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| My father and I, Cabo San Lucas, 1986 |
Today was a very good day in the first iSteve fundraising drive of 2014. I want to thank everybody who has made a sacrifice to help me out.
My wife got home from work about 8PM tonight and I gave her the encouraging news as we ate dinner off paper plates. The reason we've been eating all our meals off paper plates for the last year or so is that the old dishwasher died and they don't make dishwashers anymore small enough to fit under our kitchen counters. The kitchen counters and cabinets are 63 years old. Dishwashers hadn't been invented yet in 1951, much less standardized in size at one inch larger than our counters can contain.
On the other hand, the linoleum is only, I believe, 34 years old. Indeed, the kitchen floor seemed to be back in style around 2005, but at that rate won't come back into fashion again until maybe 2030.
Unfortunately, even a good day of fundraising doesn't put much of a dent in the fact that I owe my frugal, hardworking, and patient wife a kitchen that can accommodate a dishwasher so we don't have to drink solely out of Big Red Cups like some kind of frat house or perpetual Toby Keith video. (The neighbors are wondering how many kegs we go through per week).
She's made a lot of sacrifices so I can write for you full time for the last 14 years. (For instance, she never complains about driving a 16 year old car with 237,000 miles on it.) Now that I think about it, I never mentioned to her when we got married in 1987 that when it came to all that "for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health" stuff, that I was going to spend 1998 fighting cancer and then, when that was over, decide to spend the 21st Century as an unpopular writer.
As usual with my money transfer method attempts, something has stopped working: in this case the VDARE link as of the wee hours of Friday morning. I have hopes it will be fixed soon, and will let you know.
Once again, let me thank everybody who has donated so far.
Steve, are there important differences in the tax efficiency for you of the various donation methods? Do you pay any income tax on (small) donations at all?
ReplyDeleteI've never donated. I feel guilty about that. You are a GIFT to this world. I really think this world is profoundly fortunate to have you.
I pay income tax on all donations.
ReplyDeleteThe tax implications are for you.
Tax free gift exclusion limit for 2014 is $14,000/ spouse / year. Therefore all transactions under these limits should be tax free to both parties? Tax pro CPA's do you say yes?
Delete"(For instance, she never complains about driving a 16 year old car with 237,000 miles on it.)"
ReplyDeleteIt still runs.
And Thomas Friedman and Gladwell are worth millions.
ReplyDeleteCrime pays but thought crime doesn't.
Steve,
ReplyDelete1) Those panhandling links/explanations on the side are far too verbose. I really think you need to take a page from commercial sites and make it much easier. Has to be one big button you mash.
I think you're leaving money on the table.
2) You need to set up a subscription service, where people can just automatically contribute monthly to you via paypal.
Well, now I am interested, okay?
ReplyDeleteLOL'ed.
Don't you live in L.A.? Wouldn't it be cheaper to move somewhere like Indiana where you can buy a decent house in a decent neighborhood for around 80 grand?
ReplyDeleteYep, everyone on the alt right-sphere has it tough.
ReplyDeleteCondemned by the Lib establishment and ignored by mainstream conservatives.
The price one pays for truth, integrity, and courage.
I'm really glad you do this occasionally and I don't think it would be bad form to do it a little more often. You offer a more than square deal and asking for support is only fair. I'm sure there are lots of people like me who are happy to pay, but don't even think of it in the normal course of things.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I appreciate your work and the reminder!
Steve,
ReplyDeleteSince you live on the Left Coast and not "bitter clingers" territory you may not be familiar with the venerable red Solo cup.
I thought this was a send-up, but two-thirds in, I realised you mean it!
ReplyDeleteComments are moderated, at whim.
At a whim...
Why don't you do like everybody else and wash your dishes in the sink?
ReplyDeletehttp://stuartschneiderman.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it.html
ReplyDeleteSailer should declare himself an artist and sell his bed.
TontoBubbaGoldstein -- Thanks, I'll link to it.
ReplyDeleteSailer has become George Bailey.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/lbwjS9iJ2Sw
Why don't you just wash the dishes in the sink?
ReplyDeleteThat's a great picture of you and your dad. Speaking of Cabo San Lucas, it made me think of the Van Halen (Hagar) song "Cabo Wabo." Your and 80s guy, I'm sure you know it. Take care Sir.
ReplyDeleteI'd really like it if you wrote full length books...
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of repackaged blog posts, but at least that's something... SBPDL's Detroit book has sold really well, especially after the bankruptcy.
Maybe as a thought experiment, you should ask your readers for book ideas... here's one, write a book on the education gap. Trends, history, politics, methods to close, prospects of it ever being closed, what to do if it can't be closed... etc...
There is a need(and an audience) to do what Paul Kersey/Richard FLorida do but done better...
Steve, I've been trying for days to donate again this year, but the vDare link won't work for me in any of three browsers. I'll keep trying though. Thanks for everything,
ReplyDelete"2) You need to set up a subscription service, where people can just automatically contribute monthly to you via paypal."
ReplyDeleteGood idea.
I only know a tiny amount about this service, but it might be worth looking into: http://www.patreon.com/
Professor Cowen might opine that beans taste just as good off of paper plates as they do off of fine china. You'll miss those paper plates when things get really bad and we're all scooping beans into our mouths from communal troughs.
ReplyDeleteI'm also part of a lazy couple that used disposables after moving into a house without a dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteUnless you wash twice a day, you're going to have a sink with dirty dishes that attract ants.
They do make narrow dishwashers, I'm thinking of getting one, or alternatively having to rip out an old cabinet.
Living in California isn't expensive if you bought a house before 2003, in many ways the COL is low with low property taxes and very little heating needed in the winter.
Isn't the best idea to publish some liberal padlum?
ReplyDeleteIt's what the media want and academia too.
Then you too can wear corduroy jackets and smoke a pipe, in between blowjobs from the adoring female undergrads.
Easy Fugging money and it is market friendly.
Hard to believe anyone would use disposable cups and plates rather than hand wash in a sink. My wife's jaw hit the floor when I told her.
ReplyDeleteHey steve, have you ever considered going on the lecture circuit for a little extra cash? Come to think of it, i can only think of 2 videos of you speaking.
ReplyDeleteAnd granite countertops, Steve. Nothing adds value more than granite countertops in a 63-yo ranch. Susan researched this.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I sent you $300 through Vdare last weekend but still don't see anything posted on my credit card. I think someone else dropped a comment saying that they had the same problem. Is Vdare outsourcing its donation processing system to the SPLC?
ReplyDeleteMy answer to Mrs. Sailer. "You didn't marry a beta provider, but an alpha intellectual. Paleos wash their dishes the traditional way, in the sink. Better 30 years of poverty married to Steve Sailer than a life of riches married to Malcolm Gladwell! "
ReplyDeleteI hope you make as much money as you are hoping to make, because I depend on this blog. It is reliably interesting. That said I envy you with your paper plates and red cups. I lived that way throughout collage and during my only year as a bachelor. So much time saved. When I got married, having to do the dishes (dishwasher or no) proved to be an even bigger time sink than I had thought.
ReplyDeleteTake the time to wash your dishes!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could pen a Gladwell type book under a pseudonym, and make millions?
ReplyDeleteSteve - the government is your friend when it comes to dishwashers for low countertops.
ReplyDeletegoogle "ADA compliant dishwasher"
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/html/GEAResults.htm#v=1&p=1&r=10&s=erp&ascdesc=d&Category=Built-In_Dishwashers&Filters=FEATURES!ADA$20Compliant
For example, GE GLDA690FWW
about $540 at Home Depot.
Overall Height 32 11/32 in
so unless you have munchkin countertops it should fit.
Steve - the government is your friend when it comes to dishwashers for low countertops.
ReplyDeletegoogle "ADA compliant dishwasher"
http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/html/GEAResults.htm#v=1&p=1&r=10&s=erp&ascdesc=d&Category=Built-In_Dishwashers&Filters=FEATURES!ADA$20Compliant
For example, GE GLDA690FWW
about $540 at Home Depot.
Overall Height 32 11/32 in
Even shorter:
http://www.summitappliance.com/catalog/model/DW2432SSADA
32" height
so unless you have munchkin countertops it should fit.
So say thank you to the gods of Washington for looking out for your best interests. You don't need that new kitchen after all.
Steve, I'll repeat an offer I've made before: I'll give you my time to do ebook and print book interior formatting, cover design, and title setup for three books you've talked about writing/compiling: Excerpts from the British Canon, Excerpts from the American Canon, and Steve's Best Blog Posts. [we can brainstorm better titles]. I could also help you submit review copies to Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, etc. to increase your name recognition and pre-release interest.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested, send me an email--my contact info is in my URL.
Oh, Steve! This brings back horrible memories: my husband remodeled our kitchen and I had to cook off an electric 2-burner tabletop stove in our dining room for 9 months! And I have too many dishwasher stories... His parents tried to warn him off the Catholic girl, but he didn't listen, Lol!
ReplyDeleteIf I earmark it for "dishwasher" or "kitchen" will it really go there? My step-mom did that for me once so I could get a great dishwasher and my husband got a cheapie and spent the difference on tools. "There's not much difference," he said.
He was WRONG!
Bless your heart for understanding. I, too, cooked for a year with a camping stove when it wasn't practical to replace the whole range, hung dripping laundry to dry for close to another year when only the dryer died of the combo washer-dryer, and don't get me started on the 63 year old bathroom situation.
DeleteBut, no, I can't promise the earmarking because what Steve didn't mention is his need for a better home office where he can easily access his 24 (and counting) bookcases.
What I can promise is that home improvements will contribute to Steve's productivity. Thanks!
Don't you live in L.A.? Wouldn't it be cheaper to move somewhere like Indiana where you can buy a decent house in a decent neighborhood for around 80 grand?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Steve, why don't you just run that past Mrs. Sailer?
Steve, I donated.
ReplyDeleteFor everyone else out there, I urge you to do as the successful market-dominant minorities and put your money where your mouth is. If between all of the HBD-interested readers we can't crowd-fund a single journalist, then we deserve what we get in the MSM. What does a subscription to the economist cost, $80 or $100 a year? Steve is far more interesting than that. Pony up guys, or it may go away, and then you're stuck reading Slate for the rest of your lives.
Look up "ada dishwasher". I had a similar problem, but it was only an inch or so. ada dishwashers are shorter/lower.
ReplyDelete-CW
Wish the measly amount I sent this week could match the respect I have for you Steve, really do.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to send more your second drive this year.
If you have counter space near the sink they have countertop dishwashers on Amazon. Been using one by EdgeStar for years with no problems.
ReplyDeleteSteve, I swear I will send you money when my kids get to kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteUm... Steve, if you are at home all day and your wife is coming home after a hard day at 8 shouldn't a new kitchen be for you?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure its been mentioned before and you've likely scoffed at the idea, but if you set up a bitcoin address (easiest way is with coinbase), I'd send you the equivalent of $50.
ReplyDeleteThe donation options you link are serviceable, but I prefer how quick and anonymous it would be to donate with bitcoin. You don't even have to "like" bitcoin, you can cash out of it and back to dollars in the bank with one click of a mouse on Coinbase. Your move.
Ever considered a portable dishwasher?
ReplyDeleteCountertop models, about half size, cost around $250.
Full-sized portables are on wheels and roll to your sink. I recently saw one at Habitat for Humanity store for $35. It looked almost new but is located 3000 miles from SoCal.
I'd like to accommodate the convenience of Bitcoin for donors, but I worry, as a dissident with well-funded organizations out to get me, about political organizations pointing to any Bitcoin account I'd have to sic the IRS on me. Is there a Bitcoin site that would automatically file 1099 tax statements with the IRS on everything I receive?
ReplyDeleteWould a portable dishwasher fit? They're smaller I think.
ReplyDeleteWe are in a house like yours, but more so. Look for a "portable dishwasher" (rolls around on wheels), they are a Godsend.
ReplyDeleteSteve, let me say that my wife and I understand quite a bit :). Indeed, Mrs. JayMan is the master at stretching a buck. A tip from our experience (which likely will work especially well out where you are): Craigslist and the - Habitat for Humanity ReStore. You'll be amazed what pretty great appliances, large electronics, (and at the ReStore) kitchen cabinets and such you can score cheap - or even free... ;)
ReplyDeleteSecond. After about the third time hauling out our cheapie dishwasher to fix it, my husband declared all new dishwashers, even expensive ones, were garbage and found an older, excuse me, ***vintage***, dishwasher for $20 or $25. Repaired it and haven't had a problem in over 2 years. Of course he's extremely STEM.
DeleteI told him *that* was why I married him.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI'm not an online merchant so I don't know the specifics of this but if you hate the idea of taking receiving bitcoins directly, you might be able to use bitpay. Bitpay will receive bitcoins from customers (in your case, donors) and convert them into USD at current market value and give the the USD to you. This is hypothetical because I haven't tried working with bitpay myself...... but why don't you try this out?
And granite countertops, Steve. Nothing adds value more than granite countertops in a 63-yo ranch. Susan researched this.
ReplyDeleteThe hell with faddy granite. I'd like to live in an all-plastic sci-fi house, and avoid radon and polonium completely.
Why do you have to pay taxes on donations, anyway?
ReplyDeletebecause writing is what generates his income
DeleteAll that hits this blog only is free and by definition generates no income.
DeleteIn a world that hasn't gone completely off its nut you'd be a well paid and respected writer. Thank you for a small voice of sanity. A small contribution is on its way.
ReplyDeleteBill Gates does the dishes himself every night, although it's not clear if he just means he loads the dishwasher or does it by hand:
ReplyDelete"Bill Gates Washes The Dishes Himself Every Night"
http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-washes-the-dishes-every-night-2014-2
Re: Solo cups.
ReplyDeleteMy step-mom and her family is so Cracker that Solo cups are *washed*.
Bill and Hillary didn't pay any tax on the "gifts" to the Monica/Whitewater defense fund.
ReplyDeleteAnd their peeps laundered millions upon millions of dollars into that slush fund.
Steve we need a post addressing your refusal to wash dishes by hand.
ReplyDeleteSteve, write a book; even a collection of your blog posts.
ReplyDeleteSell it through Amazon.
It's an easier way for some of us to contribute.
Anon.
get a coinbase merchant account. People donate bitcoin and it's automatically turned into USD.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you why bitcoin is good. Because unlike other payment methods, I don't have to give my name to anybody to give you money.
I have one of those under-the-counter dishwashers, and I rarely use it. It's so noisy, I can't stand it. I wash dishes by hand, and sometimes my cat helps prep them. Maybe you need a cat, they are thorough and quiet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with those who are suggesting that you start using bitcoin. I think you underestimate how worried people are about being discovered after donating to something that some regard as a 'hate' site. When it comes to privacy these days, I think a lot of people want maximum protection. And right or wrong, bitcoin is seen as offering more privacy protection than anything else. I understand is also particularly easy to make impulse purchases/donations using bitcoin.
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% behind your strategy to eat off disposables. Assuming you cook at home, that is plenty to wash by hand. Pots and pans aren't really disposable. That's enough dish washing for any normal person.
ReplyDeleteCheck's in the mail. Almost.
The caption should read, "My father and me".
ReplyDeleteAnother donation, on the way.
Steve, how much would I have to donate for you to write a post that expressed everything you (we) want to say without mentioning the R word. That's where I'm at, this and other blogs are my life-blood, I don't know how I would have survived the last couple of years 'mentally' if I hadn't been able to access a group of Americans who haven't lost their marbles. And yet....the extremely powerful lobby that runs the West and has brainwashed 2 generations of our youth is NEVER going to go back to the terminology of the past...and why should they, what we are talking about these days is not the same type of classification as in the old days. Just one interesting post where every reference to R is expressed in liberal terminology; ethnicity, geographic ancestry, continental populations.
ReplyDeleteAnd how much would it be for you to keep a post open of the best comments made on your blog, not the full comments, the phrases that have the power to rattle the liberal cage; some examples:
-What we need to get beyond is defining race. The real question is defining what racism is.
- To what extent human variation is continuous rather than discrete is an interesting question, but the really controversial ... claims don't depend on answering it one way or the other.
- the academic reaction to anyone who raises any questions (is) shrill, vituperative, and denunciatory. Rather than feel that I'm listening to an objective scientist, I feel I'm listening to someone defending an ideological position.
-the intellectual standards of biological anthropology have fallen so much that even someone with a doctorate isn't really any more knowledgeable than a good science reporter
-Somehow the field of anthropology went off the rails. It wasn't really about dead people, was it?
etc. I don't think I am being subjective, I think some comments are objectively worth highlighting. And I think it would help the pursuit of reasoned thinking to bring to the fore the sensible, debatable points made by people who visit here.
Well, I'll send a cheque anyway in the hope that one day conservatives will realise that liberals are winning only because they are better at word games.
Go find real work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your work Steve! I read yourself and Buchanan for a sane perspective of culture & politics.
ReplyDeleteYou do excellent work, and it sounds like your wife has suffered long enough with that old kitchen. I will happily send in a donation.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhat I can promise is that home improvements will contribute to Steve's productivity.
That wife of yours is the cat's meow, Steve.
Looks like it's impossible to donate from outside the US right now. At least for me in France, Google Wallet seems to be usable only in Google Play, to pay for apps and such, and maybe also at online stores. There's no PayPal-like payment option that I can see.
ReplyDeleteGood work Steve, I have continued guilt and want to pass some fiat money your way, but I'm lazy.
ReplyDeleteIn the past you had an Amazon.com way that was easy for me, why don't you have that any longer?
Let me tell you why bitcoin is good. Because unlike other payment methods, I don't have to give my name to anybody to give you money.
ReplyDeleteYou could mail him a money order.
I really wish I lived nearby. The best way to go without renovating the whole kitchen would probably be lifting the countertop and raising it an inch and making up the gap by lifting the cabinets or covering it with molding. I'd have to be there. I was well taught by a father who could never afford to fully renovate anything, but he could doctor anything.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get an Ikea kitchen, my wife is too much of a snob, but it looks like a very easy system for a DIYer. Consider it if you ever do renovate.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to stay in that house for a long time before selling it, be aware that a fifteen year old kitchen is not much more valuable than a 70 year old one. Something to consider, if finances dictate that you watch every dollar.
ReplyDeleteThe reason doing the dishes by hand is such a pain is because most people don't have a double sink - one for rinsing (still a pretty weak method since some soap will remain, and who wants diarrhea) and you need counter space for a drying rack. You could disconnect all the plumbing and electric from the old dishwasher and use it as a drying rack and cabinet, which you can enjoy in your new bachelorhood.
ReplyDeleteDishwashers save time, water and energy.
ReplyDeleteDahlia, you certainly will wash the 24oz solo cups. They are often hard to find. They are better than the standard 16oz variety because you can put two beers in them before you get in the car.
ReplyDeleteAnd, in my house, loading the dishwasher means getting the wife drunk.
I used that line a few times back when I had my kitchen design studio. Most of my potential customers did not find it as funny as I do.
Lol! My step-mom would just soak them in sudsy water, then rinse, no scrubbing. They were always stained brown inside from sweet tea. Used them until they started tearing. By redneck standards, this is low.
DeleteWould Steve back amnesty and espouse open borders if some backer paid him enough?
ReplyDeleteHey...you live in California...
ReplyDeleteI thought all the white people have a Mexican to do the dishes?
How about we rob the rich Libs?
ReplyDeleteAnd it would be morally okay since Libs always tell us that rich folks have too much wealth and privilege and that equality is what we all need.
So, we should all go robin hood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkhx0eqK5w
"Dishwashers save time, water and energy."
ReplyDeleteMexican ones certainly.
Hear, hear, accolades, appreciation, and best wishes for Mrs. Sailer.
ReplyDeleteI'd donate to you but the liberals might get me fired.
ReplyDelete>> Unless you wash twice a day, you're going to have a sink with dirty dishes that attract ants.
ReplyDeleteWhich takes ==how== long? 5 minutes per wash?
Steve works at home, but can't wash dishes from 5 meals (3 for himself, 2 for wife) a day?
This is why I cut my donation in half.
Donations are gifts. The receiver doesn't need to pay income tax. If he didn't have a legal/enforceable right to receive it.... it wasn't "income".
ReplyDeleteSteve, would you please stop using shiksa tax preparers?!?
>> I'm 100% behind your strategy to eat off disposables
ReplyDeleteI eat off of newspapers (then throw away). Gently-used newspapers are very clean.
I eat off of newspapers (then throw away). Gently-used newspapers are very clean.
ReplyDeleteRight...this is where I start to wonder about Aspie Isteveoids lurking in basements etc.
I don't know how I would have survived the last couple of years 'mentally' if I hadn't been able to access a group of Americans who haven't lost their marbles.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - but some of us are Brits (and others too). FYI.
Donations are gifts. The receiver doesn't need to pay income tax. If he didn't have a legal/enforceable right to receive it.... it wasn't "income".
ReplyDeleteEven if thats true. . . with the agents of oppression sniffing around looking for chances to attack perhaps paying income tax is a necessary tribute. Don't give them an excuse. Maybe later, when times are better, then some/all could be claimed back legitimately?
Hard to believe anyone would use disposable cups and plates rather than hand wash in a sink. My wife's jaw hit the floor when I told her.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking that but then it's only those specifics I'm guessing. Not bigger dishes, pans etc Not cutlery, mugs, bowls etc
Maybe I'm giving the issue too much thought? :-)
You'll miss those paper plates when things get really bad and we're all scooping beans into our mouths from communal troughs.
ReplyDeleteCommunal troughs? Luxury!
My family has never used the dishwasher in any of the places we lived because my mother has some prejudice against them I've never seen fit to fight about. Unless there are severe water usage restrictions or the cost of producing hot water is too high, I find it hard to believe using disposable dishes and such is less expensive than just washing by hand.
ReplyDeleteI can appreciate the need for the pledge drive but is a dishwasher really essential compared to most other major appliances?
I'm shocked--you eat off paper plates and out of plastic cups (or "disposables," or whatever you call them)? That's revolting--it's disrepectful of food. It's barbaric and uncivilized.
ReplyDeleteUnless you're at a picnic or you just moved in or are in an emergency of some sort, there's no excuse. Washing dishes by hand takes only a few minutes more than rinsing them and loading them in a dishwasher--and if you have kids, isn't that what kids are for? A plastic dishpan (try Target)subs adequately for a double sink.
I'm a writer and I work at home, and I manage to wash dishes and also get stuff done. And if you want to see a primitive kitchen, you should see mine. Our house falls into the category "charming mid-century modern" because it was built in 1962 and has a tiny, just barely eat-in kitchen. Sometime in the 1970s, when property values had sunk to strange new lows in our neighborhood because of the nearby housing projects, some former owners did a really cheapo DIY kitchen-remodeling. So the cruddy formica countertops that shed wood-chips underneath don't line up to anything. There's a dishwasher, but the formica top above it has caved (or never fit in the first place, so when you close the dishwasher, you have to hold a knife under the countertop and you get a little pile of wood-chips for your efforts. So we never use the dishwasher, and I have no idea whether it actually works. (We did get a new stove in 2006 after the old stove went bust--but the 1970s fridge is made of iron and chugs along perfectly, even though the plastic thingamajig for butter inside is labeled "spreads"--from the margarine-is-good-for-you era). Oh, and did I mention the fake-brick-pattern linoleum floor?
Nonetheless because I love to cook, I pride myself and managing to turn out excellent meals nearly every single night (we hardly ever eat out)on about six inches of counter space and serve them up on real plates with real knives and forks. Real glasses with stems for the wine. And cloth napkins. And we eat by candlelight (one candle because our kitchen table is so tiny). If we can do this and I can still manage to get writing done, so can you.
Yes I'd love to haul in the granite tops and the revolving kitchen shelves and the sub-Zero if we could afford it, but it really is possible to lead a civilized life without such things. And there is no excuse for not doing so.
I'm shocked, shocked to read this. This is like those "pickup advice" men's sites that I occasionally read. There was one favorite of mine whose author seemed to be a cultivated connoisseur of literature, art, etc. Then I saw a photo of him in his real-life identity, and he turned out to be a squat bulb-head with a low-class beard-and-mustache combo. And this guy presumed to be rating women!
I'm disillusioned.
That's where we come in...
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised, too, but not disillusioned; most men don't care. Mrs. Sailer sounds like she cares, but has been a good and gracious sport. All heart.
I eat off of newspapers (then throw away). Gently-used newspapers are very clean.
ReplyDeleteI too love to use newspapers, as does my entire family.
We find that the ink that bleeds into the food adds a unique soupcon simply not replicable with the palette of spices available even to the most sophisticated cook.
And the kids love to turn over their food and enjoy the pictures and text imprinted on it. The text is especially great fun because it's a mirror image. They turn it into a game in which they race to be the first to decipher what it says. We think of it as part of their home schooling.
And the best part is how they gobble it all up after they finish! And to think that they had always been such picky eaters!
I'm disillusioned.
ReplyDeleteNot me, though I'd love to afford the time to live like you do. Time gets to be the biggest expense. Choices have to be made. I'm a red cup guy myself. One of these days when I get my act completely together I'll do it right, or so I like to pretend.
Unless you wash twice a day, you're going to have a sink with dirty dishes that attract ants.
ReplyDeleteThen spray the pile of dirty dishes with RAID once or twice a week.
Duh.
Didn't any of y'all attend college?
I suppose it's impolite to judge someone for using disposable dishes rather washing dishes in the sink. But on the other hand, Steve has made a career off of impolite but accurate observations. He's also observed that public shaming is an effective means of social regulation. So, in the interests of protecting the environment from further waste, I hereby agree with others that you ought to be washing dishes rather than using disposables!
ReplyDelete...24oz solo cups... They are better than the standard 16oz variety because you can put two beers in them before you get in the car.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you advocating, Sir???
Never put more than a beer and a half (~20oz.) in a 24oz cup before getting in the car.
You WILL spill it.
Trust me.
why can't you wash dishes by hand? I didn't have an apartment with a dishwasher until 2005. I survived.
ReplyDeleteSteve actually needs much more that just a remodeled kitchen. He has an expense that normal families don't have. He has to build and furnish a 'hidey hole'.
ReplyDeleteSteve has a wife and kids. He is on the Attorney General's secret list of troublemakers. If a Rodney King size disturbance were to hit LA he would be wise to go live in his hidey hole for a week or so. Just to be safe.
This is how it might work. The Southern Poverty Law Center or the Department of Justice - both of whom have Steve's' home address - give it to a couple of the local leaders of the rioters with instructions to use it as they see fit.
That is probably just a paranoid fantasy of mine that shows only that my brain is going soft, but if I had a wife and kids to protect, I would still think about it.
So give Steve some money for his kitchen but also some for secret hidey hole too.
Pat Boyle
If you do get a remodel I would advise you to pull out all the low counters.
ReplyDeleteI rebuilt the bathroom myself and it has never given any more trouble. My wife hired contractors for her kitchen and it has been no end of trouble.
One thing she did - at great expense - was to have low counters installed. She was 13" shorter that me. So our ideas of what was an appropriate counter height differed.
Now I have counter tops under which I can only fit Swedish European style appliances. Swedish appliances are pig excrement. They cost twice as much and break down twice as often. I'm handy as hell. I can fix anything - but I can't fix Swedish appliances. Nor can anyone else it seems. If something stops working you have to throw the old one out an buy a whole new one. In kitchen appliances - buy American is a good policy.
Pat Boyle
Steve, I had the same dishwasher problem and asked the Lowes.com Web guys to add a "sort by dimensions" feature to appliances.
ReplyDeleteIt took them a week and has been up for about two months now.
I found the dishwasher that fit.
"why can't you wash dishes by hand?"
ReplyDeleteBecause there is a toiling wife with a grievance in the kitchen, and knives to hand.
_ _ _
Steve, this post is terrible marketing. You're creating the impression your line of work is a fast track to being unable cover the basic necessities.
The stuff about seeing movie stars in a grocery store, and scoffing at their otherworldly juiced up physique is the kind of thing you want to talk about.
Making a Donation to Sailer is a War on Not Noticing.
ReplyDelete"I'm shocked--you eat off paper plates and out of plastic cups. It's barbaric and uncivilized."
ReplyDeleteMy, don't get your knickers in a knot.
"there's no excuse. Washing dishes by hand takes only a few minutes more than rinsing them and loading them in a dishwasher--and if you have kids, isn't that what kids are for?"
Don't be silly...kids are for dirtying the dishes.
"I'm a writer and I work at home, and I manage to wash dishes and also get stuff done"
Mrs. S works outside the home and Mr. S is a man. Men are terrible at multitasking. It's called HBD.
"I pride myself and managing to turn out excellent meals nearly every single night and serve them up on real plates with real knives and forks. Real glasses with stems for the wine. And cloth napkins. And we eat by candlelight If we can do this and I can still manage to get writing done, so can you."
Not if they are mere mortals.
Snark aside, some people truly have more energy than others. It's called HBD. You are blessed.
"I'm shocked--you eat off paper plates and out of plastic cups (or "disposables," or whatever you call them)? That's revolting--it's disrepectful of food. It's barbaric and uncivilized."
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am shocked too, but for different reasons. Why doesn't Sailer declare himself an artist? He could sell stuff in his kitchen for millions of dollars.
Tracy Emin will get 2 million for an unmade bed.
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/27/tracey-emins-my-bed-installation-for-sale
"I'm shocked, shocked to read this."
ReplyDeleteSailer is ahead of his time. Remember that most of us have to get ready for regression to the bean.
"That's revolting--it's disrepectful of food. It's barbaric and uncivilized."
ReplyDeleteSailer's kitchen is a war on etiquette.
I have a simple system. I just have one dish, one fork, one etc, etc. on the rack.
ReplyDeleteThat way, I'm forced to wash stuff right away. If you leave lots of dishes on the rack, you keep piling stuff in the sink.
http://blogstupidgirl.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/you-can-lead-a-man-to-a-more-equitable-distribution-of-household-chores-but-you-cant-make-him-do-them/
ReplyDeleteYou don't need plates of any kind.
ReplyDeleteJust paper wrapper will do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejr9KBQzQPM
http://youtu.be/9pzm1lQX0qU
Mrs. S works outside the home and Mr. S is a man. Men are terrible at multitasking. It's called HBD.
ReplyDeleteYes, men are genetically preprogrammed to be incapable of doing the dishes. Good Lord. This is the kind of thing people who are making fun of hereditarianism say, not a serious hereditarian claim.
- A man who hand-washes his and his wife's dishes, son of a man who does the same
Yo, I pitched in. Cheers from the best of the big square states!
ReplyDeleteThere is a rather large and enthusiastic "conservative" book buying public. Why not write a book that people want to buy and read? Then you could make money, rather than beg for money. And if the reason you don't is because you must remain true to your "principles" and are incapable of writing anything "popular," then don't complain about being less well off than you and your wife would like.
ReplyDeleteI quoted you this morning in a blog post, and then realized that I hadn't actually read you in a long time. Came here to read, found your candid description of your lifestyle/wifestyle, and had to donate.
ReplyDeleteWe little writers tend to believe that big writers make big money, so they don't need our help.
Good to be reminded that big POPULAR writers make big money, but big UNPOPULAR writers don't. It's the UNPOPULAR writers who need our help.
It's not particularly expensive to raise a countertop in most cases. Also, consider that "Vintage" 60s and 70s dishwashers are often better built and clean better than the modrn ones and can be refurbished for a couple hundred bucks most of the time.
ReplyDelete"Good to be reminded that big POPULAR writers make big money, but big UNPOPULAR writers don't. It's the UNPOPULAR writers who need our help."
ReplyDeleteNo, a small amount of big popular writers make big money.
Even most popular-writers make peanuts. With the rise of internet and amateur journalism, lots of professional film critics have lost their jobs, even those who've written for a long time and have great name recognition in the film world.
It is a time when journalists all over--even mainstream ones--are feeling very anxious.
With Google owning just about everything, future of written journalism will be a bunch of guys writing for the Brins of the world.
Subscription used to be key to journalism. Today, it's traffic. Traffic on the net determines ad revenues, and Google has the corner(and everything else) on it.
Sailer should write a most un-PC autobio.
ReplyDeleteHe should write about how he was a promising conservative journalist and film critic... but then National Review fell into hands of Neocons, and he was targeted by the likes of Brooks and Podhoretz and etc.
How people like him and Derb got axed. How the culture of journalism changed. How free speech changed in his lifetime. What happened to conservatism since REagan and Thatcher,and etc.
It will at least generate buzz and will be a good record of what has happened to conservatism.
People like to see issues PERSONALIZED. So, Sailer can discuss various issues in relation to his love of golf(or golf courses), his feelings about Bush and housing bubble(and what he witnessed in LA), his trips to Mexico past and present, his arguments with various personalities such as freakonomics guy and Jared Diamond the Meathead, and etc.
Personalize the views. I thought much of RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING by Buchanan was pretty nuts but it was fun cuz we saw the forces that made Buchanan what he is.
Sailer can also discuss his biggest mistakes. #1 is surely making a fuss about iSteve for Steve Jobs book. He should have been mum about that, and lots of people would have ended up at Sailer site by accident while searching for the Jobs book.
Why is Glenn Beck so popular? Because he personalizes everything. He Dave-Berried politics. Same with Mencken. He was a big personality.
So, Sailer needs to brush up on Saileristics and Sailerisms.
The autobio can also have a series of lists compiled by Sailer over the yrs. List of dumb things said about race. List of why housing bubble happened.
The book can also be funny cuz people like politics mixed with humor and satire.
And he can use one of his kid photos in Norman Rockwell fashion for the cover.
Or how about The Sailer Cook Book and Fine Dining with Styrofoam Plates and Plastic Cups?
ReplyDeleteMaybe Sailer can write a book called ADVENTURES IN GOLF. In this book, he would use golf as metaphor for the world. He would draw lessons from golf to illustrate the game theory and various stuff.
ReplyDeleteHe could also mention sports and how they relate to national culture and character.
Everyone loves to read about sports. So, sports and culture and politics make good mix.
How about
ReplyDeleteBattle Hymn of the Plastic Cup Dad?
People love stuff that sounds self-help-ish.
or a book called
ReplyDeleteWHITE GUYS ARE THE STORY OF THE BRAVERY OF STYROFOAM PLATES.