What are your other anachronisms?

[Benjamin McFerret]

I tend to be more eccentric than retro but I:

 

Sometimes carry my Great-Grandfather's (Great Uncle's?) Pocket watch - An Illinois Bunn Special

 

Write with my great grandmother's mother of pearl dip pen.

 

Have a magneto (an electrical generator, not the X-Men character) displayed on my book shelf. It's one of my prized posessions for some reason.

 

Collect Booth Tarkington Books.

 

Use an old cassette Walkman. Okay, I use it as an alarm clock, but I still use it.

 

And lastly, I use an MP-3 player with moving parts inside of it. That feels really outdated to me.

 

Ben

[tjwarren]

I'm not sure that I'm old enough to be a proper throw-back, but I have a few classic interests.

 

The watch I wear is an honest-to-god wound watch, a beautiful Russian workhorse I bought off of eBay for the grand shipped total of $17. My father (who collects watches the way many of the people on this board collect pens) saw me winding my watch one day and exclaimed, "you mean you wind it up?!?"

 

I'm a big fan of textile arts, though I'm not extremely gifted at any that I've attempted yet. I particularly like weaving and knots. I've been trying my hand at book-binding lately. Again, nothing exceptional yet, but I'm having fun.

 

My bookbag/briefcase is a NOS Czechoslovakian army surplus leather mapcase. Most of what I own or wear is leather or natural fiber, since I don't really see the appeal of plastic clothes.

 

I like paper and pens. I love the smell of paper -- walking into Staples and taking that first inhale, that first whiff of the paper. Ahhh... My wife gets a kick out of that!

 

 

 

I'm hard on what I own, and I expect it to last. When I buy something old or used, I know it's survived at least one owner so it has a better chance of surviving me.

 

That said, there are a few modern conveniences I'm pretty happy about. Unlike Black Thumb, I refuse to use a CRT display: they're huge, heavy, use a lot of power, and flicker just enough to drive me batty. I use a laptop and surf the internet wirelessly. I wouldn't trade Python or even Java for FORTRAN, and I'd hate to give up my tiny little MP3 player for a stack of tapes or records.

 

Really what I look for is quality and elegance. Meet those two criteria and I'm your customer. It's amazing how many items are neither of good quality nor elegant.

[corniche]

My house is a throwback, built downtown in 1846, demolished and rebuilt on its present site in 1901.  3900 square feet, but it's not a McMansion. This picture was taken on January 1, 2000.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/shared/Storm_of_the_Century.jpg

Hello Richard,

 

Nice house- is the widow's walk functional or just decorative?

 

By the way, is your town a coastal town? I know a lot of the coastal homes of the Victorian era featured "widow's walks" so the sailor's wives and the ship owners could see if their loved ones/ships were making it back okay, (some of them even featured permanently mounted telescopes made of brass or copper).

 

When my dad had a stroke a few years back and I asked my parents to move in with me; I had to give up my Victorian and buy a modern ranch house where everything is on one level. Ranch houses are convenient, but they have little charm. However, I can't complain, I'd rather have my dad around than own a Victorian.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sean

 

* Edited for grammatical error.

Edited October 7, 2006 by corniche

[corniche]

I use a copper plate engraved calling card. It has my name and title printed

in black on a 96lb pearl white card.

Hello Jeen,

 

That's a nice touch- I like that.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sean

[JimStrutton]

Hmm,

 

I gave up with the organisers and such, I now use an A5 diary and a Parker "51"

 

Cameras: Bronica ETRS 645 with several lenses, Bronica lenses can cost more than a whole 35mm camera system, but boy are they worth it. I have a metering head, but I prefer to use a separate meter. Fuji and Kodak still make terrific 120 film. Oh and a Vivitar 285 flash to go with it, plus a full set of Courtney Studio flashes with stands, brollys, boxes the whole nine yards.

 

Minolta 7000/9000 system with loads of lenses. The 7000 I bought new 20 odd years ago, and the 9000 was a s/h buy about five years ago, all original Minolta lenses, the original glass is just that bit better than the after market lenses IMHO.

 

I also use an old Ronson Variflame gas lighter from the 60's, not that I smoke, but you can often need 'to make fire'.

 

Jim

[Ruaidhri]

OK - and leaving aside Murphy Towers and steam for once -

 

Nikon F camera - use my Dad's (he gave me his whole kit when he retired) but also have a couple od digitals.

Play chess & listen to talk radio (but watch TV & play computer games)

Recently gave away my oldest computer - an Osborne Portable !

For many years was a Radio Ham - EI3BSB

Love railways esp GWR

Model railways, ships & planes.

My PDA is a B&W screen Psion 5MX but I keep most of my notes in a samll notebook

Tissot - no quartz, no #$£ battery ! (but GShock for kayaking etc)

I detest bow ties except with formal wear - don't know why, some people can carry it off, I can't

Drive the same car as Mary - Mazda 626 - 1991 and hate automatics

If either of you ladies break a wooden needle & can't find a replacement give me a shout & I'll knock one up for you

 

Richard - Sheila has fallen in love with your picture and wants to how much you want for the house - including snow and postage to Ireland :blink:

 

Regards,

Ruaidhrí

[RichardS]

Cameras: Leica M2, M3, M4 with a few of the less extortionate lenses. But sad to say, the new Nikon digicam gets a lot more use these days ...

 

Car: Bristol 411. Had it as my first car when I passed my driving test and am not giving it up now. These were made to last, and mine was 10 years old when I bought it twenty years ago ...

 

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/6017/411upload3mh1.jpg

 

Watches: all mechanical, oldest wearable is a 1922 Eberhard chronograph.

 

Music: Classical to Rock - but all on vinyl, and via an old Linn Sondek. IPod? No, Youpod.

 

Guitar: Gibson Hummingbird 1973. A bad year, but this nice old guitar doesn't know that.

 

Shaving: Wet, wet, wet. Trumpers soap and Simpson's No. 1 brush. Since I was 20. (But not with the same brush, you understand.)

 

 

 

Just read this back - how reactionary can you get? :bunny1: :bunny1: :bunny1:

[tryphon]

Well;

Cameras: I have a pristine Nikon SP rangefinder, with a 1.4 lens.. and lots of other mechanical cameras. Many years ago I used to collect them and restore them. Now I use mostly my digital Sony R1, a superb instrument. I also have a Nikon D70 that I don't use at all since I got the Sony...

I collect old stereoscopes and also View Masters and clones...

I shave using a badger brush and a Gillette adjustable from 1963!

I have my old Breitling Navitimer that I bought when I entered flying school, but these days I wear a modest but very accurate and rugged Timex chronograph.

I keep old items as collectibles, but use modern equivalents for practicality.

[JimStrutton]

Car: Bristol 411. Had it as my first car when I passed my driving test and am not giving it up now. These were made to last, and mine was 10 years old when I bought it twenty years ago ...

Wow that Bristol, my late Grandfather had one for a while and before that a Rover and before that an Alvis. That is a PROPER motorcar!

 

Trouble is if it were mine I could not leave it parked on the street like that, I would be a nervous wreck in ten minutes.

 

I am glad to note that seeing that you drive a proper car, you now write with a proper fountain pen

 

Jim

[Chris]

I'm pleased to hear there is a continuing interest in 'old' racing bikes.

 

I have one from the 70's built of Reynold's 531 double-butted tubes, forks and stays, Campagnolo lugs and fully Campagnolo Nuovo Record equipped, with a Brooks Professional saddle, Cinelli stem and bars, 10 gears, Clement tubs (perished ) and AVA rims.

 

Not ridden it for so long...

 

Oh, and my wristwatch stops if I forget to wind it up at night, has a leather strap and is not waterproof to 200 metres!

 

I do wear a tie to work, but a bow tie for dinner only.

 

Chris

[pen tom]

I love to cook. While visiting Paris a few years ago, We bought 7 heavy, thick copper pots. They were new, but I've allways admired the old style heavy copper pots that I've seen on TV cooking shows and pictures of the kitchens of some fine resturants.

 

I bought them at a store called E. Dillerhan (spelling may be off). They were much cheaper to buy in France than in the USA.

 

I also collect old electric guitars, amplifiers, effect pedals.(1950s, 1960s some older guitars)

 

The old amplifiers, as well as the best of the new amplifiers use tubes (valves for you Brits). They sound better than the solid state amps.

Edited October 6, 2006 by pen tom

[superfly]

OK, here's my oldie-goldies:

 

1. I shave with (and collect) straight razors. That is my favorite past time, and I enjoy each and every shave. Most of my razors are over 50 years old, and couple are made in the early 1820's. Badger hair brush, and soap or creme only...

 

2. My other favorite hobby: I plug my vintage '86 Squier Strat into my all-tube (valve) Fender Vibrolux Reverb, i believe vintage 1972... I have several other guitars and basses, and I enjoy playing them all... Nothing beats the sound of tubes crancked past 5

 

3. Photography. Although I have sold my Nikon F50 to make room for my next digital camera, I still shoot B&W's on my Lubitel 2, (Twin Lens Reflex) and my Zenit 12XP (SLR) cameras. What can I say, I love Russian mechanical work

 

4. I listen to my music on hand built tube amplifier. Nothing makes Sarah Vaughan's and Nina Simone's voice sound sweeter... and Stevie's guitar too...

 

5. I have couple of mechanical watches, and my daily wear is my Certina DS Pilot, automatic.

 

6. My previous ride was VW Golf 1. '80, I believe...

 

7. I sharpen my knifes on a freehand sharpening stone.

 

 

Im sure there is something else that will throw me back in time, but can't remember right now. Off to write a note with my vintage Pelikan 140 fountain pen...

 

 

Nenad

[RichardS]

Wow that Bristol, my late Grandfather had one for a while and before that a Rover and before that an Alvis.  That is a PROPER motorcar! 

 

Trouble is if it were mine I could not leave it parked on the street like that, I would be a nervous wreck in ten minutes.

Jim, you wouldn't have to worry. Mine has lived on the street since I had it. Aluiminium bodywork means it doesn't rust, and the massive steel chassis ensures anyone who bashes it comes off far worse. Which model did your grandfather have? One of the earlier straight sixes?

 

My great-uncle had an Alvis (TD21) too!

[Mary P]

Wow that Bristol, my late Grandfather had one for a while and before that a Rover and before that an Alvis.

 

My first car of my own - not spouse's, not parent's - was a 1969 Rover TC 2000. My husband tells me that among the things that attracted him when he met me were my strange car and my wonderful dog. Driving an older, orphan car, among the things that attracted me to him were his bona fides as an auto mechanic who knew strange cars well. His second and third cars were DKWs. :)

[Blackhill]

I knit, spin, and crochet. My favorite knitting needles are mid-20th century nylon circular needles. I often use old patterns from this era, too.

[fjf]

I listen to baroque music.

[umenohana]

My house is a throwback, built downtown in 1846, demolished and rebuilt on its present site in 1901. 3900 square feet, but it's not a McMansion. This picture was taken on January 1, 2000.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/shared/Storm_of_the_Century.jpg

 

You can't see the two-story 26x40 barn from here.

 

<snip>

Is this where all the magic (nib-transformation) happens?

 

-Hana

[James P]

When I first read this thread, I thought to myself that I don't have any anachronisms in my life, that I'm a pretty contemporary guy - I use a computer frequently, I have an iPod, a Bluetooth headset for my cell phone, I drive a late-model automobile with a lot of extra trimmings. I have TiVo, for crying out loud!

 

But then I started thinkng and I realized that perhaps I'm not as "modern" as I thought. We roast our own coffee, for one. We bake bread and make our own pasta. Not all the time, but enough. I ride bicycles a lot (less than I used to, I'm sad to report) - even ones made from steel. I prefer hand-crafted and home-brewed beer to the mass-produced varieties, even though my own experiments with the brewing have all turned out badly. Very badly. I don't own a Nintendo or similar video game (never have) and hope never to acquire one. I use a shaving brush and bowl.

 

I prefer film-based photography to digital. I prefer black and white film to color. I prefer my Holga to my digital Canon 10D or 35 mm EOS 5s. (A holga is about as low-tech as it gets - plastic lens, no exposure controls other than "sunny" or "cloudy", focus is determined by an inaccurate graphic scale - 1 person (close up), group of people (a little farther back), a tree (far away) and a mountain range (really far away).

 

I prefer using my Polaroid SX-70 camera with Time Zero film to any other (except maybe the Holga). Much to my dismay, Polaroid recently discontinued this film.

 

James P.

Edited October 6, 2006 by James P

[Blade Runner]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/touche.jpg

I loved sabre fencing for many years before a full time career.

It has an anachronistic flavor.

En garde!

[Blade Runner]

I loved listening to the BBC over my shortwave receiver before BBC

pulled programing to North America. You can hear it over the web now.

But i miss the portability and the romance.