Low Technology

Dear Diary,

One of the things I've been doing to prepare both for hiking in the rain and for the possibility I'll become homeless again is buying ball point pens.

I bought several gel pens with the stimulus money.  I can see why stores prefer to sell them:  they're much more expensive than ball point pens, and they don't last as long.  But the particular thing that matters to me is this:

Turns out, according to Wikipedia, gel pens use water-soluble inks, so this would've been predictable if I'd bothered with the topic.  In contrast, ball point pens use oil-soluble inks, so when today I was trapped by thorny vines on undeveloped 38th Ave NE, and had to set my bags down to deal with the situation, my notes got wrinkled on their bottom edges, but didn't dissolve beyond recall:

I got these pens by doing a study.  This particular study advertised how much it paid heavily, but hid the fact that it paid only in Amazon dollars, not real dollars, in the fine print.  So I had 75 Amazon dollars, no help at all in paying rent, but when I was unable to buy even red ball point pens at local stores, let alone green or purple ones, I remembered them, and spent half of the 75 getting those three colours (including shipping).

I don't actually think of myself nearly as often any more as old-fashioned, as I used to.  These days I generally pick whatever looks more sensible to me.  I can't afford to subscribe to the newspaper until I get a lasting job, and it's looking like, because I've had so many jobs that didn't last in the past, I'll probably never get another one that does last.  (This is also why I still pay shipping fees to Amazon.)  That said, I use a print newspaper in taking door shots of restrooms, water fountains and similar things because it's a convenient way of setting a visible terminus post quem, not because I have some objection to digital news.

But it's still true that I don't object to older technology, such as ball point pens and print newspapers, just because it's older.

Anyway, dear Diary, I look forward to telling you what those notes mean, and the others too, but I'm really, really tired, and tonight I'm going to relax, listen to music, and read instead.  I hope to return by Sunday, maybe even sooner, but for now, have a happy weekend, and wish one to anyone who reads you too.