IdeaJones

Category: Uncategorized

Etcetera:

  • Control Yourself

    I saw a recent cartoon where the character was searching all over, lamenting the fact that it now took three different remote controls to be able to watch TV, when in the “good old days,” it took only one.

    Yep. Been there, although I can sometimes get by with just one remote if I turn on the TV locally. (Little-known fact: most TVs have  an on/off button or switch on the set itself.)

    Most of technology seems to be going the other way, with one device being used for multiple functions. Your phone is now also a camera, a map, a video game – oh, and can also be used as a remote control for your TV (also your home alarm system, lights and coffee-maker.)

    In the “good old days,” if one device failed, you still had some capabilities with your other devices. Now, when the battery fails on the MP3 player, it often takes the camera and phone with it. (I’ve been eyeing those little outboard battery packs that provide emergency power to the phone, but what if the problem is more serious than just a dead battery?)

    Multi-tasking is a myth, although some people are better than others at being able to switch rapidly between tasks without losing their place(s). Not me. Once distracted, I may not get back to the other task until much later. I am good at prioritizing, so it’s still safe to drive with me. Just don’t try to negotiate a deal while I’m negotiating a turn.

    Machines are great at “multi-tasking.” Computers actually only do one thing at a time, but they do it so quickly, to our slow human senses, it seems that everything’s happening at once.

    I’m still not sure if it’s better to have one multi-device, or multiple separate devices. I am sure of one thing. It’s always best to have devices that can make use of common-sized batteries. The ones you can find at any grocery or convenience store. Until there are significant advances in mobile solar or wind power, a spare set of AAs is your best safety net in keeping all your devices under control.

  • Perversity

    Perversely, our solar electric generation system quit on the longest, sunniest day of the year.

    Some rooms at our office are kept too cool – but only in the summer. (In the winter, those same rooms are too warm.)

    We have zones in the office. One HVAC unit controls each zone. Sometimes they fight over what the temperature should be, much to the delight of the power company.

    My little dog thinks he’s a big dog; my big guy walks small.

    Lots of wild and wacky stuff happening in the world. Some of it makes you say, “Hmmmm.” Some of it makes you want to cry out:
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  • Radiation

    Radiate simply means to spread out from. Spokes radiate out from the hub. Light radiates from the bulb. But “radiation,” that word comes with extra baggage these days. It got me thinking about health, and all our various artificial radiations.

    Take radio and TV transmissions. The signals from every radio and TV station in town are constantly bombarding us. If you have a device with the correct discriminator you can pick one out of the bunch and decode something to watch or listen to.

    But what about all those waves of radiation bombarding us? They’re essentially the same as all the natural waves – solar radiation, the natural radiation from various radioactive elements, and so forth. We’re just adding additional layers of radio waves to the mix. TV stations? Check. Wi-fi? Add that one, too. Wireless remote controls? One more wave dropped into the soup.

    When steeple jacks have to climb past an active transmission antenna, the engineers lower the power to a fraction of its normal output. If they don’t, the workers can get burned. Seriously. It can be just like climbing into a microwave oven.

    All the various waves that constantly bombard us are coming at us at very low (usually) energy levels. That’s why you don’t generally notice them. But what if all the artificial emanations combined with all the natural emanations are just too much for our cellular structures to handle? What if those extra energies being added into our bodies are causing changes? Could it be that the increasing number of instances of cancers and other disorders are somehow influenced by these extra, unnatural energy waves? Just putting that out there. I haven’t done any research that would prove or disprove my hypothesis, but it seems reasonable that adding energy would result in – something.

    Chalk it up to one more possibility for the law of unintended consequences.

  • What To Say When There’s Nothing To Say

    Hmmmm.

    Writer’s block on deadline. Nothing of interest on my mind today. Sometimes the best flashes flash by too fast for me to capture. Seems to be one of those days.

    What do you do when you have writer’s block?

  • “Recalculating…”

    I don’t have a GPS mapping device. I still have folded paper maps in the glove box, although I will sometimes visit Google maps before going to a new place. I especially like the street view for this. Unless you’re going someplace that may have undergone renovation in the past couple of years, it’s a good way to preview what you’ll see when you arrive at your destination.

    I was reinforced in my opinion that it’s not wise to rely on GPS directions when the story broke about people being directed to an airport – through a gate and onto the runway.

    Yet, computing will not be denied. Many of our workplaces now can’t operate if the computers are down. I’ve been in more than one store when a power glitch has taken the check stands off-line. They will just stop conducting business. The computer not only acts as a cash register, but also sends sales statistics and tracks inventory. Better to close for an hour than muck up the system.

    Computers are sneaking into almost all our new appliances, adding bells and whistles, some extra cost, and yet another reason to stay on good terms with your local repair department.

    On a typical day, I interact with up to a dozen computers, not including the ones in the car, HVAC system and key-card mechanism. Most times, the computers do what they’re supposed to. When they don’t, you’re suddenly catapulted, alone, back into the last century (or maybe the one before).

    GPS notwithstanding, do computers add to your life experience, or do you think we were better off before?