tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998745303301654834.post2817169530254248960..comments2023-08-11T12:15:27.337-04:00Comments on The Progressive Curmudgeon®: Confessions Of A Techno-LudditeCharley James - The Progressive Curmudgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14584026728704830831noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998745303301654834.post-20618925562453892482009-10-26T16:55:09.681-04:002009-10-26T16:55:09.681-04:00I use my cell phone extensively for what work is a...I use my cell phone extensively for what work is actually out there, commercial construction having virtually come to a dead halt in South Florida, because it allows me to be in one place and getting info needed from another place when neither place has a landline. In the old days what used to take hours and hours of running around now takes a simple ten button push. Lovely.<br /> <br />On the other hand, I cannot stand the "social' network sites like mySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and only have a page up on Facebook so my kids can write witty things about Dad's activities, and send a little love note from time to time. Otherwise, the perps should be jailed for excessive use of public bandwidth.<br /> <br />As for online activities - I love most of it. I figure I save at least $10/month in postage alone, another $500 a quarter (or $2K annually) in purchases of must have stuff - like clothing, golf and sporting goods, presents to family, and birthday, Christmas, etc. greeting cards. Nothing like a emailed singing card that costs zilch.<br /> <br />As for ATMs, how does one travel anywhere without them? Last time in Europe I never used a conversion service once, go to the local ATM, slide in the card, punch up my wanted bucks, get the LIBOR rate, and voila - in the native currency perfectly done. It is almost as good as sex.<br /> <br />However, I do believe in proper technology etiquette, and have gone so far as to politely ask folks in a restauarnt that their yapping on their phones was causing great disturbance at our table, and further conversation on their part would probably result in a whistleblower award for me from the IRS. Damn, that works great....<br /><br />Kids are embedded with microchips now so don't worry about them. It will drop the crime rate by 70% in twenty years because everyone in the world can find out where everyone else has been for the past six months easy. Alibis simply will not exist. And PEOPLE Magazine will save thousands and thousands.<br /> <br />My pet peeve in todays "connected" world? Texting. Just because....Pete in Floridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998745303301654834.post-69736461754946672242009-10-26T16:11:44.672-04:002009-10-26T16:11:44.672-04:00I know what you mean about resisting the instrusio...I know what you mean about resisting the instrusion. When I was publishing magazines as the hands-on managing editor, I thought of myself as a Luddite, too. I thought I'd never let go of printed magazines - or newspapers, for that matter. I loved not just the editorial content - or given the magazines I worked on, especially not the content - but the heft of the book, the feel of the pages, even the smell. Now my magazines just stack up on the corner of my desk, reminders to go check the same material online.<br /><br />I was slow to get a cell phone, too, but broke down when my boss and I walked off an airplane and she called her husband and daughter on the way to our luggage. I had to wait an hour or more to call my wife at the time and our daughter from the hotel room. But even now, I rarely give out the number, and it's usually just my wife, exwife, or daughter calling.Dick Cavendishnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3998745303301654834.post-85280228135857976442009-10-26T15:49:36.765-04:002009-10-26T15:49:36.765-04:00You're not alone. I resisted getting one as we...You're not alone. I resisted getting one as well until two years ago, as I found it totally unnecessary (and unwanted frankly) for anyone to have 24/7 access to me wherever I am. I happen to value my privacy!!!!!!!!!!! But, because of where I live and the number of times I'm up and down an isolated highway at odd hours and in all kinds of weather, I relented and grabbed a little cheapy pay and talk. I throw a few bucks into it now and then and if I run into trouble on the road or I'm running late, I can call out. That's it.Barb Lennixnoreply@blogger.com