So, I am rewatching the X-Files right. And there is a scene where Mulder gets a phone call and is told turn to a certain channel.
He does it, but he also puts in a VHS tape and hits record.
…
Then the thought occurred to me. What would it take to do that today. Like if I wanted to tape something that is only on one time, what would it take. Clearly people do it. You see clips of once in a lifetime shit constantly.
But, think about the action here for a second. Mulder tapes something. Brings the tape to the FBI headquarters and shows scully what he taped in the next scene.
What would it take to do that? Like that took negative effort on Mulder’s part. I was thinking, what would it take to do exactly that today.
First you got to have an HDMI out splitter of some kind. Then you have to hook up a PC rig to open source software (just in case you have to break the HDMI encryption). Record it, then you have a digital file. Which I suppose you could put on a burner youtube account (copyright strike) or put on a file server that you have to set up.
Innovations have stopped with the advent of the smartphone. Everything sense has been a way to get us to pay for shit that we weren’t paying for before.
We don’t live in an age of innovation, we live in an age of inconvenience. Inconvenience, stupidity, and copyright.
Another example. Pete & Pete. The Adventures of Pete & Pete. You know the only legit way to see that show?
Is it streaming anywhere? No. Due to copyright for the music or some such bullshit, a DVD of a VHS rip is all that exists. And its only there for Season 1 & 2. Season 3 was printed but never released, cause again bullshit.
But this is not the only one. The State got edited to shit for music. Sifl & Olly just cut out anything that has copyrighted music. Millennium is just no where to be found.
And now its getting worse. Shit that should be on a streaming service is getting pulled to avoid paying royalties. Profit margins are leading the charge. I suppose this is how it always was, but at this point, your options as a consumer is minimal.
You could have maintained your VHS from back in the day I suppose. Again, requiring you to have the foresight of things getting worse.
And this is going to keep happening. Whether its NFTs or crypto, gaming going all mobile, or whatever comes next. There is nothing out there that sets you free.
My question is what is next. What is the inconvenience disguised as an innovation that we have to eat next. I’m fairly close to setting up some kind of operation like the above just to make sure the shit I want to keep stays good.
I suggest to you dear reader to do the same. Conserve what you can. Keep convenience in your life even if its low tech. I am going to use Mulder and his VHS player as the standard. That’s the level of simplicity I need.
That is all.