Blended Living

This seems so simultaneously a great idea and an absurd by product of the times we live in.  Take a piece of paper, wrap it around your remotes, and make cutouts for those few buttons on those remotes for your guests to use.  It will keep them from nagging you about how to use your home theater setup.  Mark up any special instructions right on the paper.

This excels in putting information literally at your users fingertips, and focuses them at the precise time they need to use this information.  It is like the ideal software designers user interface… its like a great waiter or butler, there lurking about but only visible when you need them- and they probably know what you want.

As a social convention, it reminds me of the post 9/11 period when all the news channels started the streaming ‘bug’ at the bottom of the screen, constantly parading the news across there.  Some viewers wanted that constant drip of information, others’ blood pressure raised unnecessarily, still others advocated sticking paper across the bottoms of their TVs to block out that drivel.

Do we live in a society that has amassed too much information, and we as junkies can’t wean ourselves off it?  Do we not know that there is an off switch?  Are we really no better off simply because we do have too much information?

As usual the answer is not simple. But we can easily adapt to improve our lives.  It can take more thought, a chance for us that welcome the challenge of using our noggins.  Otherwise, we will have to depend on others to wrap paper around our free will, and let us know what our choices are.  I’d rather design my own necessary blinders, thank you.

• wow what a warm weekend
• and I didn’t get the chance to run, but took the opportunity to fit in a couple nice walks
• played some poker
• met a new player
• that is a free spirit, or seemed to be one
• drank more beer than I have in a long while
• and surprisingly I had the headache before the game and felt fine the day after
• despite the shortened, disrupted sleep, and strewn beer bottles in my wake
• that urge to buy something is still there, while I (the other me) pretends to listen
• and may in the end win out and I’ll find myself with a new camera, monitor, and TV
• but not today
• I have 27 books out from the library, one of which I read a bit from as I was the first to go “all in” and get knocked out
• as I was complimented sideways as being so smart -> because I read so much -> because I get knocked out of Texas Hold’em so early
• I used to think I could play poker better
• but it “wasn’t in the cards” last night
• while walking saw some more images I would have loved to photo
• but no camera on me at the time
• played with forum / BB software – have an idea for a new project
• and I’m excited
• trashed FB a bit recently, and then it reminded me of a birthday
• which I found useful, but I remembered already, still I might not the next time
• these modern conveniences are such harsh mistresses
• as shows fall off the bottom of my DVR list
• I get more email than I can possibly read in any given day
• as I search for more things I’d like to learn about to
• borrow more books and I hit the limit at the library
• but at least I’m mostly not paying fines at the NYPL
• which reminds me there is another site I have to login to before I sleep…

My phone was out of service due to a bad power adapter – my own reluctance to wait on the line and diagnose the problem with my phone company caused me to not have phone service for almost 4 weeks.  Its a statement about how important I deem that legacy landline (actually its Vonage now and no, that’s not my actual phone).  In the end it was only a 15 minute conversation with most of it on hold.  Express shipping and no cost to me and 2 days later my 212 number was back in service.

What I don’t miss is the incessant cold calling around dinner time.  By my annoyed count that was 5 tonight.  I know enough to not automatically answer, but to stop what I’m doing and walk over to the caller ID gets weary that fifth time.

I suppose if it wasn’t one of those times in my life when I absolutely need to see who is calling it wouldn’t be so bad.  I’d just let it ring and not mind it so much.  Which is like the pesky people in our lives – they may not “mean it” and say “it will just be a few minutes, but could you…” and not realize that it just took you 25 or 75 minutes to reach this point in your thought process…

When my phone line was out, I could still get phone messages that callers left via an attachment to my email.  I set it up also to text me on my cell.  I knew which I could delay (forever) and which I should answer sooner based on the phone number.  If only we could shield ourselves similarly with pesky people.  I’m not being rude, just efficient with my time.   I know what I know because I made the time to learn – and they are intruding upon that precious time.