Libb

I’m not surprised at all since I use them every single day, but the pen and paper have yet to be rivaled by anything digital. At the very least, in regards to:

• portability: available in any size one may fancy, only a few grams.
• autonomy: a notebook needs no battery and offers weeks or months worth of storage depending how much you write or sketch (certain models can even be refilled),
• ease of use: put pen(cil) onto paper and write, or sketch + no upgrades, no bugs, no crashes.
• privacy: no tracking, no spying by any corporation. No ads, either.
• low cost: I’ve yet to find an iPad with its Pencil at the two dollars I spend on my cheap notebook and cheap ballpoint, or pencil.
• Sturdiness: I can (and often) sit on the notebook I store in my jeans back pocket, I often use it under the rain too.
• Low attraction to thieves: I can use it anywhere without risking attracting attention from potential thieves. I can also let my notebook alone in any public places, chances are no one will even consider stealing it: it’s just paper. Try doing that with a digital notebook, be it a tablet or a phone ;)
• Versatility: I can write (errands, novels, plan to conquer the world, a poem for my spouse), sketch (bad or good sketches), draw a map, play some games, make paper planes or origami, and even share info with anyone by tearing of a sheet of paper from my notebook (that won’t break it) and give it to that person.

Yeah, I think it’s kinda obvious I do like my cheap notebook and pen, a lot more than I will ever like that corporate and government spyware that disguises itself as a smartphone and that I’m expected to be using and carrying with me everywhere I go ;)

That’s a nice sardine they got there ;)

I was (half) expecting to be able to tease you but, well, that’s not funny, my bad. I hope there was nothing that serious as far as the bites were concerned.

Was the heat much higher than it usually is? Could that explain the resistivity of the fish? I’ve often wondered how the extreme heat waves would impact animals around us.

and therefore getting shot by police.

USA, maybe?

We don’t. Our simple kettle with its whistle is working great, despite its age. And its much nicer to look at than a microwave too ;)

edit: a bit late to comment, sorry ;)

We’re not vegetarians but we eat vegetables daily and meat 2 times a week. And we have started to reduce it even more.

We wash greens right before we prepare them, raw or cooked as well and never in advance. Even a simple salad, I will only remove and wash a few… what 's the English word? leafs at a time, only what’s needed for my spouse and I, and will keep the rest of the salad untouched (and not rinsed) in a large bowl placed under a wet (not dripping wet, barely humid) towel, in the fridge. That salad will last a week when need be without any issue while remaining crisp and fresh, provided one refreshes the towel as needed.

Other vegetables will be kept (unwashed) in the dedicated drawer in our fridge and when we have too many, they are kept in some box using their original paper bag as a makeshift cover (paper is great to protect vegs).

As for the spinner, one should easily find cheap ones at a few euros/$ as there is no need to go fancy: they will spin as well than designer models. Ours is a real cheap plastic one that we’ve been using for almost 20 years… and we only renewed it because I put the previous one on the burner one day and, well, that kind of plastic and fire don’t go together nicely ;)

Also, I would not want to waste that much paper every time I rinse my vegetables. I use a clean cotton towel that will than land in the laundry basket. No waste… even of paper. Heck, I even reuse the back of enveloppes and letters to reduce waste ;)

No matter what anyone could say for (or against) that book, you as a reader should never feel forced to finish reading a book you started if you don’t enjoy it. Your time is too precious.

Books are not perishable goods, you can come back to any book you want in a few weeks, months, or many years. It will still be readable and happy to welcome you. Some of the books I consider my favorites nowadays, aged 50+, are books I could not get into as a teen or as a young adult and that is despite me trying over and over again to read them but then, one day, something happens and that book is suddenly the best thing you have ever read—yep, I’m looking at you, Proust.

The ‘think of the children’ crowd(s)?
Not sure they’re a minority, though.

The people willing to ruin anything for the so-called protection and/or good of children. Including destroying the one most fundamental requirement to any truly free & democratic society (hint: privacy). And that also are actively destroying the educative system… screwing those same kids even more badly by not allowing them to get some basic/essential education.

I still can’t believe college students have a hard time reading books. Let alone do math.

And that’s not just a US issue, we have the same shit going on here in the EU, at the very least I see it happening in France. It’s frightening and, once again, the first losers here are the kids themselves and then the whole society is losing because less educated young people mean they will have a lesser potential and lesser abilities to face new issues or to innovate, and there we all lose big time. Too bad for a generation that will most certainly have to face a shitload of unprecedented issues.

First, I take a breath. More often than not, I will take more than one.

No matter what I’m doing I will always make some room to breathe. At the very least, I will go out for a long walk every single day of the year. Just walk. No distractions, no social noise, no music, no podcast, no nothing but me, my head, and that tiny thing called ‘the world outside’ ;)

Even better, when whatever it is I’m doing is stressing me out, I will make it multiple times a day because I don’t work well when I’m stressed, so it’s not a waste of time. And it also helps me stay in shape so it’s even less a waste in that regard.

Last but not least, I learned to work less. It’s not how hard you work or how tired you end up being that should matter, it’s what you have done and much you like it ;)

Pen and paper is also technology, you know. And so are stone tools (try to make one of those flint knife without hurting yourself, to see)

So, to answer your question I would say it all depends the tech you’re considering.

I have no difficulty at all using many various analog/low tech(nologies). But something makes me think you’re more interested in getting some info about my relationship with the so-called ‘high’ tech, all those electronics gizmo, plethora apps and online services, constant tracking and spying, right?

Well, I can proudly say I’m good with it as well. We both get along very well.

How do I know? First, I never talk bad to it, also I have never ever thrown any device out the window, even when it more than deserved it with its relentless bugs, updates and quirks. Second, I use ‘high’ tech as little as I can, and never things using an algorithm to serve me content (hence me using the Fediverse instead of… everything else). I use ‘high’ tech so little it doesn’t get much opportunity to ruin my mood, either. Most certainly, you will agree this is irrefutable demonstration tech and I are BFF, and how good I’m with with it. Right? ;)

I would set it back to the early to mid-90s, when I first experienced it…

Am I one of those old fart trying to say it was better in the good old times? Yes, and no.

Back then the Internet was limited, it was hacked together and there was no professionally designed website with pretty animations, security was… not much, there was no mobile web and, as a matter of fact, no ‘app’ at all since smartphones were not yet a thing. There was not even script languages like Javascript or PHP to develop all those shit… amazing dynamic features we’re now surrounded with. So, yeah, it was limited. But…

There also was also no social media, no monetizing, no tracking, no corporate mafia-like CEOs trying to took us hostage or to milk us to death, and hands in hands with their politicians friends, trying their worst at transforming our free societies into some fascist dystopia that if they succeed (and it looks like they could) will make look all the XX century monstrosities mere child-play.

There were already evil corporations and assholes politicians back then, sure, but for the most part the Internet was people, not businesses. And it was not populated by those armies of braindead, tantrum-obsessed and hysterical morons we now consider the normal ‘user’.

Trolls were already a thing, obviously, but there were not millions of them waiting to be mobilized through social media like a good army of haters ready to go stampede into oblivion anything nice or daring anyone could be willing to do. It was ok to not be nice, to not be liked, and to take risks.

I mean, it was actual people with their qualities and flaws, people that were willing to share content they were interested in and to discuss it. People that were not expecting to make a fucking cent out of every single fart they would make online. Nor to gain any Likes…

So, yeah it was rougher, so much more limited and a lot less cool. It was also a lot less polite. But it was so much more free and less full of shit.

(end of that old fart rant, promise)

All you say is correct but I’m not sure to understand the link with the op question, which was what can poor people can do better than rich ones? Just in case, it’s a real question: I think I can read English quiet well but I may have missed something here.

I don’t understand why this matters that much

Maybe because some apps will only work on certain phones (say on iOS or Android) and maybe because depending the phone you are using maybe someone could suggested another solution than switch app? ;)

I don’t think money, or the lack of, defines anyone’s ability to do (or to be) better as a person.

Spend less time online, do less digital activities.

I do more IRL, in-person, activities. Any kind of activity most of us somehow forget we used to do well before Internet and digital was a thing can still be done without the Internet and without a computer of any kind.

In-persons is intimidating but it also helps keep away the armies of online trolls and haters that online thrive to hurt other people. Provided one behaves like a decent human being, it’s very rare people IRL will hate on anyone for goofing up or for not agreeing with them. It’s ok.

I also do as much as I can the analog way, without anything digital. It helps. Be it to write or sketch, or do stuff with my hands. Heck, even me using a paper agenda instead my phone will regularly trigger surprised/interested questions from people that otherwise would probably never have talked with me to begin with ;)

Nice :)

I bought a ready to assemble one myself (so it was just a matter of following the instructions to assemble it). It was not cheap but that was almost 10 years ago and it’s still working great. Imho, the second best money I ever spent—quality shoes being the first one.

I would encourage anyone to also spend money on a quality standing mat as it will help the legs, feet and back not getting tired too quickly.

I suppose you’re asking if I’m French? Yes. And, yes, it’s a French operator (Bouygues Mobile)

And, yeah, I used to use one like that.

Anyone have any advice?

• Ask them for their number, and see how it goes? Worst case, they will say ‘no’, end of the story. Maybe the will ask why you don’t have IG and that will be the start of an interesting conversation.
• Try to meet different kind of people? I mean it seriously. I know a lot of people around me who have IG/Facebook/X and so on but at the same time none of them make it a requirement to use it.
• Use a second phone/number for that crap content only? I barely use my ‘real’ phone (I have nothing installed on it beside what I’m required to use) still I do own a second phone just so I can easily share a number with all the services and various craps that ask for one. It’s a phone I never answer to, despite it being constantly harassed by callers. And that peace of mind (my real number is almost spam free) only costs me the 2€/month (plus the phone, I purchased used). You should be able to do something similar for social networks: have a second phone without anything personal on it, just with IG.
• Accept that you’re doomed to use IG because it’s with those ‘IG people’ and no others you want to spend your time with? I like to spend time with people reading books, it’s kinda expected we indeed read books. Would I not like to read, I would not spend as much time with them.

A pencil (edit: less than 1 dollar most of the time)