Life – Page 21

Tech > You?

If there was ever a time of having the most control over my life, I would say it’s now. The stars have aligned perfectly with our existence and the gadget industry to not only control our lives more efficiently, but in a whole, force them into submission. Yet why is it I personally don’t feel that way. Moreover, why does it seem reversed? Why do I pull to refresh for the next status update or tweet more often than I do things of substance? A more than worthy question in my humble opinion.

I have been dreaming up this article since I started using an iPhone in 2007. The interesting and maybe very telling thing is, I couldn’t bring myself to write it. I’m not sure if my hesitance was because of uncertainty on what I was feeling or me simply suppressing the truth. Either way, after years of ponder, only one thing could be said. The only fact I’ve learned is a simple one: My tech had altered my life. Some would argue in a good way. Sure, that makes sense to me on the surface, and there’s certainly enough productivity apps to support such an argument. Unfortunately all the dropboxes in the world couldn’t fix my problem. The only workflow that seamlessly fixed my problem was me.

One in my position would probably start this journey of “fixing” their tech ruled world by rewinding to the beginning. So I did. I figured laptops and desktops have been around for a bit, and I certainly owned them. So why all of sudden am I feeling like a slave to my tech? A humble conclusion on my part: Mobile.

Mobile is different. Mobile is with you. Mobile is an extension of you. Mobile slowly claims ownership of you, at least in my case. How could this happen? A cell phone certainly doesn’t aim to control you. What was I doing to let this happen? I simply wanted a phone to call,text and use an app here and there. A simple beginning to a complicated, self recognized middle.

Like any interested researcher, I had to look into the content of my subject. If my subject was my phone, then that content only pointed to one direction, Apps. And on a more personal level, I had to look into myself and how I use apps.

Apps are an amazing new technology that apple invented in 2008. Wait. Wait a second, no they aren’t. Apps have simply went on a diet and slimmed down their figure and look a whole lot more attractive. They used to be called Applications and their existence goes back as far as their elderly host hardware. So why now? Why is the glue stickier than ever between these “apps” and me.

The following two factors are mainly my personal belief and not fact supported, only privately applied and thought through. By no means do intend on solving these issues. Individually, I believe we all have the tools to solve these potential issue personally. My objective is to only shine a light on them.

Intrusion

There it is. In your pocket. You know, your device. All the time. Yes all the time. Isn’t it scary to think the only time you were more than 20 feet away from your current device was when you were tracking it’s shipping status on your previous? Intrusion speaks volumes to me. The attachment I felt, or connection if you will. Any where I go there it is. When does iMovie go from being a revolutionary app to an anxiety filled event because I know what it’s capable of and just don’t have the time. When does siri become more of a trust worthy companion than your long life buddy? Intrusion never allows you to rest. Simply because the security of your “safe wall” if you will, has been permanently lowered. Of course we love the technology that brings us information but something else is happening in the background. Our brains are being programmed to not search, to not inquire and most importantly, to not feel content. Laugh if you will, but don’t laugh too long to miss the writing on the wall.

Instant

It’s safe for me to say these elements were bogging me down and bogging me down in a big way. How do I fight against instant gratification? How do I control instant gratification without limiting the device I adore? We buy these phones for their features. Case in point: Push Notifications. What a great technology. Convenient, up to date, yet unknowingly training us to expect things at the very second. Push is great, it helps and it hurts, but for me personally, the hurt outweighed the help.

Instant gratification allowed my mind to become numb and possibly lazy. We all admire that information gets pushed to us almost immediately as it happens and we love the convenience of such a tool, but something should be said for receiving content in a timely, dear I say old fashioned manner. The digestion of information is something I completely lost. I used to enjoy taking time, reading a story initially, then revisiting time and time again, like a great film. Somewhere along the line, I rapidly moved from comfort reading at my own pace to falling behind in my instapaper queue. Now I’m certainly not saying instant information is a bad thing whatsoever, but its a powerful tool. To quote one of my more enjoyable films: “with great power comes great responsibility.” As I honestly look back, initially I lacked responsibility, or maybe more accurately, I didn’t know I needed it.

My solution: Don’t let those 2 I’s overcome the two on your face. Look around, see the world. Experience a great conversation once and awhile. Talk about something that you aren’t an expert on for a change. I lost that, I lost the wonder I had because I simply wikipediaed what I needed to know instead of actually experiencing it.

A more beneficial ingredient would be to listen and not google. Sure tech is great and smartphones are a great achievement in the history of man. But don’t let it define you. It was defining me to a point that I lost the things I was interested in.

Of course there are settings that I could have manipulated to simply terminate any of my issues. That’s not really the point though is it? My goal was to live with this technology, not show it the back door. The goal was to find a happy medium, there almost always is one. And seemingly, your happy medium is probably different then your friends in your contacts.app.

Although the fight is a daily battle, it’s worth it. If indeed you are a soldier in this fight, keep going. Don’t eliminate try and mediate. Take a look at your life and see what is really needed and most importantly, see what isn’t. Now, if your not in this battle and your pixels don’t hinder your life in the least bit, take this opinionated article as caution, not as confirmation. To forget or ignore something simply allows it to be born again in another form.

Stop pulling down to refresh your life. Look around. It’s liberating. I promise.

Family, Life

Boston, a good day for the soul

Exploring cities has always been interesting to me and while admittedly, i’m more the quiet type of walking and observing fame, i find my thoughts and words brimming over the top to recap such a great day. From the New England Aquarium all the way to the depths of the T, me and my family had a special day in Boston.

The history that Boston has spawned is immense, vast and simply remarkable. The minute you begin to grasp just how much content has been born there is the minute you feel overwhelmed to learn every last drop of it. As a native new englander, i’ve been to Boston many times and while my appreciation increases with each visit, it never fails to amaze me how much i actually don’t know about the city. The conversion of the Liberty Hotel from a jailhouse to 5 star suites, the manipulating maneuvers of the Charles River due to rain in the forecasts and Ben Franklin’s favorite park area are just a few small examples of fascinating facts that would be passed by on any other day.

First stop was the New England Aquarium. A great way to start the day for sure. Construction was going on throughout the building and while some people were clearly taken back by the visuals of the work, we simply swayed around it and enjoyed the wet world of fish. The highlight was undoubtly touching starfish and crabs. In a weird moment of me feeling proud, my son had no fears to touch these fish. My only thought was thinking of myself 20 years ago and how the idea of touching crabs (or anything under the sea for that matter) was a strict no go. Great job Liam, another area you’ve surpassed daddy. When walking became Liam’s main attraction instead of sea lions and sting rays, we knew it was probably time to go. Exit aquarium.

Enter Quincy Market. A nice enough place to shop, a better venue to eat. While the food isn’t the best Boston has to offer, you get a good sense of bostonian grub and a good variety to choose from at that. Bacon wrapped chicken it was and while it was good, the clear winner of this trip was a sugar cookie the size of a frisbee. Not kidding. An added bonus of spending time at Faneuil Hall is to simply drop in on a strangers convos and experience a bahston accent first hand.

Duck tours sound corny. If you have ever seen one, you would agree they look it too. Added to that fact that forced “quacks” will inevitably be echoing in your ears for hours to come. With that said, anytime a car drives into a river and stays a float wins as default as the coolest thing in the world. My son was asleep for most of the trip but me and Linds took it all in. Our tour guide, MC History (not joking) was super informative and as we learned, very passionate about Boston and it’s history. I could tell Linds was really appreciating the history of Boston and how could you not. It’s like the romance section of America’s video store. With one final quack the duck ride was over, as was Liam’s Nap.

It was great to see my son(2 years young) walk around Boston freely. Sure there were times when hands were held, but for the most part, he was free to roam (under strict supervision of course :) ) This means significantly more, considering the cowardly acts that occurred on 04/15/2013. My wife Linds made a statement in the neighborhood of “America’s greatness rests in it’s strength.” I couldn’t help but agree. Say what you will, but there was something empowering about walking in that very location where those bombs went off and seeing people observing, respecting yet continuing. Continuing on, visitors and locals alike. I’ll be the first to admit America has more than it’s share of problem, but frankly, strength of the common people isn’t one of them. Visiting Boylston St. was one of those moments in life where time stood still. All of life’s worries and issues seemingly were small standing on that battle ground. Priorities took the forefront and you measure up whats really important and more importantly what’s not.

A word on Visuals. The unison of old and new is one aspect of Boston that has routinely stuck out at me. I don’t personally feel that Boston is an esthetically pleasing portrait to view in a whole, but in many ways it’s the polar opposite of the “painting effect” put in practice. The closer you look into Boston the more appealing things become. The details shine. The buildings that have been thoughtfully and carefully added on to preserve the original integrity yet adding a glimpse of contemporary flair. The perfectly kept cobblestone roadways that seamlessly blends into the main roads of Boston. Keep in mind, all this attention to detail can be lost with a simple pass by, but the observant eye is king in Boston. Moreover, Boston deserves the observant eye.

With the help of warm sunshine and good directions, we had a fantastic time. I live a very busy life and this retreat reminded me just how important it is to take time off. From your job yes, but from your everyday thoughts. It was refreshing to be on streets i’ve never walked before. It was exhilarating to be a part of history by simply engaging with it. It was captivating and humbling to learn facts i wouldn’t push myself to learn otherwise. Most importantly and paramount, it was joy unspeakable to experience this great day of learning and laughing with great people in my life. I recommend such a day. Good medicine for the mind. Even better for the soul.

Life

opening credits

Excuse me while i shake off the jitters. This first entry of what i hope to be many entries is surprisingly, a call to arms for my nerves. It’s late, and a big “thank you” to my fantastic wife Linds is in order. She helped me set up the “theme” to this site and as minimal as it looks, there was nothing minimal about creating it.

The truth of the matter is, i don’t know how often i will post. To be honest though, the decision to create this site was a big enough one that the frequency of my activity is irrelevant to me. I wrote a bunch during my childhood for various reasons and while i haven’t as of late, the urge of it has never left. I’m hoping this site allows me a window to people and visa versa, but more importantly, a journal if you will. Not in a traditional sense, but maybe in the likes of a scrapbook. A collection of the times per se.

Other people have inspired me to do this blog. I’m a tech junkie, so when introduced to RSS feeds years and years ago, i was hooked on the idea. Blogs only started hitting major popularity scales within the recent years. While my RSS subscriptions slowly transitioned from news sites to people’s personal blogs, my interest was piqued. I saw a fascinating similarity to one of my other passions: Film. What makes a great film? Personal application and intimacy i say. I started to see blogs as no different. Sure some blogs have different agendas, but ultimately, all the same goal. A personal connection is met and a journey begins. So why not me? Why not now?

I’m still not entirely sure of the answers to those questions or for that matter the questions alone. Maybe in time, those answers will come to fruition. Maybe in more time, those questions won’t be accurate. I know this though, i will try my very best to write honestly and accurately about things i love and people who i deeply care about and inspire me, which are usually one in the same.

Like a film, this would be considered the score over the opening credits. The mood sweeping through that dark screen. Your not sure entirely what to expect, but you have hints, a considerable small gist of the story which is to come. You sit in anticipation, and ultimately, wait patiently for the first frame of the film to shower over you.

In a statement of complete transparency, i’m in that crowd with you. In the dark theater grasping at what this film might bring. Because, while the themes and emotions of the music are there, the story is still very much unknown.

How’s that for personal application :)