# Despite modern technology, I still....\[fill in activity of choice\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938 "2013-01-03T10:19:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/21 "2013-01-03T16:10:47Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Mine is mostly having to do with saving money. Don’t have a smartphone – data plans are too expensive. File taxes by hand – when it’s completely free (not even having to buy a tool) then I’ll consider it. I _would_ feed my pennies into a counting machine if they were free, or very cheap, and convenient, but I will probably always still roll my other change. After all, if I don’t roll it how will I know how much I have? I do all of this stuff, too. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/22 "2013-01-03T16:37:11Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Despite Facebook, I write my most private musings in longhand, in one of those composition books with a black and white cover, with a cartridge fountain pen. I’ve been doing this for over 40 years now, though I’ve managed to lose some of the notebooks during moves and leaky roofs and whatever. Believe it or not, there are some things that I just don’t want to share. Are they the [pinkest and most delicate parts](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14881499&postcount=52) of your soul? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/23 "2013-01-03T16:39:52Z")
I read by candle and oil-lamplight. I like the warmth of the light and the way it encloses my workspace so I have fewer distractions in sight. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/24 "2013-01-03T16:39:53Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Are they the pinkest, most delicate parts of your soul? I’m constantly getting cat hair in the pinkest most delicate parts of my soul. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/25 "2013-01-03T21:55:09Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I use a wall calendar. This was the first year we used the snowblower, though, and honestly you can pry it from my cold dead hands. I don’t believe in snow blowers. Snow blowers are for women and Frenchmen. Seriously, all you have to do is wait 12 hours and the sun will get rid of it, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/26 "2013-01-03T22:01:59Z")
I don’t own an MP3 player. I still buy music on CDs. By the same token, I still buy books made from wood pulp. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/27 "2013-01-03T22:19:37Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I’m constantly getting cat hair in the pinkest most delicate parts of my soul. It really does get everywhere, doesn’t it? I hang my clothes up to dry on my clothesline in my basement (and sometimes outside in the backyard). I do dry the towels in my dryer, though - the washer tends to ball them up, and they need re-fluffing. I still read paper books. That doesn’t seem awfully old-fashioned, though, that just seems normal to me. Manual can opener? Check, but I wish I’d kept the ancient electric can-opener my husband had. It worked like a damn. I also wash dishes by hand because the dishwasher is broken. I am not rushing to replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Ibanez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a4c791/32.png) [@Ibanez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibanez)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/28 "2013-01-03T23:03:26Z")
Despite wilderness GPS which I bring with me on camping trips, I prefer to use a map and compass. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/29 "2013-01-03T23:27:15Z")
[This is me](http://i.imgur.com/5qOPW.gif) when I see someone using an electric can opener. It boggles my mind why someone would want to replace a $1 tool with a $15+ plastic hunk which either needs batteries or an outlet. I don’t think there’s any other thing yet listed for which I’m a traditionalist, though. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/30 "2013-01-04T01:09:04Z")
Wait – wall calenders are becoming a thing of the past? > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I don’t own an MP3 player. I still buy music on CDs. > > By the same token, I still buy books made from wood pulp. Holy shit, we finally agree on something. (I have an mp3 player though. It’s more convenient for traveling. But I still buy CDs) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/31 "2013-01-04T01:17:10Z")
I only buy or read real books, no electronic ones. When I make my own bread, I love the kneading by hand and all the rest. I wouldn’t use a bread machine unless someone paid me to do it. I also make pie crust from scratch, by hand, cutting in the shortening with knives. When the weather is appropriate I hang clothes outside to dry. I think I have an electric can opener somewhere, but I don’t know where. The only need I see for that is if one has arthritic hands and the manual one is too difficult to use. Unless I have more dirty dishes than will fit in the dish drainer, I wash them by hand, saving the dishwasher for when we’ve had company. Even then, for holidays I use my mother’s china which is at least 50 years old and definitely not dishwasher-safe. I also know how to crochet and to do tatting although I cannot knit properly for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/32 "2013-01-04T01:24:16Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > [This is me](http://i.imgur.com/5qOPW.gif) when I see someone using an electric can opener. It boggles my mind why someone would want to replace a $1 tool with a $15+ plastic hunk which either needs batteries or an outlet. I don’t think there’s any other thing yet listed for which I’m a traditionalist, though. I use an electric can opener when my hands spasm to much to hold a manual can opener, or when my knuckles swell so that holding one is painful. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/33 "2013-01-04T02:07:35Z")
No dishwasher. Bought electric can opener; never installed it. Still use landline phone. Cell is for emergencies. Still read books. Roll coins by hand. Still buy CDs, download them onto computer. No self-cleaning litter box. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/34 "2013-01-04T03:38:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Wait – wall calenders are becoming a thing of the past? Are they? Fine, I’ll just be vintage with my Men of Youtube calendar, then. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/35 "2013-01-04T04:00:16Z")
Can opener, manual. It’s not that I don’t like auto can openers (especially when I’m making something that requires a gajillion cans, like tomato sauce or chili), it’s that I have no free counter space. The last square inches just got filled with a SodaStream and a battery operated corkscrew (don’t ask. Christmas gift.) I had no idea manual cat litter boxes were a relic, but sure, that’s me, too. Two of them, in fact. But I do use newfangled crystal litter, 'cause the stuff lasts a month with two cats and honest to Og doesn’t smell.) Dayplanner. I tried using the one on my phone, but I never remember to sync it, and one time my phone died and my calendar went poof. That was a crappy month, as I tried to figure out where I was supposed to be each day. Paper is actually quicker and easier to amend, as well as easier to look back on, look forward many months in and count x number of days forward and back, which are things I often need to do. Saline moistened gauze in wounds. There are all sorts of new and exciting (and expensive!) wound packing materials now. I still love saline moistened gauze. Roll gauze, for really deep wounds, with a fat ol’ ABD pad and paper tape on top. Cheap, easy, and I’ve gotten nothing but great tissue regeneration results with it. (Once I go to wound care certification classes, I’ll probably rue this paragraph!) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/36 "2013-01-04T04:03:49Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Sure there’s a reason. You might save ten minutes with the food processor on the pancake making, but you’ll lose it all again in CLEANING the bloody thing. Meh, I do it with a stab mixer, the working part of which just goes in the dishwasher. Takes no more cleaning than would the spoon you use to mix with. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/37 "2013-01-04T04:29:08Z")
Oooooooo, pancakes! I put canned pumpkin puree in them. Yum… Think I’ll make some tomorrow for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![Sevencl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sevencl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevencl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/38 "2013-01-04T05:57:05Z")
Until a few months ago I could’ve said I still read dead tree books because I love the smell and tactile pleasure of holding a book and turning pages. Since then I’ve gotten a kindle, and the convenience of having my entire library with my wherever I go, in a purse sized form (especially good because I love doorstopper fantasy), has converted me. It’s also easier to read in bed on my side. Oh, and being able to instantly access a new book instead of waiting for it to arrive in the post. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/39 "2013-01-04T06:45:12Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#): > > I use an electric can opener when my hands spasm to much to hold a manual can opener, or when my knuckles swell so that holding one is painful. You got me. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938/40 "2013-01-04T10:09:42Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Can opener, manual. … it’s that I have no free counter space. Funny these cultural differences. Dutch households seldom have electric can openers; manual is the standard. Maybe we use more fresh stuff. In my defense, I have an awesome manual can opener, [like this on](http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Good-Grips-Smooth-Opener/dp/B000079XW2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1357294395&sr=8-6&keywords=can+opener)e. It does not cut through the metal, but through the soldering. Much smoother and you end up with a reclosable lid with no sharp edges. We Dutch do have our countertops cluttered up with fancy coffee makers, though. As for doing stuff the old fashioned way, I… line dry. Get a week worth of groceries on my bike ([big side bags](http://www.flickr.com/photos/fietsjegroningen/6589443245/lightbox/)). Write dead tree Christmas cards, and feel cheated if I get e-replies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-modern-technology-i-still-fill-in-activity-of-choice/645938.md?page=3)