bookmark_borderStyle by list

I’ve never been to Moscow, but we talk about it all the time at work and, cos I like to plan things and use lists to help me cope with stressful times, like moving from a house to a flat and the splitting up of 14 years accumulated crap, well the topic of Moscow has reared in my brain.

For the most part, the furniture is the main thing that we’ll need to split up or, as is most likely, give away to charity. That’s the thing about co-owning things, they end up being to the taste of neither of you so when it comes down to it we are both of a mind to replace items so we get things that we like.

Over the past few months I’ve visited a few antique and thrift style stores, missing out on a fantastic lamp base made from wooden letterpress blocks, and I’ll do the same once I’ve got somewhere to live sorted out. Understandably this is the top item on my list and it is titled “Get roof over head”. Alongside this item is the letter M.

Which brings us back to Moscow. Or, as some of you will already have figured out, to categorising list items into the Must haves, Should haves, Could haves and Would like to haves.

This way I can make a big list of things that I want to buy and ordered them such that I don’t end up, for example, buying a Mac Mini instead of a bed, or a new set of kitchen knives instead of food.

It’s exciting, making lists. I’ve always enjoyed it but this list has much more gravitas to it, this list is all about me and it’s been a long time since I’ve both taken that view, let alone been able to. So there are such items on the list as a pair of Grado headphones, an M-Audio keyboard, an Eames armchair, as well as a bed, a mattress, a new sofa and a smattering of smaller items (lamps and whatnot).

Not everything is needed, nor will be bought. And everything that is needed won’t be bought immediately either. I’m happy to take my time, and buy items I like and which offer good value (I really don’t want to be buy these things again any time in the next 20 years or more). It’ll also be a challenge, a fun one, to find my own style.

A closing example then. Here is an item that is a Could have on the list. It is a rug that I quite like, and somehow it will have to play alongside something I’ve already purchased. A giant Lego head.

Hmmm, this style thing might take a while to crack.

Maybe I need to start a new list…

bookmark_borderPurchase Ponderings

File this in the “idle window shopping for stuff I don’t need” category.

BUT.

If can anyone see any gaps or improvements to the following (and yes, I am largely going with Apple because it is easy to setup and I have no desire to hack, configure or otherwise spend ages of my time to get the thing working), please let me know. You might save me a lot of money.

Not that I’m gonna be spending anything on any of this, no no, that’d be silly and I have more important items to buy soon, like a bed, that kind of thing. This is purely and utterly an academic exercise, a small indulgementation if you will to keep me from going stir-crazy in this house.

So, the proposed new system is as follows:

  • A Mac Mini – which will be hooked up to the TV
  • Drobo S – which will (in the short term) hold two 500GB drives from my PC with music/photos/movies/work stuff
  • Airport Express – so I can stream iTunes to a set of speakers
  • Karmon Soundsticks – because they look and sound good

I’ll pick up a wireless keyboard and mouse for the Mac Mini as well. Which means that, when version 2 of the iPad comes out, I can slot that in for ‘casual web usage’ and the like.

My thinking is that I want a quiet and energy efficient machine that I can stream music from, and do a little web design work on too (with a nice big 40″ screen!). The Drobo allows me to easily add more storage space (just slot a new drive in), and if I want music elsewhere I can always buy another Airport Express (or stream through my iPhone/iPad?). Mind you, I’ll be moving to a flat so not much need for that in the near future.

Yes, it’s a bit pricey as it’s Apple equipment but it gives me a system that SHOULD just plug and play (previous experience suggests this to hold true), and is expandable to meet my needs. I could probably get the same with another (cheaper) system but having looked into it, PC/Linux equivalents require a level of configuration that I just can’t be arsed with any more, happy to pay more to have it just work.

Am I missing anything? Performance wise the Mac Mini will be more than enough for me for many years, and they’ve good reliability. The Drobo I’ve heard a lot of good things about and I’ve used an Airport Express before with my PC. I think it’s about as future proof as it can be, add in a USB hub for things like card readers and whatnot and I don’t think I’m losing out on anything.

Well, apart from the money to buy it all with…

bookmark_borderVirtual Shopping

I’m the worst person in the world when it comes to buying big ticket items as I find myself lost in endless loops of reviews, recommendations, better options, different options, cheaper deals, discounts and before long I start to lose interest and end up just not buying something or, more often than not, I end up just buying ‘something’ which may or may not actually be the best option.

A friend of mine once commented on this when she asked for some advice on which mobile phone she should buy next, stating “I know you like to research these things a lot”.

Which at face value is true but, as it turns out, isn’t really true at all.

Funny how that happens. A lot.

See it’s not that I enjoy the researching process, it’s more than I’m scared to make a decision. Scared to decide that, yes, I WILL buy a Mac Mini, a big hard drive and use that as my main computer because there might actually be a better, and most certainly cheaper, option out there, it’s just that I’m not aware of it.

The new car was blighted with similar rounds of research, ponderingments and other such procrastinations. Admittedly most of the big manufacturers have ‘build your own car’ style configurators on their websites, which is always fun, but ultimately pointless as you never pay full price for a car, ever.

So whilst I sit here and think about buying sofas, beds, and other living room furniture (I won’t want for bookcases but few of them match..), I veer from my desire for minimalism and style, to what I can sensibly afford, to what I can afford at a stretch and then back to wonderous items that are just beyond my price range no matter which way I cut it. So I start over, with a budget in mind and still end up with too many options.

This affliction used to blight me when shopping for smaller items, clothes and whatnot, but I conquered that part of it by only ever visiting shops that I know are within my price range and trusting my first instinct.

Things is, when it comes to the big ticket items, my first instinct is usually the most expensive. It’s not that I choose things based on price, it’s usually the last thing I look at, but I seem to have expensive tastes.

Anyway, I need to stop THIS procrastination and make a decision.

This one, or this one?