I’ll grant you that, unfortunately, those two professions get lumped under the same title, but don’t pigeon hole the man without even knowing him.

Myself, I have a couple couches, some decent pots and pans, a car i own but drive very little, and this here computer. Oh, and friends. I still have those.

Just doing my part so the Jones’ can keep up, they come over occasionally, i think they’re getting it, finally.

That was Carl’s Jr., not Wendy’s.

I came late to this discussion, and I think that some of the upthread comments nibble around what I want to say, but don’t quite nail it.

IMO, the more you live a “stuff-free”, digital life, the more dependent you are on industrial/technological society to always be there.
Unless you want to live a mendicant lifestyle, which is another thread altogether.

Making a decision to live in NYC brings many benefits, but it puts you way, way too much at the mercy of support systems’ continuing to function for me to handle.

Of course plenty of people have tons of stuff and still are not self reliant in any way….I feel sorry for them.

For those of us still deeply connected to the physical or analog world (through music collections, recording equipment, FILM, etc), this would be impossible.

I really can’t fit my vintage motorcycle, furniture, record collection, musical instruments on my macbook. And I really like these things.

“# Pack two weeks of socks and underwear to keep on a 12-14 day laundry cycle. Take a pair of shorts which can also double as swim wear for lounging around. Also, for lounging around or working out, a basketball trainer top is perfect.
# About 10-12 t-shirts, and 3-4 pairs of pants would do for spring/summer attire.”

wtf? that’s already more than i have at home. 10 socks, 5 boxers, 5 shirts, 2 pants, one of which the legs zip off of.

When I moved to San Francisco at 22, my efficiency studio was furnished with a mattress, a folding chair, folding table, my laptop, some dining utensils, and a pot to cook in. It only took me 9 months to go and get (find) a couch so that I could have people over comfortably, and I could never afford to eat all my meals out like this guy must be doing.

Let’s see if he’s still doing this in a year.

I used to write software for very high integrity systems (we’re talking air-traffic control, avionics, etc), and that’s proper engineering.

On the other hand, I now spend most of my time hacking perl, and that is not engineering in any sense of the word, although I do my best.

PS How did we ever get by without the internet(s)?

There is a difference between a software engineer and a software writing monkey

There’s too much certainty and too few consequences for failure in most software. That’s a gross simplification of how complex software lives and breathes, but there’s often this underlying assumption that if the logic works, it works. Run the code in all the ways the code can be run and you’ve found all possible outcomes.

That’s _very_ different from traditional engineering.

Engineering is about dealing with the fuzzy shit that happens in the physical world. All engineering comes down to “gee, I think that should hold together.” It’s more about predicting and preventing failure than it is about actually making stuff.

I’d make the opposite argument– that digital technology gives people a yearning for the physical, ie the vinyl LP renaissance.

There’s nothing wrong with owning stuff. There’s nothing wrong with not owning stuff. As long as you are genuinely happy, who cares?

You can work on the go.

I’ve watched people go through this phase before. Usually in their twenties, occasionally in their early thirties. It rarely lasts.

I don’t need anything. Except this. And that’s the only thing I need is this ashtray. I don’t need this or this. Just this ashtray… And this paddle game.

The ashtray and the paddle game and that’s all I need… And this remote control.

The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that’s all I need… And these matches.

The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control, and the paddle ball… And this lamp.

The ashtray, this paddle game, and the remote control, and the lamp, and that’s all I need.

And that’s all I need too. I don’t need one other thing, not one… I need this.

The paddle game and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches for sure. Well what are you looking at? What do you think I’m some kind of a jerk or something!

And this. That’s all I need.

The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, and this magazine, and the chair.

And I don’t need one other thing, except my dog.

[dog growls]

OK, I don’t need my dog.

Sometime in my early twenty’s I got rid of all my possessions with the exception of a naval deployment bag full of clothing and a large boot locker full of necessary documentation, some tools, mementos, hygiene items and other random stuff.

I started to only live in furnished rooms rented from older MILFs so that I didn’t have to worry about dragging furniture with me. And here I am 25 years later and I am still a total minimalist. All of my worldly possessions can easily fit in the trunk of my car.

A minimalist lifestyle is not for everyone but it has served me very well over the decades.

He’s a sad shell of human being, who has excised anything that would suggest a past, aspirations or an emotional connection to anyone or anything. He dresses like a corporate drone and “lives” in a sterile apartment devoid of any personal or even human touches. He’s imitating a monk, but not out of any personal conviction, because that would require an investment in something besides computer hardware, but because he simply can’t find anything that stirs his passions or arouses a desire.