Oh my god! Last post, may 7th?!! That's horrible, Tomás! What are you thinking! This blog is gonna start collecting dust!
Well anyway, hello everyone. Once again, I'm sorry for not having blogged in such a long time. No Internet since about April ... but now it's BACK! That's right, the Internet is back! And now, I have the power.... THE POWER! .... to blog.
The topic of the day is one that is a strong and painful realization that computer people like me usually make every once in a while. As of late, I've sort of been dabbing in the computer repair trade; I've done it for a few of my friends but also for actual grown-ups. (yay!). What I've noticed however, is that people who own computers, but don't trouble themselves to know what is inside one, what kind of processor they have, whether they should upgrade, etc. lead more blissful, relaxed lives than those who do (in this respect at least). And the most amazing thing, perhaps, is that one does not have to look hard to find examples.
JACKIE'S TECHNOLOGICALLY HAPPIER LIFE
The following story takes place at some point in time that's not this one. It also alternates between past and present tense but it's easy to follow. Enjoy!
I know two people. One is named Jackie. The other is myself (god forbid I wouldn't know myself!). These two people lead different lives technologically. Jackie uses a digital camera. Tomás uses one as well. Both these cameras, being digital, must record the images that are shot with them onto a digital medium. So, to operate the camera, besides the battery (included to aid people like Jackie to lead the technologically blissful lives they live), a memory card is required, onto which the cameras will be stored.
It appears that Jackie's camera has come along in the mail with a FREE memory card. So, Jackie's all ready to go! Right now, Jackie's already taking pictures of her friends at the mall while they eat ten cheeseburgers (each), taking advantage of the b
eauty that is the 59 cent cheeseburger at McDonald's on Wednesdays and Sundays.You go girl(s)!
Tomás ' story is different, however. While Jackie's camera conveniently arrived at her house, in the mail, Tomás just had to do it differently. He wouldn't dare simply pick a pretty looking camera off Amazon and have it shipped Express Mail to his abode! Instead, Tomás just had to look at all the different models, all the different megapixel amounts, all the different F-stop and aperture specs. Gosh!
Finally, he decided himself on a bundle that came with everything - including a memory card! Happy as a clam, Tomás was, when he received it shortly after he placed his order. Opening it up, he feels excited and by the end of the day, he's taking pictures just like Jackie.
The next day, Jackie and Tom meet up to share the pictures that they'd taken the day before. It turns out that Jackie had spilled mayonnaise over her lens, and had simply swabbed it off with her finger!
"Jackie! You should use a professional cleaning kit for that!"
"No, there was no damage. The lens is all good."
"But a professional cleaning kit will allow you to even clean the insides of your camera!"
"Why would I want to do that? The camera comes with an internal self-cleaning trigger. See?"
"Well yes, but it won't be as efficient."
"But I won't even notice the difference."
"Fine. Let me see the camera."
Tomas analytically looks at the camera, reading the aperture specs on the lens, looking through the settings. At one point, he opened up the camera and saw that the memory card inside was a DXUI model.
"A DXUI memory card I see."
"What does that mean?!"
"Digital Xenophage Universal Instructor!"
"Ok then."
"L O L. Maybe we should both get a DXUI 2 model! It takes pictures at 100 images per second instead of the typical 900 images per second."
"Oh, wow. Sounds powerful. Ok I gotta go; TTYL!"
Tomás ridiculed the indiffernce of Jackie to the DXUI 2 card.
Tomás began looking for a DXUI 2 model for his camera. Turns out, his camera doesn't support it. So, Tomás bought a new camera. However, this one came without the lens, so he had to buy separate ones. But, then he ran out of money, so now, he's saving up to get himself a large DXUI 2 card.
He talked to Jackie one day on the phone - a never-before-seen event, I might add.
"So how's your camera, Tom?"
"Um, it's coming. What about yours?"
"Great! Been taking pictures all day!"
"Oh, I see." Tomas became a little sad, because he wanted to take pictures already, and not have to wait anymore.
"Maybe you should've just stuck with the memory card you got, Tom. It would've taken pictures anyway. "
"But not with as fast access speeds!"
"Better than not taking pictures for months!"
Being intrepid isn't always the best thing to be. Usually, it works out. But for Tom, the DXUI model fiasco would leave him without a date to the Photographer's Banquet (can't go without a camera!)
Not my greatest story, but I try.What I want to say is that people who just use technology - that just know how to work it and use it for what they need - lead happier lives. Look at Tom - he's fretting over having the latest and greatest memory card model, while Jackie, not even knowing that she could take pictures faster, just kept taking pictures with her DXUI card - no problem. She's still happy as clam, looking at how great her pictures look.
It's OK, Tom. You'll get it eventually.
See you guys again soon.
