Question for other old people

[Rich Engelhardt]

Has anybody else gotten to the point where...

You just don't want to (to be polite) - mess with stuff - anymore?

I was looking at something to buy - what isn't important - and it came with all sorts of directions about how to assemble it, set it up, adjust it and maintain it.
(ok - it's an E-bike).

The more I read, the more I thought - "heck with that!" (again. being polite here).

Then again today, I was looking at a post in General about fixing up a bandsaw or replacing it. That sent me off to read up on what all you can do to tune a bandsaw. I remembered Michael Fortune did a really good piece on it years ago so I dug up some stuff I could find.
While i was sifting through all that - it stuck me - "why bother"?!?!?

Right now I'm sitting here thinking I'll use my trip to the dentist this morning to get two fillings as an excuse to just lounge around the house all day like some big fat lizard/sloth.

[Bill Dufour]

After 18 months of virtual teaching and now being retired I have realized it i a waste of time to try to figure out all the ins and outs of a computer program. I finally realized it was not my fault if the computer messed up. I am a college educated adult and if it is not easy to figure out it is the programmers fault.
The first few times I could not connect online I felt bad that I had to walk with my laptop to the tech room on campus. But it took the experts several minutes to clear up the issues. One time the entire district,and I think the entire nation.could not connect with their students for 2.5 days. Not my fault. Not my problem.
Our friend gave me a ride in his Tesla. A year ago I was impressed by the 17 inch touch screen that is the control system. Now I am scared of it. There is no way to adjust anything with out taking your eyes off the road and looking at the screen to see what you are doing. No tactical knobs. He says it automatically updates to include new features you may not want. You can not get back the old one if you preferred that. It is too much tech for the sake of tech.
There is a reason many knobs and levers on a airplane have different shapes and move in different directions. This allows the pilot to know what knob he is moving and not look away.
Bill D

[Ron Citerone]

Yes and no. I don't feel like messing with some things and I just had the thought today that many products are more complicated/sophisticated than they need to be. I wish they put the money towards simplicity and product life instead.

Retired now I still love to mess with some things and I get to pick and choose what and when. That's why I answered yes and no.

[Mike Henderson]

I haven't gotten to that place yet. There are things that I don't enjoy doing, such as repairing lawn sprinkler stuff - but I'm still busy with other things I enjoy. My wife tells me to hire someone to do the sprinkler things but I'm too cheap to do that. I put it off as long as I can but I eventually do it.

My big problem is time. I just don't have time to do everything. One reason is that I take a nap after lunch and that takes time out of my day.

You don't say how old you are so maybe there's a big age difference between us. But you'd have to be really old to be older than me.

Mike

[Ron Citerone]

After 18 months of virtual teaching and now being retired I have realized it i a waste of time to try to figure out all the ins and outs of a computer program. I finally realized it was not my fault if the computer messed up. I am a college educated adult and if it is not easy to figure out it is the programmers fault.
The first few times I could not connect online I felt bad that I had to walk with my laptop to the tech room on campus. But it took the experts several minutes to clear up the issues. One time the entire district,and I think the entire nation.could not connect with their students for 2.5 days. Not my fault. Not my problem.
Our friend gave me a ride in his Tesla. A year ago I was impressed by the 17 inch touch screen that is the control system. Now I am scared of it. There is no way to adjust anything with out taking your eyes off the road and looking at the screen to see what you are doing. No tactical knobs. He says it automatically updates to include new features you may not want. You can not get back the old one if you preferred that. It is too much tech for the sake of tech.
There is a reason many knobs and levers on a airplane have different shapes and move in different directions. This allows the pilot to know what knob he is moving and not look away.
Bill D

Agree totally!

[Lisa Starr]

I'm not that old in calendar years, okay 60, but understand your feelings since I have several lingering side effects from two goes with cancer. I think I've learned a couple of things:

a) it is somewhat cyclic. If I have a busy day or two, I'll be very uninterested in things for the next couple after that. Pace yourself, when possible to avoid the down days.

b) mental outlook affects physical activity and vis a versa. If I'm mentally feeling good, I'm much more likely to enjoy doing something. On the other hand, if I force myself to do something, my mood will improve.

c) consider a good checkup with your GP. When my bloodwork gets out of whack, everything looks insurmountable.

[Bill Dufour]

One of the biggest changes with age is I know we are living in our forever house. Just last week I realized it was fine to cut up a four foot scrap of copper pipe to get two 6" long pieces. I will probably never use that full length in my life anyway.
No longer any need to save for a rainy day.
Bill D.

[Edward Weber]

These days it seems that very little is tested or completely thought through before it's sold to the consumer, except cars which are highly regulated.
I'm a fan of technology but in the right amount and the right place. I hate buying a product, like the OP, and having to fix it, tweak it or something, just to get it to work properly. Some people say "just buy a better/more expensive one". Problem is, you end up with the same issue no matter what you pay. I prefer things under-engineered and over-built. I like stuff that just works.

[Jim Becker]

I think that as we, um...mature...we get a little more considerate of choosing our battles when it comes to complexity and Murphy's Law. I'm more impatient about a few things...like having to go to four different suppliers to get what I needed to wire my temporary shop this past week and multiple suppliers for subsequent buys to finish the work. (stuff missed and stuff needed because of "in the field" changes to the design) I've put off replacing the disposal under the kitchen sink here at the new property simply because I don't relish the time I'll be spending down on the floor which is more difficult at this point...but not enough to hire a plumber, so it remains "on the list". I honestly don't have too much patience for worrying about my own impatience right now as I'm trying harder to do what I need to do to compensate for Professor Dr. SWMBO's short term memory things that are noticable...like changing how I react. That's more important than my own discomforts right now.

[dennis thompson]

I'm 77 , pretty healthy and happy to still be here. I'm able ,and lucky enough, to walk four miles on the boardwalk, overlooking the Atlantic ocean every day.
I still like to fix stuff and try to learn something new every day. I just learned that my scroll saw won't cut through 2.5" thick purpleheart, guess I'll go to the bandsaw which isn't so great when you make the small stuff I make (2"x1.4"x 2"), guess I'll be doing more sanding than I had hoped to.
I've moved through several stages of hobbyist woodworking, started with furniture for my wife, filled the house and moved on to toys for my grandson, and now make models for myself.

[Bert Kemp]

Go look at my post office posts LOL I've had it with the PO. They are constantly messing up. But what can ya do, Nothing. their there we have to use them. So we deal with it, but it does get my blood pressure rising.
The media and Politics arggggg I'm so sick of it all, I hate watching the news or reading the news , but hell if ya don't you have no idea whats going on in the world, but what you do know from the hews that at least half of it is wrong and the other half , half lies, it takes a better man then I to sort it out to whats real and whats not.. I do like BBC news some what, I think they more or less tell it straight, most of the time LOL
I could write a book on this subject but that would just tic me off more LOL

[michael langman]

Boy do I hear you Rich.
I have spent most of my life making and repairing, everything.
It's not that I got this big thrill out of figuring something out, I just went in that direction naturally, and before you know it, here I am, with a broke down back, worn out joints everywhere, the eyesight of a bat, and all of that cheap lousy crap made by people, without the know how, or whatever, to do things correctly, with the finesse and attention to detail that most things need, to be done correctly.
It takes a much bigger part of me to say," Well I think I'll just have to let that go," and save my time and energy helping the Mrs. open that can of corn, with a pair of channel locks, because the company that processes the cans of vegetables doesn't have the where with all, to correct the tooling that crimps the perimeter of the lid, so your average Joe can grasp that tab that is crimped so tightly to the lid that it takes a normal guy with a 2 foot screw driver to pry the tab up so they can attempt to pull the lid off of the can, and then pull that lid up and off of the can using the channel locks, as a fulcrum, to get to that gmo raised corn that was,,,

[Alex Zeller]

I'm closing in on retirement age so not what I would call old. But I find that I really don't like working on cars anymore. I'll still do it vs pay someone and I have plenty of tools and a car lift. When I was 20 something I would pull an engine out any time of the day to replace a slipping clutch. If anything waiting bothered me more than just getting the job done. Not so much now. It's one of the reasons why woodworking drew me back in. I have no timetable for when something needs to get done and most everything is a new challenge. I always tell my wife I'm looking forward to the day when I'm an old man who's angry at everything (even though I'm not).

[Andrew Joiner]

Yes, I get it Rich. I do say "why bother" more often than when I was younger. I only do really needed repairs and maintenance now unless it's something I'm passionate about. Often a fine line to walk because I've learned to say "yes dear" to everything my wife wants done

For example I'm happy to keep my windsurf gear ready for the next windy day. My lawnmower is in laughably poor shape.

Thankfully even with my laid back attitude things seem to work out, one day at a time.

[Sam Force]

Reached that age a couple years ago. I have a 2 year old mower that won't run, left it sitting in front of the garage for 2 weeks hoping someone would steal it so I could justify buying a new 1. Hate to work on mowers, and cars, and multiple other things