Maybe it's time to let the old ways die

It’s a song from A Star is born…

Progress inevitably moves us from thing to thing.

I used to type up homework assignments on a Smith Corona typewriter. Then using Wordstar on an 8088, with a 9-pin printer. Today, I’m writing this on a 12-core x64, with a 42” monitor.

This isn’t true of everything, though. A quality set of hand tools will outlast both you and I. A well-maintained car can last for decades.

Yesterday, I wanted to print a part. I dragged it into Creality Print, and it let me know that the model was too big. At that moment I yearned for a K2. Or an X1C. Or a big Voron.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of my 80 pound QIDI i-fast, not more than 10 feet from where I sit.

I sliced the model on QIDI’s ancient Cura version. The part was done when I woke up, and it looked great. The 14 hours it took didn’t really matter, since I was asleep for much of it.

I’ve discarded a bunch of stuff over the years, and what I find is that I miss the genuinely good things that I sell or discard. I guess the moral of the story is to get quality tools/stuff/whatever, and don’t assume any level of inevitable obsolescence. I’d previously chalked these feelings up to nostalgia. That’s a powerful thing, too, but they are two separate baskets (albeit similar).

I guess you shouldn’t let all of the old ways die.