Right before our very eyes a transformation is happening.
Have you asked someone what time it is lately?
If they were under thirty years old,
they probably checked their
cell phone.
That's right. The wrist watch is going the way of the pocket watch.
Obsolete. Yesterday when I asked someone the time, she
reached into her bag for her cell phone and then I realized.....
wrist watches are already a thing of the past.
I think I will stock up on extra watch bands in case they stop making them!
The same may be true of the land phone. I needed a new one and
it was hard to find a good one, they were all cheap with poor sound.
(Thanks, John Tsien, for helping me out on that project)
But I think more and more people are relying on their cell phones and
IPhones. Why have two kinds of phone with two different numbers?
Change is in the air.
When you look around and see not a wrist watch in sight,
don't forget you heard it from me first.
The alarm clock; another casualty!
10 comments:
Good point. I hadn't put that all together, but you're certainly right. I don't wear a watch (but that's because I just don't like stressing about the time), but none of my staff do either so we're always asking around to find the time when we're out at recess. As for the alarm clock, we use one that I got for Christmas in 9th grade for our early wake-up call and Brad's watch alarm (thankfully, he still wears one) for our really-need-to-get-out-of-bed-now call. We have a landline phone, but we're just about the only people under 30 we know who have one. Wait, we are the only people under 30 who have one. The reception isn't very good (must not be too high quality of a phone), but the only people who ever call us on it are my parents (and telemarketers ignoring the do not call list). It's sad to think about all these staples becoming things of the past. Yes, stock up on watch bands.
First, I'd like to make the observation that, in fact, we're actually going back to the pocketwatch by using our phones.
I, for one, will never give up my wrist watch or my land line.
In regards to watches, my father drummed into me since I was very young that I should,"always wear a watch because it is important to know what time it is."
And while my phone has the time, I like the convenience of having it on my wrist, it won't run out of batteries at the end of the day, and I miss my dad too much to not heed his good advice. That, plus I own several of them that should take me through the rest of my life.
As for the land line phone, there are many advantages to the land line. First, it doesn't run out of batteries nor does it need outlet power. Also, in an emergency, network traffic spikes won't render it useless (as discovered during 9-11 when nobody's cellphone worked). Finally, it's nice to be able to talk to family with more than one person on the line which cellphones don't allow either.
In fact, when Sarah and I first moved here, I searched high and low for what Sarah began to term, a "holocaust phone." That's a simple phone that simply plugs into a wall with no batteries required that we can count on to work reliably when the power is out and that storms will not put paid on and which 911 (or in HK, 999) can trace when you call from. I think everyone should have one.
I love my technology, but there are some things, for me, for which I think old school has its place.
...side effect of your post.
I realized that I am not under thirty years old.
So depressed, now.
Wow! Great information! Aren't we a family of helpful information! I'm glad John is networked into this blog! I had heard about how he helped Barb with the phone, but now I know who I'll call when I need tec help! We do have a plug in phone in Jim's shop, so I now know to use it if I call 911...if I can get to it!
I've had the same watch for ten years and it has a metal band. I never take it off (except for lately while practicing my conga drum)so I guess I just need batteries to take me through the next forty years. Easy! I'll get them today while I'm thinking of it!
Thanks, Barb, for the heads up. I hadn't seen that one coming!
Question: If one is having a meeting and water needs to be served but glasses are unavailable, what should one do? a) serve bottled water b)use plastic cups c) use paper cups?
Such an interesting point, Mom. I took a critical look around my 15-person class this morning and could not find one wrist watch (aside from my own reliable Timex that I can't live without). And even on a college campus with highly scheduled days! It really caught me off guard. Keen observation, Mom.
This weekend, I visited a friend at Colby College, a similar liberal arts college an hour north of Bates, and left my cell phone there. I've been phoneless for three days now and really feeling the effects. Interestingly, I've found myself being much more productive, focusing harder on an art project, contributing my undivided attention to work and little things around the apartment I've meant to do for ages, and getting used to and comfortable with the silence and solitude. I run into people more at dinner, and sit with friends I don't usually sit with. I finally started working on learning the mandolin. I think removing one element in your life throws off your balance a little, and lets new ideas or hobbies wriggle their way in. While my phone should be returned to me in the next day or two, it's temporary absence has been a blessing in disguise.
One drawback: no alarm this morning. While I've firmly maintained my reliance on my wrist watch, I've sacrificed my alarm clock in the past year or so. With the introduction of the iPhone and its endless applications or "apps", I imagine many other things going out of style. The level, in carpentry, is an app on the iPhone, for example. While I can identify myself as being part of the technologically savvy generation, this stuff still blows my mind.
One nagging thing about cell phones.
We don't know what the long term effects of holding them next to our head for extended periods of time might be.
I have seen warnings not to let young children have long exposures to them. It's a little unnerving how hot they get.
Anyone else ever wonder about this?
Oh, no. My watch stopped!
But not to worry. It's still right twice a day.
A friend of mine in the Philippines had a watch w/out an hour hand. So when people asked him what time it was he'd just say, "twenty after" etc.....So since he always seemed to know the time, people asked him. One day someone asked him "after what?" and he said..."don't know, my watch doesn't have an hour hand on it".
Now that has to be a new one!
Wrist watch as a fashion statement.
Some see it as jewelry.
Ruth, a cordless phone that works off your landline will still be traceable by 911. It's cellphones that they have more trouble with (though they can use triangulation to get a general idea).
As for the EM radiation from a cellphone, you would get the same type of exposure to EM radiation from a cordless landline phone. They are constructed basically the same.
Also, the heat has very little to do with the amount of radiation being put out but more with the internal efficiency and power use of the electronics. A computer's CPU will heat above boiling but it's not necessarily giving off a ton of electromagnetic radiation (everything electronic, even lightbulbs, DO give off radiation).
If you are interested, though, CNET maintains a list of the 10 highest and lowest radiation phones at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-5020357-1.html
Post a Comment