Good riddance!

Some months ago, on a dog walk this winter in a rough snowstorm, I dropped my Airpods. I didn’t notice they were gone it until I got back home. I instantly returned and backtracked to look for them. But a white Airpod case is near invisible in snow, and even though I was back in the same place just a couple of minutes later, they were already buried. They were gone. And that turned out to be a very good thing.

I really like the airpods, except when they are used in online meetings which is arguably the worst audio quality that is possible to achieve. A potato will win hands-down. But for all other purposes, they are fantastic. Easy to use, good sound quality, excellent battery time and again simplicity! And therein lies my problem with the AirPods. They are too good. Which means that I used them too much. For reference, in my first year with them, I think I listened to over 100 audio books. I was constantly listening to podcasts and conversations and whatnot, all the time. They were constantly plugged in my ears. A constant attention seeker, the most valuable resource you have. Even more valuable than time, as Sam Harris says. Anything can be pushed to an excess, even good things.

I never bought any new pair. I thought that it will be a healthy exercise to be headphone-less for some months. See what happens. However, I still have my Jabra phones so I can do phone calls. That is a feature impossible to live without. But the Jabras are rather worthless if you want to listen to something while doing something else. Try using them outdoors in the winter… That’s where the AirPods really shine. They can come almost anywhere without disturbing you. For better or worse. Needless to say, losing them has been an upgrade in overall life quality for me.

The same thing happened with our fancy fully automatic coffee machine some months ago. It stopped working properly and I couldn't mend it myself, so I simply replaced it with a French press and a grinder. Just wow, what an upgrade that was. Sure, it takes a lot longer in comparison to simply placing your cup and pressing a button, but now some heart and soul has returned to the brewing process. In the morning, I prepare a pre-heated thermos with coffee, and pour the rest of the French press into my trusty “thermos-mug” which keeps my cup warm up until lunchtime without issues. Then I have a ready thermos for the afternoon, and pouring a new cup from that is much faster than the best machine in the world. The primary benefit of going back to manual labour is the taste. I have honestly never had better coffee than now on a regular basis. With a manual press and a grinder, you clean your stuff after each use, so there is never any nasty buildup to worry about. This is the flip side of a fancy machine; You have to go through a lengthy cleaning process and take proper care of your machine on a scheduled basis. Otherwise, your coffee will just get nastier with time. But even with everything correct, the machine can still not beat a manual press in the taste department. Once again, the breakdown was the best thing that could happen.

I recently replaced the cumbersome machine with my 20 years old manual espresso machine. It is much smaller and a lot less complicated. And the taste is miles better than its automatic bigger brother. Also, I think this relates to fewer parts that need to be cleaned and maintained. I wonder if a fully automatic machine even is faster overall, when you factor in the required upkeep? And the real estate that is required in your kitchen from the huge device? Another important factor is that I used to drink way too much coffee every day with the automatic machine, because it was too easy. This has had some major health benefits with my stomach.

Today I was walking the same road where I lost my Airpods in the snowstorm. We have full spring now, and with the snow melting away, I could easily spot white fragments in the side of the road. The snow tractor had driven over them and threw them into the forest with the snow blower over an area. Part of me held off buying new ones just in case I hadn’t dropped on the walk. They could have been dropped in the sofa or in the house or whatever. And thus it would be wise to wait a little before getting new ones, should I find the old again. Well I have found them now and they are not going to be used again. But should I get a new pair? I love them and hate them at the same time. But with some time in the rearview mirror, I suspect the negative side has the edge. They are too good. I am a bit frustrated with myself that I lack enough self-control to get rid of unwanted stuff and have to wait for something to break down or lose the thing in question in order to act. But at least I can see the pattern much clearer now.