000 sq. foot. New England sprawler.
At least 80% of my crap *had* to be purged. There were great numbers of friends willing to take some stuff; the home buyers asked me to leave some other stuff; much of it went to Goodwill. Huge garage sale and Ebay got me lots of $$$--especially for my ex's Star Trek and other collectibles he still hadn't come back to pick up. Too bad, you snooze, you lose.
Bye bye, VHS collection of recorded sci-fi. Adios platform chessboard; tot ziens boxes for all my PC games & software.. adieu anything I haven't touched in more than 12 months.
My house is small; cozy but not overly cluttered. And now, without all the congomo-plastic-die-cast crapola that appealed to me during my nerdathon days, it is kind of nice too. It's funny how easy it is to let go of all that shit... and how little you miss it. Now I am bewildered by people who pay to store stuff they don't need. :?:
@Rob
So you can easily imagine what a decent-looking girl would go through in that environment. I might as well have had a bunch of steaks tied to me in a cage full of hyenas.
No Jeep building. I couldn't take the pressure. ::squish:: I don't like to think about that time. I wasn't in a good place then. It was never what *I* wanted. It was mostly to please a papa that went there.
Now I write Fantasy Books. No car sticker; just self-realization--and a disappointed papa.
correction: Square-dancing, smug hyenas.
Now I'm done.
Somebody needs to inform Mel about the Trustee sale on the 28th.
http://www.sacramentohomesre.com/properties/6010/60100568.php
Steph,
I was one of those ubergeeky mouth droolers. For that I apologize although there was precious little to be guilty about. If it is any consolation I'm better now. Skier, boogie boarder and even my 16yo and 13yo daughters' friends want to copy my iPod. In retrospect very few of us were comfortable in our skins at that time in those circumstances.
Stephanie,
Do you have your own blog? We love you.
Stephanie J.,
You seem like the best friend I haven't had in ages.
You're smart, witty, thoughtful and an excellent and hilarious writer.
@Cacia
Too bad you don't live out here... I'm always lacking for friends to hang out with and do things with. That's why I'm always around here raising hell.
As 'lovable' as I may seem; I'm very opinionated, abrasive and bratty... and it tends to scare people off. ::smirk::
@Rob
Never apologize for your past nerdiness. I value nerdiness deeply. I always found great comfort in sitting at Mary Chung's for Dim Sum, and hearing string theory and particle physics being passionately discussed in the booth behind me. I have 'nerd envy' because I never cut it--I wasn't sharp enough, able to grasp the things these kids took for granted. I always felt very much on the outside looking in.
The hyenas weren't necessarily the drooling nerds--they were usually the sharp, aggressive guys that thought themselves above the others. the ones with moderate good looks and arrogance to boot. They were never the smartest ones, but they had the charisma to always appear to be on top. Can't stand them.
And as for my blog... off limits to you hounds. And it's a separate world from this one.
Stephanie J.,
Being "opinionated, abrasive and bratty" only adds to your charm. I'm still curious how you ended up in a cabin on a mountain somewhere in Oregon. Perhaps you've already explained that an I missed it...
@Cacia
It's a long and sordid tale. I've never told it except to exclaim my love for my tiny home; and my membership in the Small House Society.
It's also exceptionally personal.
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