A normal Swiss rubbish disposal container, the end station for all things obsolete. As I am still here writing my daily blog, I have not yet been disposed of, I am still necessary to impose my ideas and thoughts on the world, and Mr. Swiss still needs me to cook the dinner. It would not be fair to list other daily duties I take care of, as the “I” becomes a “we”. We live in a democracy, a partnership: after having established this fact that neither I nor Mr. Swiss has a wish to dispose of the partner. I now turn to the task at hand, which technology do I miss most?
I came to the conclusion that I do not miss any. I remember the old 78 rpm records, the only ones available when I was a kid. I might even have one somewhere in the cellar, but compared to a CD (which are slowly becoming obsolete) or an iPod they were not something to be mourned in passing. They did have another use. When heated you could bend them into the shape of a pot, useful for flowering plants.
I do miss the lemon tartlets my grandmother made. She passed on many years ago and took the secret to the grave with her, but they made an impression on my childhood mind. They would now be obsolete as no-one knows how she made them. She grew up in the country and did not know modern technologies, it was around the time when the railway arrived in her village, blowing steam into the countryside and polluting the atmosphere, so I do not miss the steam trains.
I do not miss the Brownie camera I have in the cellar, inherited from my mother. I grew up with this camera, shielding the little window from the light as you slid the lever and hoping that a white stripe of light would not spoil the photo. It was a box camera and patience was required until the finished photos could be picked up at the chemist’s shop. Today we have digital, everything is digital. The photos are pixilated, instantly ready for observing and load them onto the computer. Play with them in a photo programme and you have your Pulitzer prize winning photo. Poor old Ansel Adams had to apply his secret mixture of developing liquid to achieve his perfect black and white results, and in the bargain collecting some burns on his hands. So long live the digital camera.
My felines are also happy with their
vitamin enriched pellet food mixture that they are served. Their dishes are
always full.
“Who said that Mrs. Human?”. I was interrupted – again – by my big fat black long furred cat Nera with the sharpest claws.
“I did Nera, any objections?”
“Of course, imagine a human life where cooking became obsolete and you were served with the same dish of food every day, the only difference being the flavour. Mine arrive usually with chicken flavour. That reminds me, you never asked us felines which flavour we would prefer. According to my pawpad they are also available in beef and rabbit.”
“Oh, Nera, basically they all look the same.”
“Yes Mrs. Human and also taste the same, So imagine sitting at the human dining table and daily crunching away on hamburger pellets, or roast chicken pellets.”
“Nera, you cannot compare human food to feline food. We have different needs.”
“Exactly, so what about our feline needs for a fresh tuna fish dinner garnished with caviar, or chicken breasts with a pinch of tarragon. No, we felines have to do with vitamin filled dried pellets. They are not as pleasant in a hairball moment to recycle as genuine meat and fish. I think I will report you to the RSPCC (Royal society for prevention to cruelty to cats).”
“Forget it Nera, clinically prepared pellets are now the thing, and all other food items are gradually becoming obsolete in our house.”
“Correction Mrs. Human: “in our territory” so what arrives on our special feline dishes is determined by us felines, we were here first – think of the Egyptian corn chambers running alive with real mice. You should be ashamed of yourself Mrs. Human”.
She walked off swishing her long black furry tail and I was still trying to work out what that was all about: made a note on my shopping list “two tins of tuna fish”, just to be on the safe side.
“Who said that Mrs. Human?”. I was interrupted – again – by my big fat black long furred cat Nera with the sharpest claws.
“I did Nera, any objections?”
“Of course, imagine a human life where cooking became obsolete and you were served with the same dish of food every day, the only difference being the flavour. Mine arrive usually with chicken flavour. That reminds me, you never asked us felines which flavour we would prefer. According to my pawpad they are also available in beef and rabbit.”
“Oh, Nera, basically they all look the same.”
“Yes Mrs. Human and also taste the same, So imagine sitting at the human dining table and daily crunching away on hamburger pellets, or roast chicken pellets.”
“Nera, you cannot compare human food to feline food. We have different needs.”
“Exactly, so what about our feline needs for a fresh tuna fish dinner garnished with caviar, or chicken breasts with a pinch of tarragon. No, we felines have to do with vitamin filled dried pellets. They are not as pleasant in a hairball moment to recycle as genuine meat and fish. I think I will report you to the RSPCC (Royal society for prevention to cruelty to cats).”
“Forget it Nera, clinically prepared pellets are now the thing, and all other food items are gradually becoming obsolete in our house.”
“Correction Mrs. Human: “in our territory” so what arrives on our special feline dishes is determined by us felines, we were here first – think of the Egyptian corn chambers running alive with real mice. You should be ashamed of yourself Mrs. Human”.
She walked off swishing her long black furry tail and I was still trying to work out what that was all about: made a note on my shopping list “two tins of tuna fish”, just to be on the safe side.
I don't miss any particularly, either. All served their purpose at the time they were popular, but now they have been replaced my more useful and advanced technology.
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