The Boot - Three Years On - 7. Chapter 7

An interesting insight into the lives of Jim and Beccy. They showed a great deal of trust in Jason by showing him where they kept their belongings stashed.

Here's hoping all's well with The Major when Kevin, Ian and John get to the hospital.

In many cases, if you replace the battery in a cellphone, you’ve fixed the biggest problem that caused it to be discarded. Batteries do have a limit on the number of times they can be recharged. In the US, there are groups that take old cellphones and get them working so they can be used to call 911 in an emergency. Since cellphones are legally required to be able to call 911 even if they have no service provider, this sort of use is free. These cellphones are often given to domestic abuse victims.
 

With laptops, it’s a similar situation with the battery. Some people will use a laptop whose battery is basically dead by plugging it in every time, but there’s a second battery that powers the clock function and if that’s dead too, it can cause really odd problems. That second battery is fairly cheap, but might be difficult to access.

And then there’s software problems. With ms, you have to have a serial number to install the OS and the most common application. A work-around is to install Linux or other form of Unix, but it’s not the usual user interface and not everyone wants to learn Unix. There are free Unix analogs for the most commonly used applications.

With a Macintosh, Apple allows you to install the OS (a very customized and polished version of Unix, by the way) with no serial number or other frustrating complications. The most basic applications are also serial number-free. This is one reason why you don’t see a lot of relatively recent Apple products being discarded unless there’s physical damage.
;–)

4 hours ago, Marty said:

An interesting insight into the lives of Jim and Beccy. They showed a great deal of trust in Jason by showing him where they kept their belongings stashed.

Here's hoping all's well with The Major when Kevin, Ian and John get to the hospital.

Trust is often one of the big stumbling blocks for homeless people, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Jim has seen something in Jason that makes him feel good about the developing friendship. 

I think that The Major will be okay if the lads can handle his stubbornness.

@droughtquake there are many reasons for both mobile phones and laptops being discarded,as you point out often it's things that can easily be put right. It goes to show how many of us take things for granted in the throw away world that we currently live in, some enterprising people take advantage of that and put these items to good use.

43 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

Trust is often one of the big stumbling blocks for homeless people

One of my best friends when I was homeless refused to tell me exactly where he slept at night. He was afraid that someone else would discover the location and occupy it, preventing him from staying there. He knew I was staying in a shelter, so I’d never try to take away his spot, but he was paranoid about it anyway.
;–)

As far as throwing away laptops and tablets, it's more that they slow down so much they become practically unusable, way before the battery life expires. I have a collection taking up space, occasionally I boot them up to look for something from the past. I'd like to recycle them, but doubt they'd interest anyone, plus there's the problem of getting what's on the hard drive off and stored somewhere. All this stuff just builds up over the years, nothing in the computer world has a very long life span.

As for the story, it's coming along nicely. I doubt it's a brilliant idea to stash electrical stuff in a humid hideout in a bridge by a canal. Maybe I'm being unfair, but it doesn't paint a super intelligent picture of Jim?

35 minutes ago, Talo Segura said:

As far as throwing away laptops and tablets, it's more that they slow down so much they become practically unusable, way before the battery life expires. I have a collection taking up space, occasionally I boot them up to look for something from the past. I'd like to recycle them, but doubt they'd interest anyone, plus there's the problem of getting what's on the hard drive off and stored somewhere. All this stuff just builds up over the years, nothing in the computer world has a very long life span.

As for the story, it's coming along nicely. I doubt it's a brilliant idea to stash electrical stuff in a humid hideout in a bridge by a canal. Maybe I'm being unfair, but it doesn't paint a super intelligent picture of Jim?

If you reformat the hard drive and reinstall the software, laptops and tablets often get suddenly quicker. There are many people who just need basic applications like a browser and a text editor – they don’t need Word and Office. An old computer might still be slowed by the limited bandwidth available on a free WiFi connection. What we think is hopelessly slow is faster than waiting for severely time-limited computers in a public library. It’s all a matter of perspective.

When you’re homeless, your options are to find a place to stash things, or lug them around with you everywhere you go (also making it even more obvious that you are, in fact, homeless). There aren’t a lot of options. Renting a storage locker might cost more than they have available and missing payments mean losing your stuff forever.
;–)

4 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

As far as throwing away laptops and tablets, it's more that they slow down so much they become practically unusable, way before the battery life expires. I have a collection taking up space, occasionally I boot them up to look for something from the past. I'd like to recycle them, but doubt they'd interest anyone, plus there's the problem of getting what's on the hard drive off and stored somewhere. All this stuff just builds up over the years, nothing in the computer world has a very long life span.

As for the story, it's coming along nicely. I doubt it's a brilliant idea to stash electrical stuff in a humid hideout in a bridge by a canal. Maybe I'm being unfair, but it doesn't paint a super intelligent picture of Jim?

 

3 hours ago, droughtquake said:

If you reformat the hard drive and reinstall the software, laptops and tablets often get suddenly quicker. There are many people who just need basic applications like a browser and a text editor – they don’t need Word and Office. An old computer might still be slowed by the limited bandwidth available on a free WiFi connection. What we think is hopelessly slow is faster than waiting for severely time-limited computers in a public library. It’s all a matter of perspective.

When you’re homeless, your options are to find a place to stash things, or lug them around with you everywhere you go (also making it even more obvious that you are, in fact, homeless). There aren’t a lot of options. Renting a storage locker might cost more than they have available and missing payments mean losing your stuff forever.
;–)

There are many reasons for items like this to be discarded and many possible options that can help to restore them to some sort of working order, then they can have a new lease of life. If you don't have much cash available it's sometimes a more affordable way of having technology that is otherwise out of your grasp and for some becomes a source of income.

4 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

As far as throwing away laptops and tablets, it's more that they slow down so much they become practically unusable, way before the battery life expires. I have a collection taking up space, occasionally I boot them up to look for something from the past. I'd like to recycle them, but doubt they'd interest anyone, plus there's the problem of getting what's on the hard drive off and stored somewhere. All this stuff just builds up over the years, nothing in the computer world has a very long life span.

37 minutes ago, Mancunian said:

 

There are many reasons for items like this to be discarded and many possible options that can help to restore them to some sort of working order, then they can have a new lease of life. If you don't have much cash available it's sometimes a more affordable way of having technology that is otherwise out of your grasp and for some becomes a source of income.

When I was homeless, I was using a decade-old, second generation 12” iBook – with batteries (the installed one and replacements I had purchased as supplements) that were way past their useful life. The model was too old to have replacement batteries available. Even the power adapter was dying and it wasn’t worth replacing it. I started using a Rube Goldberg-ish method of powering the computer: external battery plugged into its adapter which was plugged into the wall for power and plugged into the computer to power it!

Shortly before I won my Social Security Disability case, I damaged the laptop’s display. I scraped together the cash to buy the cheapest LCD display that I could find, knowing I’d be able to use it in the future. I carried around a 21” display and laptop that both needed to be plugged in to work. Fortunately I had a large messenger bag that they both fit in.

Even with the workarounds, I was still in much better shape tech-wise than almost all of my homeless friends. I could use my computer anywhere I had power and a WiFi signal (usually libraries, but also Starbucks and McDonalds). And I could save documents on my own drive.
;–)
 

When I won my SSDI case, I bought a Mac Mini and attached the display that I’d purchased a few months earlier. I also bought a MacBook Pro about a year later. I’m still using both computers.

I retired the well-used, old iBook when it was about a dozen years old.

Now I'm back home I'll be getting to grips with chapter 8, I promise it will be posted as soon as possible and definitely within the next seven days, sorry about the delay.

Too much tecky stuff!!  

This was a very enjoyable chapter, I just hope the phones can charge that would be nice! 

Thanks again @Albert1434 for the comments. Jason loves to tinker and often has success, but not all of the time. I'm more concerned about Ian erecting tents in the bedroom, lol.

Jim and Jason's working together to restore phones and laptops could become a very good money enterprise.  I hope these two are successful on the first tries.  Jason, Jim and Beccy need more resources.  I am hoping that Jason gains trust in Jim, and tells Jim about his problems. 

1 hour ago, raven1 said:

Jim and Jason's working together to restore phones and laptops could become a very good money enterprise.  I hope these two are successful on the first tries.  Jason, Jim and Beccy need more resources.  I am hoping that Jason gains trust in Jim, and tells Jim about his problems. 

What success they have with the computers and mobile phones becomes apparent in later chapters, Jason may be inexperienced about being homeless but he is a fast learner and quite resourceful at times. As close as Jason gets to Jim and Beccy there are some things that he cannot bring himself to share with anyone, feelings of guilt and shame have a lot to do with that.

The world needs more Jim's and Jason's, people capable of fixing appliances rather than having them put into landfill. Mobile phones are amongst the worst offenders. I have long proposed that tech companies should have to pay an environmental cleanup tax (which they are not allowed to pass onto their customers). Some people in my workplace laugh when I tell them my Apple Mac is 11 years old and still going strong and I have an I-Phone 6 (which I only got to work from home in March 2020, before that I did not have one and I was able to live perfectly comfortably without one).

Now what is stashed in The Major's "special" and when will it be revealed?

9 minutes ago, Summerabbacat said:

The world needs more Jim's and Jason's, people capable of fixing appliances rather than having them put into landfill. Mobile phones are amongst the worst offenders. I have long proposed that tech companies should have to pay an environmental cleanup tax (which they are not allowed to pass onto their customers). Some people in my workplace laugh when I tell them my Apple Mac is 11 years old and still going strong and I have an I-Phone 6 (which I only got to work from home in March 2020, before that I did not have one and I was able to live perfectly comfortably without one).

Now what is stashed in The Major's "special" and when will it be revealed?

Jim and Jason are very resourceful and repay The Boot by providing a small amount of tech' for The Boot's guests. It's not what many expect from homeless people but it goes to show don't want a 'hand-out', they want a 'hand-up' which is entirely different. Recycling is a brilliant way to avoid unnecessary landfill and if done properly it adds to our depleting resources.

Thank you for your continued support. 

I'm on my second reading and wanted to add something I missed.  Kevin and Ian are horndogs and I loved the playful morning seduction.  Too bad John had to interrupt their fun. Baaad boy, John!

5 minutes ago, raven1 said:

I'm on my second reading and wanted to add something I missed.  Kevin and Ian are horndogs and I loved the playful morning seduction.  Too bad John had to interrupt their fun. Baaad boy, John!

What do you expect? They are young, fun and full of...well you get the message, . Yep, John's timing was baaad, but hey, that's life and he didn't know he was interrupting. 

Good that Jason and Jim both have talent at fixing some things.  Some persons quickly figure out what is challenging for the rest of us.

Looking forward to seeing more about The Major and Danny.

Jason and Jim's talents are a side of homeless people that many do not see or realise exists, not all homeless people are beggars, many want to work and try to find useful ways to make ends meet. When we see these, or other talents, in homeless people we try to encourage it as it can be a way to help them back into mainstream society, many continue to need ongoing support for it to work. Unfortunately, it is not always successful but it is always worthwhile making the attempt. The only thing I will tell you about The Major and Danny is that appear throughout the story.