A Digital Life

I was 8 years old, when we had a phone installed in the house for the first time.  One phone, wired to the wall in the dining room, rotary dial, and a party line.  About 8 years later, when my parents bought a house to retire to in Florida, I had a phone in my bedroom, plugged into the wall. I remember phone service in my first house in Orlando in 1982, a private line and the bill including tax was $7.77 a month. That was technology, before a digital life.  

I started law school in August of 1996, and my first email address came with that.  To check mail, I had to be on campus, and go to a terminal, log in, check messages, send messages.  Shortly after that I opened my first web-mail account, a free service of a major software company.  I could check that account from anyplace that had an internet connection, and lots of patience.  Later that fall, I bought my first home computer, then a few weeks later my first cellular or mobile phone.  I was paying $30 a month, for 30 minutes of calls only, in a limited geographic service area.  Additional minutes were about 50-cents per minute, long distance was over $1 per minute.  I was traveling 164 miles a day to and from classes, having a phone in the car made me feel safer. 

A few years later we upgraded at home to a cable modem, and faster and faster computers. My first flip-phone had a basic camera, I think the file size was less than one megapixel, and it was impossible to get the photos off of the phone.  

We were planning a trip to England a couple of years later and I wanted a phone that would allow international calls.  The answer was a Blackberry, it had email, maps, a basic web search, and multi band phone service, actually good and fairly priced international phone and data service. 

My first web postings were on Virtual Tourist, and the Mirror Project.  Then I guest blogged for Stephen one summer and started blogging. Facebook came as a favor to a blogger, who was recruiting people to play Farmville. And slowly a digital life was built.  Reading blogs, posting on my blog, checking email, text messages, news, YouTube, and FB are a constant from the first thing in the morning, until I am in bed at night.  I have a bed computer, a small laptop that lives in the side of my bed, always within reach.  

It is time for a digital detox.  A couple of weeks without reading, and commenting, a couple of weeks without looking at digital content.  I know I can do it.  I have planned for it.  There are blog posts scheduled to post, please comment, but I won't read and respond to comments for a couple of weeks.  

Part of the digital detox is to prove that I can do it (I hope) and part of it is necessity, I will be offline, because I will be traveling and not have access for several days. The ship has internet service available for a sizable fee and a warning that it will remind you of AoL dial-up in 1995.  

I should be back online around the 12th of May.   

So where am I going? 

Miami,

A transAtlantic Cruise

Port calls in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa

Port calls in Spain, (hopefully lunch with Mitchell) 

A couple of days in Barcelona, 

Southeastern France - taking time to explore without a forced march,

Train to Paris, 

Fly Paris to London, and London to Washington Dulles in an A-380 (I have never been in one.)

Special thanks to Susan and Ana for house sitting for us while we are away.  

Take her to sea, Mr Mudock

The Sunday Five: Quiet Times in Grand Spaces

The next time I am in a grand space, I need to pause, put down the camera, have a seat, and absorb the wonders of the place.  The thought that went into designing the space. The dedicated craftsmen who brought the architects design to life. The details in the finish, the art within the space.  And the way people pass through it.  Do they notice any of it? Do they notice me noticing them. 

1: When was the last time you sat on a bench for five minutes in a grand space and just absorbed what was around you? 

2: Do you check your phone when you pause for a few minutes? 

3: Do you take walks without a phone or camera? 

4: Has your phone rang in a quiet space? 

5: Do you find this space pleasing? 

My Answers: 

1: When was the last time you sat on a bench for five minutes in a grand space and just absorbed what was around you? Probably a month ago when I took this photo. 

2: Do you check your phone when you pause for a few minutes?  All too often yes. 

3: Do you take walks without a phone or camera? I have a couple of times recently, it is hard to leave the phone behind. 

4: Has your phone rang in a quiet space? My most embarrassing was my phone started ringing on final approach on an airline flight, I had forgotten to put it on airplane mode. 

5: Do you find this space pleasing? Yes, very relaxing. 

Please share your answers in the comments. 

I will be taking a break from the Sunday Five in May, it will return in June if not before. 

Where is the art

 This was taken a few weeks ago, when the trees were blooming.  I was looking at the art in the gallery, and then I noticed the view out the window.  Is the prettier picture inside or outside. 

I will depart from my regularly scheduled posts for a month or so, to make way for a grand adventure.  There are posts, but not on the usual themes.  The wifi at the first stop on this adventure stinks. My digital detox is starting ahead of schedule by a couple of days. 

100 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Travel Experience: #3 Speeding Through Check in and Security

Recently three of us were dropped off at the Cincinnati airport at the same time.  We agreed that we would meet up just after the security checkpoint, and go to lunch together, we had a couple of hours before flight time. In other words we were on time for our flights.  

K. had checked in online and was carrying baggage on board only, B had not checked in needed to check a bag, and I had checked in online and was checking a bag.  I was the only one of the three with TSA Pre-Check. I was the first one through security.  K was about 15 minutes behind me, and was pulled for secondary inspection because of a bottle of water in her bag.  It took B about 20 minutes to check in, check a bag, and wait in the security line.  None of us are inexperienced travelers, K has flown around the world. 

So what are the tips?

1: Check in online, if you can PRINT your boarding pass before you get to the airport. 

2: If you are checking bags, use the automated machines to print the bag tag (and boarding pass if needed.) 

3: Enroll in TSA Pre-check or what ever express lane option is available in your country.  I pay for Global Entry, (in other countries this system goes by other names) giving me the express lane at customs and immigration and the express lane for airport security. Yes I pay for that, about $20 a year, but the screening is easier and the wait much shorter.  

4: Be prepared for security screening.  Before I enter security I empty my pockets into my messenger bag, keys, wallets, phone.  If I am wearing a belt that will set off security it goes in.  With Pre-Check I can keep my shoes on unless the shoes have a lot of metal in them (and I won't wear something like a heavy pair of boots to travel in for that reason, the hiking boots or waterproof shoes go into the checked bag.) Toss the oversized liquids before you get there.  If I am wearing the larger mechanical watch it has to go in the bag (it will set off the metal detector.)  

  

The Thursday Ramble: I Can't Paint, But I Do Paint

I have long struggled to get the image in my brain, through my hands and onto paper or canvass.  My drawings and doodles don't end up looking anything like the image in my mind.  This mystified my father who seemed to have an innate talent for drawing and the couple of times he tried painting his work was amazing (he didn't stay at it because he didn't know what to do with the paintings and it cost money.) 

I do enjoy playing with paints and colors.  I find it very relaxing, very zen.  So I paint, despite the fact that my painting of an apple looks more like a moldy pumpkin in January.  

I love the mid-century modern color blocks, and liniar art.  Some of mine turn out better then others.  This one is the colors of spring leaves, the one below the mauves and pinks of the spring bloom. 

 So there is what I have been painting recently.  These are all the same size, 10 by 20 inches.  I like working in this size.  I have several more canvases in this size waiting for me. 

My World of Wonders, aka the Wednesday Ws April 24, 2024

Where have I been? Not far from home, Old Town Alexandria a couple of times, Dyke Marsh, and Huntley Meadows.  

Who have I reached out to?  Hillary, Omar, Erica (people I have worked with), Ruth a dear neighbor, Professor Powell from law school and discovered that he is retiring from U of L to take a post at a Law School here in DC.  

Who have a talked with?  Susan a dear neighbor, random strangers as I am known to do. 

What have I been reading?  Zorba the Greek, a reread. 

What have I been watching?  The riggers and crane operator just outside our windows last Friday.  The hunky rigger was rather athletic. 

What am I listening to?  Simon and Garfunkel as I write this. 

What am I going to miss this year? Most likely the Indianapolis 500, I will be away from home on race day. 

When is the next adventure?  Soon, very soon. 

Who deserves a big THANK YOU this week? Bobbi for connecting me with a nice little consulting project.  

What made me very happy this week?  I found Travel Penguin,  he had been missing for several weeks, and I feared the worst.  He has been with me for over 20 years. I was afraid that he had gotten tossed with a bag that broke on the trip to New Haven in February.  He was in a seldom used pocket in my messenger bag, he is now in a private compartment. 

What am I doing next?  Posts will follow daily, I am going to take a little digital detox starting on Sunday for a couple of weeks. Off on a grand and much desired adventure.  Carry on!

 

Travel Tuesday A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

 Will you be my neighbor?