4 ms·

My daughter, bless her, occasionally likes going through our old home videos which are accessible via Kodi on the TV in the main living space (easily accessible

My daughter, bless her, occasionally likes going through our old home videos which are accessible via Kodi on the TV in the main living space (easily accessible). I rarely actively go looking through old photos and videos, but when my daughter starts them up, everyone migrates into the room to watch them. I've had a damn good life, and my kids have had a damn good childhood and my wife and I have done a damn good job of parenting. It's so nice, and incongruent with 'the daily news cycle', to be reminded of these beautiful things, and it's also a reminder to continue the effort, because it really is so worthwhile. When I'm too old to do much else, I want to retire into my past.

mceachen 4y ago
That's wonderful to hear! I actually had to stop using my own library to develop PhotoStructure, because I'd lose an hour or two just hopping through different memories. I think reminiscing and story telling is the real value proposition here. If the people in the photo aren't around to tell why a given video or photo or event is relevant, the context is lost, and the relevance of the photo, video, memory, or event is lost as well. I think printed books with longer descriptions about any given photo or event can help retain relevance. I haven't really seen a DAM or image manager address this issue directly though.
jmathai 4y ago
> When I'm too old to do much else, I want to retire into my past. I’ve never heard it stated quite like that.
- BLKNSLVR 4y ago
  How about this: My childhood was for my parents. My children's childhoods were for me and my wife. I don't have much of a personal recollection of my own childhood outside of photos and home videos. I know I had a happy, healthy childhood, but I don't recall specific moments of joy, at least not in the way I can recall and literally re-feel moments of joy captured in photos or videos of my children living through their childhoods. I lived through their childhood as an adult, so I'll remember it, and be able to recall the joys and disappointments and fun. The same must be true for how my parents experienced and can recall my childhood. Your childhood is for your parents.
  - jmathai 4y ago
    That's probably true and apparent in the midst of parenting. We say kids don't know how great they have it - and it's true. But we adults do and we should bask in it as much as possible. I'm a nostalgic and expect to become even moreso as I age.
    - stef25 4y ago
      Sadly the negative experiences are much more negative than the positive ones are positive. When we get / do / have something REALLY want, the satisfaction will wane very quickly. When something bad happens, it will follow us for months.
      - BLKNSLVR 4y ago
        > When we get / do / have something REALLY want, the satisfaction will wane very quickly. REALLY wanting things is, IMNSHO, indicative of not yet having reached a full level of maturity. I've felt the emptiness of the satisfaction of consumerism enough times to be able to suppress my immediate emotions and apply a thick layer of reality to it (generally along the lines of 'when the fuck am I going to have time to indulge in that, in amongst all these other things that I do with my time, I'd rather have the money than the thing sitting in a corner as another reminder that I have but one life to live'[0]) Also, focusing on the negatives is a choice. Bad things are to be moved on from, not to remain tethered to. (admittedly, this is incredibly variable depending on the psychological damage and susceptibility of the individual, but even so, one must always try to not let past negativity define the future). Something I REALLY wanted, was to be able to rollerskate backwards (noticeably not a material thing, but a personal achievement / goal). Took me 18 months of monthly / weekly conscious effort and discomfort, but fuck, I can fucking do it, and look like a pro at least through an amateur's eyes. I'm telling you, that satisfaction doesn't wane! Not for me anyway. That's a fucking lifetime achievement for me, at my age, and I don't care if it would be two weeks work for a 10 year old. [0]I've recently commented to my long-suffering better half that it feels as if we're trying to squeeze one and a half lives into one.
        4y ago

mceachen 4y ago

That's wonderful to hear! I actually had to stop using my own library to develop PhotoStructure, because I'd lose an hour or two just hopping through different memories. I think reminiscing and story telling is the real value proposition here. If the people in the photo aren't around to tell why a given video or photo or event is relevant, the context is lost, and the relevance of the photo, video, memory, or event is lost as well. I think printed books with longer descriptions about any given photo or event can help retain relevance. I haven't really seen a DAM or image manager address this issue directly though.

jmathai 4y ago

> When I'm too old to do much else, I want to retire into my past. I’ve never heard it stated quite like that.

BLKNSLVR 4y ago
How about this: My childhood was for my parents. My children's childhoods were for me and my wife. I don't have much of a personal recollection of my own childhood outside of photos and home videos. I know I had a happy, healthy childhood, but I don't recall specific moments of joy, at least not in the way I can recall and literally re-feel moments of joy captured in photos or videos of my children living through their childhoods. I lived through their childhood as an adult, so I'll remember it, and be able to recall the joys and disappointments and fun. The same must be true for how my parents experienced and can recall my childhood. Your childhood is for your parents.
- jmathai 4y ago
  That's probably true and apparent in the midst of parenting. We say kids don't know how great they have it - and it's true. But we adults do and we should bask in it as much as possible. I'm a nostalgic and expect to become even moreso as I age.
  - stef25 4y ago
    Sadly the negative experiences are much more negative than the positive ones are positive. When we get / do / have something REALLY want, the satisfaction will wane very quickly. When something bad happens, it will follow us for months.
    - BLKNSLVR 4y ago
      > When we get / do / have something REALLY want, the satisfaction will wane very quickly. REALLY wanting things is, IMNSHO, indicative of not yet having reached a full level of maturity. I've felt the emptiness of the satisfaction of consumerism enough times to be able to suppress my immediate emotions and apply a thick layer of reality to it (generally along the lines of 'when the fuck am I going to have time to indulge in that, in amongst all these other things that I do with my time, I'd rather have the money than the thing sitting in a corner as another reminder that I have but one life to live'[0]) Also, focusing on the negatives is a choice. Bad things are to be moved on from, not to remain tethered to. (admittedly, this is incredibly variable depending on the psychological damage and susceptibility of the individual, but even so, one must always try to not let past negativity define the future). Something I REALLY wanted, was to be able to rollerskate backwards (noticeably not a material thing, but a personal achievement / goal). Took me 18 months of monthly / weekly conscious effort and discomfort, but fuck, I can fucking do it, and look like a pro at least through an amateur's eyes. I'm telling you, that satisfaction doesn't wane! Not for me anyway. That's a fucking lifetime achievement for me, at my age, and I don't care if it would be two weeks work for a 10 year old. [0]I've recently commented to my long-suffering better half that it feels as if we're trying to squeeze one and a half lives into one.
      - 4y ago