What Gadgets?

Susan thinks I have too many gadgets. By gadgets she means electronic goodies I own as the result of uncontrolled use of my disposable income and purchasing power, which contributes to the imbalance of trade with foreign countries. I, on the other hand, deem these items necessities of life in the 21st Century. Could she be right? Well, lets just see!

One cell phone (I’m not counting the old, broken, yet-to-be-recycled one in the dresser drawer). Two GPS units, one for the car and one for hiking. Oh, I almost forgot the two GPS receivers that attach to laptop computers. Do I have to count the one that only runs on Windows XP and not Vista?

One XM Radio. One hand-held radio-scanner for use only at the NASCAR races. One wireless bicycle computer so I know how far I've rode. Three digital cameras….. I can’t help that each succeeding generation of camera gets smaller and adds features. It would be superfluous to count those two non-digital cameras boxed away in the basement since they are so 90-ish.

Let me address the computer situation. One desktop with LCD monitor. Two laptop computers. I must explain. The newest laptop was such a great deal and the old one was really slow. Unfortunately I did incur extra expenses by upgrading some software from XP to Vista. I don't think I will count the ancient really, really old laptop PC that runs on Windows 3.1 because I'm waiting for it to be a collectible. Right now it is just another doorstop.

Flatbed scanners. Only two. They are obviously a requirement in today’s world. Why two? Well I’m going to hang onto the old one that works so well with XP. It’s great to take on road trips with the old laptop.

Printers. I’m proud to say I’ve reduced my inventory to only three. One black-and-white Laserjet, one Inkjet color printer, and the unplugged one in the corner that works great with XP and easily prints CD labels. Oops, then there is the multi-function printer I use to make quick copies, so I really have four printers.

Do I need to count audio-visual equipment? I have two turntables so I can listen to my vinyl collection. I only bought one, the other I acquired when my father died. Whoops, I almost forgot that little gizmo that goes between the turntable and my PC so I can convert vinyl to a digitized file. There are too many old audio amps, receivers, pre-amps, CD-DVD players and speakers to mention. Anyway, most of old ones are packed away in boxes in the basement.

Surely I shouldn’t count televisions since Susan and I both watch them, but let me add them up….. the new LCD in the living room, an old 25” CRT in the bedroom and a really old 14-incher in the office/study. Hey, at least I don’t have a satellite receiver, just a cable modem. That reminds me, I must mention the wireless router for the high-speed Internet connection to the PC’s. Those three or so old routers don’t count because I don’t remember where I stored them.

As I sit here typing I see at my feet the battery UPS backup so I can keep everything running just in case the power goes out. You never know! I’m even more prepared than a Boy Scout because if the power is out for a long time I can crank up the Honda gas-powered generator I have in the basement.

Anything else? Aw, a couple of clock radios, a weather radio….

That’s it, I’m not counting any more! Susan wins. I really am a major contributor to the economies of China, Japan, Korea, etc.

So I won’t forget what has been counted so far I’ll make a notation in my electronic address book, or maybe save it in one of my three thumb-drives until my 1TB backup hard drive automatically records everything for posterity.


Just a few of my goodies......