Digital Media and Analog Storage

This week during the evenings I am trying to reconcile my past habits with my future direction. In my den, I have several boxes of music (in the form of CDs and *gasp* cassette tapes), and about as many boxes of paper files, waiting to be unpacked. These had been stored in shelves or drawers in multiple versions of dens past, and again need to be assigned a place, before final organization (and decoration) of my most often used space can occur.

Except...

Nothing is heading in this direction. Physical storage of media, whether print or recordings, is heavily trending toward digital (or even virtual). Digital media takes up space, yes, but.. a very different kind. Not on shelves or in drawers. And I have plenty of both formats: hundreds of CDs and tapes (and yeah, some vintage vinyl), plus... nearly 240 Gig of music in .mp3 or .m4a format. There is several linear feet of paper stuffed into manila folders and hanging files, labeled by topic, while at the same time... a robust User/Documents/ electronic file directory with .doc and .pdf and .ppt and .xls files. And let's not even get started on the subject of .jpg and .gif files..

So what to do? Scan and upload everything, then pitch the hard copy? But, I still WANT books on my shelves, artwork on my walls, and magazines to leaf through. But I also want copies of research articles in .pdf form, digital pics for use in screensavers & blog posts, access to online e-zines for fast browsing, and music that I can shift from computer to mobile device, organize into playlists & put on random shuffle while I study or drive. I feel like I'm in between technological eras, with a foot in each, standing astride an ever-widening chasm.



All this existential disquiet is centered on the presence of half a dozen cardboard boxes piled in a corner behind my office recliner, against which are propped my framed Chagall prints. I have gotten into a pleasant routine in this new place without the benefit of anything in that corner. And yet... a large chunk of my past life sits in those paper files, and many hours of aural pleasure (not to mention expense!) are in those jewel cases. As for the Chagalls... I can't even put into words what they mean.

I have a feeling that when this week is over, I will have made some level of compromise. Out with the old, in with the new... except for these things right here, which with I am NOT parting. Period. :)