October, 2004:
accumulating obsolescence

In the past I've confessed to being a somewhat anachronistic, even retrograde, technology enthusiast. Just what that means isn't fully clear, but it basically comes down to being more than just a bit ambivalent about adopting new technologies. On the one hand I try not to rush into using the latest invention, knowing full well that as things already stand I hardly make use of what's available to me. But on the other, a glimpse at the technologies I've accumulated over the years makes it very clear that I often try to place myself clearly on the pioneering side of the adoption of new tools. As though I needed to be reminded of that, cleaning out the attic of our home brought me face to face with that truth.

Among the many items that confronted me as I tried to clean out the attic were more than a handful of tools that bore witness to the fact that, even if I perhaps thought that I wasn't overly gung-ho about new technologies, over the years I kept myself busy accumulating a great deal of these. Some, perhaps surprisingly, actually got thrown out when they stopped being functional. Others waited patiently for me to once again discover them. Each was an adventure, a glimpse into a surprisingly distant past of only a few years ago.