*****
Back in 2003, I bought a new wardrobe, including a few pairs of quality jogging pants, T-shirts and sweatshirts, hoodies, mostly. These are my casual-dress comforts which keep me sane. In 2003, at a local outlet store, I had found the finest garments known to man…or, at least, to me. There wasn’t anything particularly fancy or expensive-looking about these clothes. Yet, they have lasted nearly 20 years without failing. Only in the past two years have I started to notice wear and tear. It started with a rare chocolate-brown hoodie losing a few stitches along the pouch/pocket. That might have been back in 2017. Then, the finest gray jogging pants frayed in places I’d rather not mention, sometime between 2019 and 2020. And, just a few weeks ago, my second favorite, those maroon jogging pants in the photo, developed minor unsettling holes after being washed.
Now, compare that with a pair of jogging pants bought less than 10 years ago. It’s a more “socially acceptable” (if that makes any sense to anyone who isn’t like my family) travel style of jogging pants with non-elastic cuffs. It has been easily discolored and gradually losing its shape and smoothness; it’s at the point I worry about wearing them in public. And, other clothing I’ve purchased over the years, namely jogging pants, have easily torn pockets in the wash, exposing undergarments. I might see a pair lose it’s “new” shine the first time I wash them. Or, a shirt that’s supposed to be wrinkle-resistant comes out of the wash looking like a wavy rag that even an iron cannot save (without risk of burn). How lousy is that?!
Sure. You easily say, “Then replace them!” But, if we are not careful, the landfills we are trying to avoid amassing will become so overwhelming to our increasingly irresponsible species that we flee the planet in favor of all the wealthy industrialists just waiting to get insanely rich off being the ones to colonize another planet.
And, remember what I just said about the Champion clothes from 2003. They have lasted almost 20 years without sign of wear and tear. Looking at them, you wouldn’t be so quick to cast them out into the trash, even if you are fashion forward monsters who feel the need to have new clothes every year you get carted around this planet.
This same conversation could be had about computers. My first computer was not something you’d advertise to the masses as the star computer for gaming, music streaming, etc.; things you take for granted more recently due to all the advances that have become more commonplace. Yet, that first computer was enough for me. It did what I needed. It did more; I just had to discover all of its assets. Then tragedy struck when I foolishly interacted with someone I should not have trusted; the PC got a virus and slowly descended into antiquity. I tried to salvage it with a new hard drive, but the artificial heart was too big for the poor little computer soul’s chest.
[And, sorry, I didn’t dish out $150 per hour to some “tech expert,” at the time, to remedy my situation. If I spent $500 or more to fix the thing, I’d have paid more to save it than it cost me, initially. If you know anything about car shopping, you know that’s not smart.]
Similarly, my next computer was a laptop people had told me would be a disappointment. It wasn’t the latest thing out there and Windows Vista was supposedly on the way out as fast as it was “in.” That laptop was a gem. It had all the basic software I needed–well, except for an art program–to satisfy my creative interests and to probably handle all of the “business” this life seems to require. Then, one foolish night, I had an accident; and, though the “tank” didn’t LOOK damaged, it was clinging to its last breath and unable to perform some basic functions. I was lucky to salvage files with a flash drive.
I quickly sought out a replacement and, after some unnecessary quarreling with family about decision-making, picked something that seemed sensible and not too expensive. But, without the same quality salesmanship I had when purchasing the previous one, it seemed my purchase-by-mail was doomed to fail. I feared it from the moment I doubted shopping online. I feared it from the moment the damaged box arrived on the porch. Fortunately, I managed to get it working with some online assistance; had I not even received that much help, I wouldn’t be here talking about this with you, now. But, I soon realized how much this new model was lacking. It has none of the software the previous one provided for my enjoyment; instead there are notices for what I COULD purchase to add to my inventory. There are little carpet samples that, as soon as you activate them, ask you to buy something and subscribe to keep using it, year after year. I had none of that with the Vista laptop; it was its own useful machine. And, it cost almost as much as the one I now use. In less time than it took me to ruin the Vista model, this thing has had more hang-ups and update issues. [I’ve written about these before, so there’s no point in repeating. You can look back to find those stories.] And, within the last year, one of the mouse-pad buttons has become a loose tooth. [The Vista model was rock solid for 8 years and only failed when I had an accident. This thing is falling apart after 5.]
Had I known how quality would diminish in the next few years, with all that has been going on in this screwed-up world, I would have bought stock in the Champion brand…in 2003…and then probably sold the stock before 2010. Had I known how poorly made my future clothing purchases would be, I would have bought a boatload of the garments I modestly added to my collection. And, the same goes for these “dumb” computers we’re being force-fed every year.
[Let me pause by just saying computers may be the next economy that ruins humanity. After dealing with cash and related crimes for so many years, now, with computers and artificial intelligence, it seems the world needs a new villain (someone other than a bank robber or mafia boss). So, someone created computer brains. Smart…I say sarcastically. Unlike choosing quality clothing, computers don’t offer the same choices. Software becomes “required” and is what it is. You don’t find different quality variants of Windows operating systems. You get Windows This Year, and you live with it til they pitch the next one. What sort of freedom is that? Who is running our lives? Hackers are the latest bank robbers, and the economy pushes everyone to give up paper in favor of digital and AI everything. Do you feel like a lemming on the edge of a cliff? I sure do. Except, I am looking over my shoulder and quietly urging everyone to step back.]
Has it really fallen so far? Quality? Is this the sign of the end?…and end we COULD prevent if we only cared…more? Has the interest in making things we use reliable deteriorated so badly that fewer and fewer care to even try? Is the majority already in favor of just giving up and pitching crap to starving fools?
If you hear a dumb voice–perhaps your own–saying, “YYYUP!” –Shame on you. We cannot just shrug and give in so easily.
But, I am not a do-all deity capable of solving every problem on the planet. I have desires for things to be better but so little control over the matter…at least, I FEEL helpless without any of the connections so many seem to have at their fingertips to make things we DON’T want or need available for sale.
Oh, the latest this and that have brains, now, and they will tell us everything we didn’t want to know; and that’s a reason to dump what we have to get the new models. Mooo! Move along, cattle, to keep the economy of fools going.
When do we–sigh–get smart and reverse course on human stupidity? And, if it’s already too late, when did it start to tip the scale the wrong way? Why does this life increasingly feel like a giant cruise ship headed for an iceberg? Sorry, Leo, your nude drawings are a waste of time when the livelihood of humanity is at stake.
I’ll this rant–though it can never really end until it’s resolved–by sounding like an ER doctor. Do we call it? Time of death? Is quality __________dead?
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