Carbon paper, anyone?

[gerisullivan]

Tonight's foray into the back attic turned up a think pad of Onward carbon paper,30-year-old bank statements and cancelled checks, the receipt for the garage door I had installed in 1986,and several more bags of plain paper recycling.

My dilemma du jour is whether or not to take the genuine, original IBM Portable Personal Computer. It's a 44-pound luggable; I paid $75 for it shortly after I left NCS in 1989; it hasn't yet shown any signs of becoming one of the collectible vintage computers. I don't anticipate powering it up for anything other than sheer entertainment values, and I haven't yet run across the boot disk or any of the other floppies. (Look, ma; no hard drive.)

So why am I even thinking about taking it? I honestly don't know. The reminder of how far we've come vis a vis computing technology? The amusement value of it being a *portable*? Maybe. But am I willing to pay roughly $36 to move it, and to devote storage space to it once I've bought a new home? Why? This is one of those objects where the scales don't tip one way or the other on the burden of stuff vs. treasure and joy of stuff balance beam. Which should be all the reason I need for leaving it behind. But will I?

Answer cloudy; ask again later.

As for the carbon paper, its weight is indiscernible. But I'm not taking it. No way, no how. Anybody here need some?

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Look for the joy in the experience of finding it and writing about it, and savor that.

K. [then throw the thing away]

[thette.livejournal.com]

Oh, carbon paper... This is me, yearning for the fandom of yore. Doubly silly because I'm such a new fan, barely two years old.

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

The Storied Fandom of Yore mostly used carbon paper for keeping copies of personal correspondence. Round robin letters only required the originals, after all. For our fanzines we used far more advanced technology — such as the Mighty Hectograph.

[thette.livejournal.com]

There was a famed Swedish carbon paper APA a very long time ago, so the practise is not unknown here.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Take the carbon paper to your nearest Unitarian church and tell them that unitarians in Transylvania want it and could they please forward it for you.

No, really.

[fredcritter.livejournal.com]

Well…

That's a tough one. I think it really does belong in The Museum of Antique Computer Oddities, alongside of a 5-Meg platter perhaps. But I don't think you are under any obligation to be the Curator of the museum.

And the screen's so small it wouldn't even make a good fish tank…