Keeping up with technology and the regret of letting go.

[pmccarthy]

Yesterday I bought a new TV set and the man from Hardly Normal will deliver it today and take away our old one. The old one is a 15-year-old plasma which burned a lot of electricity and lately has had intermittent sound, though it was always fixed by turning it off and on again. I am feeling a lot of regret about sending it off, like losing a pet dog or cat. Is this feeling a general thing? I have a ten-transistor radio and a portable reel to reel tape recoder from the 1960s that I cannot seem to let go. And to be truthful, many other devices in drawers and cupboards that i will never use again but cannot part with.

Is this a common feeling, or symptom of being a hoarder? Perhaps it is related to the nostalgia for old things that fills my shed with old cars and motorbikes. They probably cause me more stress in maintenance than they give me pleasure in driving.

[onetrack]

You're a hoarder. Admit it, it's the first step along the road to rehabilitation.  Take comfort in the fact you belong to a huge club. Practically every garage attached to every home is full of hoarded items that the owner will never use.

 

You need my missus to spend some time with you. She hoards nothing of value (apart from clothes and shoes, of course ). We have a good arrangement, I hoard stuff, and she comes along regularly, and says. "This is getting thrown out".

 

So she throws it out, and I have to take a good hard look at it when she isn't watching, to determine if it really is worth hoarding, or if it can go.

 

If I determine it's really worth keeping, it goes to my main workshop, 4kms away, where she never steps foot in, and it's safe forever. 

 

One of the problems with hoarding is trying to determine if it will be used again within 10 or 15 years, or if it will just gather dust and take up room until you die and it then gets thrown out.

And the main problem is having someone with knowledge casting a critical eye over the item to determine whether it's good for parts, or if it can ever be repaired, or if it's even economic to repair.

 

We've got a big Wertheim vacuum cleaner, and the motor burnt out on it last week. I was going to scrap it - then I spotted one locally, getting thrown out for free - and the motor is still good in it.

So I went and grabbed it yesterday for the motor, and now I've got a job and a half, making one out of the two. I hope it pans out, otherwise I'll continue with my original plan to scrap the lot.

But I did offer up the vacuum cleaner parts on Gumtree before I found the one going for free. And I've already got one bloke who wants the wand and hose, so there's obviously plenty of us hoarders and fixers out there.

 

It's interesting to see the drive for repairable manufactured goods is gaining pace. I think it's a good thing, but it can't gather pace unless there's a supply of parts, repair information from manufacturers, and people with repair abilities.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46797396

 

Edited July 13, 2021 by onetrack

[red750]

OT, I'm in the opposite situation. My wife is the hoarder. Has piles of junk and old furniture that came from her mother's unit 10 years ago. Her mother has been dead for 5 years, but she won't part with anything. And the amount of junk she has bought off eBay or Facebook would fill a warehouse. Just try throwing something out, even if it no longer works. "That's mine - I paid for that!" Tried cleaning up her ensuite. Found a pile of women's magazines - New Idea and Woman's Day, etc. Dated 2008 - 2010. "You can't throw them out - they're mine". And yet, I'm not allowed to keep anything. "Clean up that mess - get rid of those aircraft magazines ." (not that I have any or have bought any for over 10 years.)

[octave]

For quite a few years now I have been the opposite of a hoarder.   These days I tend to think a lot about what I buy and usually get rid of things that I do not use.  Sometimes this does backfire when a suddenly find I need an item that I have let go in the past.  Generally I like having fewer possessions but the possessions I have  are the ones that I genuinely treasure.   I have friends that have an enormous quantity of possession. We helped them move house once. The next time they told us they were moving house we informed them that we were busy that weekend, we didn't know which weekend they were moving but we were quite certain we would be busy.

 

Hanging on to stuff is fine if these possessions give you pleasure, if not they may as well be giving someone else pleasure. 

[Dax]

3 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

Is this a common feeling, or symptom of being a hoarder? Perhaps it is related to the nostalgia for old things that fills my shed with old cars and motorbikes. They probably cause me more stress in maintenance than they give me pleasure in driving.

I've got a lot of stuff over the last 20+ years around my property, in my house it's mostly musical gear, including guitars have had some for 5 decades and there are 15 of them which I refuse to sell. Have to stop myself buying more as I love the difference in play ability and tone they all produce.

 

My front room which has the best view in the house overlooking the southern ocean is overflowing with drums, PA's, keyboards. saxophones and lots of other music gear. Had to put it all out there because it was becoming impossible to play comfortably in my studio, but the studio is also full of gear I always use when recording and jamming, so it stays.

 

This is the longest I've ever lived in one place and in the past when I moved, which was very frequently, sold or gave everything away and started again, except for my guitars and music gear. Sometimes think I'm a hoarder, but one look at my neighbours house and know I'm not. She collects so much stuff, you can't move in most of her house and the majority of it is clothes and trinkets.

 

One good thing, farms generally have lots of stuff lying around, so don't feel out of place with the junk on my place.

[willedoo]

I'm going through that transition from hoarder to realist at the the moment. Basically sorting and packing to move after more than thirty years in the one spot. The goal is to get the move down to one 20' container. Stuff you would never normally part with is going to the dump or being given away. For a hoarder/bower bird, it's a big learning curve, but also liberating in a way. Sorting through the shed, I even found my black, chisel toe, half cuban heel shoes from when I was 14 yo. Probably a collector's item now. I still have stuff from when I was a kid in the 50's and 60's like my first saddle from when I was about three year old, first bridle, first pocket knife etc..

 

There's a fine line between hoarding and collecting; it's a matter of trying to learn where that line is.

Edited July 13, 2021 by willedoo

[Old Koreelah]

9 hours ago, pmccarthy said:

…Is this a common feeling, or symptom of being a hoarder? Perhaps it is related to the nostalgia for old things that fills my shed with old cars and motorbikes. They probably cause me more stress in maintenance than they give me pleasure in driving.

PM it seems we share the same malady with millions of others. I have every computer I ever owned and quite a few other machines that don’t get much use, but I wanted them a long time and worked hard to get them, so tossing them is not an option.

 

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

…If I determine it's really worth keeping, it goes to my main workshop, 4kms away, where she never steps foot in, and it's safe forever…

My shed is almost full of part-repaired items and bits and pieces that might one day be useful. I do a lot of improvising and find a significant proportion of the “junk” eventually comes in handy. In fact, most of my projects would not have been possible without access to this rich lode of pre-used treasures.

 

5 hours ago, octave said:

…These days I tend to think a lot about what I buy and usually get rid of things that I do not use.  Sometimes this does backfire when a suddenly find I need an item that I have let go in the past.  Generally I like having fewer possessions but the possessions I have  are the ones that I genuinely treasure.

An excellent way to be, Octave. 

I’m a Buddhist at heart and have a vague plan to renounce all material possessions… after I’ve accumulated a few more of them!

 

I’m currently half-way thru building a small camper trailer and we’re really looking forward to getting it on the road in October. On deep self-analysis, I must admit a major attraction is that we’ll be living in a simple home without all the clutter.

[willedoo]

Plan A at the moment is to just keep necessary personal gear and that with nostalgia and meaning. Plus the aviation related gear of course. Broken down old tools and gear that are no use any more are being dumped to make way for the important stuff.

[spacesailor]

Like that " Atari game console " that we all dumped !.

Just sold fot $ millions !. LoL

spacesailor

[spacesailor]

OOOPS l got that wrong !.

A Nintendo Super Mario 64. Sold at auction for $A 2.09 million.

It was an ' unopened copy  ' , 

AND

My wife calls them junk. Amiga 500 starter pack unused, l,ve only got a couple, with a heap of software.

Now where is that auction house. LoL

spacesailor

 

[Old Koreelah]

In keeping with this thread’s title, what about those who wish to retain older, proven technologies in case the new-fangled stuff fails?

During electrical blackouts, who has hand tools available? An old Kero lamp? A land-line telephone? A wood stove and water heater? Gravity-fed water when the pressure pump doesn’t work? 

[facthunter]

Older electrical stuff will often keep popping the earth return relays. It's  a science knowing how to preserve stuff. A  single rusted tooth on a gear will make it useless. There's great art and beauty in many "older" things. A lot of hoarders destroy things by not looking after them in storage. Most good mechanical stuff is ruined as authentic by the ignorant way it's "restored" A well restored item  should be as close to not restored as possible. Nev

[octave]

In terms of blackouts at my current residence I have not had one blackout in the 4.5 years I have lived here, so it not a common occurrence, s at least in this area.  Of course it pays to be prepared, to this end we have various lights that trickle charge when required and then come on automatically if the power supply is interrupted. I don't have a landline but I would assume during the typical power cut the mobile network doesn't go down (as far as I know)   my phone is usually well charged but I can also charge it from my bike battery if necessary.    As for power tools, and just speaking from my personal perspective, I am not likely to attempt DYI in a power cut.  Most of my power tools are battery powered and in any case and I am always looking for an opportunity  to  procrastinate when it comes to handyman tasks.     

[pmccarthy]

Mums old Sunbeam mixmaster tripped the breakers so I threw it out. I regret it, should have kept it on a shelf as an ornament.

[Old Koreelah]

43 minutes ago, pmccarthy said:

Mums old Sunbeam mixmaster tripped the breakers so I threw it out. I regret it, should have kept it on a shelf as an ornament.

This is the one you need to keep:

[Dax]

1 hour ago, octave said:

I don't have a landline but I would assume during the typical power cut the mobile network doesn't go down (as far as I know) 

I'm off grid, so don't suffer power failures, but they have a lot of power interruptions in our area because of the massive winds we tend to get. When that happens, after a few hours the internet wifi and Ph goes down. Got rid of my landline a long time ago and moved to voip until they upgraded mobiles in the area. At one time you'd hear cars driving up my road to the end so they could use their phones when there was only telstra here, I used to walk up the hill on my place to use my mobile. When optus arrived we had a signal everywhere so most people changed. Then Telstra upgraded, sent a propaganda truck down here to try to get everyone to switch back, but companies using the optus network are still way cheaper than telstra and now seem to have a better network round Tas.

 

As for old technology, still have my cameras and a pope washing machine in my workshop, used for washing rags, centrifuge  and filter parts etc and that must be well over 60 years old, still plugs away. Got it from the transfer station and was going to use the s/s drum. But noticed a wire had been either eaten through or just got old, rewired it and off it went and that was about 15 years ago.  A bloke in our town has a bar fridge which is so old, it has a really small cooler but still works. 

[spacesailor]

Optus charges 13 months PA, & Telstra is a 12 month bill.

spacesailor

[Marty_d]

3 hours ago, Dax said:

 

As for old technology, still have my cameras and a pope washing machine in my workshop...

That's taking preparedness a bit far isn't it?  Don't think this one has visited Tasmania.

Still, good that you're ready to take photos of him being washed if he does.

[spacesailor]

I also have an ' enlarger ' The kids over wound the timer clock & broke the spring, they thought it was great that you could make it ring at any set time.

BUT couldn,t understand It's 'silver salts ' that make the B & W pictures.

And the first None film camera was " Sony " on a small floppy !. 

spacesailor

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, Marty_d said:

That's taking preparedness a bit far isn't it?  Don't think this one has visited Tasmania.

Still, good that you're ready to take photos of him being washed if he does.

I've never heard of a pope washing machine; it must be a new thing. I know they used to get people to do his feet the old way.

[Dax]

11 hours ago, spacesailor said:

Optus charges 13 months PA, & Telstra is a 12 month bill.

I use independent resellers of optus, which charge monthly, not 28 days and it costs me $12 a month for all calls and text, plus 6G data and use Signal to talk and communicate overseas.

 

8 hours ago, willedoo said:

I've never heard of a pope washing machine; it must be a new thing. I know they used to get people to do his feet the old way

Pope used to make washing machines, fridges, lawnmowers and even rotary clothes lines way back.

[onetrack]

The Pope family originally came from Northam in W.A. and moved to S.A., where they started manufacturing sprinklers and irrigation products in the late 1920's.

Unfortunately, their timing was off, and the Great Depression wiped out their initial company, which was liquidated. So they simply started up again and were going well, when WW2 started.

As with so many Australian companies in the WW2 era, if they could get Govt and Defence manufacturing contracts, it was manna from heaven. Pope made a fortune during WW2, making Defence products.

After WW2, the company profited from the post-WW2 rebuilding and expansion boom. They made everything - from sprinklers to toys to electric motors to lawnmowers and washing machines, and even TV's!

Rising manufacturing costs and increased competition saw corporate amalgamations with Simpson, then Email, then Electrolux - and now the company is owned by Toro, and has simply reverted back to lawn and garden watering products.

 

https://www.popeproducts.com.au/about-us

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Products

[facthunter]

I've still got a Pope lawn mower stacked away and a completely new (never run) engine (not the same model,)(From my lawnmower repair activities in a past life. Nev

[willedoo]

14 hours ago, Dax said:

Pope used to make washing machines, fridges, lawnmowers and even rotary clothes lines way back.

Sorry Dax, didn't mean to confuse the issue. I was referring to the pope with the pointy hat who lives in the vatican. I've heard of the first three products but didn't know they made clothes lines.

Edited July 16, 2021 by willedoo

[willedoo]

6 hours ago, onetrack said:

As with so many Australian companies in the WW2 era, if they could get Govt and Defence manufacturing contracts, it was manna from heaven. Pope made a fortune during WW2, making Defence products.

It's interesting how some of those companies diversified into defence contracts. Some very unlikely companies got contracts. One of the more well known was Playtex who went from making bras to developing and manufacturing the Apollo spacesuits. Some American flight helmets were made by the Shelby Shoe Company. Can't remember which ones, might have been Korean War era. I think most of the Vietnam War era helmets were made by Gentex and Sierra.