Are you a slave to technology?
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
martin_hughes wrote:
How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure.
Computer, cell phone, and occasionally I'll set the timer on the stove. That's it. And I drive this ancient 1994 Toyota Paseo. Gotta love it. There's no door chime, there's no seatbelt warning, the only thing it does is make a beeeeeeee... sound if I leave the lights on, which is useful.
martin_hughes wrote:
How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected?
I got this speedometer thing for my bike, so I could measure how many miles I cycle. But it doesn't make noise. It broke, and I went without it for months last summer, since I knew the mileage on the routes. But yeah, I missed it, so I fixed it (broken wire). Otherwise, I do keep my cell phone with me at all times, but I turn it off when I am out to dinner with my gf, and when, oh, never mind. :)
martin_hughes wrote:
Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets?
Yeah, I get pretty stressed out if I forget my cell phone.
martin_hughes wrote:
Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow?
I'd prefer if most people vanished. ;)
martin_hughes wrote:
if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
It's not the technology that dooms us all, it's us. Marc
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
Beepy electronics things: Two, my phone and my iPod. The phone is mainly for emergencies and keeping in touch with my kid. Only my family members have the number. I probably spend less than 10 minutes a day using it. The iPod spends most of the time on my desk at work, where I use it in lieu of having 600+ CD's of music in my desk. I probably use it 2-3 hours a day. While I run and bicycle, the only electronic thing related to that I use is the cycling computer on the bike. I use that to keep track of distance when navigating on roads. I don't feel a need to become 'disconnected' as I've never been terribly 'connected' to begin with. Probably the strongest electronic leash I have is e-mail and CP.
martin_hughes wrote:
if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
I'm sure the folks that lived in Strasbourg thought that folly of Gutenberg's would lead to nothing but trouble.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^] -
Douglas Troy wrote:
WE'RE ALL DOOMED!
Damn, I called you Kojak, when Private Fraser would have been more appropriate!
Douglas Troy wrote:
Might sleep in. Maybe get outside and finish some painting, cut the lawn. Need to get a fence up. Course, without all this man-made beeping plastic crap, I'd also need to find a job ... so I guess I'd be job hunting ...
I'd recommend a career as a jongleur :)
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
martin_hughes wrote:
I'd recommend a career as a jongleur
Emmmm... I'll have to look-up some tunes.... :rolleyes:
:..::. Douglas H. Troy ::..
Bad Astronomy |VCF|wxWidgets|WTL -
I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
I hate the fu***ng toaster, the bloody thing needs to beep at me 3 times when to toast is done, what my attention span cannot last 2 minutes, I'm not standing there waiting for my carbs in the morning, I can't hear the toast hitting the bench when the stupid fu***ng thing ejects it 2 feet into the air. Wheres my hammer..... Mind you I'm the closest thing to a ludditie around, I use a prepaid phone b/c I continoiusly leave the dammed thing in a bag or on a desk so nobody can be confident I have it with me. I have an iPaq that is used for a reader only, never touched any of the other functions, the phone is not web enabled (barely makes calls) and there is no other tech rattling around when I leave the house. I walk in the mornings (no garden) and it's me the threads and a water bottle, disappearing over the horizon for and hour or so!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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Beepy electronics things: Two, my phone and my iPod. The phone is mainly for emergencies and keeping in touch with my kid. Only my family members have the number. I probably spend less than 10 minutes a day using it. The iPod spends most of the time on my desk at work, where I use it in lieu of having 600+ CD's of music in my desk. I probably use it 2-3 hours a day. While I run and bicycle, the only electronic thing related to that I use is the cycling computer on the bike. I use that to keep track of distance when navigating on roads. I don't feel a need to become 'disconnected' as I've never been terribly 'connected' to begin with. Probably the strongest electronic leash I have is e-mail and CP.
martin_hughes wrote:
if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
I'm sure the folks that lived in Strasbourg thought that folly of Gutenberg's would lead to nothing but trouble.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^]"if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?" Oh, cheer up. We have always been doomed anyway. Don't go blaming technology now. You've just confused with 'crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"' as being a cause, where it is a symptom of our human condtion: of groping at laziness dressed up as competency and convenience without really shaking off the incompetence. Man can always look at all of his finest achievements with awe and wonder, but in the end he knows that the bottom line is that he won't be able to stop raping this world until the brink of destruction is reached. "Are we there yet mommy?". "No not yet son, we'll be there when you see everyone trying to kill each other again for the third time". Wait on, doesn't man look at technology as its saviour? How dare we blaspheme against it. I better go now, the paradoxes are coming. Anyway, it's time for our medication.
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP. Why can't beeping devices have an easily accsible and obvious MUTE button? It took me 20 minutes faffing about with my phoe to work out how to stop the keypa beeping when I press a key (obviosuly, it's in the 'ringtones' menu option!). I actually hate owning a wankerphone, but I admit it has its uses. I thought bluetooth was going to be the answer - you could have one beeping crap device (not too plastic because you'd want it to last) to control every device you have - so it would be the phone, remote for tv, video, air con, car unlocker and starter etc. etc. I hope you're not using electronic http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4329815.html[^] devices in your plantation :) (and I bet it wold beep)
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP. Why can't beeping devices have an easily accsible and obvious MUTE button? It took me 20 minutes faffing about with my phoe to work out how to stop the keypa beeping when I press a key (obviosuly, it's in the 'ringtones' menu option!). I actually hate owning a wankerphone, but I admit it has its uses. I thought bluetooth was going to be the answer - you could have one beeping crap device (not too plastic because you'd want it to last) to control every device you have - so it would be the phone, remote for tv, video, air con, car unlocker and starter etc. etc. I hope you're not using electronic http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4329815.html[^] devices in your plantation :) (and I bet it wold beep)
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Maxxx_ wrote:
Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP.
Like life support systems? :)
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
Well, here I am just finished listening to a record - yes, a vinyl LP. I refuse to buy any sort of i-thingy. I also have a stereo amplifier. No 5 or 7 channel surround crap - 2 channels that sound fantastic. Sometimes I turn on the stereo if I'm watching a concert or something on TV, otherwise I usually don't bother. Yes, I have a CD player and a DVD player but a lot of my music is on vinyl and it still sounds great. I just upgraded my turntable with a new cartridge last year and have no intention of abandoning it. (You youngsters - look up "cartridge" on Google!) Last year one of my co-workers asked me what tax preparation software I used. I told him I just used my calculator and filled in the form with a pen. "You do it by *hand*?!! Ugh!", he said. It really isn't difficult... I suppose I'm an old fart / luddite then! (If i remember correctly I'm 43.) Oh yes, I do have a cell phone though - but I don't text or anything. Occasionally my wife calls and asks what I want to do for dinner.
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martin_hughes wrote:
How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure.
Does that include Bambi down at the club? (She'll go "beep" (or whatever) if you pay her.)
Yeah but I rarely get to feel plugged in!
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog Just Say No to Web 2 Point Oh
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martin_hughes wrote:
How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure.
Computer, cell phone, and occasionally I'll set the timer on the stove. That's it. And I drive this ancient 1994 Toyota Paseo. Gotta love it. There's no door chime, there's no seatbelt warning, the only thing it does is make a beeeeeeee... sound if I leave the lights on, which is useful.
martin_hughes wrote:
How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected?
I got this speedometer thing for my bike, so I could measure how many miles I cycle. But it doesn't make noise. It broke, and I went without it for months last summer, since I knew the mileage on the routes. But yeah, I missed it, so I fixed it (broken wire). Otherwise, I do keep my cell phone with me at all times, but I turn it off when I am out to dinner with my gf, and when, oh, never mind. :)
martin_hughes wrote:
Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets?
Yeah, I get pretty stressed out if I forget my cell phone.
martin_hughes wrote:
Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow?
I'd prefer if most people vanished. ;)
martin_hughes wrote:
if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
It's not the technology that dooms us all, it's us. Marc
Marc Clifton wrote:
I'd prefer if most people vanished.
Frank Barone[^] couldn't have said it better!
¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog Just Say No to Web 2 Point Oh
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
I've always liked good machinery - electric or not. There's art in a finely crafted handgun, a well balanced shovel, or a quality motherboard. My job requires a cell phone, but I don't. People get annoyed when it rings and I don't answer it, so I explain that it exists for my convenience, not others'. My day is filled at work with computers, radio links, electrical measurement and control devices - I can't escape that, being an engineer at a power company, and I love it. When I get home, however, I hit the yard, watering, fertilizing, plucking weeds, raking rocks out of the soil patches I next want to plant. When the weather is decent I like to hike, or drive far out in the desert and shoot guns. When it gets too bloody hot to function in daylight I like to spend the night on the shore of the lake fishing; my cell phone gets no signal there. Weekends are for kayaking... But I'm no Luddite either; many an evening I spend attempting to relearn programming. It's something I can do on nights when I have to be at work in the morning. It's easy to read a few chapters, try out some samples, then hit the sack. I pity people who are so reliant on electronic widgets, and I know lots of them. When the power goes out they can't function. I, on the other hand, can find 50 things to do that are fun and don't require power or technolgy, and some of them don't involve a girl. When I get tired of having fun, I'll fix the power for the others. :-D
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Well, here I am just finished listening to a record - yes, a vinyl LP. I refuse to buy any sort of i-thingy. I also have a stereo amplifier. No 5 or 7 channel surround crap - 2 channels that sound fantastic. Sometimes I turn on the stereo if I'm watching a concert or something on TV, otherwise I usually don't bother. Yes, I have a CD player and a DVD player but a lot of my music is on vinyl and it still sounds great. I just upgraded my turntable with a new cartridge last year and have no intention of abandoning it. (You youngsters - look up "cartridge" on Google!) Last year one of my co-workers asked me what tax preparation software I used. I told him I just used my calculator and filled in the form with a pen. "You do it by *hand*?!! Ugh!", he said. It really isn't difficult... I suppose I'm an old fart / luddite then! (If i remember correctly I'm 43.) Oh yes, I do have a cell phone though - but I don't text or anything. Occasionally my wife calls and asks what I want to do for dinner.
Colin Rae wrote:
look up "cartridge" on Google!)
They'll end up on the HP printer supplies site, I'm afraid... :doh: [EDIT] I also have an excellent collection of LPs, btw. Unfortunately my turntable has developed a wobble that a new drive band hasn't fixed. I suspect a capacitor in the crystal oscillator circuit has gone flaky, but haven't the time or sufficient motivation to diagnose and repair it. It is 36 years old, after all - best $129 I ever spent. :-D [/EDIT]
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Maxxx_ wrote:
Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP.
Like life support systems? :)
Including life support systems! I want them to be quiet! I can imagine nothing worse than being mobilised but concious, strapped to a life support machine going beep... beeep ... beeep - you'd just be litening the whole time for the Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep that is the mainstay of every ER episode.
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I've always liked good machinery - electric or not. There's art in a finely crafted handgun, a well balanced shovel, or a quality motherboard. My job requires a cell phone, but I don't. People get annoyed when it rings and I don't answer it, so I explain that it exists for my convenience, not others'. My day is filled at work with computers, radio links, electrical measurement and control devices - I can't escape that, being an engineer at a power company, and I love it. When I get home, however, I hit the yard, watering, fertilizing, plucking weeds, raking rocks out of the soil patches I next want to plant. When the weather is decent I like to hike, or drive far out in the desert and shoot guns. When it gets too bloody hot to function in daylight I like to spend the night on the shore of the lake fishing; my cell phone gets no signal there. Weekends are for kayaking... But I'm no Luddite either; many an evening I spend attempting to relearn programming. It's something I can do on nights when I have to be at work in the morning. It's easy to read a few chapters, try out some samples, then hit the sack. I pity people who are so reliant on electronic widgets, and I know lots of them. When the power goes out they can't function. I, on the other hand, can find 50 things to do that are fun and don't require power or technolgy, and some of them don't involve a girl. When I get tired of having fun, I'll fix the power for the others. :-D
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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Roger Wright wrote:
and some of them don't involve a girl.
they involve two or three?
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Only if I'm very lucky, or got stuck babysitting again.
"A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
When I go to my Nan's in the middle of the woods, there's no signal and no internet. I get slightly sweaty after a week, unless I keep myself busy! Mostly I have just a phone, other than computers, and tv etc. Although the Microwave goes beep, and then keeps beeping until you open the door! :mad:
You don't have to be mad to live here [UK], but it helps.
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I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
I've got a tap (faucet for you Americans) that has been slowly falling apart for weeks, needs repair, and someday i might get around to doing something about it. The other day the dog chewed through the cable on the splitter device that splits my phone line and the ASDL cable to my router. Got that fixed the same day. Bought two splitter devices, just in case the dog ever does it again. That's priorities for you.
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Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP. Why can't beeping devices have an easily accsible and obvious MUTE button? It took me 20 minutes faffing about with my phoe to work out how to stop the keypa beeping when I press a key (obviosuly, it's in the 'ringtones' menu option!). I actually hate owning a wankerphone, but I admit it has its uses. I thought bluetooth was going to be the answer - you could have one beeping crap device (not too plastic because you'd want it to last) to control every device you have - so it would be the phone, remote for tv, video, air con, car unlocker and starter etc. etc. I hope you're not using electronic http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4329815.html[^] devices in your plantation :) (and I bet it wold beep)
___________________________________________ .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Maxxx_ wrote:
Personally I HATE anything that goes BEEP. Why can't beeping devices have an easily accsible and obvious MUTE button?
This approach has its drawbacks on a heart monitor. Rich
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"if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?" Oh, cheer up. We have always been doomed anyway. Don't go blaming technology now. You've just confused with 'crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"' as being a cause, where it is a symptom of our human condtion: of groping at laziness dressed up as competency and convenience without really shaking off the incompetence. Man can always look at all of his finest achievements with awe and wonder, but in the end he knows that the bottom line is that he won't be able to stop raping this world until the brink of destruction is reached. "Are we there yet mommy?". "No not yet son, we'll be there when you see everyone trying to kill each other again for the third time". Wait on, doesn't man look at technology as its saviour? How dare we blaspheme against it. I better go now, the paradoxes are coming. Anyway, it's time for our medication.
I'm not sure why you replied to me rather than the O.P. but, oh well. I thought my Gutenberg comment made it clear I didn't think we were doomed. You, on the other hand, sound like you need a horse-sized dose of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.
Steve Katic wrote:
it's time for our medication.
Party on, dude.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^] -
I'm not a technophile. I don't really want, need or even like gadgets. But I'm no technophobe, either. I appreciate when something is useful or adds that undefinable "something" (I hesitate to use the "quality") to my way of living. But here's the thing: I'm surrounded by crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep". I've been spending a lot of time in the garden lately. I never thought this would be my sort of thing - I was so wrapped up in technology, felt this pressing need to be contactable 24/7, to be "wired in", so addicted to technology that I've spent the better part of the last 15 years completely divorced from the world around me - but really, truly, digging, planting and nurturing has made me realise just what an unhappy life life surrounded by technology is. I'm not advocating a Luddite rebellion here - technology has some very good uses (and let's face it, here I am typing on such a thing for y'all to read :) ) - but have a think about the following: How much time per day do you spend interacting with crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep"? Both work and leisure. How many crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" do you own? How disconnected from electronics do you ever get? And are you ever really disconnected? (For example: do you run, cycle or exercise with some electronic gadgetry that measures speed, distance or pulse?) Do you feel naked or elated without your gadgets? Do you go cold turkey without them? Have you ever wondered what you'd do if all the crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" vanished from the face of the planet tomorrow? And ask yourself this: if we have become so reliant on crap, plastic, man-made things that go "beep" in less than 50 years, are we all doomed?
print "http://www.codeproject.com".toURL().text Ain't that Groovy?
How do we feed ,cloth,etc and communicate with 6 billion + people without electronics and other technology? How many of us would die in a matter of weeks without it. We need to address the problems that some of our technology creates and learn to use the phrase "Is this a necessary and appropriate use for this technology.", before we build it not after.
When prediction serves as polemic, it nearly always fails. Our prefrontal lobes can probe the future only when they aren’t leashed by dogma. The worst enemy of agile anticipation is our human propensity for comfy self-delusion. David Brin Buddha Dave