"CaveLamb" wrote in message
m...
Steve,
You and Ig may be able to appreciate this.
I've figured out what the key to the 21st Century is...

During the 20th Century the key was development and expansion.
Science discovered, engineering implemented, and WE
(the great unwashed masses) - consumed.

But the 21st Century is a bit different.

A week or so back I broke my computer lamp.
I was digging around behind the computer and knocked it off
and broke the green class shade.

So I went to Walmart and bought a new small lamp for the computer.

The old lamp was brass plated steel (METAL!) This one is cast resin
with a cute red shad.

Unfortunately, it was broken in the box. The resin shaft was broken.

There were plenty of opportunities for it to get broken.
It was made in China and traveled half way around the world to get here.
But my immediate suspicions were that someone dropped it on the way home
with it, and returned it to Walmart - broken.

Walmart, still hoping to turn a profit on it, put it back on the shelf
and sold it again. That's how I came by it. (there is one born every
minute)

But upon looking at it. I decided that 15 seconds worth of Super Glue
would fix it - and nobody could tell it had eveb been broken!

So I fixed it.
And it sits on top of my computer right now.

So I've come to believe that the key to the 21st Century is
to replace broken things with less-broken things...

Like Russia in the 1950's - 1980's.

In times of affluence, I must admit to having "just bought another one"
instead of taking 15 seconds to SuperGlue the old one and get ten more years
service out of it. I think that is changing now, and we will see more
Depression Era attitude of fix it and keep the old one running until failure
mode.

And the good news is that there is enough supply of quality made goods that
are twenty years old sitting around, being sold at yard sales very cheaply
that will outlast this current crop of plastic crap that is being sold, and
the talented fixit guy will win out.

Steve

Heart surgery pending?
Read up and prepare.
Learn how to care for a friend.
http://cabgbypasssurgery.com