“A dude must know just how much sh*t he can handle.”

James Wallace Harris:

…I’ve reached an age where I just don’t want to fuck with stuff anymore. (I know, I should have said tinker, but I’m getting crotchety too.) It’s like Dirty Harry said, “A dude must know just how much shit he can handle.”

I can totally relate to the above. While I’m happy to do projects that’ll improve my productivity or make me healthier, I’m becoming increasingly intolerant of poorly performing or unreliable products and services. That’s not to say that I can’t be bothered to do repairs — if it’s feasible and within my ability I’ll give it a shot — but I’m not going to bother if it’s to fix something that the manufacturer should’ve got right in the first place.

I’ve mentioned this before, but I now use my iPad Mini 4 as a replacement for a load of other devices – bedside clock, radio, book reader, games device, writing pad and more. At some point, once it has reached the end of its useful life, I’ll replace it with another iPad, hopefully the Mini if it’s still available.

Last year, I ripped all of my CD and DVD collection, put the discs into storage bags, then tore down the shelving I’d been using for them and took the wood to the dump for recycling. This year, I’m going to finish ripping my old music cassette collection, then dispose of those to free up more space.

Not only do I want smaller things, I want simpler things. Years ago I replaced my huge tower computer with a tiny Intel NUC. I’ve been thinking about going back to a big tower computer again, but my back just screamed, “Don’t do it you crazy old dog. Sit. Act your age!”

Marie Kondo tells us we should ask if our possessions spark joy. My back pain is now advising I ask my stuff if they’re too complicated or too heavy for my declining mind and body.

My mind isn’t declining yet, but I’m being a lot more careful with my body these days because I want it to last me as long as possible!