Thermomixed Up, Part 2

(Part 1 here)

Megan McArdle, writing In Defense of Kitchen Gadgets:

There is, of course, the joy of acquisition.  And why give that short shrift?  The high may be temporary, but the same is true of climbing a mountain.  Why valorize one over the other?

We have a panini press in our boat-shop. Today Joe made us ham and swiss sandwiches, and we talked about Megan’s question. (We joked that because Joe is a Mennonite, not Amish, he can use both the panini press and the cordless electric drill.)

I asked Joe and Dave if either of them ever experience the “joy of acquisition”.

Joe said “Buying really good food.”

Dave said, “No… Wait… Buying property.”

I said that mostly buying things fills me with dread, especially anything that offers the promise of a better or more abundant or tidy life. I don’t like getting my hopes up.

After lunch my friend Colin came in on the train the city. Having the metering pump I bought last week meant I could put him straight away mixing epoxy for me while I coated panels and Joe and Dave lofted bulkheads. I had fretted a little about the value proposition about a $300 single-purpose tool, but in the short time we’ve had it it’s already proved its worth.

On the way back to Montauk (me, Dave, Colin) I said, “I like the feeling I get when I replace well-enjoyed sporting equipment.”

Thinking about it now, I also remember feeling quite wonderful when I got my first Macintosh Powerbook.