Obsolescence and Spring Cleaning

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Saturday, June 19. 2021

Obsolescence and Spring Cleaning

We've been trying to address obsolete things in our home. The list keeps getting longer even though we got a new gas boiler last year:

- Oil tank needs to be removed

- 3 old printers, to garbage

- 3 old computers, systems no longer supported

- old software, no longer supported

- old interior paint and wallpaper peeling

- gas cooktop works, but fan died so entire thing needs to be replaced

- 1 of our 3 central air units needs to be replaced. It can't be repaired.

Are CD players and good speakers obsolete? Not for me. Of course, minimizing personal mental and physical obsolescence always has to be dealt with.

What obsolete things are our readers dealing with?

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 16:21 | Comments (25) | Trackbacks (0)

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Spent the afternoon sipping libations and awaiting the return of trump

Would a longtime spouse traded in for a 20 year old Clemson cheerleader qualify?

Asking for my best friend

Ha ha ha

Happy Father’s Day team

Keep smiling…we’ll win in the end

#1 Maddog on 2021-06-19 17:07 (Reply)

Love it! Do you really think you could handle a 20 y.o. cheerleader, though? What is your secret?

#1.1 snopercod on 2021-06-19 17:48 (Reply)

I've been slowly but surely weeding out my collection of tools. Had an OK set of files from back in the Johnson Administration, but no handle. So I went shopping for a handle--$20 and up! And bingo! There in the hardware department of Walmart was a made-in-China set of files, with handles on every one of them, for $15. Bye-bye, old files.

#2 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2021-06-19 17:19 (Reply)

I hope that you didn't throw away a bunch of good Nicholson files for chinese junk.....

#2.1 The Neon Madman on 2021-06-19 18:53 (Reply)

Nah. New junk for old junk. But since I don't use my files every day, or even every week, I don't consider them junk. Rather, they are "expendable tools," like those cheapo throwaway paintbrushes from Harbor Freight.

#2.1.1 Mike Anderson (Link) on 2021-06-20 05:29 (Reply)

If you really want to get rid of "stuff" have to move in a weeks time with 50 years accumulation. Have family come and help, they will decide what you don't need even if you do need it. Many things you cherish and need will no longer be around. I don't really recommend it.

#3 JC on 2021-06-19 17:20 (Reply)

Went through this process last year and was moderately successful. The most interesting discovery was how many people are willing to buy your old stuff through EBay! I didn’t know how interesting my tastes and proclivities were until someone bought this weird stuff!
After shipping and Ebay’s techniques to maximize their take I was able to buy a couple of cases of good beer! Not much, but worth every penny to know that my weirdness lives on in others - just not in my apparently uncool kids.

#4 Louie Miller on 2021-06-19 17:53 (Reply)

I still have my stereo system from 1971: Revox A77 reel-to-real tape recorder; Advent Dolby system; Marantz 32 power amp; Dynaco PAT-4 preamp; Thorens turntable with SME arm; KLM 17 speakers. I may power all that up one last time and play some old Steppenwolf albums before I haul it all to the dump. I'll do like Maddog did and sip some libations...

#5 snopercod on 2021-06-19 17:54 (Reply)

There's plenty of people out there who buy retro tech, especially reel-to-reels. There's even a guy out there who does 8-track deck repair. You just have to look for them.

#5.1 LS (Link) on 2021-06-20 09:35 (Reply)

Thanks for the tip. I just looked on eBay and, by golly, my Revox A77 might sell for a few hundred bucks. I still have the original box up in the attic.

#5.1.1 snopercod on 2021-06-20 13:06 (Reply)

I bet those old computers could be made functional again with Linux...

#6 Mark Matis on 2021-06-19 20:31 (Reply)

That highly depends on how you define functional.

#6.1 Freddo on 2021-06-20 02:36 (Reply)

Moved in August 2019 after 32 years in the same house. The moving boxes with my college textbooks and notes (PhD 1978), unopened since I got my first job in 1976, finally hit the trash bin. Why I kept all that for so long is a mystery.

#7 rocdoctom on 2021-06-19 21:59 (Reply)

Same here. I tossed my calculus books long ago. I never once used them.

#7.1 snopercod on 2021-06-20 07:50 (Reply)

Similar story here, although we'd "only" lived in our house for 27 years. Still, with time to surrender possession running short, we wound up boxing some stuff without time to sort through it. We're determined not to be saddled with so much detritus the next time we move, but when we bought this house we also bought the contents, so now we have two accumulations of stuff to deal with.

#7.2 T Migratorious on 2021-06-20 08:04 (Reply)

2 printers, no longer can get ink cartridges or drivers for them.
Newest is only 5 years old, thank you Canon.

Old partially disassembled PC, once in a while take out a part if someone needs to repair something of that vintage.

But the most obsolete item in the house is me I'm afraid.

#8 JTW on 2021-06-19 23:00 (Reply)

Have you tried Staples for that printer ink???

#8.1 Mark Matis on 2021-06-20 07:30 (Reply)

In Laws.

#9 jack on 2021-06-20 08:41 (Reply)

Personally, I'm rather fascinated by the habit of "keeping things", as I'm mystified by the idea that one should, well, hang on to items no longer suited for use.
FWIW, was over at a friend's place last week, and they were opening some boxes that had been packed for a previous move - three houses and three decades ago...

I really don't understand this, but it's fun to watch.

#10 anon a mouse on 2021-06-20 09:18 (Reply)

Good question.
I just donated ~300 books to the library.
Lots of no longer needed things. Like an Abacus and slide rule which I will keep. Multiple HP calculators but I only use the HP-12C.
Circa 1990 HP Computer which I kept it to back my newer ones but never use it.
I lost a lot of weight (229 to 166) so a lot of clothes o donate to the Salvation Army.
A few acquaintances I would like to dump but ... nah.
I'm good at taking thinks to the dump so not much else to throw away.

#11 oolioo on 2021-06-20 09:32 (Reply)

Glad to see I'm not the only one who still uses CDs.

I went to one of those places that they used to call shopping malls and bought the new Fear Factory album last night.

#12 Maniac on 2021-06-20 11:14 (Reply)

How about a tach/dwell meter and timing light? I sold my 68 Plymouth Satellite in 1984, and haven’t used them since. I still have some drum brake tools and a distributor wrench buried in my toolbox. Just in case.

#13 Mark on 2021-06-20 11:41 (Reply)

Mine went the same way as the old carb synch tool (what, you didn't have twin Webers?)...

Haven't missed them.

#13.1 anon a mouse on 2021-06-20 11:59 (Reply)

"What obsolete things are our readers dealing with?"

My wife. No, honey....put the axe down.....Arrrggghhh.

#14 Anonymous White Male on 2021-06-20 14:58 (Reply)

If your computers are Macs and they no longer support the newer operating systems. You may not realize that you can now upgrade them beyond their supported operating systems giving them longer life.
Check this out!

https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/install-macos-old-mac-3654960/

#15 Phil Taylor on 2021-06-21 23:06 (Reply)

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Saturday, June 19. 2021

Obsolescence and Spring Cleaning