Just Stuff

[pshaw_raven]

First, a few links.
Buy less, be happier, and build a healthy planet." A European study of people participating in emissions-reducing programs found that those who bought fewer things reported higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction. This included such "low level" behaviors like setting one's thermostat temp lower in winter and higher in summer, buying secondhand clothes, and biking to work or for errands. They also found that these things actually had a demonstrable impact on emissions, but that is of course no reason to let large corporate polluters off the hook. Individuals can only do so much, but what we can do really does make a difference.

We Need to Opt Out of Black Friday (soft paywall) Sometimes Fox & I go out on Black Friday but it's mainly to watch other people being stupid. Honestly, the deals are not actually that great - the stores have been slowly marking UP their prices over the summer so that they can say something is 'NOW 30% OFF!!!' and people fall for it. The fact that this is even a holiday in itself now is a greasy black stain on our souls.

Is Savoring the New Mindfulness? Interesting take on the topic, but I would like to suggest that mindfulness and savoring involve the same skill set. Try the raisin meditation to see what I mean - being able to be fully aware of and engage with a pleasant experience uses many of the same abilities cultivated by mindfulness exercises. Specifically the ability to enjoy the pleasant experience going on right now instead of jumping to "gotta get more" or "oh no this is going to end soon."

This weekend is mostly about running and working outside. Fox is cutting down some dead trees, and any that aren't already termite-eaten are going to be cut up for firewood. We've almost got enough space cleared to start putting in solar panels. (We can't put them on the roof because it's not rated for that kind of weight.) I'm doing an eight mile run today and an eighteen-miler tomorrow as I build up to Dopey distances. I am a little worried about it, but I keep reminding myself that last year, I got back from Japan and had to do a shortened Dopey training cycle, and I completed the races just fine. Music today, Natsume's Book of Friends tomorrow.

All the above links being "said," I guess I need to contact my family and see what they want for Christmas. Usually we all just get each other Amazon gift cards, which seems to work out pretty well. Despite having an Amazon wish list that runs 15+ pages, including lists by category, I don't have anything I want for Christmas.

I'm going to suit up and go run. With such a long run tomorrow I'll need to get started early anyway.

Comments

[cdayzee]

So true about Black Friday. I noticed that about it being an actual holiday now :facepalm:
I like your word-use: a greasy black stain on our souls.

Wow, that's some wishlist! lol
I wish my family would use theirs. Would make life easier. Giftcards would just be wasted :/

[pshaw_raven]

It was probably like this last year, but I noticed Google Calendar has it as a holiday. I know a lot of places make it a holiday on their own - when I lived in Louisiana it was called "Acadian Day," and government offices and banks would be closed.

And my Amazon list is mostly a book list. I use it when I'm in used book shops to look for specific things, or I order them through inter-library loan. Any book that catches my attention goes on that list. But I do kind of wish family and friends would use theirs more - my sister for example has like ... one item? on hers. My mom doesn't even use it. So gift cards it is. :/

[cdayzee]

Yeah, this is the first year I too noticed it as an actual holiday.

Acadian day - I've never heard of that! lol

[expandranon]

"Honestly, the deals are not actually that great"

It's worse than not that great. Like when companies caught on that we'll automatically buy larger sizes on the assumption they sell for less per unit and so raised the price per unit on larger sizes, they've realized we'll turn out for Black Friday no matter what. There are now products with Black Friday versions made extra junky to trick people into thinking they're scoring a deal. Also, as yo noted, they'll raise prices not long before the "sale" and the Black Friday price will just be whatever you would have paid if you'd bought it back in October. Everything is fake.

[pshaw_raven]

I've noticed the changes in groceries, for example. The package stays the same size but the weight is lower. You've got to be on top of your conversions. I practically have dyscalculia and I still stand around doing a dollars-to-ounces conversion in my head. And sometimes my fingers.
I was not aware of the junkier versions of things but I'm not surprised. And I saw a photo posted on Reddit a few days ago from a "black Friday sale," where some sneakers were allegedly marked down from something like $250 to $230. But you can read the old tag through the sticker where it says $219. What a bargain, right?

[expandranon]

They've been playing all kinds of games with the sizes, usually decreasing what's in the package by 5-10% without altering the price, often accompanied by celebratory nonsense about the fancy new packaging. The sizes are now (and maybe always were and I just didn't notice) frequently difficult numbers, like 13.7 oz., and they make them difficult to compare, like 13.7 oz small, 19 oz medium, and 37.8oz large. So much trickery, and more math than the dumbest 99.5% of us have the energy to deal with.