Modern standard of living

Fuck yes, science.

Just think about it. In a few centuries we have easily doubled our lifespan. Infant mortality, death from influenza and diarrhea are down, we have stady heated houses, we don't suffer from malnutrition from an unbalanced diet. Almost everyone can read, and more these days, with computers. We know every square kilometer of the earth, and if you have the means, you can be on the other side of the globe in a matter of days, even just hours if you're really loaded.

The developement isn't spread evenly (though it has spread somewhat, you can get cell phones in Africa), it has caused hiccups here and there, and it's somewhat unsustainable in its current form, but seriously, life has changed radically by the decade. I wouldn't live at any other time but today, except maybe tomorrow.

I think about this a fair amount, too. Well, one thing I also do is to think about, when in a house dating to the 50's or 60's, is "Just how different is our life now from when this was new?", and I ultimately decide that it is better.

The average middle class American teen who complains about how "hard" their life is should always keep in mind how good they have it, and how far we've come.

edited 27th Sep '10 1:32:05 PM by frog753

Well, one thing I also do is to think about, when in a house dating to the 50's or 60's, is "Just how different is our life now from when this was new?", and I ultimately decide that it is better.

It amuses me that old houses make you do that, when I live in a three-story Edwardian house and the only obvious technological difference is that the electrical outlets are two-prong, and the bathrooms have none.

The house I live in was built in the 1920's. As Rott said — the biggest difference is in the number of electrical outlets and phone jacks — the living room has one phone jack. The kitchen has one. There are no others in the house. There are two standard two-plug electrical outlets in each of the bedrooms, three in the kitchen, and three in the living room, and one in the hallway. The bathroom has one single plug-in — built-into the light fixture above the sink.

The other big difference is the number and size of the windows: Right now I'm sitting in a 10x10 foot back bedroom, that has windows that are nearly three feet wide on two walls. The living room is twenty feet long and 13 feet wide, and has 8 feet of windows on one short wall and 13 feet of windows on one long wall. All of them can be opened to get the outside air. Even though a central air conditioner was installed about 20 years ago, I only need it in the hottest part of the summer — I can keep the house comfortable by changing which windows are open and how far.

Twelve Visions Party has a chart.

edited 27th Sep '10 2:19:19 PM by secretist

@Madrugada:

Even though a central air conditioner was installed about 20 years ago, I only need it in the hottest part of the summer — I can keep the house comfortable by changing which windows are open and how far.

Thanks for catching that! Yes, these old houses were designed for a world without air conditioners, so you can maintain a much lower ecological footprint. I can also leave off the natural gas except in the coldest weather by dressing like men did when this house was built, throwing on a sweater and wool sport coat when it's cold.

I need to run the heater more than I like, because all those lovely windows also just radiate cold into the rooms during the winter. I could go a long way to solving that with lined curtains (as would have been standard when the house was built), but I haven't bought them yet.

Also — I was mistaken there are four electric outlets in the living room — one in the middle of each wall.

^^ Secretist, that link has absolutely nothing to do with anything we're talking about. Why do you do that?

edited 27th Sep '10 4:24:56 PM by Madrugada

I could go a long way to solving that with lined curtains (as would have been standard when the house was built), but I haven't bought them yet.

You don't? But that's the whole trick to keeping warm with so many square feet of windows. They need lined clothes in winter just as you do!

edited 27th Sep '10 6:47:14 PM by Rottweiler

But they're just expensive enough to not fit in the budget in one go — Just for the living room I'd need six sets of single-window curtains. That's 12 individual panels — the least-expensive decent-quality lined curtains ones around here start at 25.00 a panel. So they're working their way up the "next I buy" list. I've only owned the house for four years, and I've already checked off

• Paint the exterior,
• replace the fuse box with a larger breaker box,
• Install gutter shields to get rid of Lake Madrugada in the basement every time it rained heavily,
• seal off the old, unused chimney,
• replace the refrigerator, and
• redo the garage door so the birds can't get in anymore.

Still on the list below the drapes are

• redo the parking area off the alley (the asphalt is crumbling and city code says I can't just fix it — it has to be concrete if I change it)
• New water heater,
• new furnace (seventeen years old and I'm holding my breath for this winter...) It may get bumped above the curtains...
• Paint the interior
• redo the kitchen
• redo the bathroom, and
• new basement stairs.

edited 27th Sep '10 9:08:01 PM by Madrugada