Oh technology …

My ongoing love-hate with technology continues. I have an aversion to buying new electronic goods, primarily from a detailed knowledge of the problems with e-waste, which scares me; because I am a tightarse who hates to replace what already works; and because I don’t really want to dedicate any more of my time to sitting in front of a screen or plugged into a personal device. As a result, I own and regularly use some of the following:

- A 20GB ipod, circa 2005. And yes, it still works fine

- A cheap Samsung phone circa 2006. I wrote ages ago that it had stopped letting me use some of the buttons and was becoming impossible, putting me in a situation where I had to replace it or get rid of it. It fixed itself the other day and works!! Sometimes laziness results in money saving.

- A Dell computer circa 2002, which has 40GB memory and some ridiculously small amount of RAM. It has memory issues but otherwise works fine. It runs Windows XP and Office 97, which are compatible with most things.

- An Apple Macbook, circa 2005, which is currently in for (post warranty) repairs because the keyboard and trackpad stopped working

I also don’t have a working stereo but I play CDs through the DVD player and the computer, and every now and then I play a Super Nintendo or a Playstation One (!!) or even an oldschool, fat Nintendo DS or original Gameboy. But you know what? For the most part these things work. They work well. Apart from the Macbook, which has a minor problem, none of these has had a recent fatal flaw.

Anyhow, the one issue I do have is that in my upgrade to a digital SLR (Canon 40D, how I love thee), is that I now take significantly more photos than I used to, causing memory problems. I know everyone is all “macs for image/design stuff” and for the most part I agree, but I love using Google’s program “Picasa” for all my photo editing (despite having a copy of Photoshop, which I don’t use). So my poor PC is seriously running out of memory.

When the Macbook is back from the doctor, it will take on a new role – it will be the home of iTunes and my musical experiences. This seems like it would have been a logical thing to do once I got the macbook – iTunes, iPod, Macbook, they go together. But I never got around to it and then the macbook broke.

This is my long way of saying: once I get the macbook back I will upload the 4 weeks worth of holiday photos that require editing, and posts will be more frequent … apologies for the few people who look here for any of my insight!

diy: an obsession

Somewhere along the way I became a bit of a DIY freak.  There is not much that I like more than making everything myself.  I’m not really there yet – there are plenty of things left to learn, and I need a lot more space than our 2 bedroom apartment affords.  However, I can’t stop myself from ‘preparing’.

I have books about organic vegetable gardening and have designed the garden (despite not having one and not knowing what it will be like).  I am knitting feverishly – for friends, for myself, for children I don’t have and might never have.  I have piles of recipes for jams/sauces/relishes, because I figure once I have that garden I’ll have leftover produce.

I bake from scratch and am wondering whether I can grow some wheat and make my own flour.  I watch diy shows where people build their own houses, their own furniture, their own staircases.  I mean really, when am I likely to want to build a staircase?  I want to find hand powered clothes washers and juicers and I want to make my own soy milk.

When did this happen and how?  I’m Gen Y, aren’t I meant to be obsessed with the latest computer, the latest mobile phone?  And yet, I feel complete with a 10 year old computer, a mobile that doesn’t let me use the ‘delete’ button and I have a desire not to replace the phone.  Ever.

I’m lusting over sewing machines, birdbaths and baby clothes.  Where’s the radical feminist my high school wanted?  Honestly, I think this is it.  This is what my life so far has prepared me for.  The more I learn about climate change, the more I realise that DIY isn’t such a bad idea.

Incidentally, I’m not surprised people get climate change induced depression.  I think its the DIY lust which gets me through those feelings day-to-day.  Time for a navy shower and a home made face scrub, then bed.