I've spent the last several days of "time off" doing a number of things—working on my old list of "226 Books by Genre," which has already sucked up hundreds of hours of time and could stand another hundred; thinking about the past and future of TOP (including a few odd 'n' ends, pace Ctein on Wednesday*); and writing down some of my personal aims and ambitions, so I can attempt to prioritize.
Of course, that list turns out to be rather funny. A few items plucked from it that are cases in point:
• Fix up my old Miata
• Sell my old Miata and use the dough to buy something else cheap and fun
• Use the D800 more
• Sell the D800 while there's still time
• Rehab the house**
• Consider moving
• Increase the number of daily posts on TOP
• Make the posts fewer in number but longer and better
• Print a portfolio of old 35mm Tri-X negatives
• Forget printing old negs, publish a book of them instead
...And so on. It's a good thing I'm a blogger; it seems well adapted to the limit of my attention span.
I see the doctors next on Monday. I have very high hopes for what adequate sleep might do for me. Will it improve...decisiveness? Organization skills? Will I suddenly be able to play the piano?
Mike
*I've left quite a few loose ends dangling in the past, turns out, such as the Canon Pro-1 printer and the Reader Print Sale.
**"Redecorate" is far too grand a word here, take my word. :-)
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A book of interest today:
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Oren Grad: "This is the fate of a pack rat."
richardplondon: "I keep getting distracted from my 'to do' li [sic]"
Ed. Note: Oren's link above was to an eBay auction entitled "Huge lot of old cameras collection for Sale [sic]. 1,000+ pieces":
It was being offered at $35,000. (I'd actually seen it before on eBay, for higher prices.) And what do you know, it actually sold!
Even odds as to whether it will be worth it for the buyer. The price of $35 per camera seems low, but I'll bet an awful lot of the cameras aren't worth $35 and I'll bet they're also not very liquid, meaning it'd take a lot of time and effort to get $35 back out of each of them.
On the other hand, throughput is how collectors find the gems—I actually knew a camera collector in Chicago who opened a used camera store just so he could cherry pick what came through. It's not impossible that a few dozen of the cameras could make the whole pile break even. Interesting situation. I'd love to know more about this, too. —Mike
I wish I could remember where I read the article, but there is one way to help with decisions. Apparently some slight(?) bit of urgency (i.e. - feeling the "need to go") is beneficial to making better decisions. Therefore, have a beer and wait a bit.
Posted by: sirhcton | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 02:20 PM
Don't move (without compelling reasons), but make decisions as if you were, and as if you actually need to decide what to pack and ship, and what you'd rather discard. My guess is that you'd end up selling the D800 and lots more, including the Miata (and not buying a replacement until you've had time to "settle in").
But, let's face it, you like the process of experimentation and buying, which is perfectly rational, so ultimately you'll just end up with different stuff to consider, and that's when you need another 'pretend' move.
Decisions about objects, though, are much easier (and more fun) than decisions about direction. I vote for fewer posts, with time to reflect on worthy subject matter. In so doing, you might end up simultaneously contemplating TOP's direction. I'd like to see the 'P' part of the TOP acronym drive more content (even though posts like this are fun).
Posted by: Jeff | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 03:02 PM
"Will it improve...decisiveness? Organization skills? Will I suddenly be able to play the piano?"
Based on my own experience I would have to answer: Probably not. Definitely not. Absolutely without any shadow of a doubt not.
YMMV though. :)
Posted by: Paul Glover | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 03:33 PM
BRZ! BRZ! BRZ! ;^)
Good vibes to you, Mike.
Posted by: Maggie Osterberg | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 04:05 PM
Sell the Miata, old cars suck up to much time. Once it's gone, you'll never think about it again.
If you are not using the D800, then it's serving no purpose, sell it.
Only fix plumbing and electrical stuff. Forget decor.
The variety of the posts is one of this site's appeals, no need to choose between longer/thoughtful and shorter/trivial. Anyway, it's not always true, sometimes short is wise and long is dumb.
Publish the book.
Man, it's so easy making decisions about someone else's life, isn't it?
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 04:07 PM
Consider replacing the old Miata with a new Miata.
My 2012 model is everything the MG should have become rather than rolling over and dying when faced with U.S. emissions and safety regs in the mid-70s. It's a brand-new 50 year old car with the added advantage of today's technology.
Four cylinders, two seats, top down -- good for the psyche and maybe the soul.
Posted by: Michael Matthews | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 05:14 PM
"*I've left quite a few loose ends dangling in the past..."
...and...what the heck happened to your darkroom project?
;~)
Cheers! Jay
Posted by: Jay Frew | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 05:17 PM
Somehow, I knew that you were ambivalent about the D800. It's obviously a great camera, but is it worth the price and the weight? In contrast, your love of the OM-D has always shone through. Far be it for any of your readers to tell you what camera to keep, but a good motto is: Use what you like, and like what you use.
Posted by: Rob | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 05:55 PM
I have zero good advice on the items you list. I do have mixed feelings about having two good "system" cameras, one large, one smallish. They both pull in opposite directions, and seem to cancel out the urge to take photos at all sometimes. That's what's happening to me at least. But don't consider that advice.
I wish you all the luck with your sleep.
Posted by: John Krumm | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 07:39 PM
Sell the Miata and the house and buy a Caterham R500 superlight. Use the left over money to pay the speeding tickets. Sell the d800 and buy a Gopro Hero HD. Mount the GoPro to the dash of the Caterham and make videos of yourself racing around the neighbourhood. Upload them to TOP so we can see how much fun you’re having and understand why you haven't found the time to post recently.
Regards, John
Posted by: John Denniston | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 07:54 PM
This is obviously indicative of a large 'to do' list. Make a new list of things that appear more than once and finalise those!
Posted by: Craig | Friday, 15 February 2013 at 10:26 PM
I am really curious about the "226 Books by Genre". Who is Genre and why did he/she write so many books, and about what ? :)
Posted by: Bill | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 04:20 AM
Mike,
I am very optimistic your sleep will improve. My brother-in-law had the same diagnosis and his quality of life improved significantly after treatment.
I wish the same for you.
Posted by: William | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 09:59 AM
"Better to sit still, than stand up and fall over" - or something like that. Francis Bacon.
Posted by: Richard Tugwell | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 10:40 AM
Makes me laugh...I'm in the process of both expanding my holdings and selling everything in my life...but which will win out? I'm still thinking about selling it all and traveling light, but then I always buy a new piece of equipment to expand my abilities. If I never take another picture for money, I would sell it all, including strobe equipment, and try to get through the rest of my life with a 120 twin-lens and available light, viva Vivian Maier! I even have a pal in his 50's that sold his car and is seeing if he can make it without one! Wish I lived somewhere was that was possible...
Posted by: Tom Kwas | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 10:44 AM
Glad to know it's not yet too late for 2013 "Resolutions." One of mine is not to comment unless I have really something to say or share. {g}
Looking forward to the 2XX Books by Genre. {vbg}
Posted by: Sarge | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 11:34 AM
Please tie up the reader print sale loose end. I enjoyed the first installment and have been waiting for subsequent selections. It was a good idea.
Posted by: Jeremy Pardoe | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 02:30 PM
Did you recommend "Looking at Ansel Adams: The Photographs and the Man" earlier on the blog? It came in the mail today, and it is a sweet book. If you recommended it, that's probably why I got it, so, thanks. If you didn't, then I'll recommend it to you.
Let me know if you decide to sell the Miata - I'm passively looking for one. If you get "Looking at Ansel Adams: The Photographs and the Man" and it sucks, you can add your purchase price to the asking price of the Miata. Win Win.
Posted by: Kirk Decker | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 03:11 PM
There are at least 10 Argus C3 "Bricks" at the bottom of that 1000 camera pile. Not gonna make the $35K back from those!
(Although my father used an Argus C3 to make hundreds of well exposed slides in the 40's and 50's. He did read the data sheet included with the film!)
Posted by: Tom V | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 05:48 PM
I was wondering what had happened with that reader print sale. And the canon pro-1 review, too, actually.
Posted by: G | Saturday, 16 February 2013 at 05:51 PM
Don't sell the Miata. The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, and besides, it's just a little Japanese car. Not much to go wrong. There is no car out there that is its equal.
Posted by: Steve Renwick | Sunday, 17 February 2013 at 12:35 AM
"Sell the D800 while there's still time" I love this comment. In this day when cameras have become consumer electronics, the clock starts to tick even before you open the box. I sold my sole DSLR recently after about 3 years of use and the $100 I "lost" made me think of your comment way back when about how you really just "rent" good equipment. $100 for a nearly 3 year rental seemed more than fair. I promptly replaced it with a Leica M4-P and a 1957 Canon 50/1.4 ltm lens and a freezer full of film. I will do that for awhile until I either run out of film or something digital grabs my fancy. Am betting on the former.
Posted by: Danfogel | Monday, 18 February 2013 at 04:23 PM
Ok you get a thousand pieces. Even if you pay $10,000 + $2000 shipping not knowing what you are getting you would still need to get $54 per item on average to make it worthwhile.
Costs, purchase $12,000
Personal time 1 hour per item.(modest) pay yourself $20 per hour. includes testing, listing, packing and shipping. total $20,000
Ebay/Paypal/shipping fees per item say $12 x 1000 =$12000.
By my calcs you are in it time and labor for US $44.000 based on a lousy $12,000 purchase price before profits. Want to make a $10 per item profit? You need to average $54 per item. Go ahead pay more than this and see how much money you make. :)
Posted by: MJFerron | Tuesday, 19 February 2013 at 10:15 AM