Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

E.T. Txt Hm

It was just a matter of time. Even though I'm increasing my brain power using that...uh...oh yeah, Nintendo DS with brain stimulating games, I keep lagging behind in the race with technology. I generally feel like I'm in touch with the world, but lately, I don't think I am. Communication methods are the current examples of my slippage.
I just downloaded Skype and got a video conferencing camera so I can "see" the people with whom I'm conversing on the phone. I was actually proud of myself for getting it to work (even though it's pretty much idiot-proof). I have contacts saved in my basic cell phone, and I have phones in my office and at home. I am hooked up online and utilize email several times a day. The problem is mostly that it seems that I'm the only one who uses these forms anymore. It's all about text messaging now.
Take my students, for example, please! (Old, tired joke that shows how out of it I really am). Anyway, I send them emails all the time and very seldom get a response in any kind of timely manner. The other day, as an experiment, I tried a text message...and got an almost immediate response. This caused me some dismay for several reasons.
1. My basic phone isn't really equipped to handle a high volume of text message...mostly because I'm cheap and have a pay-as-I-go-and-hope-not-to-get-any-calls plan.
2. My fingers are a bit too fat to work the touchpad on my phone, which also contains at least two letters per button, causing me to send indecipherable messages when I forget to read them over.
3. This means that I am going to have to upgrade to a "regular people" cell phone and a service contract...and me on a fixed income!
It's just another way the man gets me down.
And, of course, by the time I figure out how to use a smartphone or qwerty keyboard, everybody else will be sending messages through brain power alone...and then, I'll be totally screwed.

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