Memory Lane

Technology rules our lives. Ever look around today and you will observe every third or fourth person on a cell phone. We call, we text, we check our email on our Blackberry or I-phone or whatever clone you happen to have of those devices.

Now I am aware that this shows my age, but does anyone remember rotary phones? My number was Twin brook 8; it was dialed as TW8 and then 4 digits. Sorry, I don’t remember the 4 digits. Walk a little farther back down memory lane and you may have read about crank phones. Ok, this really shows my age. Growing up in rural Kansas, my first phone number was a long, short and a long. Mrs. Kempton was the local switchboard operator. It was considered courtesy to pick up the phone to be certain no one was speaking on the party line before you dialed. Dialing was turning the crank several times for a long and only once for a short. Everyone on the party line heard the ring and knew who was being called. Of course it was not polite to listen to someone else’s conversation. Did it happen anyway? You bet it did.

I remember once picking up the phone to call my aunt Essie who was on a different party line and being told by Mrs. Kempton that she would dial but Essie was out in the garden and could not answer. Talk about everyone knowing everyone else’s business. We think we have privacy issues now? Privacy issues are not new.

Back in those simpler times, people were very courteous of each other. Since everyone heard all of the rings, it was considered extremely rude to call before 7 am or after 9 pm.

When my phone rings now in the middle of the night because someone forgot about time zone differences or expected to reach an answering machine rather than a live person, I sometimes reflect with amusement at those simple times of old.

Answering machines, voice mail, pre-recorded sales messages, auto dialers, and so many other technological advances have changed our lives. My Skype line allows me to speak with people from all over the world at a reasonable rate. One of the frequently used links on my internet browser is the “world clock.”

We take these modern technological conveniences for granted. We are so “connected” with everyone now. Remove the cell phone or computer from us and we feel almost as if we are missing a body part. Our cars are equipped with “Bluetooth” so we can continue to enjoy conversations while we are driving; I use my hands free telephone in the car every day.

Oh the marvels of modern technology within my life time. My pre-school grandsons are so savvy on the computer and Blackberry. They play computer games, they listen and watch their favorite programs on the computer, and they even know how to login with their own passwords.

There are two major lessons here.
1. The world revolves around ever advancing technology.
2. We are never too old to learn new skills

Who would have thought 60 years ago that technology would advance this much in a few short decades? What advancements will the next decades bring to us? Learning, growing and continuing to be mentally vibrant provides an excitement to life.

Most of my co-workers in Wealth Masters are closer to the ages of my sons, but they celebrate our interaction. I encourage you to get in the game. Do not let life pass you by with a whimper and a sigh. Smile, step up to the challenge and have fun. There are so many baby boomers out there who have so much to offer. Join me. Step up to the batters box and play the game of life and business flat out. If I can do it, you can do it.

I truly love my life and thrill in re-inventing myself. We do not need to take a backseat to anyone or any age group. Life is open to everyone who is ready to step up and enjoy the journey.

Come join me at www.Elaine4Success.com. I love my life. Start loving your life.

Computer Cure

Ever wonder if the cure feels more painful than the disease? Ever consider throwing your laptop out the window?

We have become so dependant on computers to communicate and conduct our daily business. We carry our laptop on trips with us and treat it as if it were an appendage to our body. But wait! It gets worse. We carry our i-phone or Blackberry clipped to our purse or belt. Every meeting opens with the announcement to please turn off all electronic noise makers as a courtesy to the speaker. It is automatically expected that the majority of the audience will be packing electronic hardware.

I even see people walk into church and the gym with their cell phone clipped to their waist. I understand “reach out and touch someone” but one hour? We have become hopelessly addicted. The next thing you know, we will see groups meeting in secret and calling themselves CAs – communication addicts or computer addicts.

Before you get paranoid or upset, let me confess; I’m guilty, too. This is spreading to epidemic proportions. My adorable 4 year old grandson already has a serious case of computer addiction. Kaden can’t wait to get his sticky fingers on my Blackberry and laptop. Don’t get me wrong, he actually knows exactly what to do with them as well. Of course he looks for the games first, but this little whiz kid knows how to find them and how to play them as well. We have created a generation of addicts. What is this world coming to?

Why does this topic occupy the forefront of my attention today? Slightly over a week ago, I wrote about my computer suffering from the terminal “blue screen of death.” The patient remained in the electronic ER and returned home with the new Windows 7 operating system. Good news and bad news. Good news that the data was recovered and reinstalled. Bad news that Windows XP died on the operating table. Windows 7 was transplanted and the patient lived. Major surgery and a thorough internal electronic enema added to the recovery period. Windows 7 is Microsoft’s newest “latest and greatest” operating system. Sounds exciting, right? Yes and no. Officially, Windows 7 will not be released to the public until about October 23.

Such an infant stage for an operating system logically follows that many programs and technicians are less than familiar with all of the complexities and adaptations. So far I have five one-half hours with Palm Pilot to discover than my Tungsten C refuses to play nice with Windows 7; I have a PDA with zero hot sync capability. Cyberspace help me if the PDA is lost or runs out of battery charge.

Today was four hours with my desktop check scanner reaching for the computer and touching fingers but failing to complete the electronic handshake. Thanks to wonderful patient techies at Treasury Gateway, we finally managed a stop gap work-a-round temporary solution.

Installing a new, almost released, operating system on a non-techie owned laptop computer requires patience, a pot of strong coffee and occasionally a bullet to bite on to suppress the thoughts and words which would sneak toward conscious expression.

Progress! Most programs are working. Currently I am able to work. Oh yes, I’m learning in ever so many ways. I’m also grateful for an inquiring mind and desire to learn.