Thursday, December 29, 2022

Sorting Out the DVDs


This was one of our few moments of sunshine over the past several days. I think that's why the golden afternoon light and the shadows caught my eye -- it was a rare sight! Our forecast is for rain, rain and more rain right into mid-January.

Dave and I went to work on the cabinet in the dining room that's been damaged by the leak from upstairs. We emptied it out, and almost everything was fine, except some paperwork stored on the bottom shelf (next to the floor) that felt slightly damp. We took the opportunity to go through all the CDs and DVDs and some other stuff, and wound up with four bags to give to charity. I carried it all down to Oxfam.

Dave was reluctant to get rid of all the DVDs, though, so we still have quite a few. Every time I showed him one he'd say, "Oh, that's a great movie!" Well, yeah, but why do we need a DVD of it? Can't we just stream "Monster" or "Swordfish" if we want to watch it?

Apparently not.

You may remember that we don't currently have a device to play DVDs. We were playing them on one of my old laptop computers, but this computer (which I bought when we lived in New Jersey almost 12 years ago) has suddenly decided of its own accord that I must enter a password to access it. I never set the password, though, so how to get past the log-in screen that now appears when the machine is turned on is a complete mystery. I took it to a computer repair shop yesterday and the guy insisted I must have set the password and forgotten. I told him, trust me, it's never required one before.

He offered to erase the whole system and re-install it, and said that might work. If it did, he said he'd charge me £50. But I decided instead to just buy a dedicated DVD player on Amazon. We could get a brand new one for about £35. I know, I know, this is not a particularly eco-friendly solution but I really think that old computer is on its last legs anyway.

Now I have to figure out how to safely dispose of the computer. The repair guy said he'd take it for free but that makes me nervous -- I'm sure it still has traces of data on it. I think I may take it to school and have them dispose of it. I'm sure they have a data-secure method for getting rid of old machines.

So, all of this is a long way of saying we are making progress on cleaning things out around here.


One of our orchids, our Cambria hybrid known as Nelly Isler Red Velvet, has decided to bloom once again. It seems a strange time of year for an orchid to bloom, but who am I to question why? It last bloomed a little more than a year ago.

Last night I watched a movie called "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium," from 1969. I have been curious about this film for ages -- it has a cast of thousands including Suzanne Pleshette, Norman Fell, Peggy Cass, Mildred Natwick, the folk singer Donovan and even Luke Halpin from "Flipper." I've never been able to find it in the past, but now (like everything else) it's on YouTube. It's a sort of humorous look at the early days of American package tourism to continental Europe. Many of the so-called "stars" barely have any lines, and it's not deep or meaningful by any means, but it's diverting.

27 comments:

Frances said...

I have 3 of my orchids with flower spikes coming up. A while to go before flowering though.I keep meaning to record when each one flowers to see if they do it in a regular fashion or just randomly. I am sure that some of them never flower and should be thrown out!

Beth Reed said...

Steve,
I love love love movies like that. I will have to look it up and maybe give it a try.
So funny to hear you talk about DVD's. Today my son Nathan and I were talking and somehow, he began telling me about Enders Game. He gave me a huge rundown and he said that he has been wanting to see it again but couldn't find it without paying for it and he didn't want to do that. He is trying to save money and not spend it right now, but it was good news for me because I want to give him a gift and I am going to buy the DVD for him. He could stream it cheap enough, but he is serious about saving money. That boy doesn't spend a dime unless he has to. Material things is something that you have to clean and dust and his words to me were, and I quote "Nah I'm Good" lol.
His goal is to get much needed dental work. He has Celiac Disease, and it has affected his teeth so bad that they are now crumbling, so he said that he isn't buying anything until he can get his dental work done.

It is good that you were able to clean out the dining room cabinet. Dave reminds me of me. If I had space, I would keep all of my favorite things because of enjoyment to me like my books and yeah DVDs too I would imagine.

We are supposed to be getting a little rain but nothing major. We were up to 66F today. Tomorrow around 72F and by Sunday 80F degrees! Then another cold front comes sweeping in. Such is why it is in Texas such a crazy weather state.

Your old laptop might just be better off letting the school delete your hard drive and disposing of it. It might be safer that way.

Your orchid is just stunning. Talk to you later.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I'm sorry to hear that the leak from upstairs caused dampness in your cupboard. Russians have a lot to answer for. It's not all about Ukraine. I can identify with Dave's instinct to hang on to things. It's hard to be ruthless.

Ed said...

With every computer I have ever gotten rid of, I take a few minutes with a screwdriver and remove the hard drive out of it first. I then pay a disposal fee for electronics with our waste department for the computer. I think they bundle them up and send them somewhere to be scrapped/recycled. Hard drives don't take up much space. I think I have four of them on a shelf in my garage gathering dust. Eventually when the space they take up becomes a burden, I'll drill some holes through them and also dispose of them.

Mary said...

I use that movie line ("if it's Tuesday...) when traveling on some crazy schedules. I remember seeing the movie when it came out and then watching it again several years ago. Another actor I noticed was a very young Patricia Routledge--aka Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances.

Another old movie like that with a lot of well remembered actors (assuming you are of a certain age--Doris Day, Terri Thomas, Robert Morse, Patrick O'Neal, Pat Paulsen, Steve Allen, Lola Albright) is "Where Were You When the Lights Went Out." A comedy loosely based on a power black out that hit NYC(and the entire NE) in 1965. What was ironic for me is when I saw it in 1968, midway through the film, the theatre suddenly went dark (huge thunderstorm knocked out all power to our area), so the audience eventually had to be given tickets to come back to see the end at a later date.

Moving with Mitchell said...

I remember that movie and quote the tile often when I know people doing those kinds of trips. Would be interesting to see it again.

The last time our orchids bloomed was perhaps 3 (4?) years ago — when I bought them. Nice leaves, though.



Marcia LaRue said...

My little purple orchid is producing flower buds, too! It was late flowering in 2022, but looks like it will be flowering early in 2023!

Ellen D. said...

Will you be able to repair the water damage to the cabinet? Hope it wasn't an old family treasure. Lovely orchid!

Ms. Moon said...

What a lovely little orchid. I love that red.
Gawd. I should get rid of my CD's and records, too. Do we all have a tendency to keep things as a sort of museum of ourselves? Perhaps.
I always think of the movie "Frozen" and that song- Let It Go!
Yes.

Boud said...

That movie was the kind that gave bit parts to loads of actors, especially old ones. I used to think of them as retirement charity movies. But Mildred Natwick is wonderful even if she only gets one line.
I remember it was the postwar eight countries by bus in two weeks package deal, despised by Europeans, but much appreciated by travel starved Americans often with their first passports.

The Bug said...

Having been on a package holiday in Europe that actually did go to Belgium - perhaps I should check out that movie & compare notes. Ha! I need to check though - were we in Belgium on a Tuesday? That would be hilarious.

NewRobin13 said...

I love seeing that orchid blooming. A beautiful sight in winter.
We got rid of a few old computers a while back. We removed the hard-drives and took the computers to a local dump. I've read that it's a good idea to smash hard-drives before tossing them. No trace left.

Red said...

Why is it so hard to get rid of stuff?

Janie Junebug said...

I'm always cleaning out something, but as soon as I throw out or give some things away, others arrive. One friend in particular likes to give me tchotchkes that I don't need or want, although I always pretend to be delighted upon receiving them. I know she gives them with love. I put them in the living room or family room for a while, then move them to the spare bedroom, and eventually, they find their way to the trash. I am loath to hurt her feelings.

Love,
Janie

Sharon said...

My old Mac did the same thing, suddenly started requiring a password. Luckily, I knew what it was. Now it requires a password every time I open it. It never did before.
I binge-watched a show on Apple TV+ last night. I haven't binge-watched anything in ages but it was a good one called "Slow Horses" starring Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas among others. I finished season 1 and now have to dig into season 2.
Beautiful orchid!

Debby said...

I have two old computers upstairs that I hold on to for no other reason than I do not know how to dispose of them safely. You've just reminded me. We've got tons of DVDs here too. Some of them have never been opened. :(

Colette said...

Beautiful orchid! My husband recently got rid of our DVD's. Can't say I miss them.

Linda Sue said...

Bottom of closet papers generally are amusing and interesting. DVDs are a nice gallop down memory lane but the material Thing is not essential, we donated all of ours to charity, who were also reluctant to accept them. Good job you, If
Dave had to back pack everything he owns I reckon the load would be too cumbersome and he would discriminate in a quick minute! I am working toward that end, I am failing.

Pixie said...

At work, my hubby erases the hard drive at least twice and then drills through the hard drive with a drill, we have patient info on the drives.

Pixie said...

https://www.shredit.com/en-us/blog/best-practices-for-secure-and-compliant-hard-drive-destruction

I imagine there is lots of other info online about how to destroy a hard drive.

Kelly said...

Is it possible to just go into the computer and restore it to factory settings? Would that get rid of any personal info on there? Then maybe you could donate it somewhere? I'm not sure how any of that works.

Your orchid is a perfect pop of color to brighten up my rainy day!

Catalyst said...

Could the password be "RancidDelight007"? No, maybe not. I think that was the name of a British punk band. Or something.

Jeanie said...

Yes, DVD players are cheaper than repairs of computers and also, not everything (believe it or not) is streamed == at least, not always when you want to see it.

Well done on the purge, though!

sparklingmerlot said...

I wonder how many DVDs you will actually watch once you get the player. Please keep us up to date with the movie nights!

Margaret said...

I've heard of that movie but knew none of the details. I admire you for going through the DVDs; I would have trouble getting rid of most of mine even though I don't watch them.

Rachel Phillips said...

The White Room was one of the best Cream records ever.

River said...

If you are worried about data, take out the hard drive and bake it in your hot oven until it melts. The rest of the laptop can be given to the computer repair people, they'll put in a new hard drive and sell it.