The Crusty Luddite
Friday, June the 19th at 5:41 PM
in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Nine (8 months, 3 weeks ago)
I
have a friend that claims I'd rather build things than use them. He's wrong, of course; I'll use anything that's built right -- most things are not. As a result I build things I'll be using, and then I can only blame myself when they fall woefully short. Or something like that.
My friend's case in point used to be this web site - and the vast undertaking that would become of each redesign, because I would rebuild everything from scratch. In the end, building it is/was more fun than using it. Using it requires writing something cute and pithy, or dramatic and interesting, or frankly just stringing together something coherent and not rambling for word after word, line after line, in an unbroken, poorly punctuated mash of grade-school-english-teacher-anguish-inducing filth.
So I post something, and then this torpor overtakes me, and the words, like a fresh wound, start to scab over. Each day that passes and the rawness fades... until I tear the scab off with a new post. Yes, writing feels a bit like cutting oneself for attention - people will notice, eventually, and you have to wear long sleeves to job interviews.
This post took an odd turn. Let's back up. A friend thinks I waste time, etc etc, wasting time, yes... and... Ah here's where that was going...
So in an attempt to better acquaint myself with the world around me, I've started adopting some popular and entrenched technologies, specifically craigslist and using rss feeds. I've combined the two, since craigslist is built wrong and doesn't make it easy to search through a bunch of different towns for the same thing. So I use an RSS reader to get a feed of various categories within each of the towns around me. Then within the reader I can search for junk across all the towns. It's great, and a wonderful time suck. I didn't build any of it, I just combined preexisting tools. Look at me being all practical.
So I have 4 surrounding towns, and within each of them I get a feed for Tools, Materials (wood, etc), Arts + Crafts & Furniture. It's a glorious deluge of amazing opportunities and horrible, absolute crap. The spectrum is breathtaking, and I realize I'm about 5 years behind the curve here in figuring this out. I'm a bit wary about the technologies I embrace. Kitty Toilet Trainers get an enthusiastic "Yes" and online classifieds get a cautious "Maybe in a few years."
Anyhow, now I'm all modern and suave, and able to quickly zero in on some awesome opportunities:
- Recliner that doesn't recline - $5 (Macomb, IL) (I want to cry for this chair)
- GOOD BLACK DIRT & MISC. (Monticello & surrounding area) (I would like 2 tons of Misc.)
- 3 hole punch - $3 (UIUC) (1 dollar per hole - killer bargain)
- Cremated ash container - $325 (Peoria, Il.) (only used once...)
Yeah, I know, there are significantly more oddball entries in the annals of craigslist lore, but these are near me, posted in the last day or so. It's awesomeness you can purchase and cherish. Sally gets home tomorrow from a week and a half long trip. If only I had figured this stuff out sooner, I'd have enough time to fill our house with wonderful things. As it is, she'll have to settle for an unmade bed and a lot of fur tumbleweeds rolling across the floor.
No Comments Yet
No, really, I *DO* care what you think...
Fancy comments are frowned upon - your WWW links will work though.
Want your own rockin' icon by your comment? Go to www.gravatar.com.
Want your own rockin' icon by your comment? Go to www.gravatar.com.
Posts in Time
