Thursday, September 9, 2010

i'm a bit of a luddite

i have a cell phone but i only use it to make calls when i'm away from my house. it doesn't access the internet. i don't twitter from it. in a month's time i might rack up a half dozen texts on it--and those are normally from the girl.

i have an mp3 player that i haven't listened to in more than a year. when i traveled for work i listened to it on the plane when i wasn't reading. that's about it. i'd rather listen to my cds. and, truth be told, if i had a turn table i'd probably lament the fact that music isn't on vinyl any more.

i have never used a blackberry or pda or kindle. i can't really wrap my brain around the idea of a kindle. when i read a book i like to feel the book. i like to turn the page and put a bookmark in to save my place. i am also a page folder (much to the girl's chagrin). you'd think since i'm such a book lover i'd shudder at folding a page, but old habits die hard. i used to be a bookmark person...that is until i had kids. when the kids were little there were way too many times where my book got picked up and the marker fell out and my place was lost. that's when i started folding the corner.

even though i love the internet and using a computer, i'm quite certain that my computer is capable of doing things i don't even know about. i know i'm not using it to its fullest extent, but, i use it for what i need and that's it. i am an email junkie and love blogging and using my computer as a word processor and getting on face libre. that's really about it.

i am not a luddite in the sense that i'm against technological advancements, i just don't have a need for most of the applications in my daily life. i sometimes feel like the stereotypical old geezer that poo poos any type of advancement. but, i think things get lost when we go too far too fast. what will become of books/libraries/book stores if kindle-type technology becomes the norm?

last night the girl asked me what time it is. she does not like to read analog clocks. this baffles me. i told her to look at the clock and tell me what time it is. it took her a good five minutes to figure out that it was 8:50 or 10 til 9. some day will an archaeologist dig up an analog clock and wonder in amazement how people ever used that to tell time?

i interviewed an optometrist the other day for an article i'm working on. they were talking about the advancements in glasses. i sort of joked, uh, what does one consider a tech advancement in glasses? apparently sooner rather than later (like in the next year) there will be prescription lenses that will SENSE what you're looking at (for bifocals for example) and adjust the lens accordingly. sounds a little george jetson to me.

and--what about the commercials for the cars that park themselves. really? i hate to parallel park as much as the next person, but frankly the way towns/cities are laid out now there aren't as many instances where one is required to parallel park. if you're in a downtown area yes, but even then there's usually a parking deck right around the corner.

ok--i'm probably sounding like i need to go take some geritol and sit on the rocker on the porch huh?

6 comments:

Grey Ghost said...

I have a twin,but she lives half a world away.We seem to have so much in common,books,vinyl recordings,
books,an inability to deal with IT,
my excuse for that is age.You don't mention radio,its the last thing I hear as I fall asleep and the first when I wake.

cheatymoon said...

I was with you on the books... and I still love the feel of the book, but the kindle/iPad thing is really fun because of the built in reading light. I'm not converted, but I like it. Surrounded by stacks of books.

I like technology, but miss being unplugged.

Surely said...

I don't think I'm down with the Kindle for the same reasons. I do have it on my new phone which leads me to say

GAH!!!!!! Newfangled Technology!!!!!! Killing Me!!!!!!!

My nephew finally said "You have a computer you carry with you that happens to make phone calls" After that I chilled out. A little.

GASP!! A page folder!?!? say it isn't so!?!?!

Hotch Potchery said...

I might not live if separated from my iPhone. I love it. a lot.

When it dies, I get sad.

Gal Friday said...

No GPS, no Twitter, no Kindle, haven't checked Facebook in a month, have a cellphone and rarely use it(still have no idea how to text), no laptop, iTouch...so you are not alone.
Like you, I am not anti all these things, just happy with the way things are for me(except maybe, like you, I think I could stand to learn some more things about usuing web design and such..)
I still play LP records(husband has a huge collection), read books with PAPER pages, send letters and postcards, and listen to "over-the-airwaves" radio daily. I guess I am a luddite, too, but it doesn't bother me.

Grey Ghost said...

Come back soon,I'm missing my daily dose of sarcastic wit,or is it twit.