Over the last few years, I've bought more containers to store things in than anyone else I know.
A big part of that is driven by the need to organize and store a lot of stuff that my family has acquired/saved over the years. And the fact I am the last surviving family member who would know what much of the material is.
And I bought a bunch of stuff that needs some kind of home to keep pieces together and relatively easy to find and keep clean.
My favorite is the plastic hanging file boxes, the 32 liter ones. Sturdy and stack-able they fit the bill for what I need. Plus they are easy to handle.
So far, I've filled a dozen with pictures - photos, slides and negatives. All safely out of cardboard boxes and now on shelves in the basement. Still not the perfect storage solution, but the contents are far better protected now from wet and rodents.
I don't know how many are filled with papers that need sorting. To be honest, all the ones with photos need sorting too. I am working my way through the boxes scanning the material before anything happens to it, creating digital copies.
Of course I've found plenty of use for smaller containers. I've discovered that plastic shoe boxes work well for organizing smaller collections - I have one that I've stored a film camera and related accessories in.
The biggest challenge will be to properly sort, organize and label the boxes and their contents. There must be something more elegant than a black marker.
Friday, 26 August 2016
Friday, 19 August 2016
August 19, 2016 - Pyramids
Well, that was interesting.
I was invited to a 'business presentation' last night, which turned out to be your basic pyramid scheme. Although they took care to not call it that, and point out that in their version, the guy at the top doesn't get all the money.
In the version they are trying to sell, you are the top guy, making money off of the people you sell to, and the people they sell to. An interesting twist is that the recommend setting up several pyramids as part of the plan to achieve financial freedom.
It was all nicely packaged, with a plan to teach you how to free up money in your budget, get tax money back at the end of the year, and, of course, make lots of cash.
However, freeing up money in your budget assumes that you do not have a bare-bones budget like many of the working poor do. Getting tax money back at the end of the year sounds good, but you have to be paying it out all year to get your own money back at the end of the year.
They promise lots of deductions and tax write-offs by helping you set up a small, home-based business. No mention of how many new businesses fail after their first year. I guess they fail because, by golly, they didn't work hard enough.
And that sums up the program in a nutshell - what you make is only limited by how hard you are willing to work.
I'm still trying to understand how you can make money by barely working, but if you don't make money then you didn't work hard enough.
I guess I'm not cut out for the program. :)
I was invited to a 'business presentation' last night, which turned out to be your basic pyramid scheme. Although they took care to not call it that, and point out that in their version, the guy at the top doesn't get all the money.
In the version they are trying to sell, you are the top guy, making money off of the people you sell to, and the people they sell to. An interesting twist is that the recommend setting up several pyramids as part of the plan to achieve financial freedom.
It was all nicely packaged, with a plan to teach you how to free up money in your budget, get tax money back at the end of the year, and, of course, make lots of cash.
However, freeing up money in your budget assumes that you do not have a bare-bones budget like many of the working poor do. Getting tax money back at the end of the year sounds good, but you have to be paying it out all year to get your own money back at the end of the year.
They promise lots of deductions and tax write-offs by helping you set up a small, home-based business. No mention of how many new businesses fail after their first year. I guess they fail because, by golly, they didn't work hard enough.
And that sums up the program in a nutshell - what you make is only limited by how hard you are willing to work.
I'm still trying to understand how you can make money by barely working, but if you don't make money then you didn't work hard enough.
I guess I'm not cut out for the program. :)
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
August 9, 2016 - History
It looks as if our history is disappearing.
Change is inevitable, but I also think we need to document in some fashion the way things are on a daily basis, so that in time, we can look back and see exactly how things have changed.
I think of this as I google my old high school, which was torn down a number of years ago. There are not as many pictures as I would have expected. And those are often poorly documented as to year or the people in them.
In many ways, the internet has become our collective attic, storing memories and photographs. And like many items in the attic, not curated or fully documented. With time, the ability to do that decreases as people pass and memories fade. Over time, names escape us, as do dates and exact details.
Yet, we upload more pictures in a day than were taken in the the previous 50 years. Sadly, we do not often include details - choosing to focus on ambiguous or clever captions. Missing too are the documentary photos of places we used to go - many of which don't exist any more.
At one time, newspapers were the repository of our history, along with the documentation as to date, location and people involved. But, as storage costs rose, and corporate owners cut budgets, many of those resources ceased to exist - either destroyed or donated to another organization - who may or may not have had the time and money to properly store and document what they had, let along try to digitize it so it would be available at a keystroke.
I wonder what future historian will think when they search this time period of lost opportunities and endless selfies.
Change is inevitable, but I also think we need to document in some fashion the way things are on a daily basis, so that in time, we can look back and see exactly how things have changed.
I think of this as I google my old high school, which was torn down a number of years ago. There are not as many pictures as I would have expected. And those are often poorly documented as to year or the people in them.
In many ways, the internet has become our collective attic, storing memories and photographs. And like many items in the attic, not curated or fully documented. With time, the ability to do that decreases as people pass and memories fade. Over time, names escape us, as do dates and exact details.
Yet, we upload more pictures in a day than were taken in the the previous 50 years. Sadly, we do not often include details - choosing to focus on ambiguous or clever captions. Missing too are the documentary photos of places we used to go - many of which don't exist any more.
At one time, newspapers were the repository of our history, along with the documentation as to date, location and people involved. But, as storage costs rose, and corporate owners cut budgets, many of those resources ceased to exist - either destroyed or donated to another organization - who may or may not have had the time and money to properly store and document what they had, let along try to digitize it so it would be available at a keystroke.
I wonder what future historian will think when they search this time period of lost opportunities and endless selfies.
Monday, 8 August 2016
August 8, 2016 - Dads
A man I used to work for died.
Nothing new about that, we all die - hopefully later rather than sooner. But it did get me thinking about the relationships that end when someone dies.
In this case, the man worked with his son in what, I suppose, could be called the family business. In the sense that the father owned and operated it for years, and now his son will be taking it over.
It will not be easy for the son - he has not just lost his father, he has also lost a co-worker, a mentor and a partner. It will be a reminder of his father every time he goes to work, or goes into his father's office (now his, I guess). It will be a reminder of that loss every day, for him life will not return to normal.
There are many challenges to overcome when you work with (and for) your dad. First you must deal with people who think you only got the job because of your dad - that you somehow do not have to work for it. You have to prove yourself to co-workers - that you can do the job, or that you can deal with things without running to dad for help. You have to prove that you know the business and people's responsibilities, because they will test you on your knowledge and ability. That is on top of actually doing your job!
It's not easy losing your dad.
Nothing new about that, we all die - hopefully later rather than sooner. But it did get me thinking about the relationships that end when someone dies.
In this case, the man worked with his son in what, I suppose, could be called the family business. In the sense that the father owned and operated it for years, and now his son will be taking it over.
It will not be easy for the son - he has not just lost his father, he has also lost a co-worker, a mentor and a partner. It will be a reminder of his father every time he goes to work, or goes into his father's office (now his, I guess). It will be a reminder of that loss every day, for him life will not return to normal.
There are many challenges to overcome when you work with (and for) your dad. First you must deal with people who think you only got the job because of your dad - that you somehow do not have to work for it. You have to prove yourself to co-workers - that you can do the job, or that you can deal with things without running to dad for help. You have to prove that you know the business and people's responsibilities, because they will test you on your knowledge and ability. That is on top of actually doing your job!
It's not easy losing your dad.
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
August 2, 2016 - Keyboards
Why is it so difficult to get a good keyboard?
I don't mean a musical keyboard, but I want to type out words keyboard.
I've probably owned over a dozen computers by now, and there have only been a few that had a decent keyboard that came with it.
For me, a keyboard comes down to how it feels. I suppose being old enough to have used manual typewriters, and then electric typewriters, I miss the sold feel of the keys along with the actual sound of the machine in action.
One of the nicest desktop keyboards I used was an aftermarket one I bought for use of an original Macintosh computer. I don't remember the name, but it was an extended one with the numberpad on the right hand side. It sounded and felt good, much better than the original Apple one, and I liked it more then the IBM keyboards that were available at that time.
The nicest keyboard I had on a laptop was on an old IBM Thinkpad. It was easy to type on, and sounded great with good feedback.
These days, I use some crappy supplied keyboards at work, wired at my workstation, wireless when I am on duty. I want to like them, but I find them to be less than a joy to use. At home, I am using a ASUS laptop, purchased a few years ago when a Thinkpad crapped out on me. The keyboard on it lacks good feedback, so I am either banging too hard, or miss typing letters - it has a narrow sweet spot. I am not a typist, so I like a bit of forgiveness.
Oh well, given product lifespans and product cycles, there is always the next keyboard to try.
I don't mean a musical keyboard, but I want to type out words keyboard.
I've probably owned over a dozen computers by now, and there have only been a few that had a decent keyboard that came with it.
For me, a keyboard comes down to how it feels. I suppose being old enough to have used manual typewriters, and then electric typewriters, I miss the sold feel of the keys along with the actual sound of the machine in action.
One of the nicest desktop keyboards I used was an aftermarket one I bought for use of an original Macintosh computer. I don't remember the name, but it was an extended one with the numberpad on the right hand side. It sounded and felt good, much better than the original Apple one, and I liked it more then the IBM keyboards that were available at that time.
The nicest keyboard I had on a laptop was on an old IBM Thinkpad. It was easy to type on, and sounded great with good feedback.
These days, I use some crappy supplied keyboards at work, wired at my workstation, wireless when I am on duty. I want to like them, but I find them to be less than a joy to use. At home, I am using a ASUS laptop, purchased a few years ago when a Thinkpad crapped out on me. The keyboard on it lacks good feedback, so I am either banging too hard, or miss typing letters - it has a narrow sweet spot. I am not a typist, so I like a bit of forgiveness.
Oh well, given product lifespans and product cycles, there is always the next keyboard to try.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)