If somebody can still fully operate with this stuff, I'm jealous.

It means they've figured it out and they're immune to almost all of the bullshit.

There's bound to be some bridge, somewhere, but even then, that only needs to be minimal. These people are heroes and have a special power.

That is where my wallet went, you dick!

The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" starter pack

"I'm in this picture and it's quite OK here."

My car is a 20 year old shitbox, my bike gets new brake pads and a bit of random lubricant on the chain once a year and other "maintenance" only when parts fall off, and my stereo is a mix of hand me downs from my dad's college days and some eBay home theatre stuff that got sold because it didn't support the newest HDMI bullshit.

Oh, and of course it is a Thinkpad, thanks for asking.

Just the other day, a friend of mine running Arch tried to install something, which resulted in him having to do a full system update, including fixing several "that should not happen" s. Meanwhile, every few years I spend an evening update to the newest stable, and never had bigger issues than the color of some icon being unfamiliar.

It's a '96 manual transmission for sure, wallet's maybe 10yo, never cared for consoles and have some manuals laying around.
I've replaced some stuff with my smartphone though and prefer Devuan, Slackware and Gentoo. Of course Thinkpads.

I feel called out. Except my mechanical watch is a vintage USSR Podeba. And my 2001 car is a Lexus.

I will brook no argument regarding Hamilton field watches. Buy one, wind it, wear it. Start living a better life.

May someone explain the audio (or video, idk) cabinet stacked like a 20u rack? Why so many devices? What would each be for?

I use Debian Stable and I don't have anything pictured there. Anyhow, it's getting late and I still have wood to chop and basketmaking to do. /j

Is that a seagull watch?

I am in this picture and I feel awesome

Shifted to Debian from Ubuntu a few weeks back for my core infra. It could be a placebo but Debian feels way more snappy.

I’m in this picture and quite frankly it’s a great place to be. Everything either just works, I know how to fix it, or I at least know what is broken and not worth fixing.

Though that is a terrible style of air pressure gauge. Get a good dial one with the tube.

where ThinkPad?

I went from cutting edge tech excited nerd to literally this picture, and life is better.

This is so dumb it is tiring...

I'm using Debian stable on my desktop but I also play games, AAA to indie, with the latest gadgets, e.g. Steam Controller or even VR headsets. I also control my house with IoT with single keypresses on my mechanical keyboard which has its own touchpach (no mouse) with individual RGB key. I have a more modern setup than most but I still stick to a stable distribution because one can have both, you just have to buy devices that respect your agency by relying on well supported and/or open protocols, e.g. BT or Zigbee.

PS: I get that it's humor, don't "explain" it to me. I also have a fixie bike because I got tired of trying to fix my proprietary e-bike so yes I can also feed the trope (in the sense of going "back" to older technologies outside the computer) but unfortunately beyond it is important that people understand it is actually incorrect.

TL;DR: tired trope, I have weird brand new e-gadgets and peripherals doing very demanding tasks while still relying on Debian stable.

I feel at home in this photo. My beard has turned 1% more gray this blessed night.

The key differences I have come from the fact that I am drawn to the "chief engineer turned goose farmer" future even more than the "greybeard recluse inventor" one. I

get to use a Debian machine at work all day anyway, plus of course the home PC runs it. With KDE there is nothing that feels old about it unless I check when the kernel was released.

My car isn't THAT old but it's on its way. I drive an almost 15 year old mazda3, which we have owned for all of those years. I just did my biggest-yet DIY maintenance/repair when I had to replace some disintegrated-yet-seized brake hoses in addition to pads and rotors and flushing the fluid. In my driveway, no garage. I got a bunch of new wrenches and vise grips!

The mazda is an automatic since we originally bought it for my wife. But it was right after the company debuted the Skyactiv stuff. Among other things like great fuel efficiency, that means the transmission locks up the torque converter as often as possible. And it has manual shift mode. So when you're in gear holding some mid-range RPM, you do still feel that direct powertrain connection between engine and wheels.

Part of me is casually keeping tabs on the "fun" new car models out there that still offer a manual transmission or DCT. But another part of me is constantly noting to self how I already have a nearly perfect old familiar car that is fun and practical for the whole family. It has low mileage for the age and a good maintenance history. And it is $FREE versus $30,000+.

Aside from the car difference, I have cast off a bunch of little devices and accessories thanks to my conscious efforts to be less connected and more about experiencing life at my natural pace. I no longer wear a watch, ever, even though I definitely have the chunky leather wallet. Also no glowing visible clocks in the bedroom or family room. And no big stereo because 95% of my music listening is via headphones at work or working outside in my yard.

Wow, I actually have the exact same radio alarm clock as the one pictured in the top right.