Fear

Fear's a funny thing. Useful for some things, not much for others. Fear's good to keep you alive. Fear's bad when it holds you back from exploring new things and being safe. And fear plays tricks on us. I mentioned in yesterday's post I might fear ridicule at the hands of those who scoff at Audiophiles and Gearheads. I worried about this for a long, long time. Worried what other people might think of me, how they might judge me. After all, the 'cool' Audiophiles love music more than they do gear. Over the years I have loved both. I think I was a closet Gearhead for many years, hiding behind the skirt of loving music more. It wasn't always true. So when I learned there was a $500 robot that could vacuum my floors, I pounced. Why? Because: it's cool, I love gear, it does a good job, my floors are vacuumed daily, it gets under the bed, my floors have never been cleaner. Were any of these justifications in my head when I bought it? Only one: it would be cool. And, you know what? It is cool. I can sit in the living room drinking a coffee and be completely entertained watching this thing figure out the room, get trapped and escape, avoid the stairs, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And best of all? When she's done, she heads right back to her little dock, lines up and is home, charging for another day's entertainment. If friends ask, I can turn her on again and we watch over beers. I am not even sure why I am writing this post to you today. There's not much here about high end audio. But I have gotten over my fear of ridicule. Judge me if you will. But I have a robot.