Quothe Tony Duell, from writings of Mon, Mar 31, 2003 at 11:40:58PM +0100:
> Since when have I been a collector, true or otherwise? It is not my aim
> to own one of every version of a particular machine, I don't care about
> original boxes, if I get shrink-wrapped manuals, I unwrap them (manuals
> are for reading!), very few (if any) of my machines are 'original'. All
> that surely means I am not a collector.
Are you sure? :-) That would mean that I'm not a collector either.
However, if I'm not a collector, why then am I collecting interesting
machines at random to use and modify... and, of course, preserve. I
don't care about having one version of every machine, the machine's
appearance, superficial mechanical damage, etc. If it's repairable
(e.g. - multilayer circuit boards not broken in two), looks
interesting, has interesting circuitry, does something that I need it
to do, has the potential for interesting modifications, etc., then
it's a good candidate for my collection. If it's not repairable
(e.g., smashed circuit board and various bits missing), then perhaps I
can use bits of it for other things (computer related or with other
circuitry). Historical significance, and preservation, are of
interest to me, but I still feel that what's most important is using
the machine, even if that requires modifying it. Why should some
"collectors" and museums object to usage and modification? Are not
such modifications themselves an example of what people were doing
with technology at a certain point in time, and good examples of how
machines could be used?
> A _very_ good idea!. Never work on high voltage stuff with both hands --
> you don't want the current to flow through your heart. And make sure
> there's somebody around who knows how to turn everything off if you _do_
> accidentally connect yourself to the mains.
...and let's not forget the feet, etc. Keeping one hand in the pocket
won't help if one is standing barefoot in a puddle of water or leaning
against a grounded object. Drinking from the garden hose while
repairing a live HV supply, for example, is not a good idea... not
that anyone on this list would do such a thing, but surely, somewhere,
someone (most likely a sports fan (e.g., "duh, uh, let's watch
footbawl or go play golf ...we ain't no *&$%#_at_*! intuhlechtuals") who
likes Micro$oft products, and has just enough electronics knowledge to
be dangerous) is doing such a thing as we think "no one would do
that!"
--
Copyright (C) 2002 R. D. Davis The difference between humans & other animals:
All Rights Reserved an unnatural belief that we're above Nature &
rdd_at_rddavis.org 410-744-4900 her other creatures, using dogma to justify such
http://www.rddavis.org beliefs and to justify much human cruelty.
Received on Mon Mar 31 2003 - 20:21:00 BST