Bits & Pieces

Microsoft Solution: Angst over choice. Anxiety over control. Cost of options. All these fueled discomforts over whether to buckle under Microsoft’s separation or to replace with another suite of solutions. Airing this juggernaut of emotions raised questions. Feedback from readers provided alternatives, some of which I had not thought of. Thank you for your inputs and interest. All were instrumental in making my decision.

In the end I remained with Microsoft. It offered little disruption, smooth transition back to ‘home plate’ and improved functionality and computing speed. Yes, it cost me money - $6.99 per month plus applicable taxes; the package costs me $7.55/month. The leading reason for this decision is my approaching 79th birthday. I simply could not face the confusion and mess.

Along the way I suggested that technology has become a utility like gas, electricity, roads and bridges. Some did not like my preference that utilities might be made free for some people. I suspect they feel this is anti-capitalist. In many ways that is true, but something else is also true in our society. We believe in a safety net for those less fortunate. Aging is a misfortune in many ways even though it is viewed widely as a reward for longevity. Longevity comes at a price: lower income, more health cost, less mobility, and declining participation in our social order. Yet, we old poops have value to share with others. We volunteer. We think through problems and uncover solutions. We connect and communicate with people others simply don’t have time for. In so many ways we are a public good that needs support to continue making contributions for the common good. I think society needs to consider offering some of those supports for free or at a heavy discount. These utilities should be considered for this treatment: electricity, internet access, computer technology basics, cable TV rates and cell phone rates.

Think about that.

Seeing Community: I have long written about the value of community. It is the core of our social order. It is cellular. It resides in America's DNA. Yes, we are individualists, entrepreneurs, and independent. But we also come from supportive families, networks, and collaborators. Sometimes we name these neighbors. Often, they are labeled colleagues. Whatever the noun, these are touchstones of our communal life. We come from connection. We function in connection. We prosper and thrust forward in connection.

We need to value that connection, that sense of community. We are not alone on this planet. We exist in community and need to see it more clearly. Feel it. Work it. Come to know it fully. Community is a way of knowing reality and possibility at the same time. We provide community to others. They provide it to us in return. That is the nature of community. We struggle together. We create together. We survive together.

Same for a nation as for a state or city or village. Internationally, this remains true. That is why we refer to the Global Village. It is not meant to replace our national identity or heritage. It is to remind us that we live in community with all nations and rely on one another to prosper and survive. World peace is a prize to work toward. A surviving planet is another.

Think about that.

Shifting Values: Change is challenge. To see change, react to its presence, to wonder about its pending disruption, and so much more, we still must adapt to and/or adopt change. Doing that pulls and twists our core thinking and beliefs. Our values. Are we rending those values into unrecognizable shapes and influences?

Best we figure this out. What needs to be retained? What is expendable? What is the value of the change itself? And is it avoidable?

What remains of us after the change is processed?

Think about that.

February 7, 2022

 

 

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