Over the last couple of weeks, I have written two articles about my evolving relationship with technology. In the first, I discussed the reasons for my reluctance to purchase a cellular telephone for my middle-school aged son while, in the second, I talked about why I am opting to use what many people have told me is a substandard workaround to play digital audio through the factory stereo in my new-to-me Nissan Hardbody. Although both essays were intended to be short and simple, I found them difficult to write. The second piece was especially so as, to get at the truth, I had to acknowledge the fact that I have a history of making poor choices and that I have, over the years, been incredibly wasteful.
But even though I struggled to write that second piece, I understand that many people my age are in the same boat. To paraphrase one commenter, the entirety of Generation X came of age during a period when, thanks to the pace of technological advance, our music collections became obsolete again and again. He’s not wrong. Virtually every machine I included as proof of my poor decision making abilities was superseded by improved technology and, because I am not an early adopter, that happened only when the machines were so outdated that it became difficult to find new releases on the old media. It turns out, then, I had hung onto things! But that led me to another question: Which of my possessions is the oldest? Continue Reading →
