Good on you. There are too many materialists in the world, myself included. Though it wouldn't hurt to invest in some property if it's possible as time goes by.
huh! interesting to see a question abt ipods on this survey :D looking fwd to your explanation.
i co-own my condo and i have other property back in the motherland under my name, so technically i do "own" real estate. while i pay the maintenance fees on the condo, my dad still takes care of the mortgage payments, so i didn't want to choose "yes" as an answer to the 1st question :)
Almost everybody I know owns some handheld Apple device and the most popular item atm is the iPhone. If it weren't for silly contractual obligations, I'd be the proud owner of one this very week but unfortunately I'm going to probably have to wait until September to make that happen. (My parents wanted to get it for me as a birthday gift!). The media likes to talk about the ipod generation and it's incredible how a handheld device has got a whole generation named after itself. I was initially against owning an ipod but I got converted a couple years ago and am now the proud owner of the 80GB model. I use it for so many different things besides music. For example my university provides an ipod video version of almost every single lecture which I've been taking advantage of. I subscribe to a diversity of podcasts, the photo album is fantastic for when I meet people and want to sell them the incredible week I had in Spain during the Benicassim Music Festival last year, I've got movies, TV shows and other amazing videos stored on it for when I'm travelling, I use the spare space as an external HDD... it's so easy to charge the device anywhere (even on my multiple-port mouse pad which I don't need to connect to the laptop!) and the list goes on. The only thing I haven't worked out how to use properly is the alarm. Any suggestions? (Sorry, kinda got carried away with the explanation there...)
As for your co-owned condo - nice work!! I'm in a similar situation, the flat I co-own is with my dad who paid for it in entirety and I don't even pay the maintenance fees on it (yet) - though I do pay the council tax on the flat I'm living in right now which my dad co-owns with my mum. And like you there are a few properties in the motherland which will eventually/already have pass(ed) onto me. How lucky are we!!!
heh i think i joined the apple game pretty late actually. i also seem to have bad luck. i started with a generation 1 shuffle [512mb], but ironically enough, banks started giving them out for free about a month after i made my purchase :(
i finally got a generation 2 nano in 2006 when a friend gave me one of the special edition "product red" versions for my birthday [4gb]. again, a month after i had it in my hands, apple released the 3rd generation of nanos that could play video and had wider screens. i just always seem to buy apple products at the wrong time! that's why i've decided to wait a bit until i get my hands on the iphone :P
Hm, I guess in the "car" question, both "I used to" and "Never!" answers apply to me. I have owned two in the past. But I've reformed, and from here on out, my intent is a green, green "Never!"
A noble reformation indeed. I would love to use only London's public transportation system for the rest of my life but that's probably not going to happen. If and when I can afford it, I've promised myself to buy the most feasible eco-friendly car on the market. I'm excited about the possibility of owning a hydrogen powered vehicle in about a decade's time. Would such options possibly change your mind?
But I'm a bit skeptical about hydrogen (or really, any "alternative fuel") car technology. From what little research I've done, it seems to me that most of the energy savings come in the form of pushing the polluting part of the equation off to another part of the whole process. (Or worse, as in the case of corn oil, and so-called "biofuels.") So maybe the car itself doesn't pollute as much, but that's (almost) made up for by the extra pollution produced in some plant somewhere.
Now I'll admit that most of this applies to the various forms of electric cars, and not so much the hydrogen fuel-cell cars. And certainly I'm not claiming there's no saving — there undoubtedly is some.
However the hard facts still remain that it's energetically unsustainable for every person on the planet to have their own vehicle. It's maybe (just barely) feasible for everyone in the "first world" to do so... but that whole equation changes so much when India, China, South America, Africa, etc. get on the highway.
At the end of the day, I'm unconvinced that there is a solution short of wide-scale ride-sharing (i.e.: public transit) and people just using their own damn feet to get around.
Heh, moped. They used to be very popular in India but now that disposable incomes have risen within the middle class, many are switching to Vespa-type scooters (if you're a lass) and motorbikes or even a car (for the lads).
>From what little research I've done, maybe the car itself doesn't pollute as much, but that's (almost) made up for by... Very true.
Overall, you're quite right. I'll try not to worry about owning a vehicle just yet. I've got a while to think about it.
Sorry for so many comment replies... I don't have a paid account anymore so LJ took away my Edited Reply option. Bastards. Anyways, thanks for your feedback. Next time I post a poll I'll change the radio buttons to checkboxes.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 02:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 02:49 pm (UTC)i co-own my condo and i have other property back in the motherland under my name, so technically i do "own" real estate. while i pay the maintenance fees on the condo, my dad still takes care of the mortgage payments, so i didn't want to choose "yes" as an answer to the 1st question :)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:07 pm (UTC)As for your co-owned condo - nice work!! I'm in a similar situation, the flat I co-own is with my dad who paid for it in entirety and I don't even pay the maintenance fees on it (yet) - though I do pay the council tax on the flat I'm living in right now which my dad co-owns with my mum. And like you there are a few properties in the motherland which will eventually/already have pass(ed) onto me. How lucky are we!!!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-23 03:18 pm (UTC)i finally got a generation 2 nano in 2006 when a friend gave me one of the special edition "product red" versions for my birthday [4gb]. again, a month after i had it in my hands, apple released the 3rd generation of nanos that could play video and had wider screens. i just always seem to buy apple products at the wrong time! that's why i've decided to wait a bit until i get my hands on the iphone :P
no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-20 02:24 am (UTC)I've toyed with the idea of a moped or something.
But I'm a bit skeptical about hydrogen (or really, any "alternative fuel") car technology. From what little research I've done, it seems to me that most of the energy savings come in the form of pushing the polluting part of the equation off to another part of the whole process. (Or worse, as in the case of corn oil, and so-called "biofuels.") So maybe the car itself doesn't pollute as much, but that's (almost) made up for by the extra pollution produced in some plant somewhere.
Now I'll admit that most of this applies to the various forms of electric cars, and not so much the hydrogen fuel-cell cars. And certainly I'm not claiming there's no saving — there undoubtedly is some.
However the hard facts still remain that it's energetically unsustainable for every person on the planet to have their own vehicle. It's maybe (just barely) feasible for everyone in the "first world" to do so... but that whole equation changes so much when India, China, South America, Africa, etc. get on the highway.
At the end of the day, I'm unconvinced that there is a solution short of wide-scale ride-sharing (i.e.: public transit) and people just using their own damn feet to get around.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-21 01:46 am (UTC)>From what little research I've done, maybe the car itself doesn't pollute as much, but that's (almost) made up for by...
Very true.
Overall, you're quite right. I'll try not to worry about owning a vehicle just yet. I've got a while to think about it.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-20 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-21 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-20 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-21 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-21 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-22 03:10 pm (UTC)