Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I read today that boing-boing is the most linked-to site - about 20,000 links versus 7000 for instapundit. It has more readers than Wired, and a staff of 5 part-timers.
This was in an article about the few who make money at blogging. Speaking of money, here's some folks who are transitioning to the new post-scarcity economy.
The Compact: group vows not to buy anything new but food, underwear, and medicine in 2006 They've taken it farther than I have.
I don't buy much food. Underwear and socks about once a year. Medicine, well, does gin and tonic count? Otherwise, about once a year. But I buy some other stuff now and then - gas for example. I bought some more of the plastic chinese dishes I like around xmas time. Now and then I go to Walmart, or get a cup of coffee while downtown. But for the most part, I get by without feeling the need to buy stuff, or to have a job to make money to buy stuff in an endless circle. I do without, I get stuff used or recycled, I enjoy the vast riches of the internet commons. It's partly a matter of lifetime habits developed as a kid with a 50 cents a week allowance.
I still manage to spend money, mostly on utilities I think. I do not yet have my own windmill or suchlike. It's partly deep ecology, partly hippieness, partly I'm influenced by colonial era/depression era yankee/scots miserliness.
I know sometimes I take it to extremes, but I'm surrounded by people at the other extreme, spending all their money on stuff I don't value highly.
This was in an article about the few who make money at blogging. Speaking of money, here's some folks who are transitioning to the new post-scarcity economy.
The Compact: group vows not to buy anything new but food, underwear, and medicine in 2006 They've taken it farther than I have.
I don't buy much food. Underwear and socks about once a year. Medicine, well, does gin and tonic count? Otherwise, about once a year. But I buy some other stuff now and then - gas for example. I bought some more of the plastic chinese dishes I like around xmas time. Now and then I go to Walmart, or get a cup of coffee while downtown. But for the most part, I get by without feeling the need to buy stuff, or to have a job to make money to buy stuff in an endless circle. I do without, I get stuff used or recycled, I enjoy the vast riches of the internet commons. It's partly a matter of lifetime habits developed as a kid with a 50 cents a week allowance.
I still manage to spend money, mostly on utilities I think. I do not yet have my own windmill or suchlike. It's partly deep ecology, partly hippieness, partly I'm influenced by colonial era/depression era yankee/scots miserliness.
I know sometimes I take it to extremes, but I'm surrounded by people at the other extreme, spending all their money on stuff I don't value highly.
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