Sad realization in my life...

[82-T/A]

So, I bought a Leading Edge D/LT 386 SX-16mhz laptop on eBay. It said "not-working", and I figured, ok... I'll buy it and fix it up. The laptop powered on, Stacker on the hard drive, doesn't boot up, no big deal. Wiped it, put DOS 5.0 on it, Windows 3.1. I figured I'll fix it and turn around and sell it... maybe make $25 bucks, don't really care, but it would be fun.

 

But then it hit me... none of that was fun anymore. From the moment I opened the box, I immediately had a feeling of dread... I just blew $100 bucks on an old piece of crap.

 

No longer did I have that feeling that I used to have when I'd buy an old computer at a swap meet, and fix it up and sell it or play with it. There was none of that... I felt dead inside towards this laptop.

 

 

Did I grow up? Or am I just over buying old hardware anymore? What's wrong with me?

 

[Ransom]

I think that's called a "moment of clarity."

[Keatah]

It means you should be doing bigger & better things rather than sitting on eBay toiling in tedium.. It's called growing up and moving on.

 

It's like I got this car radio and amp and speaker set. Good Pioneer stuff. It works fine and all. But I'm just too bored to put it on ebay. The tedious details with listing are overwhelming. Eventually I'll just throw it away.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Keatah

[MarkO]

The magic is gone......

 

And your going about this all wrong... It's Buy Low, Sell High..

 

If your only in it for the fun, it sounds like it's time to expand your horizons...

 

MarkO

[82-T/A]

It means you should be doing bigger & better things rather than sitting on eBay toiling in tedium.. It's called growing up and moving on.

 

 

Hahaha! I'm not exactly 40, single, and living in my mom's basement!

 

 

But it's definitely...

 

 

...a "moment of clarity."

 

 

I pretty much sold off most of my video games and computer stuff YEARS ago... but I was always a fan of Leading Edge, and thought I would give it a try for a quick turn-around and have some fun. Totally not a spark there... no fun.

 

I'm actually worried now that I'll get the same feeling if I bring home another jalopy project car one day. I have no jalopies right now... just the one I drive to work every day. But I've been itching for another project car, and I've got an Olds 455 big block just sitting in my garage with NOTHING to put it in.

 

Hopefully responsibility hasn't affected me too badly.

 

[bennybingo]

 

 

...I've been itching for another project car, and I've got an Olds 455 big block just sitting in my garage with NOTHING to put it in.

 

Hopefully responsibility hasn't affected me too badly.

 

 

 

mmmmmmm…..petrol!

[Keatah]

Well try it and find out.

[eccofonic]

Sounds like buyer's remorse to me...

 

This is why I only get stuff cheap or free.

 

It's much more fun that way...

[MarkO]

<< SNIP >>

 

I'm actually worried now that I'll get the same feeling if I bring home another jalopy project car one day. I have no jalopies right now... just the one I drive to work every day. But I've been itching for another project car, and I've got an Olds 455 big block just sitting in my garage with NOTHING to put it in.

All that POWER, and Nowhere to GO!!!

 

Hopefully responsibility hasn't affected me too badly.

 

 

Olds_Bagged.jpg at www.pontiacperformance.net???

 

Really!!! And you place your Cool_Cadillac.jpg at www.classicchevys.com

 

 

Heretic!!!!

 

MarkO

[TPA5]

 

 

Hahaha! I'm not exactly 40, single, and living in my mom's basement!

 

 

But it's definitely...

 

 

 

 

I pretty much sold off most of my video games and computer stuff YEARS ago... but I was always a fan of Leading Edge, and thought I would give it a try for a quick turn-around and have some fun. Totally not a spark there... no fun.

 

I'm actually worried now that I'll get the same feeling if I bring home another jalopy project car one day. I have no jalopies right now... just the one I drive to work every day. But I've been itching for another project car, and I've got an Olds 455 big block just sitting in my garage with NOTHING to put it in.

 

Hopefully responsibility hasn't affected me too badly.

 

 

 

It's pretty obvious to me what you need to do with that big block.

 

 

Go kart.

 

 

If strapping your ass to a 455-powered go kart doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know what will.

[82-T/A]

Sounds like buyer's remorse to me...

 

This is why I only get stuff cheap or free.

 

It's much more fun that way...

 

 

Yeah, definitely. And actually... I've taken "free stuff" in the past, and it's just not the same anymore either. My father-in-law offered me a couple of Pentium laptops that he had, asked me if I wanted them... nope... no interest. Don't get me wrong, I've got my DOS gaming machine... no intention of giving that up, but man... it's like from one day to the next I just lost interest.

 

 

 

All that POWER, and Nowhere to GO!!!

 

 

Olds_Bagged.jpg at www.pontiacperformance.net???

 

Really!!! And you place your Cool_Cadillac.jpg at www.classicchevys.com

 

 

Heretic!!!!

 

MarkO

 

 

Well, I am a fan of Pontiacs, but I made the website back when Pontiac was still around, and to catalog my various car purchases (most of them rust-buckets and turds). The funny thing is, I have FAR more stuff about Crown Victorias on there than I do on Pontiacs. But... the Olds engine came in a variety of Pontiacs, including the 1979 Pontiac TransAm. When Pontiac ran out of 400s, they started dropping in Olds 403s. Arguably... a better engine.

 

 

 

 

It's pretty obvious to me what you need to do with that big block.

 

 

Go kart.

 

 

If strapping your ass to a 455-powered go kart doesn't get your blood pumping, I don't know what will.

 

Pumping... all over the ground after the kart literally flips in place on top of me! But I like how you think big!!!

 

[Nebulon]

It might be a temporary thing.

 

I recall talking to a friend's dad as he was working on his car. He said that he liked tinkering with cars and had a lot of different interests. Then he had kids and his focus shifted to them. When the children grew up and moved out, he started getting back into the stuff he was interested in before.

 

In my own case, I get a bit of what you're describing when I feel the urge to travel or study. After seeing some of the world or completing courses, I find that I start to get back into the hobbies that I enjoyed originally.

[FastRobPlus]

The reto bug seems to come and go. For example this is the most active I've been on AA in about 2 years.

[Shephda]

Time to move up a little. Get a little better laptops or PC's.

Install Linux Mint 17 on one and have a blast. It's a great OS and you don't have to be a Linux GURU to enjoy.

 

Also try real retro computers like Macs, Commodores, etc.

 

I'm working on an Amiga 500 for my game room, fun getting it setup and chasing parts.

[82-T/A]

Time to move up a little. Get a little better laptops or PC's.

Install Linux Mint 17 on one and have a blast. It's a great OS and you don't have to be a Linux GURU to enjoy.

 

Also try real retro computers like Macs, Commodores, etc.

 

I'm working on an Amiga 500 for my game room, fun getting it setup and chasing parts.

 

 

Thanks man, I had a lot of that stuff maybe 10 years ago, but sold it off. My favorite was an Atari Mega-4 ST with the separate hard drive...

[Cobra Commander]

I figured it out this year. I got more money than time. Where it used to be the opposite. In my 20's and 30's when I was single little hustles like this were fun and fruitful in scale. Now all I think about is how do I get more time and how do I not waste what I got. Damn, my oats are getting cold.

[omegadot]

For me, I've found that I like to be surprised. Once something stops surprising me then I'm much less interested and the magic is gone. So basically where I'm at now there are consoles I'll never get rid of and guitars I'll always keep but sometimes they will just be decoration. My other major hobbies being reading and programming allows this natural back and forth pretty easily. Sometimes another person comes into my life making my hobbies magical again because the surprise is back. I think solitary hobbies are much more vulnerable to magic leakage, though.

[82-T/A]

I figured it out this year. I got more money than time. Where it used to be the opposite. In my 20's and 30's when I was single little hustles like this were fun and fruitful in scale. Now all I think about is how do I get more time and how do I not waste what I got. Damn, my oats are getting cold.

 

 

Dude you are so right, nail on the head. As we get older and we take on more responsibilities we have less time for the things we used to have time for, and we feel more obligated to think long-term.

 

I've actually become very comfortable with a more "free" lifestyle... as in, getting rid of stuff I know I just don't need or want, or shouldn't have in the first place. So buying this laptop kind of triggered those responses.

 

 

 

For me, I've found that I like to be surprised. Once something stops surprising me then I'm much less interested and the magic is gone. So basically where I'm at now there are consoles I'll never get rid of and guitars I'll always keep but sometimes they will just be decoration. My other major hobbies being reading and programming allows this natural back and forth pretty easily. Sometimes another person comes into my life making my hobbies magical again because the surprise is back. I think solitary hobbies are much more vulnerable to magic leakage, though.

 

 

You are making my hobbies magical again after having come into my life!!!

 

Haha, but yeah, I know what you're saying.

[7800]

I used to restore and build vintage BMX bikes, I did it for about 5 years. It was a creative outlet for me that I did for pure joy. Very rarely did I make any money with the hobby but I wasn't in it for profit --- in fact I lost alot of money but the time that I spent doing it was fun and memorable. However, I came to the realization that having 30+ BMX bikes in my basement, that I know I will never ride or ever make a profit on was just insane... so I left the hobby, sold off most of the bikes, broke even on most, and kept some of my holy grail bikes, then...

 

...I moved on to the next hobby.

 

Point is, if money is not an issue --- find another hobby that pleases you. If you find yourself losing the passion for something, move on to something else. I wouldn't recommend NOT having ANY hobbies at all.

 

I went from BMX bikes to retro video game systems to vintage computers to AFX slot cars. LOL!

[+wood_jl]

It's not sad! You're just moving on in hobbies, as people do.

 

STACKER. Heh. I remember a charlatan that used to buy and sell computers (and related equipment, and I used to do the same back then) that used to take an 20MB MFM hard drive, format it RLL, and then use Stacker and advertise a 50 or 60MB (don't really remember) hard drive for sale. Talk about shady! Every time I see mention of "Stacker," I recall that guy.....

 

I used to buy, fix-up, and sell cars. Minor painting and bodywork. There was no sales tax, so it was easy. Made a little money, but it was a hobby. I'd never do that again; last time was about 1999. It was fun, but we move on in hobbies, sometimes. Videogames and Atari being a constant, however!!!

[Ransom]

Like most, I end up moving from one of my hobbies to the next, spending some months on each before moving on (and eventually circling back around). Life can of course limit which hobbies you can realistically engage in at any given time, and that has been a factor for me at times. But the biggest factor driving me away from any of my hobbies ever was making money at it. I freelanced as a game designer for the tabletop role-playing industry for a few years in the 90s. I was working full-time at a good job during the day, but this opportunity opened up to work on my favorite RPG of all time so I checked with my employer and go the official OK to do freelancing on the side (since what I was doing in my day job was completely different).

 

Those were some fantastic years -- but they were also very tough. I spent nearly every waking hour when I wasn't at my day job doing the freelancing work and related tasks. Don't get me wrong; it was a lot of fun and I got to work with a lot of great people. But once it was over I was just burned out on the whole hobby. I'd not only done a lot of design and writing work, but had run games at cons, done fan outreach, and so much more. I was just done with the hobby at that point.

 

A few years later, I gave it a try again, running a few games for family and friends, but it just didn't work out because I wasn't having fun. That was around 2002.

 

Recently I decided to return to the hobby after a break of about 12 years. So far, it's been fun again. But I will definitely think twice about turning any of my hobbies into a job again, unless it's my only job.

[MarkO]

For me, I've found that I like to be surprised. Once something stops surprising me then I'm much less interested and the magic is gone. So basically where I'm at now there are consoles I'll never get rid of and guitars I'll always keep but sometimes they will just be decoration.

I don't play Guitar, but do play Bass... A Regular Gig helps Keep the Magic.

 

My other major hobbies being reading and programming allows this natural back and forth pretty easily. Sometimes another person comes into my life making my hobbies magical again because the surprise is back. I think solitary hobbies are much more vulnerable to magic leakage, though.

One "Power of the Internet", is connecting all those with Solitary Hobbies together.. It's not quite a cool as getting together and sharing your Hobby in person, but better than giving it up entirely.

 

MarkO

[MarkO]

<< SNIP >>

 

Point is, if money is not an issue --- find another hobby that pleases you. If you find yourself losing the passion for something, move on to something else. I wouldn't recommend NOT having ANY hobbies at all.

 

<< SNIP >>

This reminds me of a Wired Magazine article done a few years ago. They did an Interview with a Chris Salt, who runs Oblong Pictures. Oblong Pictures is mainly about Stop Motion Lego Movies.

 

One of Chris Salt's movies, is about making Stop Motion Lego Movies, called, Words of Wisdom. At 1:44, there is a Quote, attributed to Bertrand Russell, "Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time".

 

Ignore people who think your Hobby is silly.... Find a Hobby that you enjoy...

 

MarkO

[Keatah]

So, I bought a Leading Edge D/LT 386 SX-16mhz laptop on eBay. It said "not-working", and I figured, ok... I'll buy it and fix it up. The laptop powered on, Stacker on the hard drive, doesn't boot up, no big deal. Wiped it, put DOS 5.0 on it, Windows 3.1. I figured I'll fix it and turn around and sell it... maybe make $25 bucks, don't really care, but it would be fun.

 

But then it hit me... none of that was fun anymore. From the moment I opened the box, I immediately had a feeling of dread... I just blew $100 bucks on an old piece of crap.

 

No longer did I have that feeling that I used to have when I'd buy an old computer at a swap meet, and fix it up and sell it or play with it. There was none of that... I felt dead inside towards this laptop.

 

 

Did I grow up? Or am I just over buying old hardware anymore? What's wrong with me?

 

 

 

Nothing, actually, you just made a bad decision spending a $100 on a piece of crap. There is nothing classic about Leading Edge systems. Or many other clone systems of the era. It may be special to someone that used it and to whom it was their first computer. But otherwise, no.

 

For example. I like *my* specific DX2-50, it was my *first* PC that I fully owned. And I played Doom on it! Other 486's and x86 in general generate little nostalgia other than a curiosity of what they look like on the inside.

[alicerr]

Mes autres passions principales étant la lecture et la programmation permet ce retour naturel et-vient assez facilement. Parfois, une autre personne vient dans ma vie à faire mes passe-temps magique de nouveau parce que la surprise est de retour. Je pense que les loisirs solitaires sont beaucoup plus vulnérables à la fuite magique, cependant.

 

 

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