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Diddlysquat
Off the Wall
March 22, 2007
Need I tell many of you, it sure isn't like the
good ol' days. Then, when something went haywire in a gizmo or
gadget, you would find a repairman and he would fix it.
And if you no longer wanted an item, you could place
an ad in the newspaper and get a fair buck for the commodity.
Now, we are living in an age of either practically
giving an item away or tossing it out.
A woman I spoke to recently told me she had acquired
her daughter's computer. She thought of putting it on the market
to sell it, but realized she could not get back what she put
into it, so she kept it.
I ended up giving my hard drive, monitor and keyboard
to a shop here in town. One of the owners told me he would fix
them up and donate them to a church or someplace similar. That
sure beats throwing all the units in the circular.
How many times does one walk down one's own street
on garbage day and see monitors sitting by the black bags? To
my way of thinking, couldn't something be done to salvage them?
Or is it cheaper just to buy a new one? I'm afraid to say it,
but I think the latter applies.
A professional photographer friend told me he tried
to sell his top of the line camera equipment for its total worth.
He only got one-seventh of the amount.
I had a camera I used for photographing passport
photos. Placing an ad in the paper, I thought I could recoup
some of my investment. What I found out in quick order was that
the whole set-up was worth diddlysquat. I ended up giving my
money-maker away gratis.
Contacting a company that bought used photo equipment,
I inquired whether or not they could give me some greenbacks
for my high wattage lamps. They were worth the d-word. All one
needs is a bulb to replace the one that burns out. What is the
problem?
Everything nowadays is digital. One woman wrote
to me and told me she has had a digital camera for two years
but hasn't been able to figure it out. She made reference to
Kodak's 620 which would meet her needs photographically speaking.
That was the first camera I owned back in the mid
50's. The film is placed inside the camera, the spool is turned
so far, the door is closed, turning continues until a number
shows through a little window on the back, and presto, picture
taking is set up to go.
Recently, a man called me and wanted to know if
I had any 35 mm cameras to sell. I told him I had two that were
on the fritz. We both came to an agreement that he would give
me a similar model that worked well in exchange for the two of
mine that had its day, so to speak.
I'm kind of happy going back to the 35. With the
digital, I push a button and the picture eventually takes. With
the old cameras, when the button is pushed, the image instantly
makes contact with the film. It is very frustrating with these
newer devices. Just when I think I've caught a candid expression
or a person blowing out candles on someone's birthday cake, I
discover, after the fact, that smoke is drifting above the person's
head, and he is smiling at me asking, "Did you get it?"
I've got it O.K., the old single lens reflex that will capture
moments when they are supposed to be taken.
Of course, I may be out of line. I'm not that familiar
with the expensive digital cameras, those costing $600 or more.
Maybe I have to be further educated. If the new cameras work
like the old, would I go out and buy the more expensive digital?
Probably not. Now that I am retired, I won't be taking that many
pictures as was the case during the last 50 years. Maybe I'll
just have to be happy with posing people and things and tell
them to hold still while doing their thing until the flash goes
off.
I can talk to the flowers or other species of wildlife,
but getting them to hold still may require a bit of "patience"
to state it mildly.
So, face it folks. Technology will only get more
complicated. The kids may love it, but for us old timers, I'm
afraid we can't fight it. Maybe it's best, we try living simply.
Paul j. volkmann
2/20/07
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