2016 Winter March 14 Monday

50 degrees this morning, walk 36:35 minutes (est. forgot to turn stopwatch off).

Panicked this morning when I realized I had left my cell phone behind on my walk!  However, I got to thinking of all the places I used to go without a cell phone without any problems in my life!  

Now, I hardly will go from room to room without my cell phone!  I expect little has changed our culture so much as the cell phone and especially the “smart phone”.  

Key points I always remember is getting my first cell phone (a “bag” phone), my first pocket cell phone, my first Blackberry (when I viewed the wonders of being able to get your e-mail almost anyplace and anywhere) and my first iPhone (access to the internet as well aa e-mail) and somewhat related, the “Cloud” (or iCloud in my case), where I could literally connect all my phones, iPads and computers and work from one to the other.  

The “app store” was already in place when I got my first iPhone, but I am still amazed by what some of the apps can do.  

Of course as has been noted all of this can be used for good, as well as the darkest evil, so there is some balancing act involved.  Probably one of those decisions I’m glad I don’t have to make.  

Finished listening to “The Civil War” (from “Great Courses via Audible).  It was really outstanding and I probably will listen to it again sometime to pick up on what I missed.  

I have so many books to listen to, it is difficult to find the time to listen to some of the podcasts etc. that sound interesting.

Actually, it was a podcast years ago that led me to a treasure about Abraham Lincoln and the “Lincoln Cottage”.  The podcast was about the restoration of a “cottage” where Lincoln spent a lot of his time thinking and planning, when he wanted to get away from the stresses  of the White House (actually just called the Executive Mansion back than) of being President and the Civiil War.  

He frequently rode out by himself.

Anyway, when Aliene and I went to Washington D.C. several years ago (actually a little over three years ago), I made a special effort to see the house.  While we didn’t get in the house (it was closed), I was able to look at the countryside and imagine the peace that President Lincoln felt there.

I believe all of us need a “get away cottage”, even if it is just in our mind, a place where we can dream and think and analyze.  

One thing that Apple products have over any other product is the “Apple Store Genius Bar”.  Of course, you have to live close enough to an Apple Store to get there for it.

Yesterday the “Genius” spent a lot of time trying to figure out a problem Aliene was having with her phone.  The first problem (notifications not sounding) he solved in several seconds (privacy “do not disturb” was on!).  

The other problem, he went above and beyond what he needed to do to resolve the problem and he resolved the problem.  I think he viewed it as a challenge, much as I review many of my “tasks” as a challenge.  In the end, the answer was fairly simple, which made it hard to find!

That is probably true of a lot of puzzles in our lives, the answer is there, it is simply a matter of recognizing the answer or having the right question the first time.

Anyway, anytime I have had another cell phone, computer etc. and have a problem, I normally get a “duh I don’t know” response (not always), but at Apple, 95% of the time, I get an involved person who will find the answer no matter what!  

That’s it for now, Monday, March 14, 2016.