The World and Technology

So I have finally succumbed and joined the iTunes revolution. I am now part of the technorati that has encompassed personal musical devices. Am I the only one who worries that we are slowly becoming more and more separated? We are in our home offices on the internet, we are listening to our own music, in our own space, traveling, at work, in the car, anywhere, we can watch our own TV shows and movies anywhere we have the gadget, we can text anyone without talking to them face to face.

We now can live without so much human interaction. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? On one hand, people can't get under our skin so much as we can just shut them out, turn off the annoyance. We also don't have to rise up out of our shyness and meet people in the usual places, bars, work, shopping. We don't have to exercise our vocabulary as we only need to be able to type. We no longer have to be honest as we can type what we want people to know and not what our personal truths are. We can watch DVD's as we travel cross country.

We no longer have to look in someones eyes as we break up with them, we just need to text or email our dear johns, we have made ourselves not responsible for their pain...We no longer get that exquisite moment of being vulnerable with someone, as we hold our breathe and wait for them to look in our eyes and see if the ocean of possibilities float there. We no longer get to understand the human condition, test our patience and see our own personal foibles as we have made a 1 degree of separation from actually experiencing our humanity or others. We no longer get to learn tolerance as all we have to do is switch something on to switch them off. We no longer get the full experience of driving in a car and actually having to talk, learning about each other or our parents, or even actually seeing the beautiful country that we live in! We no longer have to learn how to look at a map, when all we have to do, is program the GPS to talk us to where we want to go.

I realize that with technology comes great innovations, but I do believe that we are losing one that matters the most, our humanity. Where will the quest or hunger for our curiosity come from? Where will our learning about love and acceptance be taught? Where do we teach tolerance for each other and how will we practice it when the going gets tough? How do we
understand the process of falling in love if we do not have to make ourselves vulnerable and open ourselves to another? How will we understand that each night, all around the world, kids are getting tucked in, filled with hopes and wishes and dreams with current themes, and they all have one thing in common, they are all human and only technology can take that away?

My Review of BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Sapphire Blue w/ myFaves

Originally submitted at Wirefly

The super-slim, ultra-light BlackBerry Pearl for T-Mobile is the next class of BlackBerry device. Like all BlackBerry devices, the Pearl provides possibly the best on-the-go email solution for mobile professionals. But this new BlackBerry includes a good camera, a built-in music player and Bluetoot...

BlackBerry Pearl 8100 Sapphire Blue w/ myFaves

From a PDA to a PITA

By Facin8 from Phoenix, AZ on 1/17/2008

 

4out of 5

Phone Size: Compact

Bluetooth Connectivity: Quality Connection

Data Connection Speed: Fast

Cell Phone Camera: No Video Option, Easy To Use, Takes Clear Pictures

Pros: Good Interface w/email, Great Battery Life, Attractive Design, Trouble with the Pre-Fill

Cons: Non QWERTY Keypad, Small Buttons, Trouble with Prefill, Screen Scratches Easily

Best Uses: Email On The Go, Making Calls

Describe Yourself: Business Professional, Practical

I had a difficult time transferring from a PDA 6700 to the Blackberry with the scrolling ball and applications on window...until someone showed me how to get to the classic screen of a PDA. I now love my Blackberry and all that it can do...just wished that it had my game from my PDA on it!

(legalese)

The world of the New Year

What a ride for the last few weeks...How wonderful the holidays are to really remind us of changes and of our families. I got to go home to VA and see my family and spend the holiday week there. We laughed until our sides hurt, we ate some incredible meals, we drank some wonderful wines and mostly we just spent the time reconnecting.

I helped them put in a wireless network and we got some new equipment for their office. We put in a new HP TouchScreen computer that has incredible graphics and is so easy to use (even if it is on Vista). She was so happy to get something new to use. They live so far out in the country that they are finally getting broadband via wireless ISP. They were on dial up and I do not know how they survived this long in the information age with that tool.

It is such a trip to go home and not have any of your things there. It reminds you of all the feelings that you had but with none of the touch stones that make it familiar. I think that embodies the journey of life. We get those familiar feelings with friends, lovers or situations, but if we have been gone too long from them, they are just reminders of a time when we lived there, in that moment with them.

I have started 2 stepping, country dancing as my exercise form for this year. I go 2 times a week on Thursday (where they teach new steps) and on Saturday's. I go to dance and I love it. I remember when I was younger and we would go out clubbing and we would dance for hours...I never exercised and was always losing weight, so I figured this was a start for my new years resolution of exercising.

I have also decided not to stress out, learn to breathe through it and stay calm and focused. All that sounds easy but when it hits me, it is hard to remember. I leave to Santa Barbara for my Friends Doctorate Celebration. She Graduates from the Fielding School on Saturday and we will go wine tasting and just celebrate this milestone. She teases me that I need to call her Doctor...I tell her she is crazy...