Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Everything's Broken

So I started this HT journey after my SD TV died and it just occurred to me how many of my supposed quality-of-life-enhancing electronics are currently busted: of course the power amp which won't cooperate and shall remain nameless, the Garmin Nuvi GPS I purchased 3 months ago (FM transmitter went bad, at least I can ship this back at the same time as the amp above, that will be convenient), my Blackberry 8703e which has a diagonal crack extending across the LCD screen (from going through the airport security machine), and my 8 month old Dell XPS notebook which had massive file corruption and had to be reverted to factory state after spending 6 hours on the phone on Friday/Saturday with Microsoft and Dell trying to finally install SP1 (I know it wasn't broke, don't fix it, but I couldn't even play a DVD, it responded to the VISTA OS install disc with the prompt, "Would you like to format this blank disc?"), and in the process discovering that 1 of the 2 gb Crucial RAM sticks in the notebook was bad (I'm pretty sure from first install but who has time to test and fix these things?). If there's a unifying theme to all the meltdowns it may be the hazards inherent in mobility/shipping and handling, just the spiraling slave-to-the-machine phenomenon of modern life ("cyborg"), or at the most basic level just the series of accidents we call life.

So we went to my daughter's Western riding horse show yesterday, where she placed 5th and 6th in "Walk and Trot" (hey the horse was cranky and giving her a hard time, we were happy she placed) and made perhaps one of the most intelligent purchases I have made in a long time: we got ourselves a puppy. So far the care and feeding of the little guy have been infinitely more rewarding and joyous than the maintenance and repair of all these infernal machines.

You just made the Nintendogs cry.

Congratulations on the puppy!

Yes, congrats on the puppy, SatKartr. Pets can be a special and rewarding addition to the family. Enjoy!

Congrats on the puppy! What kind? It will poop more than you're equipment, regardless of breed.

Well the girls wanted a little one so we got a Maltese. He sure is cute, and best of all he doesn't bark that much when I am working at the computer except to keep the cats in line.

Make sure you don't mistake him for a stuffed animal and toss him in a toy bin.

Around our house, it's the cat (used to be cats) that take the dominant role and keep the dog in line.

So let me get this straight:

Everything you've bought lately has broke, so you bought a defenseless puppy?

Meanie!!

I'm waiting for Vizzini.

Max is a brave little guy, although I do wonder whether the domination of the cats will prove to be a sleeper.

Believe me I do have concerns about that, the New Rules are: walk slowly, watch where you step, and don't sit on the couch without checking under the pillows (or mistaking Max for a pillow).

I actually hoped in my post to draw attention to the difference between living creatures and mechanical things, and the inherent unreliability of the latter even given adequate care. A lot of these electronics are little more than junk straight out of the box, overly fragile and planned for obsolescence, animals have evolution on their side including the genes to adapt and survive. Also our oldest cat is almost 19, I think pets that live indoors have better odds for longevity than electronic gadgets you take with you on air travel.

Of course I would be heart broken if anything happened to Max whereas I would love to take a bunch of these electronics and just throw them in the trash, perhaps the machines feel my unconscious aggression.

Not your Axioms.

I agree with you though. I would be quite happy using the brick type cellphone I bought 8 years ago. I couldn't get a battery for it if I wanted.

I personally like the idea of buying for the long run. I have not plans or desires to swap out my speakers at any point in the forseeable future. I spend a lot of time researching stuff I buy to make sure I buy something built to last.

Sadly, 15 years seems to be the outer limit of built to last these days. My current microwave is pushing 17 years. The next one will probably only last 5-7. What a waste.

Don't you know that getting a puppy obliges you to at least one picture?

Speaking of pics, I don't think we've seen any pictures of your setup thus far either, have we? (hint hint)