We're in mourning here; my 35+ years-old JVC CD/DVD/VHS player has expired. A gift from my wife a few years after our nuptials, it has been a true standard-bearer in the study for three-plus decades. To be honest, it had its issues, but I'd grown used to them and had developed methods to mitigate its failings. Now it's gone.

So a replacement. I was shocked to find that new gear is available today with ten times the fidelity at scarcely ten percent of the JVC's original cost. So I ordered something, likely the product of President Xi's empire. We'll see, but I'm doubting anything purchased today can soldier on for 35 years.