Gig Bless Us, Every One...

Image courtesy of geralt at Pixabay.com

Once upon a time 

I traveled store to store.  Nowadays I one stop shop:  veggies aisle one, curtains aisle four.

When I lost my way I'd consult giant maps, which I never could fold, only wad in my lap.  

Now I can make calls or send texts, while I drive

Multitasking technology keeps me alive.

When I get where I'm going the car does its own parking.

It charges and self navigates each embarking.

If I get home late and it's past dinner time, I just send emoji and pizza is mine!

What's on tv I never need know, because magic devices record all my shows.  

For every desire there's most surely an app

All our wishes, whims, wants with simply a tap

Instant gratification is our new motto

With the time we're all saving, Oh the places we'll go!

I'd like to go camping but there's no wifi 

What good are pictures of a brilliant night sky

If I cannot tweet them or share them for likes?

No Snapchat of marshmallows?  Seems a bit trite.

Off I must go, I've no more time for typing.  While I'm writing this poem, I could be off Skyping.

Thank the batteries and chargers that make my life happen

And may gigs bless this grid we've so foolishly fastened.

A poem by Gen Clever

Put Down Your Phone Please?!

Image courtesy of Carlos ZGZ at Flickr  

Imagine your phone and your wallet were two separate things.  What would happen if you left your house without your wallet?  What would happen if you left your house without your phone?  Is your answer the same for both questions?  Why or why not?  If you were a mile down the road, would you go back for your phone, knowing it would make you late to wherever you were going?  Do you even have the ability to leave the house without reading a review or posting a status update?  Are you aware that there are apps to help you reduce your phone usage?  Do you believe a person can be addicted to their smartphone?

My answers are: I need my wallet but not my phone, nope, because I’m not addicted, no way, uh huh, sadly yes, and indeed I do.  Technology is grand.  Social media has had a positive impact.  However, we do not need it all day every day. I am so over the smartphone zombies I could run over the smartphone zombies.  Can I?  If you can’t put your phone down long enough to ride somewhere in a car with someone, interact with a cashier, or cross the street, well then you suck!  That’s it.  I’m calling it like I see it.  I see it, because I’m looking at it rather than at my phone.  

Flickr photo by Rob Swystun

Moderation is all I'm saying.  There is a tangible, physical world to look at.  There are people to talk to, dogs to walk, adventures to be had.  Put down your phone, for just a moment each day.  Look at the sky.  Look at people in the eye, or at least in the general face area.  You can tweet about what you saw when you get home.  You may even become more interesting if you shared more of what you actually saw of the world with your own eyes, rather than the mindless drivel you see on your mobile screen.  You could share yourself with another person, IN PERSON!  Gasp!

If you or someone you know has become numb to the world around them because they are too obsessed with their smartphone, please seek help.  There are apps for that: Breakfree, Moment, Checky, or Offtime can assist you.  I also suggest going outdoors (because it’s harder to see the screen), leaving your service coverage area, hypnotherapy, finding a time machine, or simply getting a %*$^ing life.

  

You might even remember some of what happened last week if you reduced the number of meaningless soundbites you intake, and instead read relevant news for a short while each day.  What color was that dress anyway?  How many opinions do you need about something?  Why are we attempting to validate our lives in this way?  Albert Einstein said "I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.  The world will have a generation of idiots."  How did we become so broken?  I’m asking…

#Unplug  #TechnologyFreeTuesday  #PhoneFreefor5  #Participate



Photo of Pink Man by Carlos ZGZ from Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carloszgz/15827689251/in/photolist-q7D3zZ-5TJoyH-bpcFqy-igJihb-bLcHw4-bz2Ff5-aGiFQn-ix6pai-aNEZTr-mXs4KP-bCWuuM-9DTk6K-bvATiE-byGJAh-2FZD-7pWFAX-62dhTS-kBNJm4-drC7KA-bHZ5YZ-5XkyEw-5q8weZ-4jyTZo-23zUX1-4NEYz7-4jyQau-5qcR53-4DhK-6UyKrK-8cKY9j-5Dj6pT-2pVKv2-aFRe2H-sb2arN-ejUAZx-2pVKqx-mPe7rH-rGqXfi-aiEnz3-8ambTW-aMUuKv-n1Sbpp-hs6NFs-iLLSFB-jBgRqU-4VBoom-5UAi8m-x9uiV-x9u7H-x9tU9
Photo by Rob Swystun of monument of Ukrainian poet Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1814-1861):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_swystun/17178667812/in/photolist-sb2arN-ejUAZx-2pVKqx-mPe7rH-rGqXfi-aiEnz3-8ambTW-aMUuKv-n1Sbpp-hs6NFs-jBgRqU-4VBoom-5UAi8m-x9uiV-x9u7H-x9tU9-rUmKui-2YEMYM-2YKd3L-s6bDDZ-bx9YgA-naPaJP-dW3As9-aGTj-hocczq-hobKm4-rN3e6i-t7KQ22-6eVbEj-tGp8Tj-2kW6Go-2kVNDU-6cqvif-e6Uwzz-rthfVG-pRQZrj-q9kQ7W-pqyfX6-7vxTv7-rAxPUK-bUxRRd-aZ939x-bUxRg7-akaFuR-4FYRxy-brtjse-jAhx62-ocBc1y-pj6Rvb-c4cVC7

What Don't You Know?

Image from page 317 of "The brain as an organ of mind" (1896) Identifier: brainasorganofmi00bast
 Title: The brain as an organ of mind Year: 1896 (1890s) Authors: Bastian, H. Charlton

Knowing something means nothing.  Sharing something means everything.  It takes two people to truly know something. This is because one person obtaining new knowledge changes nothing.  The magic happens when the carrier of the new knowledge or idea passes it on to another person.  

Every week I strive to post a new blog entry.  I do this in the hopes that one person laughs or two people learn.  Two heads are better than one, unless of course they share a body. Seriously though, how futile would a secret single person mission to Mars be?  How evil to cure yourself alone of an incurable disease?  Would we love Ben's ice cream if there was no Jerry?  

The one exception to this rule of course would be invisibility.  If one person discovered how to make themselves invisible, they could singularly affect the world.  However, if the discovery died with them, the impact would be significantly reduced. So you see, sharing is caring.

Image Courtesy of FreeMediaGoo.com

Invisibility aside, science, medicine, arts, and the humanities all require a second mind to be validated or even fully experienced.  If someone reinvents the wheel, they'd better share it with the rest of us or it means nothing.  We need each other - as a species.  That's my latest discovery.  Pass it on.