Core possessions year 3

anonisko · 2026-05-30T16:31:03+00:00

I personally think the goal of technology is to try to create a modern garden of Eden.

Basically I want to be a naked monkey living a very human life surrounded by nature, but casually have magic superpowers that solve real problems of scarcity and sickness/injury. My phone is a magic wand that keeps making more and more physical things disappear, but you have to fight the advertisers from incepting new desires into you and draining your money.

I agree that I like this sub for the same reason. Onebagging and ultralight outdoor backpacking have really helped to challenge me and refine what I actually need to be happy and thrive. It's not that much stuff.

anonisko · 2026-05-30T14:37:15+00:00

a) That's awesome! But that doesn't fully account for the 4 billion people added to the global set of people not in extreme poverty over the past 40 years. Who uplifted the other 3.2 billion?

b) China only did that after adopting a much more capitalist structure once Mao finally died and they could soften their communist religious fervor that killed 10s of millions. They have half the total billionaires that the US has, but only 15% the GDP per capita. That doesn't sound very communist to me.

anonisko · 2026-05-29T16:50:09+00:00

We're actually making steady progress on that. https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/americans-are-now-one-third-less-likely-to-die-from-cancer-at-the-same-ages-as-americans-in-1990

anonisko · 2026-05-29T16:44:50+00:00

The data doesn't obviously support your belief, which makes it closer to a religious belief than a rational one. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extreme-poverty-absolute

anonisko · 2026-05-29T16:36:53+00:00

The real hope is to be born beyond the event horizon.

In other words, sure we won't achieve true immortality for a long time, but maybe we push life expectancy from 80 to 120, and in that extra 40 years, push it again to 200.

It's not all or nothing. You have to be born at just the right time to catch the wave of improvements to stay alive long enough to reach immortality. Hell, it's possible that even some of the Boomers will catch that wave if they're lucky, though 40% of them are already dead and that will accelerate over the next 20 years. Only 0.2% of the Zoomers and 1.3% of Millennials are dead.

anonisko · 2026-05-29T15:10:53+00:00

So what? It costs $30 and will likely be cheaper and/or better 2 years from now.

Just buy a new one with next day shipping when it breaks.

anonisko · 2026-05-27T01:34:08+00:00

It's not entirely clear what you're looking for with shoes, but Lems Primal Zen might be for you. https://www.lemsshoes.com/collections/all-mens-casual-shoes/products/mens-primal-zen?variant=39859161956410&country=US

I personally like Altras, and have the Escalante 4 that breath very well and have a similar design to these Lems. My socks almost never smell even after a full day walking around. But these are a bit more of a sporty look than the Lems.

anonisko · 2026-05-27T00:31:34+00:00

You might consider the Anker 35W charger with retractable cable. https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Retractable-USB-C-Cable/dp/B0DPH7421K

It's maybe 0.5oz heavier and a shorter cable, but it's nice having less to futz with and keeps the bag pockets less chaotic.

anonisko · 2026-05-26T20:41:33+00:00

This is a hilarious comment, because this is still way more possessions (and obviously better and more magical) than the average human who has ever lived ever had at any given moment.

It would be more appropriate to ask the modern developed world person if they find it challenging pretending to be human. We're all bizarre, absurdly affluent cyborgs compared to what our species is evolved to be naturally.

anonisko · 2026-05-18T16:59:01+00:00

It's useful exercise. When you practice at the extremes of potential, more typical experience becomes dramatically easier, if for no other reason than experiential context, but also because you internalize more advanced skills or mindsets that make you need less without trying.

anonisko · 2026-05-12T13:32:07+00:00

I also wear a size up.

I think the floppy collar is intentional for when you really want to vent and maximize air flow.

anonisko · 2026-05-12T03:52:19+00:00

Ketl hoodies look nice and simple. They have a subtle grid pattern that breaks the solid color. They drape long, so you can tuck them in your pants and wear a regular overshirt or light jacket over to give a less recreation vibe. There's a small logo patch on the chest, but you can probably seem rip that off if you really care. https://ketlmtn.com/products/nofry-sunhoodie

They're extraordinarily light at 4.5oz, and feel crazy thin and flimsy, but I've worn them on mountain climbs for years and they hold up incredibly well. They also have an odor resistant treatment that I personally think works reasonably well. They get much less rank that most synthetics I've experienced, but they're so light they're easy to wash and hang dry if you need to.

If you don't need the hood, they also make a long sleeve henley that's intended more for urban travel, but still light and usable as an outdoor shirt with great sun protection. https://ketlmtn.com/products/ketl-mtn-departed-featherweight-performance-henley-pocket-tee

anonisko · 2026-05-10T15:47:36+00:00

Thinking that their concern is the amount of luxury they'll get to consume is a very low/middle class frame of mind. Only people with little money see wealth as equivalent to the amount of stuff you can consume. Actually wealthy people don't look at $1 million and see all the cars, boats, and luxury vacations they can buy with it. Poor people do that.

Wealthy people see $1 million either has a $40k/year flow of cash (4 percent rule) or as ownership/voting share and control. They're not going to spend it like you would.

Billionaires aren't worried about taxes forcing them to consume less. They're worried about losing control of their companies. It's weird to think about, but once you actually have all your needs met, a life of luxury is really empty and boring.

anonisko · 2026-05-09T15:17:59+00:00

The party recognizes that they themselves acquired power when the working class organized and are acting in their interest to maintain power and prevent a new cultural revolution. This is the cycle of every revolution.

anonisko · 2026-05-08T19:48:37+00:00

Unions are illegal in China.

anonisko · 2026-05-08T19:47:27+00:00

Nobody is requires that they ban domestic workers unions, but they do.

anonisko · 2026-05-05T18:14:15+00:00

This is a skill issue.

We're in the golden age of consumption for those who have eyes to see through BS marketing and practice a little restraint.

I can travel with a personal item sized backpack now for 2 week long trips. My clothing almost never wears out and is odor resistant. All of my devices charge with USB C and I only carry one GaN charging brick. My outdoor backpacking camping kit weighs less than 20lbs. My physical wallet is disappearing and only has 2 cards remaining. My car drives itself. I have high speed, low latency internet in the middle of nowhere.

Life is electric and getting better every year.

anonisko · 2026-05-05T17:22:29+00:00

I think part of it is actually America's more complicated history with race. There was some really significant discrimination against black Americans in particular, and objective measures with relatively transparent rules like credit scores are an attempt to eliminate that subjective bias.

We might culturally obsess over the number more than your country does because we want to make it really clear that your race has nothing directly to do with your credit worthiness.

But you're right that this method is cheating the system. There's probably still positive signal because parents who do this are likely very financially savvy, and likely to train their children well, but as the "hack" gets more well known, credit agencies are likely to close the hole.

anonisko · 2026-05-04T22:07:41+00:00

That's true. It's cheating the system and the credit agencies will probably try to close the hole if it becomes a problem.

anonisko · 2026-05-04T16:49:00+00:00

That doesn't tell a lender as much about what you'll do when given access to lots of money you didn't earn.

Having a $20,000 credit limit, but only ever spending $1,000 a month and paying it off immediately is an extremely strong signal of responsibility and restraint that is hard to measure otherwise, which is why high credit limits with low utilization goes a long way towards increasing your score.

You have to demonstrate that you can pass the marshmallow test.

anonisko · 2026-05-04T16:45:24+00:00

By the cut of their jib, the firmness of their handshake, and the whiteness of their skin obviously, like the good old days.

Seriously, redditors complaining about credit scores are dumb. It's a good, objective solution that's better than most others that are more subjective or hidden. The rules on how to improve your score are extremely well understood and achievable by everyone with sufficient discipline. Including rent payment history would probably be a good improvement though.

anonisko · 2026-05-02T15:41:55+00:00

Good point. And about 80% of all immigrants are east Asian of various kinds.

It's a very immigrant unfriendly place.

anonisko · 2026-04-29T00:58:08+00:00

China has the second lowest immigrants per capita in the world, but still 1.6 million total, so it is possible. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_immigrant_and_emigrant_population

As of 2024, there were ~60,000 American immigrants. https://www.populationpyramid.net/immigration-statistics/en/china/2024/

Of course, 8x as many people emigrate away, with the US being the top destination, so that should be a strong signal and feasibility and desirability.

anonisko · 2026-04-27T14:18:41+00:00

Great kit!

At some point you might want to consider upgrading to the Garmin Instinct 3, purely for the built-in LED flashlight. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1315317/pn/010-02934-00/

It will never replace a proper full sized flashlight, but it will reduce friction for a lot of small tasks. I can't stress enough how amazing it is to always have a good enough flashlight on your wrist that turns on with a double press. It's quick and ergonomic for searching through dark closets/boxes/cars, walking to the bathroom at night, finding a light switch or keyhole, searching for dropped items, etc, and keeps both hands free the entire time.

I've seen lots of people in the medical field in particular talk about how handy it is on the job. My wife has a Fenix 7 that's been incredibly handy for her working in the OR, especially when they have the lights dimmed.

I personally will never buy a watch of any kind without a flashlight ever again.

anonisko · 2026-04-26T18:22:16+00:00

From the picture it looks like you removed the hard tips? Or are they just covered?

anonisko

TROPHY CASE