Technology And Me

First let me unequivocally state I love technology. I should say I love most technology, however, there are some forms of advances I'm not enamoured over. I have a fascination with computers and a large portion of that fascination is in what makes them tick. In fact, you are much more likely to see me with the cover off my CPU checking out the system than on the keyboard pounding out some inane blog; wait that's a bad example. So blogs not withstanding, I tend to be more of a techie than many.

One technological item that I have not fallen in love with and refuse to become immersed in is this whole IPod thing. I was looking around recently in a Walmart and I could not believe all the gadgets that have IPod docking stations. They have alarm clocks, treadmills and a host of other devices that have docking stations. I refuse to buy anything that I need to have an IPod to use. I know there are tons of people that have 30 million songs on their IPods and I congratulate them but it's not something I will warm up to anytime soon.

I recently purchased a USB turntable and now am planning a project to convert my rather large selection of albums to CDs. Let me explain what an album is to the generation x'ers out there. They are vinyl disks that have grooves broached in them and contain music. It's how music USED to be enjoyed. But they have degraded over time and will only continue to degrade further. So I'm delving into what can only become a grandiose nightmare of converting my many albums, some of which will never be available commercially again. My sweet wife is putting up with my grand idea and intentions but I'm fairly certain she will fast become weary of what will be long hours of conversions.

Here's another technological advance that I am not sure about: books on CD. On the one hand, I see the value in occupying one's time while driving great distances. On the other hand I see a whole new generation of illiterate kids coming from books on CD. Why read something when you can actually have it read for you? Also there is a little troubling scenario of a couple thousand pound missile hurdling down the highway while someone is entranced in A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson.

One little piece of technological ingenuity is not only favorable to me but a must have. As a man this will come as no surprise to many women: remote controls. I can't get enough of these devices to satisfy my primal urges of control. I have tower fan remotes, ceiling fan remotes, the usual TV, cable box, DVD player remotes and stereo as well as a window unit air conditioner that I occasionally turn on just to use the remote! Perhaps the only drawback to all these remotes is that I'm certain I have driven the stock in Duracell up.

How about cordless phones? Almost no one thinks about this technology but I can tell you that when that technology surfaced it was a big deal to many of us who were tethered for a great deal of their lives to some sort of phone. These days just wandering aimlessly with either a cordless home phone or even better driving aimlessly with a cell phone are everyday events that most don't think about or appreciate.

So these are a few things that I mulled over and tried to reasonably discuss. I'm sure you have more to add to my list. I will continue to embrace some forms of technology and shun others. Now I think I need to go turn on my air conditioner just to be sure I don't require new batteries.