I am not a sci fi fan boy. Not everything from the bad old days was that bad. So in response to my own list of bad stuff we won’t miss here is some great stuff I still use. When coming up with the list of old stuff I still use I noticed that stuff that involves ‘craft’ – mine or the manufacturers – are the things that are left. In no particular order:
- Leica M4. It is so beautiful and such a physical joy to use. It is not an attractive camera by any means. Actually it is ugly, not M5 hideous but I have a IIIf which is genuinely beautiful and none of the M series cameras come close. But the noise it makes! The manufacturers of digital cameras should model the fake shutter sound on the subtly silky schnick of an M4 shutter, not the rasping buzz of a late 80s motorized compact.
- Books. Made of paper. With high print quality. And well chosen fonts.
- Mechanical watches and clocks. Proper ones with clockwork movements and brass cogs. I use an automatic wrist watch. It tells me what the time is (approximately), looks great, is quick and easy to use and can be transported without putting a strain on my pocket or needing a bag. I also have a 1949 Omega Sea Master Calendar hammer automatic with rose gold hands. Not only does it tell the time and date but does it with infinite style and grace, even under water.
- Steel, analogue kitchen scales. Big pan, big dial, tough and simple.
- Pencils. Graphite and charcoal pencils. Roughing drafts, making notes, drafting UML diagrams or actually drawing. Pencils are grouse.
- Knives. Old tech but completely irreplaceable – nothing can take the place of a good cook’s knife. My current main knives are only twelve years old so don’t really count as ‘good old days’ but they have ancestry.
- Twin Lens reflexes. I have a small collection now but have had many in my time. Actually I love old cameras. The precision mechanics are phenomenal. No batteries required! I regret getting rid of my large format cameras but have kept a couple of Rolleis and several Flexarets.
- Le Creuset cookware. Put them on the stove, put them in the oven, easy to clean, excellent thermal properties, too heavy for girlfriends to steal when we break up – what could be better?
- Fountain pen. OK, so I mainly use cartridges now because I rarely write but I can fill and use pump, syringe, screw and bulb fill pens. When I take the bother to pull out a good pen there are two invariable but strange occurrences: people take me more seriously and my hand writing becomes rather good. I have used a dip pen extensively but mainly for drawing and setting out poster text. No one in their right mind would really use a dip pen for general writing would they?
- A sense of proportion. Short people are discriminated against, but that does not give me any idea what it is like to be Indigenous, disabled, female, Muslim, or David Hicks. More people die from eating too much than from acts of terrorism and all other murders combined. More children are molested by people they know than people they meet on the Internet (and are very unlikely to be molested by anyone at all). Taking a photograph in a public place is not a crime. Lying, cheating and stealing are bad but most people do one or more of these every day. Things are generally better, children are not much different, teenagers still smell, most ’stuff’ is as good or better, chickens have always tasted that way (get them from a decent supplier instead of the mega-super-grande-bon-marche dick brain). You are very unlikely to be a victim of violent crime and are as likely or less likely to be a victim of any other form of crime than you were 30 years ago. Guns are used to kill people. Smoking pot makes you a benign dickhead; drinking booze makes you a malignant dickhead; each has some commonality though. I do miss a general sense of proportion, I think it is in danger of becoming extinct.