God, I love buttons. Buttons, switches, knobs and flashy lights. They don't even have to do anything. Just depress, click, turn and flash. I'm actually a bit of a philistine when it comes to all these new touch-screens and LCD displays. Well OK, I love those too, but there is something intrinsically satisfying about flicking a nice, aluminum toggle and hearing a metallic snap that tapping a bit of plastic can never bring.
As such, I've recently decided to start looking out for examples of such technology — gadgets from an era when clicking and flicking were just the way things got done. I don't care much what purpose said gadgets originally served, as long as they have manual interfaces and look cool.
My quest officially commenced two weekends ago. On a trip out to Graham, Texas, to visit a couple of friends who manage a wonderful, old-fashioned drive-in movie theater, I spotted a gigantic snowman looking very much like the one voiced by Burl Ives in those old claymation films. He was standing amid a bunch of dusty old junk in front of a quiet shop with a sign that read, "THIS IS NOT A MUSEUM. Everything in here is for sale!" ... Continued