Back in 2001 or 2002 my then-employer gave me an iPod for Christmas. It was new technology, expensive, and extravagant. I was shocked, pleasantly so. It was the 2 gigabyte model, which housed a ludicrous amount of music. How could it be possible?! It seemed almost like voodoo.
Of course I have an 80 gig model now, and that original iPod is like a relic from a forgotten era. But I still use it, almost every day. I don’t want to take my big honkin’ iPod to work, so I take the small one. I load it up with old time radio shows, podcasts, and some music. I also listen to audio books, and that sort of thing. That second-generation (or whatever) iPod has served me well.
But I think it’s dying. The battery doesn’t hold a charge for long, and I have to keep plugging it in at work. Previously, I was able to make it through a whole 10-hour shift, but now I can barely get through an episode of The Adam Carolla Show, without having to take another hit off the charger.
That’s how they die, right? The battery stops working? It’s sad, watching the decline. That thing is an old friend. We’ve been through a lot together, and now it’s infirm, and will probably fall in the shower soon, and explode a hip. Then the pneumonia will set in, and it’ll be the end o’ the road. You know, metaphorically speaking.
It sucks. Maybe I can get it stuffed, and mounted? Do you guys know of any good obsolete technology taxidermists? Any help you can provide will be appreciated.
Do you feel heartbroken when a piece of gadgetry dies? I get attached to things like that, and it bothers me when they go to that big dresser drawer in the sky. What about you? Please tell us about it.
I also feel weird when I trade in a car — even if the car is a giant piece of shit. I owned a Hyundai Excel years ago, that had been reliable and trustworthy until it passed the 100,000 mile mark. Then it started falling apart. Every month, it seemed, I had to put money into it. Plus, it leaked oil, and caused me all manner of headaches.
But when I traded it for an almost-new Mazda Protege, I felt kinda depressed. Just for a little while, though. Maybe an hour or two. That junker needed to go straight to the crusher, but we had a history. We’d been partners for a long time. Ya know?
Same with apartments, and houses. I get a weird feeling in my gut when I move out of one, even if the new situation is better.
My parents are the exact opposite of this. They don’t feel a thing. Not a sentimental bone in their bodies… They cleaned out my grandmother’s house, after the dementia took hold, and filled a dumpster with her stuff. I was aghast. They did save a few odds and ends, and gave them to my brother and me, but they tossed 99% of her stuff. How??
They also move out of houses, trade cars, and throw away old gadgets without a care in the world. I don’t understand how this could be possible. But maybe I’m the weird one? Anything’s possible, I guess.
What’s your feelings on this subject? Please tell us about it in the comments.
And I’ll see you guys again tomorrow.
Have yourselves a great day!
Now playing in the bunker
Try Dropbox! It’s free and fantastic.
I’ve had a battery replaced on a cellphone once. Can’t that be done with an iPod? Cellphones do have the carrier’s stores you can go to to do this, though. Is there an Apple Store around?
The people at the Apple Store may or may not be able to pry the case open. But they probably don’t have the tiny little button-sized lithium battery any more, since that design has evolved since then. Either that or they’d play hell trying to replace it because it’s delicately soldered in place, something they’re probably not equipped to do properly.
Actually, my husband has replaced batteries in two different iPods. You can usually buy the battery from eBay and sometimes Amazon. There are also many YouTube videos that demonstrate the process. It can be a pain to pry open the case, but you’ll save a lot of cash.
Apple, of course, doesn’t recommend that you change the battery, but that’s a lot of crap. A person should be able to put a new battery in an electronic device. Cell phones, Kindles, etc., it’s a simple matter to swap out the battery.
I just got rid of my 99 Taurus that I’d been driving for the past 5 years. It was a good day, not one ounce of remorse, regret or guilt.
Ahh, another happy (former) Ford owner!
It wasn’t so much I was unhappy with Ford, I bought the car in a hurry because gas prices hit $4 and I was driving a F-150 350 miles a week.
After a quick test drive I bought it only to realize later, it had no cruise control or a CD player, so it was my lack of shopping that led me to hate the car.
When my cellphone dies, I’ll probably have a memorial service. I think I’ve have it for at least five years. The only reason for that, though, is that it makes the veins stick out in my neck to think about shelling out an extra $30 a month for a “data plan.”
I’m basically only sentimental for things like old pictures and family antiques. All the rest is pretty much disposable.
It took my sister and me months — actually more — to go through all my folks’ stuff. We saved more than we can actually store comfortably. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
jtb
I agonize over wasting anything. I feel bad tossing out wilted lettuce. I hate getting rid of something I’ve barely used, or having something wear out that I’ve used “to death”. As for leaving places, I can remember every apartment I’ve ever lived in (and there have been a lot) and I can still recall giving almost everyone a wistful look back as I drove away in my car. I lived in my first house for almost 9 years and I took pictures of its empty (and repainted/recarpeted) insides on my last day there after the sale had been finalized.
You’re looking at a guy who used to lie awake on New Year’s night and think back carefully over the events of the past year – when he was 9 years old!!!! Nostalgic much?
It’s just “stuff”, seems to be the attitude of my family. Letters that my great great grandfather wrote? Gone. Stuff like that disturbs me. But houses and cars and such? Fuck it.
Oh man, if I only had some of my grandparents belongings. I never met my maternal grandparents nor my paternal grandmother.
I knew one of my great grandfathers and both of my great grandmothers. One great grandmother is still alive (102), she’s now my son’s great great.
But to throw out family heirlooms like that just seems idiotic to me. They weren’t taking up much space and they knew I wanted them.
As a man who still has his Walkman from 1987, although I have not a single cassette tape, I can honestly say that I have no idea what you are talking about.
Oh, and I keep the Walkman in a box right underneath my tiny PAL/SECAM/NTSC television set. You know, in case.
How come no one gets mad at Apple’s planned obsolescence? How hard is it to make a gadget with a replaceable battery?
Because the Apple followers upgrade so often they never have battery issues.
I recently had to put my good friend, Mr. AM/FM clock radio, down. I usually turn it completely off in the morning. I came home from work the other night, went into my bedroom to change clothes and heard music and some weird crackling sound coming from it. I TRIPLE checked to make sure it said OFF. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. Still got the creepy music/static sound so I unplugged it for good. I’m nostalgic but I’m not an ass. I didn’t want to cause an electric fire.
It was sad because I had that clock since 1986. I even remember picking it out at Service Merchandise – a store no longer in business.
I sobbed when my Chevy Beretta was donated (it was so old I could only donate it!) It’s th eonly car I had real attachment with.
Oh and this past Christmas, i dropped and shattered a glass ornament. I’m still blue over it.
Holy crap! I also have an 80s-vintage clock radio purchased new at Service Merchandise (might have been Boardman’s, but I don’t think so). It’s an old Panasonic and it had the same symptom. I could fix it if I had a schematic. No, really.
When my 1991 Sentra went off on the back of the tow truck, I had only minor regrets. It was a workmanlike car in its day, but not the kind of thing you get attached to. Would have been different if it had been, say, an Alfetta GT.
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I liked my 1991 Sentra SE-R. It was a very fast & responsive car for the day.
I had it for about a year when the car was caught in a flood. The insurance company paid off the car and I bought a new 1993 Sentra SE-R. I still have that car. My only complaint today would be due to a leaking sunroof and some body rot issues with the rear quarter panels.
You have to get through your first couple of wives and then you lose your attachment to stuff. House? It’s yours. Cars? Take two. Kids? All yours.
After you go through that a couple of times, ipods won’t even make your list. And who needs one anyway? The conversations in my head are much more entertaining.
Considering I am a junker from way back, I get upset when I see other people throwing shit away. Ok. I’m a dumpster diver. What of it? I have been late to work because I saw a 1940’s nightstand on the curb for the garbage truck. I ain’t shy. That’s how I got into the antiques biz. Too much stuff. Good stuff though. I’m not a hoarder and don’t have trash strewn about. But going to estate sales and antique flea markets is a sickness!
Usually by the time I trade a vehicle in, I’m ready to let it go. Same with gadgets. But I do still think about some of the houses I have lived in. Especially the last house my parents lived in. They spent a fortune remodeling that place, only to have the new buyers rip it to shreds. It was heartbreaking to see how trashed the place was.
I bought a house and the builder had put in low cost heather and hibiscus. I spent $$ making proper flower beds and planting all sorts of exotics. Went back a few years after I sold it and….. yup….. heather and hibiscus.
Some people call me a “hoarder” because I have hundreds of thousands of cat figurines. One day, after I’m dead, when my cats hit the auction block at Christie’s in New York, I’ll have the last laugh. These things are already worth billions, probably.
Pussification skips generations. Your children should be safe from it.
I’m not nostalgic about old electronics, but I will probably never be able to delete my deceased mother’s phone number from the ‘contacts’ list of my phone.
I have more than a few friends in my phone who are no longer with us. Fucked up huh?
When trading in old cars, there is usually not much left of them by the time they reach the car lot. I remember hoping that the stoplight was green on the other side of Patrick Street bridge, because the brakes in my old Cutlas were gone. The exception was the loss of my Mustang, which I have my (now) ex-wife to thank.
All of my electronics are ancient and half-broken. My PC is easily 12 years old, although it has been through 3 power supplies, several added hard drives, and a replacement motherboard. I actually stepped up to HD TV a year ago. A friend gave me her old TV when she moved. I didn’t even know they made cathode ray tube HD TVs. The thing is one heavy son-of-a-bitch.
For some reason I keep old electronics for a long time, even after they quit working entirely. I always think I’ll either get them repaired or use them for spare parts. Finally threw out a 20-year-old Pocket TV from Radio Shack that hasn’t worked in 15 years.
Jeff, I’m not sure what Ipod you have but try entering the serial number for a recall here:
https://supportform.apple.com/201110/
I have read that they are replacing the sent in recall units with a 16 gig 6th generation nano
Man , you really hit the nail on the head with the part about mourning cars , and the part about a weird feeling when changing residence. I’m the same way
I have a significant collection of vintage items. =-) Including cars. My “new” car is 24 years old. My daily driver is 30. And I still have my first car (which does have sentimental value) which is 40.
Electronics is a mixed bag. Some I still have, some gets disassembled for parts, others hit the recycle pile with impunity. Since I repair electronics my “vintage” stuff tends to get a helping hand when needed on its quest to become more vintage.
Jeff,
Go to the Apple website. If that’s an old nano it may be under warranty. I had one that had the same symptoms. I found out that it was recalled and they sent me a new one at no charge!!
At one time I had an old Atwater-Kent AM radio, but it’s long gone. I still have the HP-25 calculator, which celebrates its 37th birthday this summer. And of course the turntable, which came from Crazy Eddie in 1973.
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Crazy Eddie?
His prices were insane!
I hate to throw anything away because just about anything I’ve ever owned has memories associated with it that only get triggered by that object. Who wants to throw away chunks of their mind?
Hell-ooo, alcohol!
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rWVSR Classic is about BLT flavored chips. Anyone tried the new Lays flavors? I’d like to try the chicken and waffles flavor, but I haven’t found them.
The Siracha is pretty good. Just saw them for the first time here @ a Walgreen’s in Tucson.
Chicken and waffles taste like sweetened puke.
Yuck.
I still have my HP 35 calculator, I ride a 79 BMW and my car is a 77 chevy van.
fuck the new stuff!
Lots of love for original (now vintage) appliances here. I still listen to my 1971 Marantz 2270. If I ever find a receiver that sounds better, I might consider retiring the Marantz, because it’s starting to cut out on one channel, but I never have found a receiver that sounds better.
Now that my parents are gone, my relationship with the Marantz is the longest of my life besides my sister.
jtb
I’m hoping you also had those sweeeet Advent speakers and a Phillips belt-drive turntable to go along with that Marantz receiver. I certainly did! I’m still hanging on to my old vinyl. Some of those records must be worth a pretty penny by now. When you get to the point that you must get another receiver, look around for a used NAD; good stuff. That’s what I finally got and still love it.
If JTB has AR-3As, that’s good enough. (No one dare hope for Magneplanars.) For electronics see McIntosh, if you can afford it, or Adcom or Rotel for good newer gear that’s a little less pricey. I demo’d a Conrad Johnson amp one time – gorgeous sound but I couldn’t afford it, so I settled for a Biamp CPA650 that came from a client’s upgrade. It’s good enough but it’s no C-J.
My turntable is old enough to be POTUS: belt drive Dual from 1973. I’m still sitting on a modest collection of about 450 LPs.
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My old cell phone, the thing has a dead battery & I can’t find another battery. I don’t use it for it’s phone abilities. it is my alarm & phonebook (had 3 cell phones since) I had to go out to an “antique” charger since mine was cut acccidently
So far, this thread has mentioned Service Merchandise and Crazzy Eddie.
Do I hear a Korvettes? Caldors? Bradelys?
Anyone remember Gimbels? John Wannamakers?
Sorry – that should be Bradlees. It was a New England chain if I recall.
At Bradlees, you buy what Mrs. B buys – ’cause nobody can buy like Mrs. B!
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How about Woolworth, Gold Circle, Rink’s Bargain City and W.T. Grant?
I always liked Service Merchandise. It was a thrill to see my new stuff coming down the conveyor! Add “Best” to the list. They were very similar to Service Merchandise.
Jeff,
Thanks for recommending Mark Oliver Everett’s book the other day. What a great read, now I have to go get all the CD’s mentioned in the book and read along while listening.
WB
Woolco, Montgomery Wards, J.M. Fields….
Murphy’s.
Hill’s.
B Altmans, Ames, Barkers, Orbachs, G Fox
I remember Altmans. Ames just recently went out, maybe 5 years ago. In the 1970s my mom took us on a road trip to G Fox in Hartford to pick up a chair.
bikerchick: Hill’s? In the mid-1980s I lived in an apartment upstairs from Hill’s Stationery. Is that the same place? They sold art and drafting supplies: vellum, mechanical pencils, Staedtler erasers, Rapidograph pens and so forth.
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Heck’s, FAD (when FAD has a sale, FAD HAS A SALE!!!). You’d have to be locals to relate.
Oh yeah, Hecht’s. Also Woodward and Lothrop, aka Woodie’s.
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