Discussion Do you find spending money therapeutic?

[BUTCH1]

@mad

my costco used to sell just the ribeye cap (prime) for $19.99/lb.
i bought it a few times when choice grade ribeye was $7.99/lb.

Not worth it for that price and apparently i wasnt the only one.
a year later, my costco stopped selling just the ribeye cap.

i always wondered why they didnt sell the ribeye cap at choice grade?

As someone who's cut a lot of meat in the past when you separate the ribeye cap you then have to find a "home" for the center pieces and towards the chuck end the fat kernel inside with the cap missing can be unappealing. Every market and area can be different though so it may be possible.

 

[BUTCH1]

Human laziness fuels so many industries. I see people using electric bikes and scooters even for distances as small as 5 to 10 minutes walk away and I think to myself, "boy, their body must hate them for depriving it of necessary exercise".

Depends on where you live, here in FL the heat and humidity is so bad you have to chew your air before you can breath it, even if your in good shape any outdoor excursion will result in a lot of sweating. Love my electric bike, saves wear on the car for short trips and I see the neighborhood as I cruise by.

 

[JEDI]

My main lappy is also a Thinkpad (Ivy Bridge). It scares me because I don't know if I'll ever be able to move onto a more modern laptop and if I ever do, it will be an expensive purchase because it will HAVE to be a Thinkpad!
The satisfaction index of this laptop is unlike any I've experienced before with other laptops.

Whats so special about it? It gives you a reach around?

 

[JEDI]

As someone who's cut a lot of meat in the past when you separate the ribeye cap you then have to find a "home" for the center pieces and towards the chuck end the fat kernel inside with the cap missing can be unappealing. Every market and area can be different though so it may be possible.

would have figured costco sell it as an Eye cut but didnt see any different cuts when they introduced the Ribeye Cap.
so no idea what they did with the Eye portion.
(i am now curious as to what they did with it.)

 

[Pohemi]

Two routers! Man, I was thinking a couple months ago about shopping a router, something hand held. I didn't, though. I have never had a router but suddenly had a use for one. I figured out a workaround using an old bike inner tube. I wrapped the sharp edges of a wooden handle with the rubber and tucked the ends under, I like it.

I thought he was talking about networking routers, but you might be right based on who you quoted, heh.

...so no idea what they did with the Eye portion.
(i am now curious as to what they did with it.)

Maybe they just toss it into the lips and assholes bin for those $1.25 hotdogs? lol

 

[igor_kavinski]

Whats so special about it? It gives you a reach around?

The physical feel is great. I love touching it. The display seems to be calibrated. Colors are amazing for a TN panel. Watching Avengers Endgame on it, light sources and laser beams looked unusually vivid and vibrant. It's on 24/7. Doesn't squeak under load. The excellent uptime is proof that it is rock solid in stability.

 

[JEDI]

The physical feel is great. I love touching it. The display seems to be calibrated. Colors are amazing for a TN panel. Watching Avengers Endgame on it, light sources and laser beams looked unusually vivid and vibrant. It's on 24/7. Doesn't squeak under load. The excellent uptime is proof that it is rock solid in stability.

View attachment 56714

i never leave the laptop plugged in for that long.
kills the battery, i thought?

 

[igor_kavinski]

The battery probably still works, though haven't tested it in ages. My usage of that laptop doesn't involve portability.

 

[Muse]

I thought he was talking about networking routers, but you might be right based on who you quoted, heh.

Doh! Yes, obviously networking routers. Can't believe I missed that!

 

[Torn Mind]

Doh! Yes, obviously networking routers. Can't believe I missed that!

And I thought you were being witty.

 

[BUTCH1]

would have figured costco sell it as an Eye cut but didnt see any different cuts when they introduced the Ribeye Cap.
so no idea what they did with the Eye portion.
(i am now curious as to what they did with it.)

There is a HUGE market in the frozen philly-steak industry for ribeye, it's cut very thin and formed into 4-6 Oz servings but I don't know if these are made from choice, select, or utility grade carcasses. Really, I'm sirprised anyone would remove the cap, ribeye is 2nd in line in price behind tenderloin and is very popular.

 

[Exterous]

The thing is, I frequently hear it said that it's better to spend on "experiences" than on "things". That seems to be a standard trope of pop self-help advice from columnists and the like.

It has a real foundation though - hedonistic adaptation: https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-and-the-lottery.html

Lottery winners largely return to their default level of happiness after adjusting to their new lifestyle. Paraplegics largely did too. And it shows we are pretty terrible at predicting what makes us happy.

And talking about experiences vs things is not an absolutist discussion - it's a general principal. Something to keep in mind when deciding what to do and that, contrary to what you would expect, the impermanent nature of an experience is what gives it the most impact over our happiness (which makes some sense to me. Evolution can be an unforgiving and terrible thing. Our success at surviving is probably somewhat related to our ability to adapt to terrible situations so our brains are wires to accept a situatio, good or bad, and move on)

 

[Muse]

There is a HUGE market in the frozen philly-steak industry for ribeye, it's cut very thin and formed into 4-6 Oz servings but I don't know if these are made from choice, select, or utility grade carcasses. Really, I'm sirprised anyone would remove the cap, ribeye is 2nd in line in price behind tenderloin and is very popular.

I see high priced steaks on the racks and always pass them by. I just buy the cheapest LEAN beef I see and make do with it. Way back when, when I wanted a high end steak I used to buy what I thought was THE premium steak, a filet mignon. Haven't eaten FM in decades. I see high priced beef that looks terribly fatty to me. I figure all that fat isn't healthy, the cholesterol in the fat, not to mention the stress on your physique.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I see high priced beef that looks terribly fatty to me. I figure all that fat isn't healthy, the cholesterol in the fat, not to mention the stress on your physique.

Try finding camel meat. Almost no cholesterol. Very tasty.

 

[Muse]

Try finding camel meat. Almost no cholesterol. Very tasty.

I'll keep this in mind while trekking through the Sahara (I rewatched Lawrence of Arabia a few weeks ago)!

l heard that ocean turtles are very tasty. I tried to spear one but found them allusive. Nowadays I believe they are protected. Such is life.

 

[Bitek]

Not too much. I enjoy seeing the numbers in the bank grow more. I have enough things (tools, hobby items, etc) that many purchases stress me out when I have to store and maintain them.

Owning AAPL doesn't take up any room in the house, doesn't need to cleaned, inspected, sharpened, painted, mowed, new oil, etc. Instead it just sits there and makes more money or more of itself.

Throwing things out can be satisfying, but time consuming. Selling even more so.

I will use my money to buy high end items occasionally, or to make things easier.

I'm tired of cheap shit that breaks easy, or isn't that good at what it's supposed to do, and demands upgrade (thus triggering the throwing out/selling cycle.)

I value the time more than in the past when I had less money but more free time.

 

[pmv]

It has a real foundation though - hedonistic adaptation: https://www.thecut.com/2016/01/classic-study-on-happiness-and-the-lottery.html

Lottery winners largely return to their default level of happiness after adjusting to their new lifestyle. Paraplegics largely did too. And it shows we are pretty terrible at predicting what makes us happy.

And talking about experiences vs things is not an absolutist discussion - it's a general principal. Something to keep in mind when deciding what to do and that, contrary to what you would expect, the impermanent nature of an experience is what gives it the most impact over our happiness (which makes some sense to me. Evolution can be an unforgiving and terrible thing. Our success at surviving is probably somewhat related to our ability to adapt to terrible situations so our brains are wires to accept a situatio, good or bad, and move on)

Maybe, but, as I say, for me the opportunity for 'experiences' rather dried-up as health problems made them difficult (used to love hiking/youth-hostelling through the UK countryside, or travelling abroad on the cheap, plus cycling and running, but I'd struggle to do any of those things now), Buying shiny shrink-wrapped objects seems to have become an alternative source of pleasure.

Also, in a more general sense, the increase in incomes in the West has generally gone towards buying more goods, rather than taking more time off work - above all in the US. Something about the way things are set up means it tends to go that way. Those consumer goods purchases do seem to serve as a kind of promise to oneself of future consumption. As if in our subconscious we think we are immortal and will one day have an eternal retirement in which to actually make use of all those items we worked for.

Edit - or maybe we should all be buried in mauseleums surrounded by all our precious purchases, ready for use in the afterlife, like the ancient Egyptian rulers.

 

[pmv]

Try finding camel meat. Almost no cholesterol. Very tasty.

Stay away from Polar bear liver, though. Idle browsing of wikipedia articles about disastrous arctic expeditions taught me that useful lesson.

 

[Muse]

Owning AAPL doesn't take up any room in the house, doesn't need to cleaned, inspected, sharpened, painted, mowed, new oil, etc. Instead it just sits there and makes more money or more of itself.

I played golf with a guy one day maybe 10+ years ago and he offhandedly remarked that his buying AAPL (likely trading it some) was clearly going to pay for his retirement.

 

[BUTCH1]

I see high priced steaks on the racks and always pass them by. I just buy the cheapest LEAN beef I see and make do with it. Way back when, when I wanted a high end steak I used to buy what I thought was THE premium steak, a filet mignon. Haven't eaten FM in decades. I see high priced beef that looks terribly fatty to me. I figure all that fat isn't healthy, the cholesterol in the fat, not to mention the stress on your physique.

I'll buy a London broil cut from the top round and marinate in Adolph's for a few hours then grill it to medium rare, cut across he grain, sliced thin, comes out awesome . FM is not fatty or unhealthy but it's just too damm expensive.

 

[Muse]

I'll buy a London broil cut from the top round and marinate in Adolph's for a few hours then grill it to medium rare, cut across he grain, sliced thin, comes out awesome . FM is not fatty or unhealthy but it's just too damm expensive.

I used to get T-bones too. I think they're pretty good.

I used to do marination things with flank steak.

Nowadays I buy the leanest roast I can find at a good price, cut off all fat that's conveniently removed, slice thin and into small chunks, add a whopping amount of my homemade teriyaki sauce and portion 5oz amounts into small plastic containers and freeze. I make a meal of one of these by defrosting some in MW, skillet frying it in olive oil, adding cut up organic broccoli, a little toasted sesame oil, and eating with a mound of organic short grain brown rice.

The portion I don't do this with I freeze in bite sized pieces for later addition to stews.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Stay away from Polar bear liver, though. Idle browsing of wikipedia articles about disastrous arctic expeditions taught me that useful lesson.

And Husky dog livers too. Death from Vitamin A overdose. I think almost everyone in a (in)famous expedition died this way.

 

[pmv]

And Husky dog livers too. Death from Vitamin A overdose. I think almost everyone in a (in)famous expedition died this way.

Yup, when my arctic expedition (to start shortly after my camel-meat-based desert crossing) runs into trouble, I can thank Wiki for sparing me that fate. Intriguingly it seems as if Vit A overdose can make you become somewhat demented before killing you.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Stay away from Polar bear liver, though. Idle browsing of wikipedia articles about disastrous arctic expeditions taught me that useful lesson.

Ideally, stay away from polar bears period.

Though that coke they have does look refreshing when you're thirsty and the only water you have access to is frozen salt water.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Ideally, stay away from polar bears period.

Though that coke they have does look refreshing when you're thirsty and the only water you have access to is frozen salt water.

Do the polar bears drink salt water? Or they know where to look for a fresh water source?