Catching Up

For some reason I could not get to this site last night to make an entry.  So this will have to do double duty.

Had a wonderful lunch and visit with two old friends yesterday and once again realized how far behind I am to these early adapters. I am dazzled by their comfort with so many new technologies.  I acknowledge that all new devices are technical marvels but I keep asking myself--so what?

Withhout getting too philosophical or even maudlin about it, I wonder what we really accomplish by being connected not only 24/7 but whenever and wherever we might be anywhere in the world. Other than my immediate family, does anyone really care?

OK, I was sort of shamed into getting a facebook page but I rarely look at it. I'm also "Linked In" but check it only when notified that some of my former business associates make an entry. I wish them all the best of luck.

I know how to receive and send text messages but I usually respond via email because I find it easier to type on a keyboard than a cell phone.

I follow the latest tech developments in The Times and don't understand the need for half of them. I learned a long time ago that most people are not intested in what YOU have to say but are fascinated by what THEY have to say.

As a result, I have become a listener, but only if you speak slowly.

Love you all...

The Muddler

Getting Closer

OK, four more days to 80. I don't really want to dwell on this but it's on my mind until Jan. 8 goes by.

I'm looking forward to celebrating with my family on Saturday night and then with friends at a Sunday brunch. And then we can get down to blogging about other things.

Patience, please.

Good night.

Getting Close

I am getting close to 80. Five days closer, to be exact. It's an interesting time. Never really thought about it and now I am astonished that it is almost here.

In my generation you sort of took for granted growing up, getting an education, getting married, raising kids and then, seemingly almost suddenly, there are grand-children. And that's a wonder. Much better than having your own. They act up, you give them back.

But now there are three great-grandchildren! This is truly a wonder. They may be six-thousand miles away (in Israel), but hey, we get pictures via email and once in a while we visit.

Some local celebrations are planned with family first and then friends and I'm looking forward to each of them. And then that milestone will pass. And I will look forward to the next day and the day after that and as many additional days as I am allowed.

The Muddler is now the Muser, at least for the next several days.

Cheers everyone.

Digital birthdays

Went to a birthday party for an 8-year-old recently and the hit of his presents was something digital. They called it DS-something or other and the kids had a great time playing with it but I'm not sure just what it did or how long their interest in it lasted. Or, for that matter, how long this gizmo lasted.

Then I got the word today that my six and nine-year-old grandsons in Israel love digital gadgets. Since we are visiting them later this month we are now obliged to bring them something digital. Shopping for these little gifts will be interesting.

I wonder if they have any eight-year-old salespersons who can explain to us what these things do and how they work. We'll see.

 

Happy 1/1/11

Thought I'd jump in before the date is spoiled by a curly numeral. Spent a quiet New Year's eve and day nursing a cold but hopefully now on the mend.

Listened to Andrew Cuomo's inaugural speech this afternoon and it sounded good. Too many cliches for my taste but let's give him a chance.

As for my governor, Chris Christie (Yuk!), I never heard a more self-serving bundle of twat when he explained why he stayed in Florida while New Jersey was hit by a blizzard. I guess he, too, thought he could muddle through a crisis.

It's a new year and let's see if I can be a bit more consistent in keeping you all up to date on my muddling.

Cheers and good night.

The $11.99 Solution

Problem (see below) solved. Bought a new clock radio.

Doesn't blink. Calm restored.

The Clock Flashes At Midnight

It is 11:59 p.m. I am waiting for the clock to advance to 12 midnight. And when it does, it flashes as if we have had a power loss. But the power is constant, no loss. Is my clock confused? Is it flashing a warning of ...what? ETs? DTs? SSTs (they're obsolete), LSDs? (Now there's a thought!).

The strange thing is it continues to keep correct time, but it also continues to flash. If I reset it to 11:59 it jumps to 12:00 and starts flashing. So I reset it to 12:01 and it stops flashing. So now I am one minute ahead of the correct time.

This has been going on for months and while I see no solution in sight, I also am not too concerned about it, although it can be annoying.

I started this blog about being puzzled by the plethora of modern gizmos and their insistence we be in constant contact with everyone at every moment.

But this is a throwback. A radio clock running amok? An artifact of an ancient age trying to run with the blackberrys, the droids, etc.?

Give it a rest, clock. Just tell me the right time.

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