Techno-Geek

A Motorola Q has come to live with me. It is a PDA "smartphone" and it has lots of features to play with. I have loaded: tunes (it plays stereo) 1001 books ( I tire of looking for something to read when dining, and this has its own light when I am camping), thousands of my pictures AND it has a Windows web browser and can send text messages, picture messages and take pictures, and, yes, it is a cell phone. In a pinch I can connect it via cord or Bluetooth to be a modem for my laptop. It cost me $29.00 after my hard earned rebates and the industry panic over the Apple iPhone. My original Verizon phone had died. (set on high ringer and vibrate it somehow found itself in the dog's water dish!) I got another fancy phone about a year ago- an LG-9800 with stereo, limited web browser, camera, etc. but it is in a "candy bar" form-think "Idaho Spud" which, in my pocket seemed a lump and gave the impression that "I had a rise in my Levis." I did not want to get arrested....for false advertising. I have kept my LG 6100 tri-mode activated, which in this neck of the woods is necessary because it is not entirely digital in this and other desert places I travel. I'm not talking about my Union account. Those phones are old but they work well in western Wyoming and the free bag phone I got years ago is a three-watt gem. The digitals have .6 watts of power. I don't get or make very many calls but at this point in this crazy world, a cell phone is security. The landline went away a year ago. Staying connected Web-wise is important to me.

In Florida, I decided to try to get along with over-the-air television and my Dish Network expired while I was down there. I decided to see if I could survive without it here. I get PBS clearly, ABC somedays, CBS most days, and FOX on "good" days. TV has mostly been "background noise" in my multitasking life. While I miss some aspects of 180 channels, I think I have to conclude that I am happier, healthier, and more active without them. Network News, even PBS, is not always accurate, upsets me, tries to scare me, and is generally toxic. The Internet in its wide scope gives me all the news I need. The TV entertainment programming is, likewise mostly toxic. If I had a friend who brought me down as much as TV does, I wouldn't answer the door. If there is to be a background to my life, PBS is least toxic. Voting with my feet on television.