Digital Dilemma

Over and Out

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A friend of mine was telling me about a particular annoyance with communicating via text.  Her challenge, it seemed, was that she could never tell when the conversation was over.  She never knew when she was supposed to respond or just let the text conversation die out.

As a firefighter she’s accustomed to the easy, clear language used when communicating with a two-way radio.  Basically if a response is required the person says “over” at the end of his/her message.  If the person is completely finished and does not require a response, s/he says “over and out” signifying the end.

So why is this so challenging with texting?  Here are some possible reasons:

  • Text is devoid of tone, inflection, body language, and other cues we use when conversing face-to-face, or verbally, to gauge how a discussion is going.
  • Text happens in real time, but people don’t always respond immediately.  It’s not fluid and dynamic the way a conversation is because you can never really know what the person is doing on the other end of the text.  Maybe s/he is busy, lost connectivity, got bored and dropped the conversation without warning, or needs time to craft a response.
  • Text often lacks punctuation. Turns out there are actually “rules” about how and when to use punctuation in a text that are completely different from regular writing.

I read a few articles, all from dubious sources, that claim putting a period at the end of a letter, word, or phrase is seen as aggressive.  The example I saw most often cited was the difference between texting “k” (as in it’s ok) or “k.” (meaning you really messed up and it is definitely not ok).

Texting Punctuation

How someone could infer so much meaning from one letter and a humble period is really beyond me.  Maybe I’m just getting old.

Other examples include when and how to use question marks.  Apparently not using the question mark softens the blow of the inquiry.  And when all else fails, throw in some emoticons because clearly punctuation & texting can be confusing unless you’re in the know of all the extra meanings.

So for my friend struggling to know when a text conversation had ended, perhaps she could take a page from radio communication and end all her texts with “over and out” without a “.” so it’s not interpreted as being aggressive.

Human Archives

Waves & Restoration

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Every time I visit my friends on Fire Island I get up early and go for long walks.  For years I’ve been trying to get a glimpse of this elusive red fox that so many people on the island seem to see early in the morning.  On one of my long morning walks I was reminded of the restorative nature of the ocean.  I inhaled the salty moist air deeply into my lungs.  It felt like a treat after living near fresh water for 6 years.  The carefully placed fencing in the sand dunes reminded me of the locals’ efforts to restore, protect, and preserve the dunes after they were leveled by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Fencing is used to help collect sand and rebuild the natural dunes.

Fencing is used to help collect sand and rebuild the natural dunes.

The relentless shushing motion of the waves reminds me that nothing stays in a state of permanence.  Everything is constantly moving, evolving, and smoothing out the rough edges over time.  The same way the ocean waves round out the sharp, jagged edges on shells and glass.  Or the way the waves can wash up new marvels everyday, so filled with life.

The waves washed up a piece of a horseshoe crab shell filled with tiny mussels thriving inside.

The waves washed up a piece of a horseshoe crab shell filled with tiny mussels thriving inside.

On the first day of my visit small pebbles and shells were left behind.  The second day they were replaced by a line of stringy brown seaweed marking the tide line.  Day three brought hundreds of clear jellies who lay shimmering helplessly in the sand.

The waves also attracted some visitors from the land.  A mother and her fawn licked each other clean in the early morning rays.

Mother & Fawn licking each other clean.

Mother & Fawn licking each other clean.

Throughout my visit I collected shells each day at the beach.  I got up super early my last day to be near the waves one last time before catching the ferry.  I took my piles of shells.  Standing before the ocean, I named each one before releasing it back to smooth out my worries and troubles.  To hold my thoughts and dreams.  To keep them evolving while smoothing out the rough edges.

Seashells

The ocean, a place of transformation and restoration.

Patagonia

Iguassu Falls: Morning Walk

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I arranged a morning bird walk to commence at 6:00am on our last day in Iguassu Falls.  We had to leave mid-morning to head back to the airport and I wanted to maximize my time.  Besides early morning is the best time to see birds and we were still on the hunt for a hummingbird to complete the animal wish list.

We walked towards the river bank where you can see the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.

Three Countries

Three Countries

A bunch of black birds were hanging out in one of the trees.  The air felt slightly cool and was only mildly sticky feeling.  It was warming up rapidly, but the heat felt nice after the weeks spent in Patagonia.  I also knew I was headed home to some frigid temperatures so I was trying to absorb as much heat as possible.

Where the rivers and countries meet.

Where the rivers and countries meet.

And finally, we saw the hummingbird.  It’s perched on a skinny branch in the middle of the picture.

Hummingbird! Tiny, but mighty.

Hummingbird! Tiny, but mighty.

Before ending the walk, my brother and I went down this path.  It looked inviting.  After about 10 minutes of walking, nature won.  We were covered in mosquito bites and extremely hot from the muggy humidity.

Mosquito central.

Mosquito central.

Later that morning we flew back to Buenos Aires for another day.  We visited the world renowned Teatro Colón and went on a boat ride through the Tigre Delta.

Happy New Year!  Stay tuned for pictures from next year’s excursion: The Rain Forest & Galapagos Islands.

Digital Photos

The Selfie Stick: Cool Invention or Narcisstick?

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A Selfie Stick may just be one of the hottest holiday gifts this year.  Basically a selfie stick is a monopod (like a one-armed camera tripod) with a clamp at one end to attach a smartphone. The selfie stick can extend from 9″ – 42″.  The stick enables selfie takers to get wider angles, more background scenery, and more people into the frame because the lens is not limited by the length of someone’s arm.

A selfie stick with an iPhone loaded into the clamp. This selfie stick uses a headphone jack to connect the phone with the buttons on the handle.

A selfie stick with an iPhone loaded into the clamp. This selfie stick uses a headphone jack to connect the phone with the buttons on the handle.

If the selfie stick is Blue-tooth enabled or comes with a headphone jack connecting the smartphone to the stick, like the one pictured above, taking the actual picture can be done with a button on the selfie stick handle.  Some selfie sticks come with a remote-control option requiring two separate pieces, the selfie stick and remote control.  A friend of mine just returned from Hong Kong with a selfie stick stashed in her luggage and was kind enough to donate a selfie-stick selfie.  If you’re clever about how you hold the selfie stick, you can’t even tell it’s a selfie.

Selfie Stick

A selfie taken with a selfie stick so that it doesn’t really look like a selfie, but it really is…

Although I rarely take selfies, I could appreciate the angles and views that can be captured with a selfie stick, all without the awkwardness of having to ask a complete stranger to take your picture.  I always feel slightly paranoid asking a stranger because I’m nervous they’ll run off with my camera, and that definitely doesn’t make for a good picture.

I’m not a fan of the selfie, but I am fascinated by the selfie trend and what will come out of it.  One article in the New York Post titled “Why the selfie stick is 2014’s most controversial gift” discusses different opinions about the selfie stick and the people who use them.  It really didn’t seem controversial but some people think the stick is great because they can take great selfies, whereas other people think it fuels “self-obsession” and refer to them as “narcissticks.”  Then there’s a whole craze of people taking selfies to surreptitiously capture people taking selfie-stick selfies in the background.  Sounds like total selfie madness to me.

Patagonia

Iguassu Falls: Argentina Lower Trail

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The Lower Trail offered the most spectacular views of the falls, in my opinion.  At one point on the trail you can stand so close to a fall that you’re practically underneath it.

Looking up at the falls.

Looking up at the falls.

Rainbows were everywhere.  I was fortunate to get a picture of a double rainbow.

One of the many beautiful rainbows we saw that day.

One of the many beautiful rainbows we saw that day.

Throughout the day I kept imagining myself as a great explorer instead of a soft, pampered North American walking on asphalt trails.  I wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience of what it must have been like to stumble across the falls for the first time.  To push through the foliage to see the falls expanding across the landscape in the muggy semi-tropical conditions filled with the sounds of animals and the soft fluttering of butterflies.

Run off from one of the hundreds of falls.

Run off from one of the hundreds of falls.

After traipsing along the Lower Trails we headed down to the raft for our ride under the fall.  It was pretty amazing.  I wish I had brought my swim goggles so that I could’ve kept my eyes open. When the ride ended I was the last person to get off the boat.  As I stepped onto the dock I looked up and spied two toucans in the trees.  Score!  Animal number two on the wish list. They’re incredible looking birds.  Black bodied with brilliantly colored beaks in that distinctive toucan shape.  Fortunately my fellow traveller was around so she was able to see them too.  It was also fortunate I was slow getting off the boat because most of the passengers were gone so we were able to watch the toucans in peace.  Similar to the monkeys, they were too far away and too obscured by trees to photograph.

And finally, one last butterfly who landed on a fellow traveller.

The hitchhiker getting a free lunch of human sweat and sunscreen.

The hitchhiker getting a free lunch of human sweat and sunscreen.

Stay tuned for the last stop in Iguassu Falls: The Morning Bird Walk.

Digital Dilemma

Textual Relations

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I first started texting in 2001 when I spent 6 months in Paris as an exchange student. Everybody texted because it was cheaper than calls.  When I returned texting didn’t catch on until a while later.

Now texting is one of the new norms for communicating.  Sometimes I’ll send texts back and forth with somebody before getting irritated, picking up the phone to call and go directly to voicemail.  Then I’m always wondering why the other person didn’t pick up, especially if s/he was available for texting.

In some situations texting is super useful, for example if you’re in a loud place and need to find people.  Or if you need to send a quick note.  But making plans, or starting a relationship with texting can be daunting, especially when you don’t really know the other person.  The reason is because texting eliminates nuance, tone, inflection, expression and many other things we naturally react to when we actually converse with somebody in person or even over the phone/video calling.

Having been out on numerous dates in my lifetime, I’ve noticed a pattern developing all centered around texting.  Here’s how the scenario usually goes:

  1. Two people meet with a mutual attraction
  2. Information is exchanged
  3. Person A initiates by texting
  4. Person B responds by texting

Basically what happens is steps 3 & 4 repeated ad nauseam.  I’ve ended up in these textual relations where either nothing really much happens and it gets very boring dragged out over weeks.  I’ll receive lots of useless texts along the lines of “what’s up?”, “how’s it going?” or my favorite “were [sic] you at?”  This last one was actually asking me out on a date, in case you missed it, because I certainly did at the time.

Or a whole relationship develops over text without any real physical contact happening.  I read an article about this called “Pro Tip: Hold Your Texts Til the Third Date.”  The “couple” followed the steps outlined above except actually developed a relationship complete with inside jokes, frequent check ins, long heartful texts, all without any physical contact.  When they did finally manage to go on a date it was awful.  The woman was in a total quandary about if she had to break up with the guy because they really only had a textual relation.  And if so, how she was supposed to do it?  The answer is with a text, of course!