Bought a new P&S today then was accosted by a Caniconian at the checkout... honestly I have the hardest time just existing, this is the second time Nikon guy has out of the blue has walked up to me and start oozing doggie-doo.
My wife picked out a Camera she wanted for Christmas. I was trying to convince her on a Fuji or Sony H50 that was there but she wanted one of those slim style cassette case sized ones. She pick a t77 out of the bunch. I was proud of her because she picked it up felt it in her hand, tried the interface and commented favorable on the "build quality" I almost fell on the floor. because she didn't;t get that from me .. in fact she stopped listening to me on cars tools and cameras years ago.. she just glazes over like I suddenly stated speaking Babylonian or something... not only that she reached around all the green blue and brown ones for the sleek black one!
Anyway off to the cash (thats Canadian for checkout) where a young fellow spotted the camera and said "as much as I hate Sony thats a nice little Camera" he of course couldn't articulate why he disliked Sony ... just said "I like Nikon Canon and especially Pentax" as if that explained everything... in pretty short order we discovered he had no idea what he was talking about for anything he discussed but it made my wife ask what the heck that was all about in the car... and I explained the Sony/ Minolta connection and some of the history and whats is being experienced on Sony enthusiast sites and reminder her of the Nikon guy we ran into on vacation who was offended I had a Nikon strap on my Minolta she said "oh it's like the Javelins".. she's pretty smart .. it made me realize that something in me is attracted to the orphans of the world. her reference was the fact that I used to race AMC (American motors) Javelins back when we met .. in a world that raced Camaros and Chargers. When we needed a Camper I didn't buy a new one. I seeked out a 20 year old Apache (fascinating bit of engineering that) and have had up to 4 of them at a time when I made it my personal mission to save and restore as many as I could. I shoot Minolta cameras... now Sony .. so now that she knows for sure how weird I am I think my marriage is in danger
The danger is that she could possibly make a connection between your tendency toward the "orphans" and then consider why you chose her of all people to marry. I mean no slight or disrespect to you or your wife, but I speak from experience. My father had the same attraction toward the orphans. He fastidiously rejected all music that he heard anybody else appreciating, perhaps to feel that he was the only one clever enough to appreciate the music he listened to. If I was ever impressed by something and showed it off to him, there was most certainly a better one back in the 60's by an obscure and unrecognized manufacturer. He consistently chose underdogs and condemned utterly the main-streamers in whatever was being considered. One day my mother confided in me that she always wondered whether she, too, was one of his underdog-choices; whether he chose her because he would feel cleverer for marrying her. I assured her it was far from the truth, that she was easily the coolest mom and an amazing lady besides (I was young), but I'm certain she was never able to push that thought very far from her mind.
I love him, but the tendency I got from him and his constant criticism was an aspergers-like perfectionism which I've learned to control fairly well. I don't settle in any purchase or investment, I agonize over details that won't matter tomorrow or in ten minutes, and I hold unreasonable expectations for myself in my creative endeavors...this does very well for my wife's self-esteem! She knows I'm picky!
I don't know where I get it from .. though, spend too much time thinking i guess. I can understand your father in a way. Though perfection isn't what I'm after. There’s a connection sometimes that gets made when I see a particularly elegant design or a re-teaching of a regular item that I appreciate more than most would. In most things perfection is an illusion or a moving target that can never be achieved. I will settle for something if there is at least something about it I can appreciate. Also if it's not mainstream this is usually a plus for me as well because often mainsteam thinking includes too much compromise and not enough substance to appreciate. I'd rather put my money in something I can tell a story about than what everyone else has.
