Analog Tools In A Digital World – What I Use (or don’t) And What I’m Interested In

Things I’m Using

I began wet shaving a few months ago. I’m nearly 45 and I’ve been shaving since I was 13. It was something I’ve dreaded for years, with a beard that needed attention every 2 days or less. It often resulted in my growing a beard for months (as many as 9) so that I didn’t have to shave. Electric razors and trimmers didn’t help much, and then I tried something ridiculous. I bought the above kit for $75 from the Wet Shaving Club and began a ritual that works for me. Since then, I’ve only missed shaving a few times, and the closer shave of the safety razor means I can go 2-3 days easily between shaves. Additionally, I’ve added items like an alum block and pre-shave oil, and I can say I genuinely enjoy shaving every few days. The appeal is the precision, control, and overall process. I set aside time in my time-blocked schedule for this.

Two other changes have been refreshing as well. I have a small yard, and I’ve ditched my electric mower and bagger for an old fashioned push reel mower that leaves the clippings on top of the remaining grass. Living in West Texas, there’s nothing like being able to quietly mow early in the morning so that I avoid the obscene July heat (we’re on day 5 of 11 forecast over 100). I’ve also seen my grass come in better this year than it did the two I was using the old mow and bag approach.

The other item is one I’ll say is analog, but also brings in some time of solitude during my normal routine. I’ve been a runner for years now, including finishing the 2015 Honolulu Marathon. This past fall and winter I had issues with my back that required months of physical therapy. As I began running again in March, I decided to try something different. I left the wireless headphones, the smartphone, and the sleeve armband at home and just went outside and ran. I still have my Garmin watch with me, letting me know when each mile is done and signalling the start and finish of my planned run, but that’s it. I don’t track my pace during the run. Instead, I just focus on breathing and form while I observe the world around me. It’s refreshing, and I’m now capable of almost perfectly identifying distance covered and pace during my timed run, with Garmin and Strava confirming a very close relation to what I felt and what was happening.

Things I Want to Try

Want to Try – Turntable & Records, Making Candles (Chandlery), Woodworking, Guitar (after finishing PhD)

A few other analog-ish ideas I’m looking into cover a variety of items. I ditched Spotify recently and now I’m looking into getting a nice turntable and buying vinyl records again. I intend to focus on regular release albums instead of “best of” collections as a means of focusing and getting a feel for what the artist is wanting to communicate with their full album instead of the select singles that everyone gets to hear.

I’m a candle person, with a preference for things like balsam and cedar. I’m also somewhat on the financial independence and minimalist spectrum, so making my own feels like a worthwhile project. From what I gather, it’s fairly straightforward and this article from the Art of Manliness contains a great primer for giving it a go. I assume this will be something I try in the fall or winter of 2020 so I can stop giving money to the Yankee Candle folks.

Beginning woodworking videos are all over YouTube, and as soon as a bit of remodeling is done on my house, I should be able to set up a starter shop and get to work on some basic bookshelves, tables, etc. I’ve got a builtin in my living room that I want to change so that it holds my TV and the aforementioned turntable and records without clutter or too tight a fit. The bookshelves would need to be first since that’s where many of my books currently reside.

I played bass for a few years and then decided to mess around with the guitar in my early 30s. Once I began my PhD, and moved a few times, guitar fell by the wayside. I like a range of music, much of which can be played on an acoustic guitar, and have decided that one of the rewards for completing my dissertation will be lessons from a good guitar teacher to help jump start playing for leisure and maybe tinkering with writing some simple songs.