cell phones

Ahh, Back in Ye Olden Days of 1994

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

friends 1994

Earlier, I ended up at Starbucks where I was waiting on a friend of mine. I decided to utilize their exceptional wi-fi (exceptional in this case meaning “way better than my home wi-fi”). I watched a couple episodes of the TV show Friends. Season 1 to be more specific.

It always cracks me up to see how quickly technology becomes dated. The old brick phones that they used to carry around seem as antiquated as the old tube televisions, but then I have to realize that they were the newest tech 20 years ago.

I also think that 20 years ago, people still predominately had face-to-face conversations. Sure, people talked on their cell phones, but at $5 a minute (or whatever the rate was back then), it was much cheaper to talk to a live person.

Now, we live in a world where we intentionally isolate ourselves through our technology. We can go through a whole day, even a whole week, without having to actually interact with another living soul. We can be connected 24/7 and at the same time be cut off from human contact.

I’m not suggesting we revert back to 1994 phones. What I am saying is maybe you and I put down those smart phones and actually participate in this beautiful, one-and-only life we’re given. Maybe leave the phone at home and take a walk or visit a neighbor or sit on the patio of a small cafe on a lovely spring day.

As much as I do love my iPhone, I admit it can be addictive. It can be a time-suck. I seriously doubt that I will get to the end of my life and wish that I could have spent more time checking on and updating my Facebook. And there are no real-life bonus points awarded for mastering Candy Crush. Sorry to disappoint you on that one.

Jesus said that if you want to do right then do two things. 1) Love God and 2) love people. There’s wisdom in the old saying that you love people and use technology or you love technology and use people. And technology doesn’t excuse ignoring people or being rude, but that’s a topic for another blog on another day.

fakeeinsteinquote

 

Even though Albert Einstein probably didn’t actually say this, it’s still true.

 

Remember When You Used Cell Phones for Phone Calls?

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

cellpics-37

 

The old running joke about iPhones was that you could do just about anything with one. Buy concert tickets, check the weather, deposit money into your checking account. The only thing you couldn’t do was make a phone call.

I remember when all you could do with a cell phone was to make a phone call. That’s it. No internet. No music files. Not even a calculator.

We’ve come a long way from the old brick phones of yesteryear. Funny how no one is nostalgic about wanting one of those.

Qual-860

 

This was my very first cell phone. I believe it was a dual phone capable of transmitting in both analog and digital frequencies. And it had a retractable antenna. I miss those. I mean retractable antennas, not the phones. Sad to say, but I’m pretty sure Qualcomm cell phones have gone the way of the Commodore computer and the dinosaur.

I’ve had a more than a few cell phones since then. I’ve had camera phones, flip phones, touchscreen phones, you name it. Some I liked better than others. All of them are obsolete now.

That’s technology for you. The faster it progresses, the less you’re able to use it before you have to upgrade to the next model or the next platform. One thing that dates a movie more than anything is the use of technology that was current and even ahead of its time then, but not so much now.

Faith never goes out of date. God is never obsolete. You won’t need to replace it in a year or even in five years.

I’m loving my latest phone. It’s an iPhone 5 that does virtually everything, including– believe it or not– making phone calls.

But one day soon, it too will become obsolete and need replacing. I’m sure that further down the road it will seem quaint and dated in light of the increasing advance of technology.

But my faith won’t. My God will still be the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Revolution, Anyone?

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

revolution

I wonder what would happen if I ever ended up in a scenario like the TV show Revolution (on Mondays at 9/8 CST on NBC– shameless plug). The premise of the show is that all the power in the world has gone out and no one knows why and no one knows how to fix it. Everybody reverts to the pre-electricity days where you traveled by foot or by horse and took a long time to get anywhere. And everybody fights with swords and crossbows and throwing rocks and such.

If my internet doesn’t work right, I don’t know what to do with myself. Mostly, I stare at the wireless router, as if somehow willing it to work with the powers of my mind. Apparently, my extra-sensory powers were off today, because that didn’t work at all.

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to be without all the gadgets and devices. You know, those things that were supposed to be time-saving, but ended up being time-sucking instead. Most people seem to have their smart phones surgically attached and can’t go 15 second without pulling it out to check email of facebook (or to see if a certain ragamuffin has posted yet another awesome blog– another shameless plug).

I think life would be simpler. We’d actually have to communicate the old fashioned way– with words. Spoken words. Written words. The kind that people used for several thousands of years.

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some technology. That doesn’t mean I’m techno-savvy by any means. If my fail-safe fix-all solution, i.e. unplug, wait 30 seconds, and plug back in, doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas.

But if technology goes away tomorrow, I’d be okay. I’ve got enough books I haven’t read yet to keep me going until I’m at least 290. I really think I could learn to get used to walking to places instead of always getting in the car. I’d be a lot healthier.

All this comes from me on my laptop on my wireless connection. The irony is not lost on me.