21st Century

A Phone Toy Story, ds200 (Photo credit: macattck)

I went with my mom to Goodwill on Saturday to see if we could find a used stroller, walker, and/or playpen for me for when my grandson is over. What we found was a little Fisher Price phone. The kind that looks like the old rotary dial phone. We got it. He already has a little phone that looks like a cell phone. When I saw it the first thing I thought was that kids from the newer generations have no real idea of what a rotary dial phone is. The joy of talking on the telephone while trying to unravel the cord. The sound of the number as it dials.

So the Daily Prompt for today is:

Do you belong in this day and age? Do you feel comfortable being a citizen of the 21st-century? If you do, explain why — and if you don’t, when in human history would you rather be?

Photographers, artists, poets: show us MODERN.

Texting on a qwerty keypad phone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I feel a bit lost sometimes. I have no idea of how the hell to use Twitter, though I have an account (at this moment I have no idea of what my user name is, lol). I can use Instagram but just barely. I have a smart phone that I don’t utilize all the functions for. However, most days I do wish I had a dishwasher. So I guess it just depends on what types of technology we’re talking about as to whether I think they’re really a convenience or just something that is driving us further and further into what I tend to think of as the “downfall” of modern technology.

I still remember when you had to get up to change the channel on your television. Or when putting your own music together was on a cassette and if the radio station had commercials you had to hit pause, or when microwaves and then VCR‘s first came out. So I guess there are some things I’m not comfortable with in the 21st century–so much has been lost in personal communication that there are times when even though we’re linked in, so to speak, I feel like there’s a link a missing. What happened to letters? What happened to talking to someone on the telephone instead of texting? Texting is impersonal, but I utilize it because it’s easier sometimes.

“Thanks for the coffee this morning.”  I texted to my husband, though if I were up on text lingo would probably be more like “Ty 4 coffee AM.” or something to that effect. I wonder if people realize how their texts really look to someone who actually pays attention to the difference between you, you’re, and your…

“Technology has exceeded our humanity” (Photo credit: Toban B.)

I watched that show Revolution and immediately thought of how life would really be without all of this STUFF we’ve become so used to, some of which I don’t even know how to use yet, though my children do. If the bulk of technology went Kaput today I’d be okay. I’d have to find an iron pot (cauldron, lol) and a few other essentials, but I’d know how to cook on a fire, (even if I’m a bit rusty), and I’d be able to hunt and gather most of my own food, but what would I miss most? Hot water. Electricity. Indoor plumbing.

What would you miss most?

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Call Me, Maybe

Daily Prompt: Describe your relationship with your phone. Is it your lifeline, a buzzing nuisance, or something in between?

I received  an inexpensive droid–Smart Phone for Christmas. I’m not really big on touch screen. I prefer a keyboard, but otherwise it’s okay. Thing is, I remember when we didn’t have cell phones, when our home phones were rotary phones, when there were still phone booths at every other corner, and when you called someone you might get a busy signal and there was no such thing as Caller ID. I still remember the phone number we had growing up–Haven’t had that number or house since 1990 (I was 22 when we sold the house), but it’s ingrained in my brain, like all good little kids who were made to learn their phone numbers. Unfortunately, I know very few people’s numbers by heart now.

REMEMBERING THE OLD ROTARY DIAL PHONE (Photo credit: roberthuffstutter)

I’ve had a cell phone since the late 90’s. My first one was a Nokia and the battery to it was bigger than my current cell phone. Most people are writing about their cell phone, but the prompt doesn’t specify, and since a great number of people now-a-days don’t have home phones, most people, like me, are writing about their cell phones. My husband and I both have prepaid cell phones–contracts are too expensive and most don’t have unlimited data, so we went with the prepaid. You pay $50 for 30 days of unlimited: texting, calling, and data. Between the 2 of us that’s $100 a month to stay in touch with each other, with others, and to be available via phone if needed (or wanted). Don’t get me wrong, it’s great if you’re hunting for job, if you’re waiting on information, if you’re stranded because your vehicle broke down, if you need to get in touch with someone or someone needs to get in touch with you, if you use it for an alarm or a watch, but for the most part I find it to be a nuisance.

London: Red Telephone Booths (Photo credit: xgravity23)

It always rings at dinner time, or when I’m in the shower, or when I’m in the middle of cooking dinner, or when I’m driving, or at many other inconvenient times. Sometime I look at it and touch the button to ignore the call–thanks to caller ID I can do that, and sometimes I answer it but my tone is one of “Why are you bothering me?” I don’t always check my voice mails because I can see the missed calls and know who called. I don’t text as much as I used to because my new phone is a touch screen and it’s a pain in the ass. But there’s nothing like waking up to see that my husband has texted me good morning while he’s at work, or he’ll randomly text me that he loves me. And there’s nothing like getting a pic of my grandson from my daughter.

I suppose you could say I have a love-hate relationship with my phone. If I had a phone with a keyboard I’d be much happier with the phone. I’d probably text more, use the WP app more, but with or without a keyboard there are times when being so available, so easily accessible is a pain in the arse. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that my cell phone is my lifeline, or that it’s a buzzing nuisance (unless of course we’re talking about my husband’s when he’s got it set as an alarm clock and he keeps hitting the snooze). I guess I’m somewhere in the middle. It can be a lifeline, and has been when I’ve broken down on the interstate no where near a gas station or a pay phone, and it’s been a buzzing nuisance when I’m in the middle of cooking dinner or trying to eat dinner and the damn thing rings.

However, I think when people are constantly on their cell phones, like in the line at the grocery store or bank, or when they’re out listening to a band or in the middle of dinner at a restaurant and they’re constantly on the phone, checking email, FB, texting, etc it’s rude. Especially, when I walk into a store and the person who is supposed to be helping me is on their cell phone and doesn’t even bother to acknowledge my presence. And I won’t even start on the people who text and drive–there are numerous police officers in our area that now have “U TXT, WE TKT” on the side of their  cars.

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Since Sliced Bread

Electronic typewriter – the final stage in typewriter development. A 1989 Canon Typestar 110 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Daily Prompt: Sliced Bread. Most of us have heard the saying, “That’s the best thing since sliced bread!” What do you think is actually the best thing since sliced bread?

I was looking back at some of the things that were popular in 1983, the year I turned 16, for one of the other daily prompts, and realized that Microsoft Word came out that year, which took me by surprise. In that surprise I began to think of all the things I now do with a computer, especially while I was in college, that I had to do with a typewriter back in high school. So for me, I’d have to say that computers are the best thing since sliced bread.

Since the 80’s,  technological advances in regard to computers have been wide open. For people who weren’t born before these technological advances, I suppose it’s different, but for someone like me who remembers typing research papers on a typewriter, with footnotes, and if you got it wrong you had to start that page over. Sure, there were electric typewriters and there were even a few word processors, like Brother, and I’m sure for those who were more technologically savvy there were better options, (like IBM’s first PC, or later the Tandy) but it wasn’t until the late 80’s or early 90’s that I got my first word processor, and then it wasn’t until the very late 90’s that I got my first computer. Since then, I’ve been hooked.

Now, don’t get me wrong, up until a few years ago I had a manual typewriter that had belonged to my aunt that I actually still used. I began writing a novel on it, but when it quit working and I had trouble finding someone to fix it I finally just put everything I had for the novel in my computer and finally gave up on the typewriter. There is something about the sound of the keys, the sound of sliding it back when you’ve finished typing that line, and then moving on to the next line, that you don’t get with a computer. Now, as I venture into even more modern technology, I am debating on switching from Windows to Apple (especially once I wade deeper into the sea of photography). I’m hoping that when I am finally able to switch to Apple I’ll find that it will be the best thing since sliced bread.

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