It was a cold day for a walk, that’s for sure. Just over freezing. One thing I have discovered, it is that my wool pea coat far outperforms any synthetic coat I have ever worn. It is pretty light, stops the wind, and will keep me warm, even if it is wet. It also looks really nice.
I went for a walk to a local antique store. One interesting thing is to look at the packaging that is still around after 40, 50, 60 years or more. This is stuff designed to last just long enough to get it from the store to your house, and here it is, the better part of a century later. Makes you think of the packaging not recycled now. How long will it last? I am sure blister packs will last a couple of centuries or more. The most common packaging I see in antique stores is glass. Luckily, it is easily recycled. You do see metal tins, but they tend to rust. You even see old paperboard packaging, so I guess just about any packaging will last, given the right conditions. So, unless you are planning on keeping the box for retirement investment purposes, recycle!
Another thing I noticed, being a watch lover, is that Elgin must of sold a whole boatload of watches after WWII. It is, by far, the most common antique watch I spot. The real life and eBay prices reflect this fact as well. You can get a decent looking, working, Elgin for less than $50. Timex of 50’s I guess. Speaking of Timex, you almost never see antique Timex’s. The reason behind this is simple, they used hardened steel pins instead of jewels on their less expensive watches. It makes them durable in the short term, but age very poorly in the long term. A jeweled watch can last decades without maintenance and a lifetime with. (The pallet jewels can even be replaced.) A pin lever watch, which Timex was famous for, rarely lasts more than 10 years and is not economical to repair. So I guess they were all tossed and the jeweled Elgin’s and Bulova’s went on. Another interesting thing about watches, ladies watches outnumber men’s by about 5:1. I think men must be hard on their watches and are not as sentimental about them.
Over the weekend we were able to go out and see the new Bond flick. It was pretty decent and didn’t drag on. A little more sex and a little less violence and the newest Bond would be perfect. It was nice to spend a couple of hours with the Wifey. Glenn keeps on growing and being two. So much must be going on in that little head, so much he likes to bang it into hard objects from time to time. I sure hope it is normal.