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The Story of Stuff
Submitted by fyl on Tue, 2008/02/26 - 15:39.
A pointer to a video called The Story of Stuff was just posted to the Casa Ben Linder list. The message basically just said "you must see this". Ok, I did and it is well worth the 20 minutes.
But, does it have anything to do with Nicaragua? Well, it would be easy to come up with a reason why it did but I wasn't going to post the link here. Then, maybe 2/3 of the way through, the narrator, talking about the U.S., said "National happiness peaked in the 1950s". Click!
I often tell people Nicaragua is like the US in the 1950s except with technology added. While Nicaragua is a victim, both on the production and consumption end, of what is described as the problem in the video, you can also see why a lot of us who lived in the US in the 1950s see the appeal of at least rural Nicaragua.
What do you think?
Never saw the video but agree
with your last paragraph. That is what 70% of this is about for me. Lees philosophy of "stuff" as good, bad or even evil and certainly not in agreement with all your 19 people in a truck stuff below, but the basics are on target. But only for some. I don't see it as penance, but as adventure.ZZT
Food for thought
is what it is, I think. A good one, thanks Fyl.
Just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower - H.C. Andersen
George Carlin - A place for my stuff
Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That's all, a little place for my stuff. That's all I want, that's all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody's got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that's your stuff, that'll be his stuff over there. That's all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That's all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn't have so much stuff, you wouldn't need a house. You could just walk around all the time. A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you're taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody's got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff.
And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn't want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you're saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That's what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get...more stuff! Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore.
Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else's house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else's stuff is all over the goddamn place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven't used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven't moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there's usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there's NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else's s--- is on the dresser. Have you noticed that their stuff is s--- and your s--- is stuff? God! And you say, "Get that s--- offa there and let me put my stuff down!"
Sometimes you leave your house to go on vacation. And you gotta take some of your stuff with you. Gotta take about two big suitcases full of stuff, when you go on vacation. You gotta take a smaller version of your house. It's the second version of your stuff. And you're gonna fly all the way to Honolulu. Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean to Honolulu. You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu and you open up your suitcase and you put away all your stuff. "Here's a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff--you put your stuff there, I'll put some stuff--here's another place for stuff, look at this, I'll put some stuff here..." And even though you're far away from home, you start to get used to it, you start to feel okay, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you.
That's when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, "Hey, why don'tchya come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here." Oh, no! Now what do I pack? Right, you've gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The third version of your house. Just enough stuff to take to Maui for a coupla days. You get over to Maui--I mean you're really getting extended now, when you think about it. You got stuff ALL the way back on the mainland, you got stuff on another island, you got stuff on this island. I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain.
You get over to your friend's house on Maui and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to his windowsill or something. You put some of your stuff up there. You put your stuff up there. You got your Visine, you got your nail clippers, and you put everything up. It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, "All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay." That's when your friend says, "Aaaaay, I think tonight we'll go over the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine and maybe stay over." Aww, no. NOW what do you pack? Right--you gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The fourth version of your house. Only the stuff you know you're gonna need. Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, smokes, rubber and change. Well, only the stuff you HOPE you're gonna need.
From George Carlin, A Place For My Stuff, Brain droppings, 2000.
Doors of hope fly open when doors of promise shut. -Thomas D'Arcy McGee
Be happy - when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
I can almost always tell the poor from the rich at a distance in Nicaragua and much of latinamerica. Not by how they dress, both groups look sharper than most gringos. The poor smile, laugh and (God bless ‘em) sing, even when they’re not drinking. They seem to have all the time in the world.
The rich have property, stuff, but it’s obvious that it owns them. Stuff has to be cleaned, maintained, garaged, insured, exhibited and generally worried over, otherwise it/they lose value. Like Carroll’s nervous white rabbit in Wonderland their lives are ruled by the clock, for their wealth derives from their integration into the great (now) computational society. It takes a serious application of alcohol, drugs, therapy, recreational sex or an extended retreat to temporarily forget that relationship, stuff = self, and believe themselves free (Kris Kristopherson wrote it right in “Me & Bobbi McGee”), and smile & laugh.
FYI
FYI I like you, you seem like the glue around here or maybe even the engine. However, I could only take a few minutes of that video. It has a seriously slanted, lefty point of view. And who is to say that government Should be bigger than business? I think big government is usually a waste of money? Look at Canada for instance. Canada has to recruit professionals from the third world and then send them to the USA to work to pay taxes so the contry can exist. Anyway, the next message is that we all own too much stuff. I like my stuff thank you. I like my 4x4 so that I can drive to wild places and take neat photos. I like my computer and I love my internet too. Everyone has a choice whether to own stuff or not. Part of the reason capitalism works so well. And I am glad to be one of those too.
You missed the point
Maybe it is a "lefty point of view" that there is not enough material on this planet to make "stuff" for everyone that lives here. Thus, everyone doesn't have a choice, or at least won't have a choice "whether to to own stuff or not".
I certainly have more than my fair share. Living in Nicaragua has helped me realize that I don't need so much that I was sure I had to have but I still have too much. I am, however, getting better.
Here are some of the things I have learned in the last few years:
There is a lot more but I am sure you get the idea. I don't think it is a "leftist thing" to not waste money or resources.
I don't like to waste either
FYI, I think someone called you Phil (That is my oldest Son's name). I agree and, I too, hate waste. I am an engineer and for almost 30 years I have engineered my products to be as efficient as possible. When I design a ship I go over my calculations over and over and over again before I specify a generator (for instance). I get hammered by customers that want to insist on having a guarantee that they will have power to (make money) under a large list of circumstances and I have to remind them that the life of a generator is shortened by underuse. If you load a diesel generator to less than 80% of its capacity it spews smoke and ruins it and things around it.
Alternative energy is also a pet of mine. Solar or Wind generated power comes in the form of charging batteries. Batteries are lead and acid usually, and sometimes worse. The cases for those things (batteries, wire, inverters, etc) are made from Plastics, a petroleum Product. What is going to happen with all of these plastic cars with their lead and other materials once the car has outlived its mechanical life? And when the two hybrid cars with their lead and acid collide, what do you have running into the storm drains? And what do you have when they catch fire?
I know that a certain consciousness needs to exist and I do have it. When one is trying to solve a problem on their block, what is happening to the town, the country or the world as a result? I do believe in composting (an avid gardener myself), and I do recycle everything that I can and complain if something cannot be recycled. I give my older or other unwanted things to someone that does want them. (By the way, there is no Nicaraguan listing in www.craigslist.com One of you all living there needs to request that). I have plenty of money, but I do not drive to every place, any time I want to, regardless of the price. If I see someone polluting I point it out to them as a courtesy, not an order or a judgment.
Your messenger in that video took a lot of political shots with an apparent axe to grind. If someone Really Cares about their message then they will not try to mix so many other messages in it that they totally alienate their students. I could not get past a few minutes of that video because of anger. I am not stupid, I try to be careful not to waste, and I do not like someone lumping all of the things in the world that she hates into one thing and including things I disagree with her about. I usually pay about $40,000 a year in taxes under a republican president, and that is after doing everything in the world I can to reduce that amount. I do not attend school for my entire life so that I can have the same lifestyle of someone that does not. I do give, however. I really enjoy giving to those that I personally feel deserves it, not those whom the government feels deserve it, which is always about their getting votes. I give my time, expertise and money to the causes that I feel are deserving.
You said
"I am not stupid". That may be the key. Or, more accurately, lots of people are "unaware", "uninvolved", "just don't care" or are in denial. The audience is those people. The ones that just don't understand why a WalMart next door could be a problem.
I know lots of people that also would be offended by the video but they are people that don't need to see it—you and I being examples.
A similar example is the "Living Like a Nica" book that I wrote. It has an audience, it will be unimportant to many (in particular, Nicaraguans already living how I describe) and offensive at best to another group of people because "obviously I have it wrong".
So, ignore the video and start contributing to the Appropriate Technology part of NicaLiving. For example, I understand about needing to load down our 30KW diesel generator during break-in but what do you do in rural Nicaragua to get a 20-30KW load? I just don't know 20 people with hair dryers. :-)
Load Bank (Dummy Load)
Look up Dummy Load or Load Banks. They are like giant hair dryers, and if you are resourceful you can make one yourself. In your case your electrical demand will probably soon catch up to your production and then exceed it. I personally say that you have to load a generator appropriately All of the time, not just during break-in. You will have smoke and carbon all over the place if you don't. I cannot imagine your not being able to run some kind of heating or cooling load to bring your power needs closer to 80%. And see, that is why I run the calcs over and over again before I specify a generator.
I am sorry I came accross the wrong way. I really like you and what you do here. You are a true asset to your community. I will help you guys any way I can with my background in engineering.
Dummy Load
That is really the issue. Once we are operating we have coffee post, toasters, ice makers, ... to use the power. And, if we still don't have sufficient load (we will during "busy hours" and we don't need to run the generator much of the rest of the time) then we can add, for example, an electric water heater.
The problem is now. There is no power there so we can't offer free power to the neighbors that have nothing to run. You don't borrow electric heaters because there are none. So, I am just trying to think of "the Nicaraguan way" to deal. That is, not buy a bunch if nichrome wire and fans.
Doug may be right but 30KW is a lot of power to dissipate without making it a bit scary to walk around.
My reply on the Dummy Load was hasty
I would not want you to waste power or the life of a generator, but since you have it already you are sort of stuck. Now that you are where you are, it is time to try to cut loses. I will give some thought to your problem and let you know what I can come up with.
I will start contributing to appropriate technology right way, but for now I will explain how to size a generator for anyone that wants to know.
Tabulate all of your electrical needs that will be serviced from your generator and list them in a spread sheet. Make a column for various times of the day with an eye on times when you are to expect high usage of power and columns for less usage. For example, if you run a machine that draws x KW from 7-3pm then that is one. If weekends or some time when everything is down would be another. What you are considering is a time diversity electrical loads analysis.
Anyway, you create spreadsheet with all of your loads and list all of your loads. You can list them in watts, amps or whatever; just keep them all the same. A TV may draw .2 amps at 120v, so that is 60 watts. Estimate what you do not know. A Kilowatt is 1000 watts, a watt = amps x volts. A TV says on the back that it draws .2 Amps, so .2x120=60w. If you have a motor, multiply your watts by .8. (The .8 is a power factor and means that 20% of the power to run a motor is not usable). This formula is basic but it will work for an electrical loads analysis. I am trying to keep this simple. If I were doing this for a ship with multiple generators I would have to use a more accurate way to calculate the loads.
So for this analysis, you listed all of your loads. At the bottom of your spreadsheet you total up the loads.
You have a column called connected load, which is just everything you have. That is going to be your largest number and is only there for reference.
You have another column that is (for instance) when you are running all of your peak loads. Let’s pick one machine, a coffee dryer. Say it draws 1kw. In your spreadsheet you have a load factor of 1 in the cell below that and it is multiplied by the load itself and then it is brought down to the total at the bottom. You have another machine that comes off and on during production based on some kind of automatic function. So you have to think about how often that machine is running all out. Your load factor may be .7 or whatever for that machine, and that .7 is multiplied by the load and that is added to the total at the bottom.
After you are all done looking at every single load, and when it is on, you have a pretty good study. You can look at the bottom of your spreadsheet and see what your worse case is and that is the size of your generator. And again, remember that you want to run a generator at or about 80% of its maximum capacity. This is also a very good time to consider possible future growth. Are you going to ever grow in your demand for power?
This system is very similar to what I use to size a generator for a ship. It is not perfect, but it is the best way that I have ever heard of and is a required document when seeking ABS or US Coast Guard approval. It is called an electrical loads analysis.
There is a book out there called Living on 12 Volts with Ample Power by David Smead. This is the best book I have ever read concerning independence from the power grid that Americans take for granted. I have bought and given away many copies of this book. It can be found online in ebay or google. I have talked with David and even specified his products. It is about charging batteries, and although I am not a big fan of batteries, they really are the best choice for a scaled down approach using electrical power.
I am at everyone's disposal with any questions about machinery, inverters, converters, generators. I can hold my own with just about anything electrical and a lot of things that aren't. Feel free to ask. I will try to help with tailored information that is usable to the person trying to live outside the American grid.
Living without electricity
I have abook called "Living Without Electricity...and Liking It"
There's a good one called "Better Off" about a guy and his wife, just graduated from college, and going to spend a year living in an Amish community with no electricity. Great book.
Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me.
I seem to remember...
some instructor telling me about using the soil as a load by placing 2 metal rods into the ground, DC output I believe, as part of his monthly generator maintenance routine
-Doug ©
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
We built a "butt" welder for one of my shops some time ago
I'm not sure if something like this would work for you in this instance. I would think that it may do the job since you could adjust the load automatically to suit you requirements. Something like this would not be tough or expensive to build since you only wish to produce the load and would not need any fixtures or clamping systems.
I don't think it is a "leftist thing" to not waste resources
You'd think conserving would be a conservative thing...
"You can't have everything. Where would you put it?"
Steven Wright (1955 - )
unbelievable....
but i got to say it! You are a genius, tacomasteve.
when government grows, liberty yields, thomas jefferson
A cartoon of Leftist propaganda
It reminds me a lot of Al Gore’s movie and the movie “The Corporation” (I saw it in Toronto a few years ago) and Chompsky’s website, and, yes, much commentary here on NL. Which is not to say that they don’t contain some truths, nor that I ignore them. But they offend the scientist in me for their lack of balance, the shortcomings of their show of objectivity. So I like to hear what the other extreme has to say, likewise it’s propaganda twisted into a helix of the opposite handedness, and then think for myself, which is not to say decide, for there is often too little solid data presented in political-speak.
Guru, your comment on 'happiness' tweaks my mojo. I'll post my thoughts in a bit.
their lack of balance,
Why should Chomsky post dissenting views on his own web site? After all he is right (or is he left?) If you want a counterbalance to indy documentaries turn on Fox News or any corporate media...The Fairness Doctrine has gone the way of the buffalo...
"The people will believe what the media tells them they believe." --George Orwell
I do turn them on ...
occasionally, and briefly, until the turning of their screws pinches a lobe. You're saying what I believe I meant when I wrote that six months ago. Views, opinions, and commentaries are necessarily subjective, that is, personal interpretations, and can be informative, but often must be refitted to the circumstances or to one's own mind. Behind, and beyond, comments is something, be it past or current events, or merely the 'facts' of the topic discussed. To integrate many different viewpoints is to approach the objective truth. That I seek. Science is the quest for reliable knowledge.
Stuff, or private property, is the fundamental philosophical, historical and social concept that Karl Marx wrestled with that evolved into 'Das Kapital' & 'The Communist Manifesto'. Many today feel either guilt or envy about the unequal distribution of stuff. And it’s the pursuit of stuff that best motivates people to work hard.
___----___----___----___
"Government has no other end but the preservation of Property." - John Locke
"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us." - Chief Seattle
And it’s the pursuit of stuff that best motivates people to work
That must be why I don't work any more...:-)
They don't get it. Can't they comprehend that not everything is done for a paycheck? That sometimes you just make a thing 'cause you wanna see how it'll turn out, 'cause you have a feeling it oughta be made?
.... Tom Robbins
Advertising tries to stimulate our sensuous desires, converting luxuries into necessities, but it only intensifies man's inner misery. The business world is bent on creating hungers which its wares never satisfy, and thus it adds to the frustrations and broken minds of our times.
-Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), Lift Up Your Heart, 1942
There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.
-G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
It’s psychological warfare
and we have no choice but to get smarter, or follow the carrot dangling from the stick, ...
except maybe to move to Nicaragua
-------
Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you.
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It's only people's games that you got to dodge
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- Bob Dylan, “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”
very interesting...
but it made me depressed.
I think I need a new I-Pod...or a plasma tv.. ;)
-Doug
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate