“what we were buying was the memory of living like sultans, if only for a day” is such a good distinction. some luxuries are worth it not because they’re efficient, but because they become part of the family mythology forever
I love your posts but even more your dedication to educating.
Not a deep point but could it be just that you got a Toto lemon, Phil? have 5 installed and they have worked beautifully for 5 years.
We have Teslas and I could have not spend a lavish sum (but now look at gas prices)—yet, mine saved my life on the freeway by taking the wheel out of my hands (no FSD subscription) and saving me from a side-swipe by a massive truck. It happened only once. But I’m alive to write comments at 7:00 am.
So maybe there is a deep point—that some expensive products are high quality. But it’s like buying enterprise software when you’re not a large enterprise: refrain.
My Toto isn’t necessary—but they’re irreplaceable to our home because of lifestyle quality. Now that’s priceless!
I admit I am curious to try this machined aluminum pen but I'm going to resist the urge and instead replenish my supply of Uniball Signo RT1s (0.5mm), which I find exquisite.
Personal thought: each of us lives in a “pool” with its own bar, rules, and criteria for judging value or performance.
When we jump from Pool A to Pool B, we often mistakenly think everything we earned in Pool A will automatically transfer.
But Pool B always has its own bar.
A thing can be “the best” in one pool, but not useful at all in another. You either meet the new bar in your own way, or you don’t.
That is probably why price, status, or reputation can be so misleading. They only mean something if they match the actual purpose and criteria of the pool you are in.
I think if it had brought you any amount of joy, that would have been a perfectly reasonable purchase. Consider there are people out there collecting $50,000 luxury watches that don’t perform as well at telling time as a $30 Casio.
Compared to that, your pen doesn’t seem so bad. But the main issue is that you just weren’t that interested in pens to begin with. The real lesson is really about knowing yourself and what really matters to you.
There's definitely something I'm not properly understanding about the washlets, because I almost universally only meet people who are rabid fans. Has yours not often malfunctioned? Mine has broken many times.
Ours worked amazing, and bought for cheaper from Costco - so we got the both from both worlds :D Honestly I asked myself how I could live without it before. And I still miss it, now that I've moved back to Europe.
“what we were buying was the memory of living like sultans, if only for a day” is such a good distinction. some luxuries are worth it not because they’re efficient, but because they become part of the family mythology forever
thank you for a great engaging piece. And yes the pilot G2 is still one of my fav pen
I love your posts but even more your dedication to educating.
Not a deep point but could it be just that you got a Toto lemon, Phil? have 5 installed and they have worked beautifully for 5 years.
We have Teslas and I could have not spend a lavish sum (but now look at gas prices)—yet, mine saved my life on the freeway by taking the wheel out of my hands (no FSD subscription) and saving me from a side-swipe by a massive truck. It happened only once. But I’m alive to write comments at 7:00 am.
So maybe there is a deep point—that some expensive products are high quality. But it’s like buying enterprise software when you’re not a large enterprise: refrain.
My Toto isn’t necessary—but they’re irreplaceable to our home because of lifestyle quality. Now that’s priceless!
The interesting part is how often we confuse status with utility.
Sometimes the thing that looks impressive from a distance turns out to be less useful than the boring option you've ignored for years.
I admit I am curious to try this machined aluminum pen but I'm going to resist the urge and instead replenish my supply of Uniball Signo RT1s (0.5mm), which I find exquisite.
Wow, how true is that. I cannot agree more.
Personal thought: each of us lives in a “pool” with its own bar, rules, and criteria for judging value or performance.
When we jump from Pool A to Pool B, we often mistakenly think everything we earned in Pool A will automatically transfer.
But Pool B always has its own bar.
A thing can be “the best” in one pool, but not useful at all in another. You either meet the new bar in your own way, or you don’t.
That is probably why price, status, or reputation can be so misleading. They only mean something if they match the actual purpose and criteria of the pool you are in.
Just a thought about that $55 pen:
I think if it had brought you any amount of joy, that would have been a perfectly reasonable purchase. Consider there are people out there collecting $50,000 luxury watches that don’t perform as well at telling time as a $30 Casio.
Compared to that, your pen doesn’t seem so bad. But the main issue is that you just weren’t that interested in pens to begin with. The real lesson is really about knowing yourself and what really matters to you.
Thank you for the engaging stories and perspective on this topic. I do have to burst your bubble about flushable wipes though: https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/are-flushable-wipes-really-flushable-a1736074350/
It might be good to give the Toto another try 😏
Re: flushable wipes, my understanding is that despite being marketed as flushable, they still shouldn't be flushed and can cause plumbing issues!
I beg of you, give the washlet a second chance
There's definitely something I'm not properly understanding about the washlets, because I almost universally only meet people who are rabid fans. Has yours not often malfunctioned? Mine has broken many times.
Ours worked amazing, and bought for cheaper from Costco - so we got the both from both worlds :D Honestly I asked myself how I could live without it before. And I still miss it, now that I've moved back to Europe.
I’ve have several Toto washlets and they’ve never had problems since they were installed as part of a remodel 8 years ago.