Don’t be afraid to start over. This time you’re not starting from scratch. You’re starting from experience.
—Anonymous
Andy doesn’t want to mess with computers and devices (unless the computer is set up for him), which is understandable, because it can take a lot of time and he’s not interested. But he rails against them and insists they are toys, not tools, because they are always changing. A tool, he says, is like a shovel. You learn to use it and it doesn’t change. With computers and other devices if you take the time to learn to use it that knowledge is soon wasted, the system changes and you have to start from scratch.
But I’m with the quote above. Yes, we may have to keep adjusting as they change things, but it isn’t starting from scratch. Every time I encounter a problem and work through it, I learn something new. And that experience helps. It gets easier and easier to guess what the designers were thinking and to trouble shoot when things go wrong. Plus it’s great practice in persistence and patience and not getting frustrated.
Anyway, I’m glad he was willing to learn the steps needed to connect his flip phone to Starlink up on the land. When I thanked him for that he said he was willing to do it because he was annoyed at Verizon. So I’m glad we made that phone call to Verizon about our diminished service and higher monthly bills. Some good came out of it. We can now phone one another as well as text reliably.
January 24, 2025
I have always felt the way you do, but since our world has been rocking/rolling for over a year, I am finding it more difficult to adjust to the changes they make in the updates. I do it but I struggle harder than I did… the updates I dislike the most are the phones… they add, subtract, change what it does and no warning, it just does strange things.
We don’t use our mobile phones much. Mine sits in my backpack for months and doesn’t need recharging. That’s why I like it. I use my iPhone for pictures.
I totally agree with the quote. The more you learn the easier it is to learn changes.
Yes!
…I’ve made plenty of mistakes and have plenty of experience.
Me too! 😀
Good for Andy to have accomplished this task. I agree as well with the quote. Technology can be very challenging. I have an Apple computer and when I need help, my grandkids often say, Apple is complicated. Sam is searching for a new laptop since his is playing out, and boy have they changed since he purchased his last one.
Yes! Andy finally had to replace his Jeep last year and hates the new screen and all the apps.
Love the quote
🙂
I think that is a good idea – I tend to jump on the computer and just use it – I really should see what it is all about!
There are a lot of things I don’t know and just ignore. 🙂
That’s a great quote. I agree with you about computer stuff on the level that if I have patience I can usually solve problems and upgrades on my own BUT I’m with Andy that I wish they’d quit constantly changing things.
I think most of us don’t like all the changes.
I remember when the swipe screen came out. I thought at that time I was done learning new tech. Many years later, I’m still here!
Good for you! 🙂
I agree with you. and I can see his point about the definition of a tool. But I think that asking any question you could ever want to know, and getting an answer right away, may be the greatest tool ever!! I am always asking things and wanting to know things.
Yes!
That is a very good quote! Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks. 🙂
Hurray for the Starlink connectivity!
I’ve got to share this with Tom. Like Andy, he rails against any changes in technology … and sadly, I’m not always intelligent enough to help.
🙂
I completely get his point about the constant updates—there’s a lot of value in tools that stay consistent. But your perspective on learning through each challenge is refreshing! Every new thing is an opportunity to build skills and resilience. Kudos to Andy for stepping up with the Starlink connection, too—sometimes a bit of frustration is the catalyst for progress! Here’s to more smooth connections and fewer tech headaches in the future. Wishing you both a lovely weekend!
Thank you!
Yes, always continue learning and evolving. However, I appreciate his perspective on cell service providers. They continue to evolve but solely to find new ways to exploit us. Sigh.
Yes, especially about the exploitation. 🙁
I’ve always had fun with new technology, except Artificial Intelligence. I have not interest in that.
I haven’t purposely used AI either.
There’s another quote that goes something like, “You either win or you learn.”
I never use much what my computer can do. I just do the things that have meaning to ME.
I’m with Ginny involving being able to look things up easily. Our dining room here thinks of itself as upscale so I’m always having to look up some menu item to see what it actually is. We don’t dress up to eat there, we just pick up food to bring back to our apartment to eat it. I’m all about comfort!
Your dining room sounds like a nice thing to have, especially if you can take the food back to your room. 🙂
Yes. We are lucky to have it. We also have a cafe for breakfast and lunch and they’ve started building out a bistro that will have a pizza bar. Part of our rent goes for credit to eat here so it makes it really simple to do so.