Tethered to Technology

I am frustrated because I forgot my cell phone charger cord at home this morning.  I remembered my car charger (changed cars with my husband this morning), so I’ve been forced to leave the phone in the car twice to get some juice into it.   Problem is, that phone number is the one I give everyone; I’m anticipating business calls and it makes me nuts to leave the phone in the car.

Fortunately, I did remember to plug my iPad in before I went to bed last evening.  And I’ve gotten the mess with my computer cord straightened out.  I had it confused with another cord and almost ran out of battery power at work one day.

Am I the only person on the planet who is sick unto death of living life at the end of a cord?  Cell phones, laptops, iPads, flashlights, cameras, MP3 players, iPods, and anything else they can put a cord on…..it’s maddening.  And every time you buy a new appliance you have to change the doggoned cords!  Apple is very likely making more on the phone chargers/cords/etc. than all the other things they produce!!

I’ve tried buying cords for home, for the office, for our place at the lake, for the car and a spare to keep in my handbag for emergencies.  I figure I have made an outlay of about $700.00 to keep equipment charged.   If I upgrade my iPhone I’ll have to start all over again.  The technology changes before I can get the plastic off the darned cords!!

Alright.  Let’s say you have all the cords in all the places you need.   Now you need to label them, because a white cord is a white cord is a white cord.  A black cord can go to a computer, an electric skillet or a camcorder.  In order to tell them apart  I’ve dabbed them with nail polish, used the plastic tabs off bread bags as labels, even applied twist ties and used a label maker in a desperate attempt to identify which appliance any given cord goes to.  Still, no matter how organized or well-planned my attack, I can never find the cord when my iPad battery starts to run low….which seems to be in no time at all.  

Given the fact that we pay an arm and a leg for them, why is the battery life so lousy on our electronics? They can track the signal from a battery operated ‘black box’ from a downed airplane seemingly forever.   If they have the materials and knowledge to construct an instrument that can fall from 30,000 feet, survive a fire and continue to send out a signal from the ocean floor for weeks on end……WHY can’t they design a cell phone that can withstand a drop on my kitchen floor with a battery life that is longer than the life span of a May-fly??

How can we move forward if our progress is hindered by the length of a recharging cord?  I look forward to the day when someone (anyone!) creates a battery that will last a lifetime.  Charge it once when you are gifted with this wonderful battery at your high school graduation party; recharge it before the guests arrive  for your ninetieth birthday celebration.  You should be able to get these remarkable batteries to fit any generation of electronics, and any product.

I know it may seem superficial, but that’s the gift I’d give the world.  There are many people working on world peace, the elimination of dreadful diseases and extending our lifespan.  I say keep up the good work…you are good human beings!  I, on the other hand, will be working on a battery that lasts 75 years without a recharge.  It may not be very compact, and it might have a kick start, but it will work!   Not because I’m a selfless human being who wants to teach the world to sing….but because it’s time to cut the cord.

                                                                Life is Good

A Little Corn can't Hurt....

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
                Lt. Col. Grant L. 
                      Rosensteel, Jr.

In today’s high tech, low morals, what-channel-are-the-Kardashians-on society it is rare that something strikes a chord with me.  I find myself in the position of trying to fend off more information than I take in.  We live in an exhausting world, bombarded by advertising impressions and demoralizing news programs.  The parade of people trying way too hard to get attention is pathetic at best (What WAS Michael Douglas thinking!!!!).

Daily I get scores of email forwarded from friends.  Some of it I enjoy; most of the wild conspiracy theory stuff just keeps Snopes in business.  I believe very little of it, and check out the worst of it.  I am convinced nothing is a bad as we fear or as good as we wish it to be…the internet stuff that goes around would have you believe otherwise.

It is in my nature to be skeptical about everything; it’s a fact of which I am not proud.  So, when I get something in my email that touches me, I am surprised to say the least.  The quote at the top of the page is one of those things.  It came attached to a much longer story, which may or may not be true, but that quote really hit home.  I guess the ‘cool kids’ would say it’s corny, and I guess they'd be right. 
 
Thing is...I guess I like corny.   Corny is comforting, soothing, refreshing; a nice break from hatred, violence and in-your-face vulgarity.   

I have printed out that quote and pinned it on the board in front of my desk to remind me that there is still good at work in this world.  There are people who still stand for the pledge of allegiance with their right hand placed firmly over a hopeful heart. 
In spite of the ugliness our society promotes, there are still those who support our soldiers and their families.  Many continue do good works through their church or service club simply because it is the right thing to do. They just don’t get their own reality shows, I guess.

That quote says all that to me, and more….. 

To believe in these things is, today more than ever, a conscious choice.   I choose to believe.

                                 Life is Good

                          

 

 

Happy Fathers Day, Pop.

The day you become a Father is the day you truly give your life away.  You probably thought that’s what happened when you met the mother of your child.  I bet you were pretty certain that’s what was going on when you stood before some kind of official and he/she read the words that made you man and wife.  Not so.

Having a child is THE most life changing event for anyone…becoming a Father gives you the opportunity to become a man.  I know that because that’s the kind of father I had.

My Mom has told me how excited she and Dad were to be having a child; as it turned out their only child.  Dad shared the experience with her by having morning sickness every day on the way to work.  He nearly wore a path in the tile of the waiting room while she was in labor; taking his two girls home from the hospital was the high point of his life.

I’m sure he was the typical 50’s and 60’s Dad.  He worked, came home to the evening meal, then read the paper and watched black and white TV.  It wasn’t glamorous, but it was constant and dependable.  Dad wasn’t the disciplinarian; in the team of good cop/bad cop he never was the villain.

When I was little, Daddy sat through many tea parties, ate tiny cakes from the Easy Bake Oven and patched my big doll named Freddie so the stuffing didn’t tumble out on the ground.    On Friday nights he stopped at Coney Island for a bag of hot dogs; the closest we came to eating out.  Once when I was sick he surprised me with a beautifully costumed Martha Washington doll I had spotted in a store.  Years later I understood it was something we could ill afford because he was working two jobs to make ends meet while Westinghouse was on strike.

When I was six I somehow contracted Scarlet Fever; a serious thing in those days.  Mom and I were quarantined for two weeks, Dad would stand outside the door to talk to us and leave groceries.  When the quarantine was lifted I was still too sick to go outside to play.  I remember my Dad carrying me into the hospital; I spent two more weeks recovering from the complications of Scarlet Fever.  My Mom stayed in my hospital room, and every minute he wasn’t at work my Dad was there, too.

You can do without a lot of material things and still have a happy childhood.  I wasn’t introduced to the symphony or the arts, and ours was not a bookish home.   I did not have a childhood of financial privilege; but I was loved and cared for.  My parents did the best they could…and that was good enough to make me strong and grateful.

As the years passed Dad was there to walk me down the aisle to give me away to a man who is very much like him in a lot of ways.  He enjoyed his grandchildren, often walking them around the block like a row of ducklings following along behind.   He helped with our moves from house to house, and he and Mom were great pinch hitters in our parenting line up.   

Having a Dad that loves you is one of life’s greatest assets.    His job from the day I was born was to make my life good; at least that was his interpretation.  He was embarrassingly proud of me; I was Daddy’s girl.   I hope I repaid a small part of that in the last years of his life when he was unable to do things for himself.   It was a privilege to give back what I could.

My father was a good man, and I think of him every day.   Happy Father’s Day, Pop.  I love you.

                                                                    Life is Good  

Can't it wait???

America's love affair with the telephone started the very day Alexander Graham Bell said, "Mr. Watson, come here.  I need you."

Through the years we've out grown the status symbol of having a telephone in every room.  Now we are eliminating land lines in our homes and carrying a cell phone in our pocket at all times.  

Be honest.  Aren't you at the point that you feel "naked" without your cell phone?  How can you tell what time it is, balance your check book, set your DVR or find your way in the dark without your cell phone??   It's really quite the little miracle.....and quite the modern day curse.

Thursday I was in a one hour meeting.  Heading in I always turn off my cell phone;  I'm not in charge of much any more and I actually like that. 

I took a chair at a table and waited for people to arrive.   The room filled quickly, the seat to my right was soon occupied by a woman I had never met.  I smiled and nodded, but she immediately ducked her head to dig in her purse for....what else....her cell phone.

The meeting began, the moderator doing her thing as she interacted with the group.  The woman beside me never looked up, it seemed she had decided to take this hour to write a book.   She attacked the tiny key board with great gusto, exhibiting a typing speed that must have taken a great deal of practice. Obviously she didn't know, or possibly she didn't care, that she could mute the key board.   Her typing/beeping continued through out the whole meeting time.  She did take one break when she talked rather loudly to the lady to her immediate right.  She proceeded to give her review of her new cell phone....needless to say she is quite the fan of her new smart phone.  It's too bad you don't have to be smart to own one.   By the time the meeting was over I was having a fantasy about grabbing the phone, throwing it on the ground and grinding it into the carpet while fighting the woman off with a folding chair.   In fact  I left the woman hunched over her cell phone; the maddening beep escorted me out the door.

It's not as if cell phones haven't been good the economy.  Well, some peoples economy, any way.  An entire industry of products we simply must have has sprung up to give us just the right designer cell phone case, the perfect hanger for plugging it in when at home, speakers that can be attached and rotating tripods so we can take panoramic pictures.   None of these items, or the cell phone service itself, is cheap.

 

I thought the 'invention' of the 24 hour  television news channel was a big mistake...but the dedication to constant contact and information our society exhibits makes that look good.    Texting, tweeting, Facebook and calling (to name a few)  gives us the opportunity to express every thought and list every action.   There is no escaping the loud, one-sided conversations going on among the clothing racks, in the grocery isles and even in the toilet stalls in public restrooms.   Evidently most of the population embraces the slogan "it's the next best thing to being there" as they prattle on and on about nothing, or even worse, share their most intimate secrets with anyone within earshot.  

I love the convenience of a cell phone, but it seems almost any convenience brings out the absolute worst in some of us.   Owning  one doesn't guarantee instant access to me any more than having one at home did.  Some times, and in some places, it is not appropriate to be on a telephone call or in a texting frenzy.
   

Come on America...let's take back our independence and relegate our cell phones to the place they actually should occupy; an appliance that we own, not the other way around.

                                                  Life is Good