Digital Dilemma

Digital Decisions

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I often find people firmly taking a stance to either be completely digital, or to remain firmly rooted in paper.  Personally, I enjoy having options.  Recently my mother was interested in a few recipes in one of my magazines.  I told her to rip them out knowing that if I also wanted the recipes I could simply take a photo and retain my own digital copy.  Easy!

One of the best things about having so many things available in print and in electronic formats are the options.  For example, sometimes I prefer to use paper recipes when I’m going to be messy, or space is tight, so I don’t have to worry about propping up my tablet and keeping it clean.  Other times, I love being able to prop up my iPad to read the recipe, look things up, and access its entertainment options while I’m cooking.

I love my ereader and read almost exclusively on it, but I had a real pang for a paper book when I accidentally dropped my device on the floor last week. I was nearing the end of the book* and was trying to read a few more pages while getting ready for work when the ereader slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor.

No big deal, I thought picking it up for a closer inspection.  I knew it was bad when I couldn’t force a restart and then the screen went all funny.  *sigh*  This just doesn’t happen with paper books.  Now I’m making do with my iPad with its too bright screen, large size, and old fashioned books until I can get the ereader repaired or replaced.

For me, having grown up in the middle of the transition from analog to digital, I enjoy both formats for different things.  I still love taking notes on paper and scribbling things in notebooks.  I find that pen and paper is more flexible than any app or stylus I’ve used so far.  On the other hand, I also love the convenience of being able to type a few things in my smartphone when I’m on the go.  It’s all about having choices, convenience, and understanding preferences.

*Purity by Jonathan Franzen (Great read! I really enjoyed it.)

Digital Dilemma, Google

Google Home

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The latest development from Google is a new product/service called Google Home.  In essence, Google Home allows people to connect with services or products or information in a seamless way through talking.  With all the new advances in digital communication, it’s refreshing to see a product relying on the more old-fashioned method of talking.

Google Home uses a wifi speaker to connect people with products or services.  The person simply asks a question (e.g. how big is Snoopy’s doghouse?) or makes a request (e.g. turn on the light in the bedroom) around the speaker.  It’s supposed to be an all-purpose personal assistant ready to help anyone, located anywhere, in the home through voice-activated commands.  Improved technology combined with the latest efforts in artificial intelligence have generated a lot of interest.  Amazon Echo, a similar product, has been on the market for some months already with a lot of positive response.

I’ve been utilizing the voice-activated features more on my phone lately.  I do find it a nice alternative to using the tiny smartphone keyboard, but I’ve noticed that I have to check the transcribed messages carefully.  Sometimes words don’t get translated accurately and when I verbally command punctuation, the word “comma” gets written instead of the “,”.  As a result, I’ve had to slow down to check and see that each word gets transcribed properly which kind of defeats the purpose of using it.

While I can see where/how it would be beneficial to use my voice to request/ask things, mistakes aside, I have to wonder what it means to use a service like this.  How interconnected would Google Home be with my personal items?  For example, would it need access to my photos?  How connected would my information be through Google Home be to the rest of the world?  How much of my home would be connected through Google Home?

With this last question, I always have to wonder about silly things like power outages, spotty internet service, and maintenance. It happens and I would hate to think I couldn’t use anything in my house because it was all interconnected through a hub using wifi when internet service goes down, or because of a system malfunction.  Or what happens if Google decides to discontinue Google Home in the coming years?  What happens to customers who have become reliant on the service?

 

Spring Cleaning, True Confessions

Moving: Lost & Found

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Even though moving is a huge pain and disruptive, it often offers opportunities to find things that were once thought lost forever.  Or sometimes it allows for one to discover lost treasures or once again become reacquainted with a cherished, but seldom used, object. And sometimes things just get lost in the shuffle.

Due to my purging tendencies I didn’t have too many discoveries, a noted disadvantage to being an organized minimalist.  I did, however, find three things of importance.  One was a membership card that I “lost” years ago and had already paid $25 to replace.  Ironically, I found the card in its usual place, a dresser drawer.  The card had managed to slip in between the papers I used for a drawer liner.  Although I had moved the drawer liners to search, the card remained undetected caught in between the sheets.

The other card belonged with “The Breathe Easy Deck” (meditation cards) and was one of my favorites. My mother had the same deck and graciously agreed to supply me with the missing card, thus rendering her own deck incomplete.  I was pretty excited when the card materialized pressed against the wall after my night stand was moved.

The third thing was a perpetual calendar with an inscription on it to my father.  It had been given to him as a present for his years of service as a public high school teacher.  Some months ago it had fallen behind my dresser, unnoticed, and remained there until the dresser was moved.  Good find!

On the flip side, I lost my umbrella in the move.  I found the case for the umbrella (pictured below), but not the actual umbrella.  I know it can be replaced, but I’ve had it since 2007 and I was rather fond of it.  The top was pink and the underside was covered in flowers.  I bought it during my Vancouver years after a friend advised me to buy an umbrella that I liked looking at since I would be spending a lot of time under it.

Fabric Sample of Umbrella Underside

The umbrella case flipped inside out to show the pink outside and pretty floral print from the underside.

I also lost a small gadget I liked about 6 months ago.  I resisted buying a replacement because I was positive that it would turn up when I eventually moved.  It didn’t.  *sigh*  Looks like I’ll have to buy a new one after all.

All things considered, not too bad.

Moving. Ugh.

Moving: Critical Tips

Moving: Bearing Witness

Human Archives

The Baby’s Cry

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I dreaded returning to my childhood home for visits the year following my father’s death.  During my daily life I could manage to float through each day in a bereavement fog, enveloped in my grief, but without any major triggers.  A trip home meant being reminded of the loss 24/7.

One of the most difficult parts was getting used to the shock of not seeing my father at the train station to pick me up.  Every time I visited I could feel my steps slowing down as I walked to the station from the train.  By the time I got on the escalator for the final ascent to the station I would be near tears, struggling to breathe around the weight building in my chest.  I would emerge and not see him.  It started off every visit on a bad note.  I was instantly cranky and upset.

Once my mother understood this, she made sure that she was there at the top of the escalator to run interference and greet me.  She would swoop over to hug me before the shock of not seeing my father had a chance to settle.  It was a small gesture, but one that touched me deeply.  And over time, helped to heal the hurt by creating new memories.

More than a decade later, I’m continually reminded of this small, silent action of my mother’s because I see that she is always doing nice things for me out of love.  I think moms have a special knack for hearing their baby’s cries, no matter what age.

A friend and I discussed this the other week. He was about to participate in a special tribute concert to Prince as part of the choir.  He wondered if his mom would be able to hear his voice out of the crowd.  I remarked how proud I was of my mother because she could always hear me in the orchestra (~60-70 people).  I attributed this to the long years she suffered through listening to my practice sessions, a real testament of her love.

But my friend had a different thought.  He said of course she could hear my “voice” in the orchestra and compared the situation to a colony of penguins.  To our ears, thousands of penguins communicating all sound the same, but parents and chicks are easily able to recognize their distinctive calls and find each other in the crowd.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Dedicated to Mom, and all the mothers of the world.

Human Archives

Wonder

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Every year when spring finally comes, I reacquaint myself with the bees that have been missing from the landscape during the long winter months.  I am continually humbled and amazed by these tiny creatures buzzing tirelessly from flower to flower collecting pollen.  As one of the world’s mighty pollinators, everything they touch turns to gold in the form of honey, honeycomb, bee pollen, royal jelly, wax and probably some other bee products I don’t even know about.

These fascinating insects have also inspired expressions commonly used in English such as:

  • busy as a bee
  • bee in your bonnet
  • the birds and the bees
  • queen bee

One bee busily collecting pollen from a thistle in Montreal's Parc des Rapides.

One bee busily collecting pollen from a thistle in Montreal’s Parc des Rapides.

I enjoy watching bees busily collecting pollen, moving from flower to flower.  I love hearing the soft, hum-like buzz of their wings.  It turns out I always liked bees. I drew tons of them as a child, something I rediscovered last summer while going through boxes of my childhood art. When I was about 7 or 8, I showed my appreciation for this magical insect by turning myself into one for Halloween. My mother even sewed a stinger.

A bee buzzing around some echinacea in my mom's garden.

A bee buzzing around some echinacea in my mom’s garden.

For nearly a decade I’ve been reading about the mysterious disappearances of bees called Colony Collapse Disorder [CCD].  Often pollution is cited as one of the main reasons, but I’m sure it is due to any number of factors.  The results, however, will be dire for the world’s plants, many of which depend on bee pollinators for their survival.  This includes many foods we enjoy eating like apples, cucumbers, and pears.

I feel sad when I think about these tiny, magical creatures that are so rarely considered as they work industriously to provide beneficial things.  When I do see bees, I always take a few moments to pause and watch them, giving silent gratitude for the many wondrous things they do for us, including the production of honey a personal favorite.  I appreciate that they’re still around.  I also have a healthy amount of respect for the apiarists of the world, who tend to and care for the bees.

A lot of campaigns have started in the last few years to save the bees.  If you’re a fan of bees, like me, or maybe just realized how important they are as pollinators, do a search and find out what you can do.

A bee buzzing around during one of morning commutes on the bike last summer.

A bee buzzing around during one of morning commutes on the bike last summer.

 

Digital Dilemma, Social Media

Bumble BFF

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Online dating app Bumble recently started offering matching services to find a BFF [best friend forever] of the same sex.  Bumble works similarly to Tinder, except that women make the first move, once a match is made.  After completing a profile and uploading photos, users are offered potential matches based on location.  Users swipe right to say “yes” and swipe left to reject, kind of like a game. If both parties say “yes”, it’s a match and contact info is shared.  With Bumble females have 24-hours to contact a match, otherwise it disappears.  This is to help prevent harassing messages being sent from men to women.

Bumble expanded the platform for friend matching.  Users can switch from finding love to swiping right for a new BFF based on a few photos and a profile.  Friendship, however, is based on more than just looks.  We make decisions instantly when we meet someone based on all sorts of things, many of which are non-verbal and can’t be reproduced digitally.

Maybe all the time spent swiping for a new BFF could be spent looking for activities, or social events to attend, with like-minded people as a way to make friends.  What happened to making friends the old fashioned way where you when friendship started in person based on common interests and shared experiences?  One article mentioned Bumble was working on algorithms to suggest matches based on data from users’ Facebook pages.  This could provide opportunities for matches based on common interests.

It seems strange to me to “shop” for friends through an online service, but that’s how I used to think about online dating.  And in some ways, why is it any different to look for a romantic partner vs. a friend through an online platform?  Lots of other platforms exist online for meeting like-minded people socially through organizations, meet up groups, networking events, etc.  They offer group settings and opportunities to meet, whereas Bumble focuses on creating one-to-one connections, no physical contact necessary.

The appeal of using online methods diminishes for me when potential matches turn into a lot of useless texting and missed, half-hearted attempts to meet in person.  At least this is how a lot of online dating matches turned out, if the goal wasn’t a quick hook up.  Will we one day have “friend” hookups the same way we do with online dating?  What would that look like?