What are /r/Anticonsumption's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I made this app after getting really annoyed about yet another company being snatched up by a megacorporation with shady practices. The goal was to make such information more readily available and help people make conscious choices whether they want to support a company or not
It's free, doesn't contain any ads and doesn't collect any data:

• Android
• iOS

I hate to be that guy, but Linux is a less consumerist alternative that really just requires a bit more time and patience. You can always start with Ubuntu.

Sorry I just had to please don't hate me

there are apps that can tell you which corporation products belong to when you scan the bar code, so you can avoid them, i used this for a while: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.buycott.android

You joke, but there's a bunch of different versions of "nothing" you can buy, complete with plastic packaging and a cardboard box.

They do. The squeegee bit is called the insert. You tell the guy at the store you want inserts for your make and model. They sell you inserts. They are cheap. If you tell the guy you want new blades they well sell you an entire new blade.

If you buy new blades, make sure they are a brand with replaceable inserts. Pop part of the empty packaging of your new blades in your glove box. That way, when you need new inserts, you pull out the package, give it to the auto guy, and he gets you the right inserts.

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. It has a small quote of a Stoic like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca etc. and additional commentary for each day. It's a good introduction to stoic concepts before delving into the books and notes of some popular Stoics which can be a bit difficult to read from what I've seen. I chose it to make myself familiar with Stoicism in an easy way and to get myself to read a book daily again :)

High end shit like this is almost always you paying for the name not quality. Hell, dudes from the Audioholics forum couldn't tell the difference between an expensive Monster 1000 cable and a fucking coat hanger.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/coat-hanger-wire-is-just-as-good-as-a-high-quality-speaker-cable/#!

Here's a list of a few things I do, some being straight up free, others requiring a start-up cost:

• Geocaching - Basically, high-tech urban (and sometimes not so urban) hiking and treasure hunting. If you have a smartphone you don't even need a GPS
• Photo safari - Going for a walk with a camera, with the specific purpose of recording the world around you. If you want, you can select a theme for each outing, to make it a little more challenging.
• Be a tourist in your own city. I don't know about you, but I'm definitely guilty of overlooking everything my own city has to offer, so by doing some research with your area specific subreddits, travel books from the library, and Googling, it's reasonably easy to come up with a bunch of free events and walking tours in your own city.
• Hiking and biking
• Board and video games
• Participating in a book club (use the library to make this one free)

Short answer: Yes!

~~Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.~~

Reduce. Reuse. Repair. Respect.

Reduce and reuse are obvious. Buying from thrift shops or using freecycle.org or posting free stuff on craigslist rather than throwing things away is great for reducing consumption!

Repairing items like shoes (which can be resoled) is another great thing to do. Respecting your possessions by taking good care of them and getting the maximum life out of what you buy is also a great idea.

Recycling is a last resort to be used only when all of the above fail.

So, yes. Getting use out of that which was already produced years ago is a great way to reduce consumption.

Yes and yes. A travel set of cutlery isn’t hard to find.

Edit: For reference, this is approximately the set I have but with a knife as well: Amazon Link. I wouldn't really recommend a plastic case like that but someone else ordered a pack of two and gave me one so I didn't really have a say.

you haven't clicked that link in a while, have you? john campbell has replaced all her domains with empty html pages.

her motivations, scarily relevant to /r/anticonsumption, are lined out in a kickstarter update manifesto.

https://www.amazon.com/Chandrika-Ayurvedic-Soap-2-6-oz/dp/B00016X212

That's under $2 a bar at most places, lathers INSANELY and it's vegan (made of coconut oil) and smells amazing. By lathers insanely I mean I can swirl it around in my hands 3x and I have enough soap to cover my entire torso - now that's economical. Plus the people making it in bulk can potentially cause less waste than us - they don't have to recycle smaller containers and ship small amounts of ingredients to us in the first place. (all of which is inefficient and costly/wasteful)

It doesn't leave you with that nasty "moisturizer oily" feeling either.

Local health food stores sell it and a friend who visits India often uses it and it's popular there, Indian people are serious about being vegetarian and not having beef tallow etc.

I just mean by this that there is an option in between the $10 farmers market/Lush soaps for vegans.

But homemade soap is awesome too :)

Look into a brand called goughnut. They're pricey but my 85 lbs bulldog that destroyed every other toy in a few days/weeks hasn't even put a dent in it in 8 months.

Specifically this toy.

I was actually about to order one but then I saw all the terrible trustpilot reviews about how the phone just breaks after 3-6 months and now I'm like oof... doesn't sound that sustainable after all..

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/fairphone.com?stars=3&stars=4

It's this shoe (google with quotes on amazon domain) https://www.amazon.com/ZGR-Womens-Sneaker-Lace-up-Classic/product-reviews/B073TWW8NT

and it's 20 bucks. Assuming they get old in 2 months that's 6 pairs per year that's 120$ a year shoe budget, since you'll need other shoes (for snow, sport etc) its at least a 200$ / year budget.

I bough a good pair of salomon shoes 2 years ago for 89$ and I can wear them in town and for outside sport, they are so durable they'll last for 4-6 years.

I have better shoes that last longer for less money.

https://www.amazon.com/Salomon-TRAILSTER-Running-Phantom-Magnet/dp/B07BRYVWJC

A couple of oldies but goodies - these are on a bit of a tangent-
Thorstein Veblen - Conspicuous Consumption - actually this is on my TBR
Neil Postman - Amusing Ourselves to Death - individualism, priorities, values, media & entertainment
Bill McKibben - The Age of Missing Information - television
Alain de Botton - Status Anxiety - the myth of social mobility. very readable.
Peter Kropotkin - The Conquest of Bread - this is 'the Bread book' that your comrades will repeatedly tell you to read. http://thebreadbook.org/

Duane Elgin, Volundary Simplicity. A little dated and idealistic but quite inspiring.

Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez - Your Money or Your Life - understanding modern money.

You might like this app I found recently. It creates different card numbers for single use so you don't get sucked into subscribing.. or sharing your actual card data. I've not used it yet but I signed up. https://privacy.com/

You bet!

I got this one.

If you do get it, which I can't recommend enough, you will need one of these.

I have had a lot of luck with mindfulness meditation. I've been doing it on and off for about ten years now and it is helpful tool for developing equanimity.

We live in a world that constantly plays with our desires, usually with the goal of getting us to consume a good or a service. I find that when the voice in my head says it's time to buy a new whateverthefuck, if I can mindfully observe that desire, it will go away by itself.

It's a tricky thing to talk about because our minds are tricky things, but in my personal experience I think it is almost a prerequisite for someone who wants to stay sane. Try giving it a shot for a month or so and see what you think!

Two other books you might be interested in are: The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, and Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris. (I've got more recommendations too if you dig that sort of thing.)

One final note in response to a comment from /u/Nikolasv who raises some fair points: aside from maybe a book or two to orient yourself, you don't need to buy anything to practice it. Americans love to buy things (I play guitar and it's amazing how many people subconsciously think they'll get better by buying a new effects pedal or chord book...) but this is something you can practice anywhere for free.

>That said, meal #1 doesn't have a great protein source.

Protein requirements are over stated. The RDI for protein for adult male is only 50-60 grams.

That being said pasta will get you there. If you eat 1800 calories worth of pasta you will get ~70g of protein sastifying your protein requirements. Im not suggesting people only eat pasta but just showing it will pull it's weight in getting your protein requirement.

I guess the word "kinetic" might not be appealing/unfamiliar for many. We used it for events to keep kids entertained while we speak with the parents, really easy to vacuum. Expensive though. It can be found in different colours. Disclaimer: I feel bad posting an amazon link but only for information purposes only.

https://www.amazon.com/Play-Dirt-Bucket-Lb-Dirt-Like/dp/B06WWMXWLJ

I suggest using alternative search engines such as StartPage and DuckDuckGo.

They claim to not track users. At the very least, they don't have your email or other connections to your accounts.

It is a great idea and not that difficult at all. These are my favorite designs.

Lots of ideas here regarding what you are talking about.

More of the same "let's bash on Apple because they're cool." It was old when Greenpeace was doing it; it's positively ancient now.

Working at Foxconn actually cuts your suicide risk, but that statistical reality doesn't move papers or pageviews. And the Wintek thing is shitty, but the workers are being shut out by Wintek, not Apple.

Tim Cook just restarted Apple's employee charitable donation match program, but that just happened today. This is more a dig against Steve Jobs than Apple.

Moving on, saying Apple is a monopoly is positively laughable when you look at the competition from Amazon, Google, Netflix, the Android alliance, etc, not to mention every PC makers out there. The video then turns around and complains because they're promoting HTML5 video instead of the closed Adobe Flash player, software which has never delivered good performance under anything but Windows, and is the source of constant crashes and exploits. Saying that Flash is "the closest thing the net has to a video standard" makes it seem like an asset, when in reality Flash has been one of the worst things to happen to the web.

So we've got one or two good points mixed in with a bunch of overhyped drivel and set to dynamic typography. Sounds like modern slacktivism to me! *cue gif of the B52 dropping downvotes*

There’s a few options with varying degrees of difficulty to setup and functionality. Apart from using uBlock origin on your desktop browser, you can:

• Setup PiHole on a RaspberryPi on your home network
• Use ProtonVPN — their paid tier has optional Adblock in it
• On Android you should be able to run Firefox with uBlock too

Then for YouTube there’s SponsorBlock, which skips the parts of videos containing sponsored content. But for other social media I have no idea.

Not sure if this will work

If it doesnt, search up "Bethesda Pride Month Icon" and click on images. It's basically an image of a game company pandering to gays only where the virtue signalling can turn a profit.

For the basics I'd recommend Adblock Block Edge (Plus for Chrome) or if you're more comfortable with what you're doing or value performance uBlock Origin. The brower addon/extension version of DisconnectMe is probably worth getting also.

You can add to this with things like an addon/extension to always use HTTPS or an addon/extension that sanitises your referrers.

Using a DNS server that doesn't track you might be worth while also: https://www.opennicproject.org/

Prism Break - https://prism-break.org/en/ - has some recommendations based on Operating System if you're interested in some other options.

I have had this microwave for two years without any problems. It has a mute function as well. Toshiba Microwave

Wish I could be more help! I'm also frustrated with how everything nowadays is such garbage quality. Good luck.

So this is really because they couldn't get the iPhone, or is it perhaps because they heard about this going on down the road in Chengdu?

The message that CNN wants you to leave with is "boy, people all over the world really want these gadgets." But is that the real truth of this?

They brought eggs -- this might suggest that they came prepared to throw them.

Anything software or media based is free if you know how to use torrents. Books, games, movies, music, software, all free and doesn't take up space. There are even a lot of those things available for free legally if that aspect of it bothers you (for instance https://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top).

The program Your Money or Your Life talks about different kind of "stuff" that we use our life to earn money to pay for. That "stuff" includes experiences. We think stuff will make us happy. It can help, especially in small quantities. But beyond a certain point (which varies by the person) any kind of stuff becomes a burden whether it is physical or not.

If you are technical at all, try Pi Hole - home network wide ad blocking’s. Inc TVs. Also improves privacy by stooping lots of the logs and other data devices (like smart TVs) send back unknowingly!

https://pi-hole.net/

It's a truly frustrating problem. You're right, it absolutely takes a toll on your mental health. Advertisements constantly make you uncomfortable with yourself or your possessions, making you want something new. And to avoid it, it takes a concerted effort! There are always companies trying to find yet another niche to get people interested, every single part of our day gets commodified. It's the norm of culture right now to be a consumer, rather than a person. Companies explicitly set up dark patterns to keep you involved. It's not easy!

Here are some of the steps I've taken to help reduce these effects on myself:

• Adblockers (Like you said, pi-hole is great) to begin with. Also, use Firefox and add-ons that don't allow trackers

• If you must get involved with current media, pay for your entertainment. I use Netflix and Spotify, but even those have various "featured" artists an videos.

• Most importantly, cultivate a community that is real and in person. I think that having real interactions with people in real life is very important to mental well-being, and far too many people shortcut it with spending time online / on Facebook.

But still, I fucking hate it. I hate how hard I have to work to change what I'm seeing and how I'm feeling every day. It's frustrating, I know.

The rate of population growth as a percentage of total world population is going down, but total number of people added each year remains almost the same, at an average of ~80 million per year, since the early 80's. See here.

So yes, the percentage growth rate is going down... but that's because ~80 million is a smaller percentage of 7 billion than, say, 5 billion.

Maybe a small number of people would have problems but to the average person it's fine. One could make use of a nutrient tracker like https://cronometer.com/ or https://myfitnesspal.com/ to make sure you're they're meeting their daily requirements.

I did some googling and (at least in 2013) it was owned by Evidon, a marketing company that provides data to advertising companies.

I do not know if they provide Ghostery data, but the connection alone makes me wary.

https://lifehacker.com/ad-blocking-extension-ghostery-actually-sells-data-to-a-514417864

We do have a tv but we now only watch on demand stuff such as Netflix, Prime, 4OD, fuck pirated stuff too, so the only adverts we see come from them. I got a raspberry Pi for my christmas and I can wait to make a Raspberry Pihole!

That host file and three more are now built into ublock. It also has everything adblock covers too since a host file doesn't block certain types of ads or hide them away once they are blocked. It uses a fraction of the RAM of adblock. Not even sure why adblock plus is even used anymore. https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

Yeah, they figured out how to make those disposable too.

I got a travel set of bamboo utensils in a case made from recycled plastic from To-Go Ware (sorry for Amazon link). I disliked both using disposable plastic utensils from work and bringing metal ones from home, so I brought this set into my office and clipped it to a handle on an overhead cabinet. I’m never lacking a utensil and also never have to transport them.

check out the app buycott (available on IOSand google) . It features 'campaigns' organized by what you're trying to avoid, and has a barcode scanner for individual products.

https://www.amazon.com/Version-iRonsnow-Emergency-Weather-Flashlight/dp/B00WIF2T7C?crid=3SDMK85Q53XMS&keywords=hand+crank+radio+flashlight+cell+phone+charger&qid=1537472677&sprefix=hand+crank+radio&sr=8-4&ref=mp_s_a_1_4

Very similar to the first 2 questions of the "3 Questions that will change your life"" in the Your Money or Your Life program. One difference is that the questions are asked after a purchase is made. The third question (which is 2nd in YMOYL) is "Did I receive fulfillment commensurate with the number of hours I devoted to paying for the purchase?"

I point this out to congratulate you on finding a way to apply very important principles in frugal and/or simple living.

I agree with all of this, but just blaming society isn't enough - really I would blame the tyranny of small decisions. What's the alternative? We can't all go back to being hunter gatherers. The Your Money or Your Life model works great if you are in a developed economy with the luck and ability to learn a marketable skill. I'm not sure what the answer is for people in Vietnam.

I think Trader Joe’s stole your idea haha. They also sell frozen minced ginger in those tiny ice cube trays!

Also I’m not a fan of overly specific kitchen products but I use this thing called the Garlic Zoom every time I cook bc I always use a lot of garlic. You still have to peel the cloves but once you stick them in that thing and roll it back and forth on the counter a couple times you’ve got fresh minced garlic in literally 30 seconds. It’s the most useful kitchen thingy I’ve ever bought.

So painful to see. Sadly a lot of products are packed like this in China. When I was in Beijing a few years ago, I eventually bought a package of American style chocolate cookies at the supermarket, I thought they were like these:

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chocolate-cookies-packaging-chip-top-view-747111913

That's how it's like in Germany here (2 inch diameter cookies) and it's already wrapped in a lot of plastic for my taste. But no, the Chinese ones came each wrapped in an awfully thick plastic bag, and each one of them having a silica gel bag and a cookie being barely larger than one inch. It didn't even taste good, and hell that's just one example.

Before Reagan did away with the Fairness Doctrine in the 80s and before Clinton signed the permit for media to monopolize under the Telecom Act of 1996, there were news sources who happily operated under a term called "Loss Leader." That was a time where companies understood that telling the truth and offering facts often didn't make a lot of money and so they made strategic business provisions to offset and accept that information and news is an industry of financial loss. This time still required advertisements, though. But the need to savage information over advertiser was a lot less. So the quality of the information was a lot more. That being said, NPR does ad free news. Granted they make the news and stories as boring as hell but that's an example of community supported news.

I agree with you for the most part and appreciate you spreading the word about hunting and conservation. People are too quick to jump on the "Trophy hunting is EVILLL" hype train without knowing the actual pros/cons.

I'd add, though, that there are still issues with big game hunting as a practice, and it is by no means a perfect conservation tool. My problems with it (in places like Africa) stem from the lack of thorough research of game populations and communication between countries that have migrations between their borders. Plus, some of the governments in Africa are hella corrupt and don't do their part to actually conserve their natural resources, and are instead only concerned with how much money they can make for themselves. So some countries may say they have x number of animals available for a quota but then not have adequate documentation to keep track of the numbers, which potentially leads to more animals being killed than initially allowed. I worry that there isn't enough transparency with these local governments AND the private organizations that choreograph the hunts, and that the endangered species populations will be the ones that suffer the most.

Basically, I think big game hunting is still vital for conservation because it brings in serious cash, but there are a bunch of issues to work out before I can be truly convinced it's gonna help certain endangered species in the long run. For those interested, this is a pretty good paper about the topic, and I have others if desired.

If I go to a website that says "Oh, you're using an adblocker, please support us and white list us" I do. I don't mind genuine ads or inoffensive static ads that you just scroll past. I do mind pop ups, animated, noisy and sometimes borderline pornographic ads.

I don't know if it's your browser or the sites you visit that makes you think basic Chrome is enough, but the default settings on my browsers are not sufficient.

There are so many sites that redirect and throw obnoxious animated pop ups over and over that I'm not prepared to browse the web without an adblocker.

If that's a problem for you and your content, consider contacting Coil or Brave, they're both working on ways to monetize content with micropayments.

> (Though they prefer human brains, you are bound to lose at least some cauliflower to the occasional, confused zombie now and again. They don’t eat it, just masticate it for a while, and you could probably boil off the zombie virus, but what’s the point?)

Ha, too funny.

Had to go over to Costco's website to check some of these products out.

I love this. For less than $6,000, you can feed a family of four freeze dried food for six months - or, if you sacrifice your family, you can survive for two whole years!

... Assuming you can find clean water, I suppose.

*Edit: Oh, wait. Here we go.

That's not innovation. Thinner is just a matter of money and economies of scale.

You're right about the UI, they have (or had imho) some fancy design. That's still not innovation though. One example I can come up with is OS X' desktop environment. There are countless open source DE's (^(https://i3wm.org/ FTW)), Apple just copied them, but they get to boast. In any case it's work a single guy could do just as well. There really is no cost attached.

https://www.quora.com/Should-I-start-on-Android-or-iOS-for-a-mobile-app

Most startups with limited resource go with iOS first because there is virtually no fragmentation which means they don't need to have several code base to support all different kinds of android variations out there. It similar to the reason why web designers hate IE, it makes them work harder to keep consistency across.

Indeed. In my personal experience, it's more effective as [EDIT] a deodorant than as an antiperspirant. It's marketed in all forms -- from raw stones to disposable plastic-packaged concoctions -- but at least in its crystal form can be relatively affordable compared to off-the-shelf deodorants. That said, I usually don't use it when I'm not working in business/office environments, as it doesn't work as well as those (presumably more toxic) commercial products.

Use https://getcoldturkey.com/ it's merciless and very flexible especially if you pay around 30 bucks for the lifetime premium license. You can block Youtube on a schedule, allow yourself 10 minutes a day, whatever you want. Just have to install and set up on all your devices.

Salt, fat, acid heat is a super accessible and amazing "learn to cook" book I recommend to anyone looking to start cooking for themselves. Its inexpensive and stunningly deep while being easy to understand.

Its not a cookbook, its a "ill turn you into a cook" book. Its well worth everyones time.

I should have been more descriptive/careful about my description! Since I live in the US, we obviously don’t have tatami floors, so when I bought the bed it came with a foldable tatami mat made from rush grass and then a small futon mattress that goes on top. While I no longer am a huge supporter Amazon and I do not necessarily endorse buying one from there, here is the model I bought.

I use an old tablet as music stand, metronome and playback-player for when I play on my guitar.

maple player lets you adjust pitch and speed, so it's a very neat tool when learning new songs

I love my sporks...I bought a titanium one and found myself reaching for it everyday, so i bought a couple more. I like this one with the carabiner on the end https://www.amazon.com/Vargo-VR204-BRK-Titanium-Eagle-Spork/dp/B001O43NQE

I too am guilty of this sometimes and feel a lot of turmoil about not living in complete accordance with my values. I would suggest reading Marie Kondo's book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Some parts are a tad on the ridiculous side for me, but others really shifted my perspective on the worth of objects in my life. It's definitely helped me make more considerate decisions when shopping secondhand.

It's impossible to entirely withdraw from the mist of marketing without withdrawing from society entirely. I think the biggest thing you can do is just be knowledgeable. For instance, when going out and getting stuff, walk with purpose, shop with purpose. Doing your own independent research and making decisions before you go to the store, gives you power.

But, it sounds like you're looking for books, I know that Martin Lindstrom talks a bit about why we buy the way we do, in the book Buyology. I'm currently reading Predictably Irrational, which has produced some interesting information. Such as anchoring pricing, relativity in purchasing, etc.

I hear that! I've been there before too. Traveling and meeting new people is great, if you can do it.

Seek out networking groups through your university, Meetup or chapter associations in your area. Or you can reverse engineer by finding groups that meet that interest you on a more personal level and introduce yourself that way. You could also try out temp work to get a feel for jobs before committing permanently to them. Every job I've had (and I've had a few, I'm in my 30's) has been temp to hire or from a friend of a friend (networking).

I think you will have a hard time selling yourself to others though if you are a new grad and loathing the field already. Truth is, there are movers and shakers in EVERY field who aren't always chasing the money, but trying to be an agent of change. The ReWork book and website might be of interest to you. The $100 Startup is also good.

I'm excited that you'll be graduating soon! It took me about 4 extra years to get my B.A. due to a learning disorder that went undiagnosed until my 20's. It was excruciating to have just a couple classes left that I took over and over for that long. I felt stupid and out of place since my peers had long moved on. We ALL struggle in some way, but there is always opportunity to find gratitude! :)

Thanks. I'll check out Leechblock. I'd forgotten about Your Money or Your Life, but I remember going through the book and tracking expenses for a month when I was in my twenties. Some of it's coming back to me.

Check into /r/frugal.

But also: the most helpful thing is to commit to authenticity as a way of life, make conscious decisions about what you buy and why and what it will support. It's a life-long process.

Check into Your Money or Your Life, a book that looks at the real cost of what you buy in terms of your labor and proposes a system for overhauling your personal finances.

And if you do nothing else, start writing down every purchase now. Keep a detailed record--you'll be surprised by what you learn from it.

I think this guy is just an opportunist. On another site it said his salary was something like $100,000/year out of school, and he was spending a ridiculous amount of money on going out, cars, etc. As you can see in the video, this Harvard MBA 'forgot' about interest, something you wouldn't expect from a recent Business School Graduate. He also stopped contributing to his 401k, something that can be a big financial mistake if you don't make up for it. Now he has a blog, videos, and a book for sale. All because he doesn't understand that his situation and base salary allowed him to do this far more easily than most other people could.

For the record: Debt is not a bad thing. If he had put all that extra money into investments instead of towards his debt, he likely would've had a lot more equity and would've been able to pay off his loans quicker on a greater time span. But, this tried and true advice probably wouldn't have been as good for his blog career. Also, he missed out on the $2,500/year tax savings that come with paying off student loan interest payments.

Is there something to be learned? Sort of, but don't waste your time reading/buying anything from this charlatan, and stick to free advice from this sub and others like it. A much better book is 'The Millionaire Next Door,' which you can probably get at your local library.

But why though, I mean a decent semiautomatic washer only cost like 200$ https://www.amazon.com/Giantex-Semi-automatic-Capacity-Portable-Apartment/dp/B097KCMW45

And literally uses maybe 200 watt-hours of electricity. And you can just fill it with water from a faucet. This plus useing powder detergent in a card board box is probably the best compromise in terms of environmental impact if you air dry, heck I use on and my apartment is only 250sqft. (Although not this specific model.

Hooked!: Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume Great essays on why the western world must change.

https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Buddhist-Writings-Desire-Consume/dp/1590301722

>Bastian had shown the lion the inscription on the reverse side of the Gem. "What do you suppose it means?" he asked. "'DO WHAT YOU WISH.' That must mean I can do anything I feel like. Don't you think so?"

>All at once Grograman's face looked alarmingly grave, and his eyes glowed. "No," he said in his deep, rumbling voice. "It means that you must do what you really and truly want. And nothing is more difficult."

>"What I really and truly want? What do you mean by that?"

>"It's your own deepest secret and you yourself don't know it."

>“How can I find out?”

> “By going the way of your wishes, from one to another, from first to last. It will take you to what you really and truly want.”

>“That doesn’t sound so hard,” said Bastian.

>“It is the most dangerous of all journeys.”

>“Why?” Bastian asked. “I’m not afraid.”

>“That isn’t it,” Grograman rumbled. “It requires the greatest honesty and vigilance, because there’s no other journey on which it’s so easy to lose yourself forever.”

>"Do you mean because our wishes aren't always good?" Bastion asked.

>The lion lashed the sand he was lying on with his tail. His ears lay flat, he screwed up his nose, and his eyes flashed fire. Involuntarily Bastian ducked when Grograman's voice once again made the earth tremble:

>"What do you know about wishes? How would you know what's good and what isn't?"

>- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - Ch. XV : Grograman, the Many-Colored Death

Just a note, reusable pads exist and are awesome!

probably work with a fan like this

Yes, any MERV 12+ filter would be a good choice, including that one.

You will get better airflow out of a box fan if you use 4 filters, as the static pressure (resistance to flow) is lower due to higher surface area, so the fan will move more air and the filters will last 4x as long. Since size doesnt matter, you can shop around for a deal on filters too (any 20 x ##" size will fit nicely on a 20" fan)

Here is a decent deal - $15/ea if you buy the 4 pack.

https://www.amazon.com/Filtrete-Ultimate-Allergen-Reduction-Uncompromised/dp/B005GZ8IG2/ref=sr\_1\_9?crid=2AP6W2W6WAPZ2&keywords=filtrete&m=A2L77EE7U53NWQ&qid=1668630990&s=warehouse-deals&sprefix=filtrete%2Cwarehouse-deals%2C13...

Amazon has plenty of options for "Thai deodorant stone":

https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Deodorant-Stone-Crystal-Basket/dp/B000FVA6XU/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=thai+deodorant+stone&qid=1668630951&sprefix=thai+deod%2Caps%2C563&sr=8-7

I'm sure you can find a better place to buy it for multiple reasons.

Any time I try to break a bad habit, I only seem to have success when I replace it with a healthier one. Otherwise I either backslide, or I replace it with another bad habit. Think about something you'd like to accomplish or maybe learn, and try to schedule time for yourself to work on that around the same time(s) you'd be shopping. Maybe start a vegetable garden, work out/bike/walk, or even learn a new language.

Brave browser. It's the same interface as Chrome, because it is a derivative of it with a privacy focus. It has a built in ad blocker.

If you want to get rid of ads on every device in your entire house, build a Pi-hole, if you are willing to do a small amount of work to get it running. Consider it a useful skill like sewing.

I have a free vpn that connects all my devices to my home network, and bam I have adblocking while using mobile.

link to an article on it and what it looks like (the link to Amazon is just to show you… You can get it way cheaper at your local grocery store)

I can recommend a good book to help you get a better understanding on the energy needed for the LHC.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Physics-I-Dummies-Steven-Holzner/dp/1119872227/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=STY0ZPVA6PJQ&keywords=physics+for+dummies&qid=1665759422&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjYyIiwicXNhIjoiMy4yMSIsInFzcCI6IjIuODMifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=physics+fo...

The term I'm starting to use is "essentialist" - the idea that you only buy what you need. It's an extension of minimalism (all essentialists are minimalists, not all minimalists are essentialists). Plenty of minimalist influencers with their white empty living rooms but buying like $600 minimalist furniture smh. Essentialism is also much more focused on the use of your time and energy, so it's not purely a "material objects" concept, which I found fits my philosophy a lot more.

https://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-Disciplined-Pursuit-Greg-McKeown/dp/0804137382

A Lifehacker video says that soaking the curtain in salty water stops mould. Anyone tried this? Shower hacks video: https://lifehacker.com/video/3634527?utm_medium=sharefromsite&utm_source=Lifehacker&jwsource=cl

There are at least 3 different designs for reusable nespresso pods, one of which involves a throwaway lid and one is made from plastic and probably does not last long.

I'm a moka person so I can't really judge , but this third design does not look so bad on a first sight: https://www.amazon.com/CAPMESSO-Refillable-Stainless-Compatible-OriginalLine/dp/B08JGM5YT7/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=nespresso+refillable+pods&qid=1663486974&sr=8-13

Not saying you should buy it from amazon, but it was easier to fin it there.

I just finished the book 'The World in a Grain' and it makes it that much more harrowing to see haphazard abuse of sand based resources.

This is my goto gift, for everyone and it's dog.. nearly everybody leaving my house gets a complimentary one on their way out.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5X4JQFY?searchxofy=true&binding=kindle_edition&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1660722898&sr=8-2

unfortunately, printed copies aint available in english, but this book is fantastic wake up call.

this is my goto gift, for everyone and it's dog..

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5X4JQFY?searchxofy=true&binding=kindle\_edition&ref\_=dbs\_s\_aps\_series\_rwt\_tkin&qid=1660722898&sr=8-2

unfortunately, printed copies aint available in english, but this book is fantastic wake up call.

these can be useful. buy one and share it with your friends and neighbors.

https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/141-9925300-2237458?pd_rd_w=zaPFq&content-id=amzn1.sym.7757a8b5-874e-4a67-9d85-54ed32f01737&pf_rd_p=7757a8b5-874e-4a67-9d85-54ed32f01737&pf_rd_r...

What I feel is different with Reddit (depending, of course, what subreddit we're talking about) is that most people here seem to be more nerdy/technical minded/able to see through corporate BS. Genuinely good products are recommended by the groupmind, but flaws are mercilessly called out and BS products get annihilated. The influencers exist, but often under close scrutiny. Might also be that fake accounts/sock puppets are less prevalent than on Facebook/Instagram et al.

A few examples of companies that get justified praise for their quality products and user-friendliness are VKB and Virpil flight sim gear (and even they are called out when they have a bad product/service), Zowie and XLite mice, and a lot of genuinely good FLOSS software like PfSense, TrueNAS, Jellyfin in home networking/server subreddits. And a few examples of highly hyped products that get absolutely annihilated for bad quality, being overpriced etc are from Thrustmaster, FinalMouse; in mechanical keyboard subreddit the BS that is group buy model with limited runs and waiting times measured in years gets frequently called out, and in software redditsphere, nobody will recommend you NordVPN ;)

In a word, on Reddit here is more merit-based, not hype-based, product recommendations/groupmind. If I'm in the market for something, I trust opinion on Reddit much more than I trust other social media or most review sites, especially when it comes to more niche products.

I posted this in r/povertyfinance but they just took it as me poor shaming when someone posted about a way to save $0.50 on a $5 Starbucks coffee, but here’s what I do:

Coffee Grinder - $20 (I’ve had this for 4 years) French Press - $30 (also had this for 4 years. Holds 2.5 days of coffee for me) Any 5lb bag of whole bean coffee - $40 Grind up coffee, put in French press, fill with water, put in fridge overnight. Boom you have cold brew that’s better than Starbucks IMO. With this setup I spend around $0.50/day on coffee and no waste.

Not so much a body as a carcass, like a deer, sheep, whatever is running around. You can also move processed meat in them, or anything else you want to keep flies, dirt, contamination off of. https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Backcountry-Full-Body-Carcass/dp/B00BQXP83E

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You can wash em up pretty good. Handy thing to have in the woods.

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As for war, that will likely be done mostly in the big cities. Rural areas are usually pretty quiet unless you have some kind of Cambodia Year Zero purge going on.

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If the carcass has been dressed, hung, salted, oiled, and just ready to get in the in your ice chest of whatever sort, you can throw the thing down there bag and all until ready to do further processing.

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And when civilization goes to shit, people tend to run out of common use tools eventually. Sure you can make knives out of leaf springs, epoxy, brass pins, wood, whatever you need for a handle, sheath, etc. But sometimes you just need a basic pocket knife. And the people who know how to make such tools, are probably busy with more important things.

A quick google told me there are bamboo thermals, though the ones I looked at are only 35% bamboo..
Also hats(bamboo/cotton mix with a little elastane).

I have to research if there is good bamboo yarn for knitting..

This is the one I put in. Not too bad if you’re semi handy. Most difficult part was drilling a hole through the counter top.

https://www.amazon.com/iSpring-RCC7AK-Capacity-Drinking-Remineralization/dp/B005LJ8EXU/ref=pd_aw_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=B005LJ8EXU&psc=1

Nice! That's probably the easiest place to fix, actually.

You can snip the jack off of the cord, and solder a brand new one to the wires of the headphone. Then you can use shrink tubing to seal it up good as new.

It would be best to bug some kind of electrical engineer who would have the equipment already, unless you don't mind buying the tools to fix it yourself.

A soldering kit can go for about $20, and a shrink tubing kit you can find on amazon for about the same:

https://www.amazon.com/Embossing-Reflector-Countless-Projects-CUBEWAY/dp/B0832WJKRF/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=heat+gun+for+shrink+tubing&qid=1653397490&sprefix=heatgun+%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-4

If you want to talk pure time + money, it would probably be better just to buy new headphones. But if you have an interest in learning how to do basic electronics repair or just really love your headphones, it would be worth it.

I can't count the number of times I've saved peoples completely broken electronics by opening them up and giving it a few pokes with the soldering iron. But then again I've always loved tinkering like that.

I wanted to do crochet as a hobby but gave up eventually because it was a choice between synthetic wool (micro plastics and all that) and the ethics of sheep wool. I spent time looking into alternatives but it was too expensive and too much of a headache. Not everyone thinks that entertaining oneself to pass the time overrides all considerations of conservation of environmental ressources, etc. There are many hobbies to choose from, and it’s a choice to pick a hobby that causes more or less waste into the world.

It’s odd how people are trying to incur less waste when it comes to basic things like food or hygiene but when it comes to hobbies anything goes ?

Like those ads I used to see on Instagram, of the equivalent of Paint by Numbers but with plastic beads: https://www.amazon.com/TWBB-Diamond-Painting-Adults-12x12/dp/B097GCYV11/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?crid=3E2HI6MW3HIEG&keywords=diamond+painting+kits&qid=1653338944&sprefix=diamond+painting+kit%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-6

Those okay because it’s a hobby?

I was wary because of the price but it was my last ditch effort before giving up and buying a new couch. We have kids and dogs and this was an absolute life saver. Did the entire sectional in 30 mins. I previously bought a battery one and used to take me seriously a total of 4 hours and would not get nearly as smooth as this one. Easy to clean out. Powerful! 10 out of 10 recommend!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097LHS2MR

There's assumption that there are solutions to every problem.

Our problems are systemic: too high energy use and/or too many consuming too much which translates to high standard of living and quality of life.

I'm pessimistic but we should try scale back to pre-industrial times in terms of population (by encouraging people not to procreate) and consumption to meet planet's carrying capacity. We could try do it by educating people about morality and how we humans desire always more (one example The Human Predicament)

Going vegan not only reduces one's environmental impact but also reduces overall suffering compared to continuing to inflict pain and misery for more sentient beings just to get mild pleasure temporarily. Lab grown meat might be another option in the future but I'm not certain if it's sustainable.

But as I said. I don't believe we are collectively capable of choosing what may or may not be better for longevity and we rather choose what we find best for immediate pleasure. It may cause environment to force correction to us eventually. Such is evolution.

Could you please share more details on what was broken and what you did to fix it?
I dunno what I should do in my case. I have an old French press that served me longer than 10 years. It’s a pretty old one. So, recently, someone broke the plunger, and that was when all the problems started.
The press started to leak whenever I poured coffee or tea there. Beverage stains often appear on the counter, and sometimes it’s hard to clean them. Finally, the plunger itself goes a bit harder. I dunno what happened to it, but you have to put more effort into pushing the plunger.
So, on the one hand, I don’t wanna throw it away. A lot of history is connected to it, it has sentimental value. Besides, I don’t wanna waste too much money on small kitchen things like this.
But, on the other hand, I've found this sleek and stylish french press — https://www.amazon.com/French-Double-Wall-Stainless-Mirror-Finish/dp/B00MMQOZ1U. So I'm confused and don't know what to do now.

Dankpods' two videos about Raycons are relevant here I think. If I read you correctly, this falls under your second category.

Seems that half of Youtube is brought to you by Raycons, Raid Shadow Legends, or NordVPN. And Wade, the snake owning Australian audiophile drummer that hits dead old mp3 players with a brick, took an audiophile's look at Raycons. He purchased a set (even though they weren't shipping to Australia) and his verdict was "They're not a scam, but they are bad value."

Okay, I hear that you didn't intend op any ill will, despite asking if they were a troll - and I believe you.

I think that the 8 gallon per paper plate figure is too high.

Paper takes between 1 gallon to 35 gallons of water per pound of paper. Moreover, some paper plants recycle and recirculate their water.

Source: https://www.paperonweb.com/A1015.htm

Then, 220 plates is 8.5 lbs, or 25 plates a pound.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Dixie-Everyday-Exclusive-Printed-Disposable/dp/B07BHTV9VQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=paper+plates&qid=1648442212&sr=8-3

So 1 plate uses at most 1.4 gallons, and 0.64 cups of water, and maybe less if the plant recycles its water in a closed system.

Two things to note:

First, the figure you gave is between 5 and 200 times greater than the actual use that we can estimate from sources.

Second, it's possible to hand wash a single plate in less than half a cup of water, if you use water sparingly.

So not only does the figure tell us that paper is more wasteful in the best case, it also tells us how efficient we need to be to beat that best case.

Obviously washing a single plate in half a cup of water requires a new way of washing plates. But it can be done, and this calculation show us that it should be done.

Hanes is a solid choice. It’s super popular right now because they’re worn on Euphoria but it’s a great hoodie overall and affordable.

Hanes Men's Full-Zip Eco-Smart Hoodie https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JUM4D0C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_V162MKETADVVWBFJG1MT?psc=1

I got these a while back and the packaging was german. The plastic shell packaging itself was about the size of a pack of razors which was SO much better than a whole ass piece of printed cardboard and plastic.

Oral-B FlossAction Toothbrush Refill Brush Heads, 5 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y8YPMCV/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_5XD6Z25Y2G405X8BQRAP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

>I worry about going Vegan/vegetarian would make me just go bread heavy.

Since going vegan my bread consumption has went up big time, but the great thing is I am losing weight while I do it and getting stronger. I used to be one of those low carb/keto guys so replacing meat with starch sources such as potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, beans, etc. was a huge mental roadblock to get over.

One great thing about those starchy foods above is they are less caloric dense than most meats and loaded with fiber so they fill you up. For example a cup of beef has about ~330 calories and a cup of brown rice has ~240 calories. Just make sure to keep it whole grain and eat the potato skins.

If you are still worried about too many carbs I suggest watching this video

Also the RDI for protein for an adult male is only 50-60 g per day. It's really not hard to achieve even eating eating starchy foods. For example if you ate 1,800 calories worth of pasta, you'd get ~70g of protein so well above your RDI.

The real issue is more that the specific set of traffic lights have a weird cycle. There are 3 cyclist lights in a row, and those are either all green or all red. But the pedestrian lights next to them turn green individually, so many people will think "if it's safe for pedestrians to cross, it's also safe for me". But then they get stuck 10 metres further on at the next traffic sign, and have to wait for that one to turn green.

Krita is decent PS replacement. It has all the basic stuff and some of the advanced stuff. (for example, no content-aware fill or panorama stitcher, but does have layers, layer effects, masks, curves tool etc.)

Just download a VPN app or browser extension on pc and connect to the country you want. I use the free version of ProtonVPN which has it limited only to USA, Japan and Netherlands. And the paid version of Windscribe which has dozens of countries and blocks ads, trackers etc too. If you like it you can use the refer link which will give you 1gb free more, and I get the same too