Now, given the length of time since my last post (and the infrequency of my postings too), it may seem as though I've made a brief visit back merely to state the bleedin' obvious. Not so, and if you could, I'd like you to bear with me as I explain my 'uncoolness' and how it manifests across many different areas of my life.
Technology
I've always liked to think of myself as being quite techno-minded. I'm pretty much self-taught on lots of software, I love gadgets and gizmos, and am pretty much addicted to facebook (though I go through phases and also know it's pretty lethal at times too).
But I don't own a sat nav and I'm afraid - although I have an account and have been known to 'tweet' a few times - I just don't 'get' twitter. I suspect I'm not on my own with the latter, but the sat nav thing - which I've talked about before on here, I know - is a continued source of bemusement, frustration and sometimes a downright annoyance to those around me.
I'll concede this: everytime I get lost, cursing route finder I say, usually to myself in tears, "That's it, I'm getting a Tom Tom." (other satellite navigation systems are available), but then when I (always) find my way to where I need to be, granted with others' help on most occasions, and the frustration eases I think, "well, that wasn't so bad after all, and there are other things I can spend my money on."
But it's not really a money thing, or really a stubbornness thing either. I think it makes you lazy and stops people thinking when they are driving. I thought this even before this gentleman so kindly helped to illustrate my point - http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/gps-unit-drives-british-man-off-cliff-20090327/.
Even the heading sums it up perfectly - 'GPS unit drives British man off cliff'. Did it? Are GPS units taking over the world? Did one morph and grow arms and legs and take control of the car? Gosh, yet another reason not to buy one.
I think the real reason though, came to me yesterday - I'd got lost en route from one meeting in the thick of West Yorkshire to another. I had a rough idea of where I was and I have a reasonable sense of direction, so it was just a matter of heading the right way (following road signs, they're OK, most of the time) until I got back on to the right road. And I felt a little sense of achievement with that. Now, I do feel slightly silly admitting this, but not half as silly as the daft prick who drove his car off a hillside cos a computer told him to, I bet!
So give me ipods and iphones (perhaps not the spirit level 'app' though), and pretty much any other gadget you could think of that makes life easier or more fun, but not sat nav. I prefer to decide where I'm going, thank you!
To follow soon 'I'm not cool #2 - I like royal history' and 'I'm not cool #3 - music'
For now, I'm off to a casino for a drinks party - but will try my best to not be cool there either, just for you, of course!
Clancy xxxx
0 comments:
Post a Comment