My rant on the iPad

Why not, everyone else has been blathering on about this stupid thing, I might as well get my two cents in and a bit of press right?

Here's my position, I remember tablet devices. Sorry folks, my excitement waned on them over 5 years ago. You want to wow me? Give me a decent wearable and heads up display. I don't want to have to view things through a stupid touch screen. Can we say old hat?

When I heard that the device was going to be "magical and revolutionary" I laughed. No, I guffawed. Wanna know why? It's because it's all a lie, it's all market speak for we couldn't come up with anything better to tell you.

I remember another device that was supposed to be all revolutionary. You might remember it after I bring it up, but the hype has long since died down and nobody is that excited about them. At the time, it was a "sooper dooper seekret" and everyone was speculating what it would be. After all the inventor was a genius and even Jobs thought this would be a great thing. Have I triggered any memories yet? Cities were going to be built around this. It was going to revolutionize how we would get around.


If you haven't got it yet, it was the Segway. I've yet to see Segway town and the battery life was so abominable, that I could never have used one. I don't live in downtown environments. I've almost always had a commute of at least 10 miles.

I see the iPad as about as useful to me as a Segway. It would be an interesting toy. Lots of people will adopt and purchase them. But after a while, the excitement will peter out and that will be that. I don't think they'll vanish entirely, but I don't think the world is going to be revolutionized either. Segway is still in business after all, they're just nowhere near building cities.

As for buying into any of it, I considered an iPhone, but realized I'd be happier with an Android device. I want the hackability. I want the control. For a tablet, I'm holding out for the Notion Ink. Again, I want the freedom. I don't mind working around an interface. I work on Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, BlackBerry, iPhones, and almost any other device out there. I'm a quick learner and very capable. Sorry Apple, I'm not your target market and I hope you never think of me as such.

Let's go for a walk

When was the last time that you got out and walked anywhere in town? I couldn't remember so on Saturday, I decided to walk the day away. Here are a few of the things that I did and found.

I started out by walking to the optometrist. Dr. Bertram's office is just a few blocks away so it wasn't too difficult to do. The weather was gorgeous. Sunlight and a cool breeze were the perfect complement to the trip. I did learn that I felt much safer walking home with my eyes dilated than if I were trying to drive.

After spending a couple hours in my darkened apartment waiting for my eyes to recover, I headed out to the pharmacy to pick up some supplies for my new contact lenses. While I was walking I realized how nice it felt to stretch my legs and got to thinking about how simple it would be to do my grocery shopping this way as well. The total trip time to the pharmacy is less than a 20 minute walk, the grocery store would only add another 5 or so.

I felt so great leaving the pharmacy I walked 10 minutes over to the hair salon. Needing a quick trim, it also gave me the chance to try out the new sunglasses (2 for 1 at the pharmacy). I learned on that portion of my trip that several off the crosswalk lights in town don't work even if you push the button!

Sunday morning, I decided that I had ample time to walk to church. I headed out about 90 minutes early and discovered that I needed less than half that time to cover the mileage. It was during that walk that I found how peaceful things were when walking.

Overall, the weekend was a success. Slowing down and walking gives one the sense that there's no rush. A definite destination makes the trip much easier, but also allows the mind to wander in a way that's impossible to do when you're behind the wheel. Without the distraction of traffic, phone or radio, I could think about things, really pondering, looking through the microscope instead of glimpsing thoughts like snapshots from a moving train.

Phone Numbers

This morning I got an email asking me for my phone number. You see my friend recently updated his cell phone and hadn't gotten the numbers transferred from the old phone. So I started writing him back and realized, which number should I give him.

Sort of an interesting quandry. When I was little, I had one phone number. I had memorized my home number just in case I needed to get in contact with my house.

By the time I graduated from High School, I was up to 2 phone numbers. I had my home number still, but I had added a pager number (sometime I should write about how cool it was to have a pager watch).

During my mission, I added my first cell phone number. Suddenly, not only could people call my residence, they could call me directly. It also meant no matter where I was I was available.

Returning again to the US, I entered the workforce. That meant that in addition to the cellular and home numbers, I now had a number with an extension and fax number. Things were starting to get complicated.

After changing jobs a couple times, my cell phone migrated to an employer supplied cell. Ah, the vanity of it all. Now I had a phone that meant I was on call at all times, a phone with a direct dial to my desk (the extension was there as well if someone called the company), a fax number and the personal cell phone and home phone numbers. The only number no longer being used is the pager number.

Today, things haven't improved. The company where I'm at now, has a main number, my company cell, my direct dial, a fax number and a toll free number. All of which are appended as in my email signature line. I also still have my personal cell number and home phone number. In addition, people are able to reach out to me through Skype and a Google Voice number if they want to speak with me directly.

I think the only saving grace in all of this is the last number mentioned. My Google Voice. It has the ability to be programmed to ring all of the other numbers when a caller is attempting to reach me. Now, I have my concerns about using Google, but that's a post for another day, in the meantime. It's fantastic to have the ability to give out just one number, instead of more than a half dozen that have accumulated over the years.

To the cats

All of us were there,
At least those who share
This solitary abode.

I with a suspense novel
and you three bearing no device.

As I drifted in a world of words,
Two were at rest at my feet.
The third a ball at my side.

None of you know that while you slept,
I stopped my journey,
To watch you sleep
And was happy you were there.

Saved by a turkey

So tonight the person behind me was saved a ticket by the presence of a turkey.

The road from the local library back to my apartment is a rolling farm affair for the first half then it becomes a suburban business area for the other. The speed limit for the entire stretch is set to 35, and just as you cross into the business district, the road turns into a rather steep hill.

Tonight, I was coming back after picking up a few films and books, when I crested the hill. There in front of one of the businesses was a rather large bird. This time of year, it's not at all unusual to see Canadian Geese, but this one was different. At first I thought it was a peacock.

As I got closer, I could clearly make out the shape as that of a wild turkey hen. Of course I slow way down and am mesmerized watching this bird. It's then that I look up and see one of the communities finest¡ She had decided to set up a speed trap about mid way down the hill.

I am not prone to speed, I usually plan my trips with enough time to get to my destination early. Consequently, a speed trap almost never bothers me (aside from the fact that I think they're a waste of time and money). The one set tonight would have been no exception. However, because I was watching the turkey and slowing down, the person behind me, who previously was quickly gaining, was also forced to slow by my tail lights.

I'm sure that by the time they would have otherwise seen the police car, it would have been way too late. So tonight, whether they noticed the bird or not, they were probably saved a speeding ticket by a wild turkey. Who would have thought...

Question for the bi-lingual

Having served an LDS mission in Mexico (Veracruz to be exact), I became pretty fluent in Spanish. Now, some 10+ years later, I can still carry on a fairly decent conversation with someone. In the process though, I've discovered something interesting.

When I am focused on speaking with someone, mentally, I start to think in the language. This isn't all that unusual, I think it's the only way to really get into a language. The interesting thing is how it all goes full stop the second I want to express a thought for which I either lack the vocabulary or cannot remember the correct word.

Has this ever happened to you? Things are going pretty well, you understand everything that is being said and suddenly an idea pops into mind and you can't figure out how to express it. You struggle wanting to throw out a phrase or word in English knowing full well the person on the other side of the conversation won't have a clue what you mean. It's maddening.

I wonder how often this happened when we were children. As we were first learning our native language, how frequently did our own thoughts and ideas exceed the boundary of what we were capable of expressing. Infants, as they first learn and discover the world, surely encounter this frustration all the time. I know it happened with my own children when they were learning to talk and wanted to say something. Is that what happens when they babble? Is that how language is invented?

Another thing that I've found is that even after the conversation has ceased, the switchover continues for a bit. For example, last night, I had a chat with a friend in Chile. It was fairly late and before I go to bed, I'm in the habit of reading my scriptures and writing in my journal. So after making my farewells to her, I headed for my room. There, I found it was very hard to focus on the task at hand because I was attempting to mentally translate everything into Spanish as I read.

It seemed like every time I encountered a word or phrase that didn't translate things came to that full stop. Like there was a mental roadblock that kept me from continuing.

It's amazing to me how these things work. I'm just curious to find out not so much if, but how frequently this happens for people that speak or understand two or more languages.

Under the cover of night

I always wonder how strange I really am in comparison to other people. I'm probably not nearly as odd as I feel, but the philosophical question of how to judge that remains in my mind.

Take for instance the way I feel about sleeping. I have never really felt comfortable in bed without a blanket or something over the top of me. Room temperature is irrelevant.

For instance, when I was in Mexico, it would be so hot at night. My companion and I would both have fans running all night long in an effort to quell the oppressive weight of the liquid air. The feeble waves crashing against the seashore of one's person was most often futile. 

Despite this, I needed something against my legs. Usually it was only a top sheet and a thin woolen comforter. The sheet pulled up to my chin, the comforter folded like a newspaper draped over my weary feet. 

Invariably I would awake in the morning to find everything in a state of utter disarray, yet to lay in bed without those implements, was to sit statue still without even a hint of slumber. No effort to close the cameras to the world would suffice. Slide a thin cotton coverlet up, and the shuttered windows would invite the sandman to deliver his dusty load.

Why post all this? I'm not sure entirely, no doubt the thought has been haunting my subconscious since my post about the ABCs. The other half of the phantasm being I've only known one other individual to communicate a similar need. So is it unusual? Are there others with this same malady or affectation? I haven't a clue, but at least I can go lay down and pull the blanket up to my chin for tonight's respite.

An Ode to the Fountain Pen

If I were to share with you that I fix computer problems for a living, you would probably assume that I carry a pretty fancy cell phone, have a super fast computer, the latest video game system and am overall pretty geeky when it comes to technology. Well, you'd be right about the geeky part. I love to play with the latest tools and gadgets. Get me the latest widget gizmo and I'll be learning how it works.

What would really surprise you is that despite a penchant for the latest and greatest. There are some things which I'm so old school, I'm right there with the dinosaurs. My personal cell phone doesn't even have a camera and if you can manage to get me to answer it, you've been very lucky indeed. Even my morning shave is about as old fashioned as possible. I strop and shave with a straight razor. No electronics involved.

What I really enjoy though is picking up my fountain pen. I look forward every day to writing in my journal in no small part to this marvelous device.

My first experience with fountain pens was a calligraphy course in Elementary school. At that time I had a Shaeffer pen with a medium nib. I loved the effort and time it took to get the letters just right. However, life moved on and I put the pen aside, lost to the ages now I suppose (or my folks threw it away when I moved out).

I didn't think more of pens until about 3 years ago. I read and article talking about how handwriting was becoming worse due in no small part to computers and keyboarding becoming prevalent in modern life. At that point I decided I wasn't about to let that happen to me or my family. I set a goal to improve my cursive writing.

I started the road with a gel pen. I thought they were the greatest thing ever. The ink seemed so smooth. The pens were available in really cool colors. Then I discovered that they suffered from the occasional air bubble. Going dry in the middle of the page was frustrating.

Next step, the space pen. Contrary to popular belief, this wonder wasn't financed by NASA for Fischer. Fischer just came up with a very cool writing system that happens to work great in space and everyplace else you can think of. Downside there, thick ink. Think of trying to write with rubber cement. That's what it felt like. I loved the reliability though and kept it for quite some time.

Next I discovered the joy of a good rollerball. The ones I'm talking about are made by Staedtler. I could only find them in a few shops, but they came in a pack of four. The ink is liquid inside and flowed really smoothly onto the page. I thought WOW, I've found the last pen I'll ever buy. I was committed until my daughter's report card came in.

Her teacher indicated that she was doing well in all areas except handwriting. So I formulated a plan. Remembering my days of calligraphy (and Charlie Brown) I decided to get her a fountain pen. The liquid ink combined with a pen that needed to be held just right might help her to slow down.

It worked. It worked really well. When I tried the pen out, I was amazed. It felt so wonderful to use. It also made writing something special. I needed my own.

I started looking around and found that the prices for good fountain pens are all over the board. Some of them running into the thousands of dollars. I also discovered that inks were a hot topic in the fountain pen world. It was at this time I learned about Noodler's.

Noodler's is a small US based ink manufacturer. The owner was a fountain pen collector seeking to recreate some of the inks of the past. What he accomplished was so much more, coming up with inks that bonded with the cellulose in the paper, making them become part of the page. PH neutral and permanent. They were fantastic and just the thing I wanted.

I found Swisher Pens online and saw that they sold the inks in an eyedropper bottle with a simple fountain pen. It wasn't anything fancy, but for less than $20, it would certainly outlast the pens I had come to love.

I remember the first day I started writing with the pen. It was even better than I imagined writing could be. The flow and feel of the pen on the page, the slight feel of the nib, it was perfect. I was in pen heaven. Little did I know, I was being spoiled.

Fast forward to three days ago. I go shopping after work and when I return home, I can't seem to find my pen anywhere. I look high and low, even making several trips out to my car to see if it came off in there. That night, I was forced to do my journal entry with my former favorite pen. Remember how I described the feel of the Space Pen, now, my trusted rollerball felt the same way to me. I wondered how it could be possible, it was a very smooth writer.

That was the day I discovered that once you use a good fountain pen (even a $4 Platinum Preppy) with an even better ink, you will never want to go back. The sense of loss I felt was incredible. I needed my pen back in a way that is very hard to describe to those not familiar with losing anything of great value. I went back to Swisher and ordered 3 more.

The next day, I was back at work and walked into one of the rooms and there sitting on a table was my pen. Somehow, I had managed to wander about the whole day not realizing it wasn't attached to my shirt. It was incredible. I posted my delight to Twitter and Facebook. It made my day to have an old friend back in my hand.

Yes, things move on. I think oftentimes for the better. Every once in a while though, there are things that shouldn't be left behind. The fountain pen is still a very beautiful and reliable tool. It doesn't belong in the category of buggy whips in an automobile era. The written word is still the longest most enduring method of communication we have today. Even these words, typed on a laptop and uploaded to the world wide web will probably be long forgotten before the pen and paper cease to provide value to the world.