Howard's classic.

[A.L.]

I strongly suspect that you chased so much because like a lot of folks, you were influenced by the forums. I don't know the exact psychological factors that are at work here, but its valid. Kind of like a keep up with the Jones thing. We see all of what somebody else has, and it stimulates a button in us, and we buy more of what we already have and some button in our brain gets soothed.

I think that is exactly what it is.

 

[marchone]

If it weren’t for the forums I’d never know what I was missing.

That was intentional irony and a self-deprecating comment. It’s a poke at myself as much as the forums I frequent.

J jackknife Good writing. I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Fass]

Yes, doing away with stuff is very liberating. Especially expensive stuff. I owned a Leica camera some 10 years or so ago. That thing was so expensive that I was always babying it to keep it in pristine condition. I was also constantly looking over my shoulder, very much afraid of it being stolen. Then one day I somehow started to see how silly all of it was. The Leica got sold. After that, lots of other stuff went as well. These days I am much happier with stuff for which there is a real world use and won't cause me nightmares should I ever lose it or break it. Like a simple SAK. Or the cheap smartphone I use these days to shoot photos of the flowers in my backyard. I also rediscovered the joys of listening to FM radio instead of being glued to a TV screen.