Taking out the proverbial trash


Posted On: Thursday - February 15th 2018 12:44PM MST
In Topics: 
  General Stupidity  Artificial Stupidity

... No, I don't know what proverb, but it's just proverbial.



This is the 3rd of three thoughts from a previous post associated with the Artificial Stupidity, aka, "Computer Tech Stupidity". Yeah posts are proliferating here.

As I had the "tech" (OK, that's a bullshit term), electronic problems a few days back, as mentioned in the link above, I ended up at the same time cleaning up a bit in the electronic sense. Let me get back to the real world. It's a problem for this writer to throw things out. I mean things that MAY have some use later, and "may" is the important thing. Let me explain.

It is kind of a compulsion to keep things around, but there are 2 sides to this. My thoughts in keeping this set of bolts or piece of steel, or extra scrap wood is that I just may be sorry if I junk it. I really would be kicking myself, proverbially (of course!) if I happen to need something like that later on and I'd thrown it out. No, it's not usually the money, but the time, and sometimes just the quality of the old stuff. I've got to go to the hardware store, or worse yet, the big box store, find the stuff, etc. and way more than an hour is wasted over just going to the garage or attic to where I remember storing it - yeah, another key word "remember"! I'll get back to that.

Quality can be another factor too. I have a Craftsmen socket set from > 25 years ago, and I have every one of the sockets. That's not bragging, but probably just luck. A roommate wanted to borrow it way back, to work on his car. "Sure, but put every one back." Yeah, I found one socket out by the road the next day, and I don't know why he got so upset when I told him, in effect "No sockets for you!" You know it, right, the next time you are doing a job, that'll be the one you need too, the one by the road. The thing is, the replacement you get today will be cheap China-made crap. I'll just keep all of my good ones, knock on wood drop-forged steel.

Yes, it does no good to keep all the old "crap" if you are not an organized person. As I've told the boy, oh, and the wife, "if you don't know where it is, you may as well not own it."

Where does Artificial Stupidity come in to this post? (Thanks for being patient.) The number of windows, and tabs within windows proliferates over time with this writer. It starts with many tabs, and when the titles become unreadable to the number of 'em, more windows come on-line. No, I don't shut down the computer much, why do you ask? ;-} I look through them sometimes, maybe close 1 or 2, but they all seem important. In the past most have been reminders of stuff to do, or order on-line, or just read later. Most now are stuff to write about. I lost all the tabs on one of them finally, and just after that on the other device as I went through the sorcerer's apprentice routine earlier this week.

It's vexing for 15 minutes or so, as I try to recover, get upset at not bookmarking stuff (that's where organization comes in, just like keeping the sockets together), etc. However, 1 hour later, I think "man, what's the big deal. It couldn't all have been very important, since I can't remember 3/4 of the tabs. Most of it would have never resulted in anything getting done ... in. this lifetime." It's just like cleaning out a part of the garage or cleaning off a corner of the desk, which is all I can usually manage. It has to happen though, as my desk, garage, and attic have become UNSUSTAINABLE. Taking out the trash is like clearing the head. It can be good once in a while.

(BTW, now this post has got me thinking of another one about storage units. It'll be forthcoming.)

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