One

An everyday system, TM, is a simple, commonsense solution to an everyday problem, grounded by a pun or metaphor. Propose/discuss new systems here.
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fwinter
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One

Post by fwinter » Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:06 pm

Hi all, first post - here is a proposal:

'One'

You are allowed to own one of anything.

- 1 bicycle (I had a racer, a fixie a randonneur, a MTB - result was I spent more time looking after them than riding them). Solution - buy a 'Cross bike that does just about anything, sell the rest.

- 1 guitar (I had an electric, a steel acoustic, a spanish, a mandolin etc. - result was I spent more time sourcing the next guitar than actually playing them). Solution - buy a good classical guitar, learn arrangements on there and sell all guitars, amps, pedals yada yada...

The idea is to devote any spare time genuinely to a hobby. Not collecting another addition. Not reading about another variant. This just turns you into a tinkerer and a collector.

And an obssessive.

I am only just starting down this path and I'm beginning to see the virtue. It's not pure minimalism where everything is pared down to absolute basics; rather it is more in the spirit of Einstein:

'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler'

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:46 pm

I like it!

One potential difficulty I can see is that with enough ingenuity you can spin anything as unique.

Example:

One commuter bike, one racing bike, one mountain bike (they're different!).

But with a bit of common sense I guess you should be OK (and at least the cost of having to be ingenious to get around it will serve as a kind of damper).

Thanks for the idea and let us know how it goes.

Reinhard

fwinter
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Post by fwinter » Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:48 pm

Well, I'm getting there. I am allowing a bit of leeway by having one bike and 2 sets of wheels (on and off road). Selling mountains of 'just this once' impulse purchase bits that amount to a frightening amount in the PayPal account.

Struggling with guitars - maybe I need to be brutal and just sell the damn things. Nothing that can't be replaced, but I bet they won't need to be once they are gone.

I always find inspiration in restricting the parameters, so that I have to be creative in order to work with what I have. Seems to keep things interesting by setting the challenge!

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Post by Spudd » Tue Dec 07, 2010 1:26 pm

I admire the principle of this. What do you do for things like underwear, though? I have to think you need more than one. :)

fwinter
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Post by fwinter » Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:50 pm

That certainly would add to the challenge! However, such things are taken care of by repeating the phrase from the op:

'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler'

So underwear is exempt!

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Post by chiangmaiboss » Sat Dec 11, 2010 4:26 am

I have only 1 bicycle, but is like 2 because has racing tire on front and off-road tire on back. This is not my choice but I got flat and at shop they had only racing tire so I had to take this but really is not bad idea. Skinny tire is more streamlined for speed and rear tire got for traction. Like putting snow tires on cars with rear wheel drive. My bike also has 6 gears but when guy at bike shop changed flat on rear wheel screwed up gears so now stuck in 6th gear. Good exercise but no good for hills. Only have 1 pedal too. Even so it is good transportation and seems sturdy.
Chiang Mai and Nakhon Sawan, Thailand

fwinter
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Post by fwinter » Sun Apr 29, 2012 6:33 pm

Well, here is the update.

I haven't sold all my extra bikes and guitars (yet), but I have mentally put them beyond use.

I thought I would give myself easy access to a quality acoustic and an all-round, all-weather bike. Result is I feel less pressured to use either because I 'am' something (i.e. I 'am' a cyclist so I must train every spare minute, or I 'am' a guitarist so I must practise etc.).

I now find I use these items because I WANT to. I also am much more relaxed in my approach to playing/riding. I also seem to use them more! Previously I was into cycling/guitar playing but I'd end up spending all my time on eBay justifying the next major purchase or maintaining what I had.

Now the stuff is (mentally) no longer there I feel liberated; more into using what I have.

Next step is to sell up and enjoy the cash!

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Post by Shadowduck » Sun Oct 14, 2012 4:50 pm

*staggers in late to thread and hopes people are still about*

I like your thinking, and also the fact that you're apparently as addicted to bikes and guitars as I am!

I went down the "one good acoustic" route about ten years ago, to force myself to learn how to play rather than just diddle with knobs and switches, and I'm pleased to say it worked nicely! That said, I bought an electric and amp about six months ago and I'm definitely enjoying having the choice...

I've also limited myself to two bikes as they're my main transport and I can't risk relying on just the one - I don't have enough slack in my morning schedule to fix a flat before leaving for work!

Maybe my variation of your idea is just going to have to be "two". :wink:

fwinter
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Post by fwinter » Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:22 pm

I knew someone else must share my affliction!

Down to one bike, no fancy shoes and able to road or off-road. Compromised compared to specific bikes of course, but no where near as much as you'd imagine and in some ways more flexible - able to ride in near-normal clothes on a road bike that can take on bridleways etc.

Restricted or liberated? In the eye of the beholder.

Want to get to one guitar - thinking of a nice semi-acoustic which would do for all I want out of one these days.

'Two' is also a good approach - maybe create the system and elaborate in a new thread? I did consider that but thought I'd experiment with moderate fundamentalism first!

Shadowduck
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Post by Shadowduck » Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:14 am

I don't think bike and guitar addictions are all that rare, though it's probably a little less common to find someone with both at once! :lol:

I'm still going to stick to my guns and say that an acoustic and an electric are fundamentally different, in that many of the techniques used to play a heavily overdriven electric are totally different from anything you're likely to do on an acoustic - they're at least as different as ukelele and guitar, for example. Most of the people I know who play guitar will have at least five or six electrics so I think I still count as moderately minimalist!

I suppose many people would make the same argument about mountain vs road bikes, but I never really ride off road (well, towpaths and such but no "rough stuff") so if I ever get round to putting my old Reynolds-framed 12 speed tourer back together I could easily use that as my sole bike for everything (with fancy shoes, I love my SPDs). I'd still want to have a spare though, as an emergency backup - bikes are too temperamental to rely on just one for daily transport.

There's definitely something liberating about minimalism, but while "one" is workable in some areas I do think it's too restrictive for other things. As a counter to the "Gear Acquisition Syndrome" that strikes in so many areas of life, maybe a combined "one or two" system would work almost as well as "one" but without making it so difficult it's unsustainable?

fwinter
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Post by fwinter » Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:53 pm

Then go for 'two' or 'three' or whatever else! :D I'm sticking with the 'One' experiment. Wife approves as well, strangely enough.

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