Hello All,
I am starting this blog for a multi-faceted project I am doing.
One portion of the project are Electronic Eulogies.
My goal for this project is to acquire as many Eulogies to Electronics as possible.
Some stories may include: A computer that just died.
How did the computer die?
Where did you buy it?
What effect did it have on your life?
What would your life have been without it?
What are you going to do now that it is gone?
How easy is it to replace the electronic?
Will you recycle your electronic?
Do you care what happens during the recycling process?
Did you have any emotional connection with the electronic?
Has it helped or hindered any relationships?
Can you define your electronic?
What is the process by which you research for electronics?
Did you or do you have insurance for the electronic?
Do you know how/where/when your electronic was made?
What are your last words for your electronic?
Stay tuned for new questions!
Thank you for participating in my journey.
All the best,
M
what is an electronic?
What isn’t?
My cell has a mind of its own. I receive some calls and others are listed as Missed. Dont get me wrong its sort of like my phone has some
innate intelligence to self select whom shall be allowed to enter my space electronic or otherwise. Some pity me when they see my capt kirk flip up phone -little do they know if beats blackberry when the ship cant take no more.
this is great, meg. should people, can people post photos of their electronic?
I think so, I’m not sure if you have to have a wordpress account to do so. That would be great if you could.
verrrry interesting bella DiBello, awaiting more.
xo
How did the computer die?
It had a slow death; started fritzing out over a number of months then finally bit the dust in October of 2007.
Where did you buy it?
Didn’t buy it – it was custom built by my ex-brother-in-law.
What effect did it have on your life?
Sent me into a panic. I was in grad school so the CPU was quite crucial towards finishing it. Had to scramble and scrape up funds to purchase a new CPU.
What would your life have been without it?
Can’t imagine what my life would be or have been without it. Definitely would be a lot different – no e-mail, no internet, etc. and so forth. Actually, would probably be great! We’re all way, way too tied to electronics these days.
What are you going to do now that it is gone?
I bought a new one.
How easy is it to replace the electronic?
Besides the exorbitant price tag, it was easy as pie.
Will you recycle your electronic?
Did so – parted it out to my techie roommate.
Do you care what happens during the recycling process?
I kept the hard drive with all the important info; could care less about the rest of the innards.
Did you have any emotional connection with the electronic?
Whoa, God no. It did piss me off every now and again, as I’m sure most people experience, but that’s the extent of it.
Has it helped or hindered any relationships?
No. Of course, girlfriends get/got jealous about how much time I spend/spent tapping away on the keyboard – oh the woes of being a writer and a student.
Can you define your electronic?
The old one…or the new one? The old one was a 1973 Gremlin. The new one is a 2007 Ferrari.
What is the process by which you research for electronics?
Computer Shopper Magazine
Did you or do you have insurance for the electronic?
Yes
Do you know how/where/when your electronic was made?
Not at all. I can imagine it was tedious and repetitive work, and severely under compensated.
What are your last words for your electronic?
The last thing my computer said was “Fuck You” and sizzled out with a cackling, evil laugh.
My ipod died last year at this time, September 17. Did it ever leave an impression. I’m still thinking about the little bugger, a blue 8 Gig little traveler that wormed its way into my heart as well as my ears. The cause of death is uncertain, but I think the poor thing froze to death during a series of runs when it was strapped to my arm. I hadn’t thought of buying that protective plastic case. I guess I thought the poor thing couldn’t breathe that way, and breathing is so important during running, especially for an ipod. This little bundle was a great companion, singing love songs into my ears during 10pm runs, following me around like a puppy. It would sing me to sleep, go noncomplaining with me on airplane trips, read to me, and when I asked it to stop talking or singing, it was so easy to get the silence I needed.
No it didn’t vibrate, but made a great companion nonetheless. The only time it caused any trouble with loved ones is if I took it with me during runs or bike rides and the other (men, or course) wanted to talk. hen I would switch it off. The women were intuitive enough to wait for me to do this, not feeling threatened at all. I guess, being blue, it was a he. Men are always calling machines she, so I guess it’s fair.
The strange thing was, he predicted his own death,]. No really. About a week before he stopped working, I got a song list of all these death songs. “Death Came and Got Me”, (Rosie Thomas), Dying, (Five for Fighting) Dirty Knife (Neko Case) Dead Man Walking (Springsteen) Deathwatch for a Living Legend, Coma, Harder Now that It’s Over, Gone the Rainbow, Helter Skelter, Evidence…..A Change is Gonna Come, My God, it was morbid. All these songs showed up grouped together under a title called “My Stupid Dream”. I never knew ipods had premonitions or could try to communicate before. Needless to say, I was concerned, but made no connection to the ipod’s eventual demise. This was a cute little Apple, a vertical. I eventually replaced it with the same type, but the newer model is rather square, and as far as I know has not tried to talk to me. Stranger things have happened, however, and I’m waiting for it to write me a song. I miss my little blue frog.
in the summer of 2007 my laptop, a shitty toshiba that i had for three years, got into a bizarre accident. a cat jumped on the laptop, slamming the top half town and smashing the screen. i went through a series of emotions when it first happened. at first, i was really upset, thinking about how much i had spent on this computer and how not only did i have 2 years of college left where it was vital to have a laptop, but i had just moved to san francisco and was about to start 2 jobs where having my own computer was completely necessary. then i calmed down and realized that the computer itself, it’s brain, was still completely intact, it was only the screen that was broken. it put me more at ease to think that it was just like a broken body part, the electronic wasn’t at all brain-dead. just like a broken bone, this could heal, right? then, after talking with some friends who, at the time, were working for apple, i learned that in order to get a replacement screen, it would cost me more than $800! then i realized the true severity of the situation. i ended up having to purchase a new computer (i got a mac for $1,000, a much better deal than buying a new screen for the shitty computer.) the strange thing was that after i bought the new mac and transferred all of my files from my old computer to the new one, i had no idea what to do with the old computer. i didn’t know anyone that would want my old one with the broken screen, but most of the toshiba was still in good health. for months i thought of what to do with it. when i flew back to the east coast, i took the clunky old thing with me, even though it no longer had any use to me! even now, years later, i still feel ill at ease about the idea of throwing it away/recycling it. how could i bury something or rid of something that is still technically alive? to this day, the old, broken laptop is in its case, sitting at the bottom of a closet in beverly, massachusetts. i have no idea what the future will hold for this unfortunate electronic.