Everything old is new again

In the photo posted several entries ago (under the heading "Hybrid Mode") you can see my ancient calculator. It is a 20+ year-old Sears brand calculator, made in Hong Kong. It features some alternate calculating modes on it--you can switch from "Deg" to "Rad" to "Grad," whatever that means (can you tell me, Toe?). It works better than any newer calculator I have encountered, and I keep using it because I've had it since I started college, if not since High School.

I have a lot of stuff like this that I insist on using or keeping around for sentimental reasons. I have a pair of boxer shorts for 12 years now that I no longer wear, but they are packed away with other sentimental clothing, such as a tee-shirt with the name of my college radio station on it.

Then there are my LPs, neatly line-up in a piece of furniture designed to hold LPs. I don't have a turntable, but I insist on keeping them, thinking that I will eventually find an old hi-fi to match this old technology.

Speaking of LPs, they are far superior to CDs in terms of longevity. I doubt a CD CDs that in 50 years will still play anything approaching music, whereas an old LP, even if it skips occasionally, will continue to be playable for a long time if you handle it carefully.

I used to have an old school pencil sharpener, the kind you screw to a wall and turn with a crank. It has an elliptical body that contains the sharpener also acts as a basket to catch the pencil dust. I sold this at a yard sale to a friend whom I knew would appreciate it. I'm not sure I could have sold it to anyone else, because it actually happened to be a childhood item that I have had all my life but that I have not used in years.

On a side note, tangentially related: I was watching some Sonic Youth live clips on Youtube, and I have to say they gave me hope. Maybe it's because they are all middle-aged and they still rock?