Information Superhighway Collasped Today

     Does that made-up headline jar your senses and seem a bit odd? I’m sure you think you’ll never see such a headline in a newspaper, leave alone ever look at a newspaper again. The truth is always a bit more strange than we care to believe but all this hype about what smartphones have replaced is not only NOT happening, it basically never will in a society that is savvy enough to know anything contingent upon a continuous energy source will fail and miserably. This will happen when you most need the energy source for something even more important, ironically. (Those things would be cooking food, keeping warm or cool, doing laundry, having controlled temperature water sources, getting news by T.V. or radio and short-wave radio. Oh, the irony!) My advice is: don’t throw away your battery operated light sources and keep at least one landline jack along with a phone that doesn’t need electricity to operate which you can plug into the landline jack. Remember, in a long power outage you won’t be able to use wall outlets to charge up your cell phone. If you don’t understand why, presently, you will when there is a massive or rolling power out in your city. Did I mention that you might want to keep some oil lamps and candles available as well? How’s that for an ancient energy source?

    

Two weeks ago, starting on September tenth, an ongoing problem with the National Weather Service’s web site cropped up again right in the middle of a peak in the hurricane season in the Atlantic. This downtime continued for numerous days while the IT team that works for NWS tried to fix what should have received major updates and infrastructure rebuilding to the system many years ago. Until and unless these issues are fixed with a brand new re-routing web site this could happen again and in the same dire situation of need. This is where alternative sources kick in and support or take over vital information for the public, in general.

     Several times I’ve seen a list like the following, either on the internet or in print, telling us that all of the following have been replaced by smart (cell)phones:

     Mail                                             Alarm Clocks                             Phone booths (boxes)

     Video rentals                                Maps                                         DVDs

     Cameras                                      Translators

     Landline phones                           Cassette Tapes                           LPs

     Banks                                          CDs

     Cookbooks                                 Books                               

     Television                                    Magazines

     Dictionaries                                  Radio

     Libraries                                      Clocks

     Stereos                                        Calendars

     Newspapers                                Desktop Computers                    Notebooks/Laptops

    

     Take a good long look at that list and ask yourself what you have given up. Have you really thrown all that out? Personally, there isn’t a single thing on that list that I don’t continue to use, in addition to the smart phone which I think of as only a back up to my life. The smart phone is there when I am away and can’t get to those things. Shall I expound on the reason why I haven’t given any of it up?

     Let’s start with everything in print. With personal mail, such as a letter, even though e-mails are quicker and possibly more reliable in getting to the intended destination, there’s still no replacement for a hand-written letter from a friend who has sent you a couple of her favorite recipes, photos of the grandkids and some mementoes you’d long forgotten about. You can pull it out at will, later when you’re relaxing- maybe nodding off to sleep- and you can take one last long look at the extras and know that she would’ve never even thought to send those things as attachments. Plus, somehow, it is just more personal than a brief e-mail that looks like all your other e-mails. Newspapers, magazines, books, cookbooks, dictionaries (regular and dual-language), maps and calendars are still more convenient then looking for that information on a cell phone. The information sources on them may be more reliable and relevant, too, than anything you’re going to find on the internet. They don’t challenge your eyesight, either. Newspapers often have bits and slices of info you won’t find on the internet because there’s nobody on the internet quite as clever as a newspaper reporter. The internet reporters repeat themselves too much and they often are asked to shorten their articles to fit. Newspapers don’t do that anymore. They’ve learned. They’re also on the internet just in case so they’ve adapted better than any other media you can mention including T.V.

    

I don’t know how anyone else feels about knowing the time but I’m always on a schedule and I write everything down because, well- I’m a writer! Ba-da-bing ! It’s true that most cell phones are on atomic time so the preciseness of the information is infallible but for those like me who haven’t yet had their cell phone fused to their hand permanently I still feel the need to have the time handy on my wrist or elsewhere. I don’t want anyone calling me on my wristwatch either, thanks!

     I think GPS devices are just grand and am certainly glad we have

that on cell phones now but I collect maps- sometimes, the older the better because I am a map collector (read: historical maps turn me on!) I have been known to study maps for hours at a time. If you really get into it you’ll know what I’m talking about- I love a map!

    

Video rentals died a long time ago. Cell phones didn’t replace them- YouTube and Google did a fine job more than a decade ago when desktops still ruled the planet and cell phones have just come along for the ride. Netflix annihilated the physical stores and video purchases from thirty years ago are playable if you still have a videotape or DVD player that still works. Most of the latter can be had as handheld devices themselves and also can be taken anywhere which won’t create an annoyance. This is a more complex issue so we’ll move on.

     Television is here to stay. TVs are not just sitting in our houses collecting dust. We still buy them and we still have shows that we want to see every week and/or every day at the same time of day. I have a personal belief that nothing is ever going to replace a T.V. in our living rooms for that matter. It has more to do with sitting or laying down and vegging out, true- but T.V. is here to stay.

    

Calendars have been personal statement constituents for longer than I’ve been alive. You can write notes on them, with any kind of writing apparatus, such as trash day, dental appointments or events. What do you think pin-up girls were plastered all over? Businesses advertised with their yearly calendars, including banks which I still go to with actual cash to put in my accounts. There’s nothing virtual about that or some of my work for that matter!

     Libraries aren’t going away and neither are human translators, our mammoth stereos with concert amplified speakers or clever alarm clocks, either. Our libraries have adapted so well that children flock to not only play video games with their friends on the computers but they also look at and read the books that line the shelves and think it’s cool. Hallelujah!  

     Cameras. Everyone has one on their cell phones or they are really out of it. I must admit that I’ve found many uses for them in myriad situations. Professional photographers, however, still love their cameras and insist that they get superior shots to any one out there with a cell phone camera. I tend to believe and encourage them because of my work on castles. I’d much rather get my sources with people who can photograph something as mammoth as a castle and come up with something that can be manipulated to look sharp and crystal clear- no matter the size. Castles don’t take selfies, you know!

     I think I have made my point and look forward to many years of all these wonderful resources we’ve enjoyed for so long. Remember, all these things are meant to enhance our lives, not take them over. It is up to us to decide what is more important and who is more important. Choose life over virtual- I guarantee that you’ll feel more grateful and happy, when all is said and done.

Happily,

The Castle Lady