I don't know if it is part of growing older but I have always been very retro and nostalgic and "old School" I like to be able to see how things work.I like hands on stuff, I like grease and oil and machinery.
Believe it or not I am not very fond of computers, I do like being able to use them for research. It's pretty neat to be able to take a modern piece of electronics and find out about an old gun or tractor or anything else you may wish to know about but you do have to be careful, there is a lot of misinformation and garbage on the internet.I don't care for cell phones, mine stays turned off when I am home (for the most part)
If I want a tool I will go find an old one and even if it needs work I will revive it to function for me. I like to do things the old way when I can. I don't like tools made in China.
There is something satisfying about taking an old tool or machine which is neglected and discarded and reviving it to work again. I think about the hands which may have held it in the past.
I like to be able to understand things. I like to be able to start an engine and envision each moving part and know exactly what it is doing and if it sounds right. I like to be able to pull the trigger and know what each part is doing in the exact sequence to make it fire correctly.
I think that is why I don't overly care for modern electronics, I am sure some fully understand them but I don't.
I don't like that modern cars are computer controlled, I know it makes them more reliable to a point but if they do actually break in the middle of nowhere you might as well start walking. I remember driving old junkers as a kid, I would take off on a 1000 mile trip in desolate areas with a few tools and never got stranded.
I had an old car once and drove it for a long time with a very weak battery which could not crank it over, It was no problem, I could just park on a hill and start it by rolling it with the ignition on and popping the clutch, it would fire right up like a push start. I could fix anything on the side of the road, not so today.
I guess I think about these kind of things in a survival situation, how many people will be stuck without basic things because they rely on the latest and greatest, don't get me wrong I enjoy some of that as well but I don't rely on them 100%
Some people are techno-geeks, I am not, I used to work as a surveyor years ago, we would cut line through swamps and dense brush and find section corners set 100 years ago. I learned how to find my location on the face of the planet with a map and compass or transit. I can find true north with no instrument whatsoever, not a makeshift compass either.( that might make a good future blog)
It is sad those skills are dying. Now there is ultra fancy GPS units which do it all faster.
Like I said, I like old things. My wife used to ask me if that's why I liked her.........Talk about a loaded question, I'm not stupid I know when to keep my mouth shut.
