Things that go Bump in the Night

Wonderful world with technology; new products, and routines that never quit. Well, most of the time, anyway.

Now, technology is the larger issue for me. The cell phone has been a boon. Business travel by car was made much simpler with the cell phone. I could keep in touch with the office, my secretary, and my clients while driving miles and miles. I could call my client for last minute directions in their town to find their place of business. I could make reservations for hotels that way, too. I could call for help if the car failed me, but that never happened in the nearly 2 million miles of driving!

I appreciated knowing the cell phone was at my side to use in any emergency. And my family members, too. I knew I could call them at any time and reassure myself they were safe and whole.

But there is a huge 'but' with cell phones. As an early adaptor, I took to the phone very well. In later years, however, the cell phone does more and is more than I can keep up with. Changes today are very complicated. Difficult to adopt. Downright blocking my understanding and use. I am now thinking of simplifying my phone service and dialing it down several notches. Maybe a flip phone that makes and receives calls only? That would be comforting.

The computer has been a mainstay of my life for years. Also, an early adopter, I had desk computers, portable computers and early laptops. I learned Word and its earlier competitors. I dabbled in data base managers (mostly failed). I bought fancy software and used it in our office operations. Computers allowed me to do more in less time and eventually to communicate all of that in instant speed with many others. Over the years these features grew exponentially and so did my work product.

Today’s innovations, however, come with heavy expectations. To adapt, I must unlearn much of what I already know. Then replace that with the new. Sounds simpler than it is. Younger people need to know that we elderly early adaptors learned a lot more than they did and brought the new age into being. Now that new age is controlling us beyond our capabilities. Even simple word processing is more complicated. Just saving a document is more complicated and then retrieving it nearly impossible. Go figure.

Today, my oxygen concentrator is not working correctly. Calling the provider hasn’t worked so far. They insist on diagnosing the problem and fixing the blame on my CPAP machine. I think the CPAP is working flawlessly. It is the oxygen thingy that takes forever to get to the green light stage of operation. It is the thing that produces a too weak stream of oxygen from its portal. So weak you cannot detect it at the CPAP. I’ve checked tubing that connects the concentrator to the CPAP. That is clear and operational. So, I conclude it is the concentrator. By the way, the concentrator functions much like an air conditioner. Its use of electricity is enormous. So, I have turned it off for about 2 weeks now. I think today I will call its owner and tell them to replace it or fix it in place. Otherwise, they can end my contract with them.

I wish these technical glitches were few, but they are not. They are an everyday occurrence these days. I thought retirement would be absent such problems. I was very wrong.

January 3, 2025

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more