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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 10:24am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Digital anxiety

So there you are – surrounded by your vast and ever growing collection of digital goodies. There are hundreds of concerts burned to disc, many more on the hard drive and shelves groaning with official releases that you bought when you were feeling generous. And then there are the rows of DVDs – the movies you missed and really ought to see, the ones you did see and would really one day like to see again, the boxsets of the TV shows you loved, the TV shows you recorded because you were too busy streaming SDH’s show of the day, and there was a show that just appeared in Trader’s Den that you had to have, and there was that infuriating post on the GD Forum that you just HAD to respond to…

And on top of that there are all those books piling up that you really have to read, there's your collection of vinyl and cassettes boxed up for years in the garage but absolutely positively never to be got rid of, because, yes, you will listen to then again some time…

And one day, as you get older, you start to think, I’m not going to live for ever. So where am I going to find the time for all of this? But you damned sure won’t give any of it up because, well, this stuff is important isn’t it?

Or is it just me?

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Poster: JodyC Date: Feb 20, 2008 4:45pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Two words:early retirement. And while I love my wife, surely she will need me distracted by something so she won't have to look at me at day. That will be me listening to years of dead and reading all those books I meant to read. Figure sleep for 8 or 9 hours, put on a little acoustic with breakfast. Maybe put on the 66-71 for the morning two mile walk. Read/nap/lunch. 74-84 while "working" in the garage or basement. Dinner/book/85-95 to mellow you out. Repeat for as long as possible from age 67 on. Oh yeah, I'll have the killer medicinal for my "glaucoma".

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 4:54pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Sounds like a plan, Jody! Hey, meant to tell you, I sorted out my LLegs problem. Just disconnected the computer from the router and went straight in and everything was fine as could be - in minutes I was the proud possessor of a nice little Kingfish show!

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 21, 2008 7:22am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Ironic in the thread about having too much you joyously describe your abilities to overcome the limitations that were precluding the attainment of more.

Funny.

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 21, 2008 7:32am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

I'm not an addict. I know when to stop. Just one more won't hurt...

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 21, 2008 7:48am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Not sure what I am going to do...stand alone drive, meager by comparison to those of serious addicts, 250 gb, was to last a life time for me, never to be filled, never to be surpassed, never to be the first step toward the acquisition of multiple drives cluttering up the work space. But, what with all the new upgrades, and expansion to include, shudder the thought, a number of 71 shows, and I am just about at my limit.

Something has to give. Hmmm, just noticed one laptop has almost 100 gb just sitting around doing nothing. Like finding a baggie of goodies you had somehow forgotten was stashed in that hiding place no one would look in that you promptly forgot about after the paranoia subsided.

There is a God.

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Poster: blacklakelight Date: Feb 21, 2008 7:45am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety


You know, Rush predicted this would happen with the digital man.

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Poster: JodyC Date: Feb 20, 2008 6:02pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Thats good to hear. Too much good music there to have problems.

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Poster: elbow1126 Date: Feb 20, 2008 11:34am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

I guess I never get to that point because i do gain a certain amount of pleasure just acquiring certain shows, etc. Isn't that also part of collecting? I mean why would people collect 1000s of bottles of wine? This is kind of the same except it takes up less space, costs less money and like wine many of these suckers seem to get better with age.

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Poster: mcgannahan Date: Feb 20, 2008 11:58am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

damn it, why did the dead have to play so many fuckin shows! oh, because they couldn't sell records.

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Poster: patkelley Date: Feb 20, 2008 12:09pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Rob- all you have to do is limit your GD exposure to stuff after 1981, as I do. Then you'll find that you only have half the work to do you previously thought you did.

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 12:23pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Sound advice, Pat - though I'm sure you'd like me to point out that you meant to say 'before' 1981...

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Poster: bluedevil Date: Feb 20, 2008 12:28pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

I can't punish myself - it takes 10 vintage shows from 68 - 77 to wash out the stink of one post 90 show (yea, I know there are some good ones - love those 6 song first sets and on a good night 3 songs post drums)

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Poster: patkelley Date: Feb 20, 2008 12:46pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Ohhhhh, right. I was actually going to say post-1984, but then I thought of some real throwdowns from 82 and 83.

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 20, 2008 2:41pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Hey, even "pre 71" leads to the same problem, so there is NO hope for you 70s (80s?!?) losers...

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 2:47pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Two words to justify post 71 - Scarlet Begonias.

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 20, 2008 3:25pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...you win again.

Well, okay...point taken...gotta love that tune...you could've mentioned a handful of others, but that one does do it for me.

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Poster: SomeDarkHollow Date: Feb 20, 2008 11:03am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety -or- Say Hello To My Little Friend

Have I been called out yet again? Is it your position thay my occasional suggestions of quality listening material actually serves as some kind of diversion from other tasks? Good. Then it's working. Your points are all spot-on. Almost every day I survey my ever-growing collection of media and despair that I will never have enough time to actually listen to/watch all of it. This is the equivalent of Tony Montana staring at the huge pile of cocaine on his desk. How can he/we possibly snort/watch/listen to the whole thing? Well, just like Tony does, we can only plunge headfirst into the pile and ingest as much as we can. And also hope that a mercenary army of trained assassins, funded by a Columbian drug lord, isn't silently creeping up the stairs towards us after our mentally scarred sister, whose husband we just killed, has burst into our room firing haphazardly in a weak attempt to kill us and is then promptly gunned down by one of the hired killers. I hate when that happens.
This post was modified by SomeDarkHollow on 2008-02-20 19:03:28

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Poster: elbow1126 Date: Feb 20, 2008 11:34am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety -or- Say Hello To My Little Friend

perhaps a little too much sugar in the coffee today?

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 20, 2008 12:00pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...I'm a lesser man than you

only in the sense that I think I have far less to keep track of than you...seriously...I have a total of five non DEAD digital shows on the drive...I only have shows (well, more than five in a yr) from 66-71...Okay, I do have a crap load of VHS and DVD movies, but the vinyl and cassette collections EACH fit in a box (but you are right--they have been safely tucked away for years).

Hmmm...you actually nailed me perfectly--I just think I have less than you; perhaps that makes me a lesser man than you in that materialistic sense.

Crap--what I am doing now is regularly replacing the old shows with upgrades, but I can't bear to part with the original...take 2-14-68: I must have four different versions, each complete, of that one, thanks to C Miller and Arb!

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 1:17pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...I'm a lesser man than you

I guess I am somewhat materialistic, but the only materials that really mean that much to me are books and music – I’d guess that a high percentage of my disposable income has gone into those over the years. The advent of the Internet and easy downloading has just turned me into a hyper-enthusiastic digital packrat. There’s just too much, too readily available. Like Larry said, there’s a certain pleasure to be had just in the act of collecting, but there’s still that voice that wonders just what you’re collecting it all for.

And you didn't say how big those boxes actually were ...

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 20, 2008 2:30pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...I'm a lesser man than you

Ha! Well, I can still lift them, which in my condition, means "not too large." And, my entire non DEAD CD collection is roughly 50 CDs...I really am the myopic narrow minded twit you take me for. Why else would I be spending my time here with you all? At least I immerse myself fully in the "scene" as we Northern California New Age types are apt to say...hmmm, now that I think of it, I do have a 100 or so CDs of various sorts in the various cars the family drives...but those are in "books" and somewhat transitory by definition...

Anyhow, your point is absolutely well taken. I probably have way too much of all this stuff. In the 70s we HEADs used to joke about making a tape with all NINE MMUnc recordings we had...I could now easily make a CD with nothing but StSt: probably have 75 different versions of that song now, so I suppose it would take a lot more than one CD!?

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Feb 20, 2008 2:41pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...I'm a lesser man than you

ok - so what do you listen to when you're not listening to the Dead? Who are the favoured few to make it on to the William Tell playlist?

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Poster: William Tell Date: Feb 20, 2008 3:26pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety...I'm a lesser man than you

60s regurg...all the usual suspects. For anything modern, White Stripes would take the cake. Do have a DVD of them live, and a couple CDs.

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Poster: staggerleib Date: Feb 20, 2008 10:47am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

So funny, Rob. Timing is everything.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19174564

NPR is a vice of mine. I actually find myself listening in the car far more often than I listen to the dead while driving. But, can't stream at work (damned BlueCoat rules!)

This guy has been collecting since 1968, and is selling his entire collection (3 million LP's (mostly 45's), hundreds of thousands of CD's) he's got it posted up on ebay.

I find that collecting is a sort of addiction. And, I also find it to be completely justifiable.

I just fear the inevitable crash! Or, how about a pinch bomb?

That'd suck.

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Poster: NoiseCollector Date: Feb 21, 2008 6:20am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

Is this a trap? A ploy to get me to agree with people and relate as a fellow human being so I can be subjected to an extreme example of the adorementioned tempting post?

Collecting sound? You mean it can become addictive? What are you trying to say? Oh no, I posted again in here without permission... I need to call my sponsor.

This message has been modified to fit your screen.

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Poster: staggerleib Date: Feb 21, 2008 11:25am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: Digital anxiety

I think that the syndrome of collecting can really be virtually anything. Wine, books, cars, sexual partners, and most definitely music.

I'm no expert, but I think that it's a benign sort of addiction. I guess that the definition of addiction is something that couldn't be given up if one tried, without some serious effort. I know people who cannot get around that. Some of them collect. I know a little about addictions, though i don't seem to suffer from them myself fortunately.

I've known people who have been consumed by their addictions. I've also noticed that a large percentage of these folks had collections. I may not be a doctor, but I don't play one on tv