Monday, November 30, 2015

Best holiday gift is realizing what great gifts I already have


It has come as something of a surprise to me that the older I get, the less stuff I seem to want.

I had this revelation when my wife recently asked me for my annual holiday gift list and I had to keep putting her off because I really didn’t know. This isn’t the first time this has happened either.  When she asked me what I wanted for our anniversary this year and what I wanted for my 50th birthday, I was equally at a loss of what to tell her.

In the past I’ve had lists of gadgets and tools that would fill a small notebook.

But now, not so much. Besides for the usual thing I ask for every year – a heated space for my now 25-foot by 25-foot woodworking shop (hey, I turned 50 this year and two 25s equal 50!) – I had to struggle to come up with a dozen or so things that I thought would be kind of nice to have.

Yes there are a few other ridiculously expensive things I like to have, like this CNC Router setup or a MakerBot 3-D printer  but the truth of the matter is once the novelty of having one of these devices wears off, I don’t really know how much I’d actually use them.

Even the one sub $1000 tool I’ve been thinking about for years, the Festool Domino Joiner DF, isn’t on my “absolutely must-have” list. While it would make making mortise and tenon joints real easy, it is not like:

A) I make a lot of furniture, cabinets or other stuff that require that joint
B) Don’t have other ways to make that particular jointed if I wanted to/needed to
And 
C) Don’t have another tool, a biscuit joiner, which can accomplish nearly the same thing.

Whether or not having a tool that makes making those joints quicker and a lot easier would mean I’d use them more often is a good question. But in the types of builds I mostly do, I just don’t know.

This lack of desire for expensive gadgets even extends into my tech life. I work with all sorts of computers and tech all day (and sometimes well into the evening) and while I enjoy playing with cool new stuff, none of it leaves me with an overwhelming desire to have it.

My computers and laptops, while old by today’s standards, still are capable of running modern software and perform at acceptable speeds for the kinds of things I do, so I don’t need to replace or upgrade any of them. Even my ancient versions of Quark and Photoshop are fine for the type of things I use them for, so I can’t see spending the money on a $39/month Adobe Creative Suite subscription

My phone is supplied by work and upgraded every few years without cost to me and my old Sony Alpha DSLR is still a better camera than I will ever be as a photographer, so why should I replace it?

Yes it doesn’t shoot video, let alone HD video, but I don’t really need that.

Not yet anyway.

While I’ve considered starting my own Youtube channel, I just don’t have the time to create the type of professional-looking content I think people would enjoy. Hell, I barely have time to write this monthly blog!

About the only tech gadget that even  piqued my interest, recently was one of those fitness bands. But as I stated in my rant about smart watches,  they don’t offer that much more than the activity monitoring app on my cell phone does, so I think I just stick to my old analogue watch.

Most of the reasons I don’t actively desire any of these things the way I used to comes down to the fact that I don’t really need them the way I used to think I did. The things I have will generally do the same things as any of the newer stuff I might want. It just might take a bit more work, ingenuity, time or all three.

And that in turn lead me to another surprising, yet timely realization.

That I already have all the important gifts a person can have:

  • A wife and family who love me and want to make me happy by trying to get me the stuff I really want.
  • Good friends who get me and my odd humor, inspire me, stand by me in good times and bad,  and when needed, kick me in the butt and tell me to get-over-myself.
  • A job I mostly enjoy that allows me to keep a roof over my head and a full – and unfortunately expanding – belly.
  • A workshop full of tools and computers that help me express my creativity.
  • And the realization that I’m better off than probably 95 percent of the world population.

So that’s why I had trouble making a list. In the midst of such precious gifts, who could really want anything more?

Yet not to upset her, I did manage to cobble together a list containing a few odds and ends that would be kind of nice (but not important) to have:


  • Samsung UN55JS8500 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD 3D Smart LED TV (2015 Model). Okay, I know that after this long essay about being thankful for the all the gifts I already have, putting an expensive HDTV on the list seems hypocritical. And you’re right. It is. But I don’t actually expect anyone to get this for me as our current old-fashioned tube TV is just fine. It’s just one of those guy things that would be cool to have and something I KNOW I would use a regular basis. Plus, you could count it as my holiday, Valentine’s Day, Anniversary and birthday gift this year and get your shopping done all at once! $1,500 at Amazon.com 

  • Button front Fencing Jacket. After looking around for years I think I’ve finally found a place that actually still makes them. My current jacket is Size 40, I’m right handed and would prefer button closure. Color: White (preferred) with a second choice of Steel Blue. Zen Warrior Armory (Triplette Competition Arms) $82.50 
  • 15 gallon drum. It’s an unusual request, but I’ve been thinking about converting my single stage dust collector into to two stage unit and have never gotten around to getting one of these to do it. So if you so desire, you could get me one to finally get me started on this project I’ve been thinking about for a year or two. I need a small barrel with a resealable lid and this one’s small enough (20” high and 16” wide) to fit under my current dust collector. You probably get them other places cheaper, this one on Amazon will give you an idea of the kind I’m looking for. $38 
  • Norton Waterstone Sharpening Combination Package. I debated putting this on my list because I’m not really into sharping, but I’ve been using a lot more hand tools lately (chisels and hand planes) so eventually, I’ll need to sharpen them.  Peachtree Woodworking $140 
  • iOttie Easy One Touch 2 Car Mount Holder for my cell phone when I decide to use it as a GPS. Sometimes my phone is more accurate than my dedicated GPS unit. Besides, my dedicated GPS unit doesn’t stick to my windshield anymore. $14 
  • Woodworking clamps. This is always a good default gift as woodworkers can never have too many of these. K-Body, bar, pipe or Quick-type are acceptable. 24” or bigger preferred. Your favorite big-box store or online. Price varies by type, but this link should give you an idea.


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