Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

The “kiddies” were all taking pictures of the different fish in the aquarium with their I Phones and I Pads.  Everyone had them.  I read, presently, more photos are being taken with those devices than regular cameras.  These kids grew up with that technology so it really should not be that surprising to see that.  I am a dinosaur:  I am still using a film camera.  I am about to buy my first digital camera.  Prices have come down considerably.  I am slow to take up new technology except it is not new anymore.  I am just old.

Tags: aquarium, cameras, cell phones and cameras, digital camera, film camera, fish, I am a dinosaur, I Pads, I Phones, kids, photos, technology, the young have embraced easier the new technology
Posted in balance, children, knowledge&learning, money, time, wisdom | No Comments »

It is easy to take technology for granted.  Our modem went out.  And all of a sudden I could not go online, check my mail.  It was going to be a few days before I receive a new modem from Century Link.  And I was feeling something was missing and I could not wait until i received the replacement modem.  I took it for granted, that I could go online every day.  Fifty years ago there was no Internet or even an affordable home computer.  And I don’t have one of those fancy cell phones that are really computers.  I never forgot my sister balking to go into an area if there was no cell phone reception.  The world is really connected.  And it makes no difference. Wars are going on all over the world.  Communication has not really improved.

Tags: cell phones, communication, computer modem, home computer, internet, my sister, online, technology, war, world is connected
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, life, local, money, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

Somehow I need to talk less.  I need to give my wife more empty spaces.  I forget this all too often.  I do not have to repeat myself unless it is evident she did not hear me or understand me.  All this is very hard for me.  I know I have to work on it.

Less is always more.  It is too easy to fill up the blank spaces with words.  I have to give my “other” a chance to reflect on my words.  All this takes time.  Communication is not immediate.  This age of cell phones and other technology gives this illusion that communication is instant.  It is the hardest thing in the whole world.  It is work.

When I believe I am being perfectly clear in my communication with my wife, I find out I wasn’t.

Tags: cell phones, communication, communication is hard, communication is work, empty spaces, less is more, my wife, my words, repeat myself, talk less, technology
Posted in balance, knowledge&learning, life, local, love, marriage, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I don’t care how good an iPad is it won’t replace a book or library.  I know the new device can rapidly turn pages in a book but still it is not the same.

There is nothing like having a library and quickly glancing at your shelves, pulling out just the book you want and opening it up to any page.

I like physically handling my books, touching them.  I am not dependent on any batteries.  I am not so quick to run out and get this latest technological gadget from Apple.

The brain can not be replaced by this latest development.  The brain has the ability to review thousands of paragraphs you have read and know what book a passage came from and then find it.

There is nothing like an old book store to browse in.  None of these things can be replaced by the iPad.  By now, you get the idea I am skeptical of the value of this item.

I don’t want to pore over an instruction manual just to figure out how pick up a book and scan it.  Or even turn it on.  It is just too hard.  Call me old fashioned.

Tags: Apple, batteries, book passage, book shelves, books, brain, gadget, instruction manual, iPad, library, old book store, old fashioned, paragraph, reading, technology
Posted in humor, knowledge&learning, life, time, wisdom, writing | No Comments »

The question posed by the title seems odd: it is a paraphrase from the book “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau. The exact quote states “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us.”

This book was written over one hundred and fifty years ago. Thoreau later on the same page asks, “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?”

His statements are more apropos than ever. We live in a world of instant communication. A tragedy in a different part of the world thousands of miles away occurs and the news reports it right away.

If you go to a mall you would think the cell phones of teenagers are glued to their ears.

What Thoreau was asking was do we use the technology at our disposal usefully or does it control us. This question is more relevant than ever before today.

In the days of sophisticated cell phones (and computers) that can almost do anything you have to ask is it all necessary. Teenagers got along fifty years ago without cell phones (and parents still kept track of them).

Not too long ago I was in a car that was navigating by GPS and its directions were wrong and the driver almost did not believe I knew the right turn to make.

You have to wonder how much true communication is really taking place? I still prefer talking to others face to face. Yes, I will use a cell phone occasionally. Nevertheless it does not run my life.

Now every household has a computer, multiple cell phones, a microwave and all kinds of other technology. And I do not care that cell phones can almost do anything except dance.

Thoreau was really asking another question, also, the need to go faster and faster and no one asks the questions why is this speed so necessary and why do we want to go there. We can fly across continents quicker than ever before but so what.

The world has become smaller but not really. True communication is usually not instantaneous. The new technology has not really made this any easier. It only gives the illusion it is. And don’t be fooled. It takes commitment and effort to truly understand another human being.

Tags: "railroad rides upon us", cell phones, communication, computers, does technology control us, go faster and faster, God, GPS, Henry David Thoreau, microwave, parents, such hurry, talking to others face to face, technology, teenagers, true communication, Walden
Posted in balance, God, knowledge&learning, life, relationships, time, wisdom | No Comments »

I PODS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGY

“Download your favorite TV program
On your I Pod,” the commercial implored.

Tell me?  Why would I want to do that?
I do not care how good the technology is.
Or how clear that 4 square inch screen is.
After all, it is only 4 square inches.
I have to squint to view the screen.

And another thing:
Who is going to stand
In one spot
For sixty minutes
Holding their I Pod motionless
Viewing their favorite episodes
Of “Sex and the City”
Or whatever?

Sure you can watch your favorite music video.
I have the same problem.
Who wants to hold it still
For three and a half minutes?
I do not care how crisp the clarity
Of the screen is.
How can you possibly make out
The minute figures in it?

Of course, you need headphones
Aren’t you risking hearing loss
If you “pump” the volume high enough
And long enough?

I prefer watching my TV programs
And music videos
On my 28 inch TV screen–
374 square inches NOT 4.

Yes, now you can
Connect your I Pod
To an electronic component with speakers.
In the confines of your home.
Excuse me,
Wasn’t that what
We used to call a stereo?
I prefer listening to my two feet high Bose speakers.

And the commercials are bragging
How much smaller and thinner
They are making I Pods (and other MP3’s)
(and cellular phones).

Now I even saw an ad
In a magazine
Boasting how
Your cellular can possess
Gazillions of memory
And still fit in the palm
Of your hand

The keys on the keyboard
Would be so tiny
How could you possibly use it?

Yah, I know there will always be someone
Who will buy the latest gadget
No matter how impractical the “play toy” is.

All I can do is shake my head.

Am I the only person who thinks
This use of technology
Is ridiculous?

Let me know?

Tags: cellphone, I-pod, MP3, music, small screen for viewing, speakers, stereo, technology, the latest gadget, TV, video
Posted in balance, humor, knowledge&learning, music, time, wisdom | No Comments »