Atsunori Tamagawa wrote:
Bruce C. Miller wrote

I feel there are certainly things I'm leaving out on my journey from
middle class commoner to urbane, misanthropic sophisticate, though
I am definitely on the right track. Help me complete the
transformation by pointing out anything I've missed. So far, I have
addressed the following categories:

Hello Bruce,

Long time ago I read a book written by an American author,
"Walden" by Henry David Thoreau. Even reading in Japanese translation,
I was deeply impressed because I thought I saw one of ultimate forms
of DIY and simple life.
Though, when I joined an American company later, some of co-workers
mentioned that the book was virtually about how to avoid taxes. (^^

Anyway, I think that things you have done so far are based on
consumption of things. Chosing A over B is like that.
DIY or "creation" of something might open the door toward
satisfaction you didn't expect since this is rec.autio.tubes.
It can be a very small project.

Atsunori

This is a good point. Some of these changes involve eliminating
unneccessary frivoltries, but alot are simply replacing one consumable
for another.

However, I think there is an important distinction between my
consumption and that of the average American; a difference I picked up
from hifi audio. That is, instead of buying a large amount of cheap
junk, I tend to buy a small amount of nice things that last. As most
people will go through, say, 10 home stereos in their lives, I
purchased components that should last the rest of my life. I've simply
extended the same concept to other catagories as well. Consumerism
itself is rather stressful for me and alot of these changes have served
to reduce it from being a major aspect of my life.

But, what things in my could I do myself? I can't make my own furniture
without a woodshop and a lot of tools (something I'd rather not own). I
can't make clothes that are presentable enough to go to work in. I
can't make my own wine, movies, cheese, and so on. I do what I can
myself, like cooking, making an amp, or writing code, but I don't have
anything against the specialisation of labor.