I primarily read about two things online: cars and tech. After nearly twenty years online, I figure my internet habits have become quite refined. I can chew through the day's news on those two topics in about twenty minutes. I don't Facebook—which I suspect is probably a good thing—and while I like Twitter, I'm terrible about visiting it often.
Perhaps I'm not interactive enough, or maybe my desire to read everything has waned, but I just feel like I've reached the end of the internet. I'm now in a holding pattern waiting for stuff to happen, new posts to arrive, new memes to appear. It happens with music, too—I know there are other genres I could explore and back catalogues to discover, but I just want something new to arrive. Everything that's on my radar right now is just boring me to tears.
So, lying in bed one night last week, hitting refresh on my favourite sites, a lightbulb went off. I remembered this old source of material that I had more or less forgotten about. A treasure trove of new content that I knew would hold some serious enjoyment for me, and be personally gratifying...
My house is literally full of these things. I have a wife who likes them, a lot, and she's been downloading/buying them for years and so we have hard drives/bookshelves full of them. What's great is that they seem to still work even when my internet's out. Pages refresh very quickly, and the text is crisp and readable. The battery life is insane on these things, I have yet to recharge one. There doesn't seem to be much of a comments section, but I'm okay with that—like I said, I'm not very interactive on the internet, either. I picked up a new site/book that seems pretty good and I'm pleased as punch to keep coming back to it each night.
In conclusion, and in summary, I highly recommend books if you find yourself at the end of the internet.
A few years ago, I found myself thinking about buying a Jeep. Not a Grand Cherokee, or a Liberty, Patriot, or Compass, but a proper the-doors-and-roof-come-off Jeep. I realized then that nobody makes a better Jeep (that I can buy here in North America, that is) than the Jeep TJ (now the Wrangler). This meant that for a very attainable price, I could have "the very best." Sweet, I thought, I can have the Bugatti, the Louis Vuitton, the Dom Perignon of Jeeps.
I bought that Jeep. It was horrible. And months later, I sold it.
Undeterred, I thought up a new "very best"—the Casio calculator watch. Others may make calculator watches, but for those in the know, only a Casio will do. Only a Casio is the very best. It's 1970s technology, sure, but it's also the original smart watch. Although Pulsar and HP were first to release them, Casio made them cool in the mid-80s.
Calculator Watch Coolness - Exhibit A:
Smart watches have become a thing of late with the release of the Pebble, Samsung Galaxy Gear, and Sony SmartWatch. Sure, they integrate some of your phone's functions wirelessly, and their screens have slick animations and touch functionality, but do their batteries last for 10 years? Not so much. Do they perform all their functions in the absence of a smart phone? Not a chance. And do they have the pedigree of 30+ years of stagnant development? They wish.
Calculator Watch Coolness - Exhibit B:
Now, to rack my brain for the next "very best." Any ideas?
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