There is so much to catch up on! Where do I begin? I will tell you…..with this article that was in USA Today Everyday Gadgets Go ‘Smarting’ Off
Are we really attempting to make our lives much easier? Or is it simpler? Are these the right words to describe it? Yes, the workload is taken off of us. However, when something goes wrong, for example, there is a crash of the electronics, this creates more frustration. More frustration leads to higher stress levels. And where do most people feel they are today?
I was once a proud owner of a Palm Pilot. I don’t remember the model number. I could look it up but you get the point: it was a while ago. I loved the thing. It was perfect for me to decipher what the fuck I was doing between work, school, and having a life. Then I just stopped using it one day. I had this horrible feeing that I was becoming too tech savvy (yes, me, I know). I was forgetting my roots and therefore, without a decent farewell, I said good-bye to the Palm Pilot.
Now keep in mind, my initial interaction with it, as with most cool things, occurs with friends. And Diana has helped me become an up-and-coming gal with all my gadgets and gizmos that I never would have discovered normally by my lonesome.
Between the Palm Pilot and the Treo there is a decent gap of a few good years of pen and penciling it. I’ve had pocket calendars, a Filofax, and huge calendars. All being carted all over the place with me.
Not too mention cell phones and the service carriers that I have had.
So during these gaps, Diana was still very much in-tuned to the Tech World of Gadgets, while I just sort of slinked back a bit and laid low in the shadows of the literal page-by-page calendars.
And then the Treo arrived in the world. And Diana told me about it.
She raved and gushed, pushing buttons, tapping here and there, even had me call myself. Just to show me all the awesome things that this new device did. And my reaction? I fell in love. I wanted one. No doubt. This was truly made for me. I could easily combine what the fuck I was doing with work, school (yes, still in school), a life, and my Man’s schedule (a new thing to keep track of). But there was more! It was also my phone!! How amazing is that? But there was more!! I could access my email!! It just gets better….it’s an MP3 player too!
Holy shit they weren’t fucking around when they made this thing.
And I was lost from my World of Shadows. I became Tech-Oriented once again. I love the Tech section of USA Today (be prepared to see it some more).
But does it really make us to live simple? I want to. I know there is less to carry….but when something is not right, how the fuck do I fix it? I mean, there’s always 1-800-TECH-SUPPORT for every gadget out there. But the quality of service is gone. Is that an oxymoron then?
So, I’m still hung on this Simple Thing. My goals in life always appear to be simple: bike to work one day, hike more, exercise more, eat more healthy foods, blah, blah, blah….. But do they really mean that my life will be simple?
And to get further off the topic….the more we become tech-oriented as a country, that is the more Smart electronics we have, the less growth of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These things are not measurable by the GDP. But that’s for another topic……
