Saturday, September 25, 2010

HOW I KNOW I AM GETTING OLD

Sitting here and typing this blog I feel little difference, in my mind, to when I was say 25, 35 or 45 but there are things that have happened lately that make me realise I know very little about this modern world in which we live.

I use Facebook a lot and there are a couple of games I really enjoy playing and I have no problem with them at all which is good. I can use Google (and often do) and send and receive emails OK. What I am finding lately however is that certain applications that used to be simple to use, ie iPhoto, have suddenly to me become really complicated. I therefore no longer attempt to use it although my daughter says it is working properly. It just doesn't want to work for me apparently. Why change it all the time? It worked perfectly well before so......

Months ago we realised our old mobile telephone (which we only take if we go out or MOH takes with him if he is going on his own) needed replacing so off we went to buy a new one, a nice simple one we told the man that you could use as a phone and perhaps send the odd text message. We bought one and I virtually have not used it since. There were no actual instructions on how to use the phone as a phone but heaps of instructions about everything else this phone can apparently do. We do not want to take photos with it or any of the seemingly endless uses it has. MOH finds the buttons far too small but he does manage to ring me if he needs to when he is out. I am not sure if he ever gets a wrong number but wouldn't blame him if he did. I don't ask him as I know he would feel badly. There are never many calls on our a/c so probably not. I don't check the numbers but recognise most of the half dozen or so.

We decided recently to buy a combination VCR/DVD player and the remote control also has tiny buttons. I was a whiz with VCRs and never had a problem programming them or playing them back but I've not even used this one at all. Far too complicated and difficult for my arthritic fingers too. MOH has not yet mastered the art of programming the machine as the instructions are just so complicated. At least he can use it to play tapes or DVDs which is something.

I hear people talk about iPods, iPads etc etc and realise I have no idea what they are talking about although I believe one plays recorded music but I'm not sure. Nobody explains their use and I wouldn't know how to download music anyway nor would I really want to as I have an adequate supply of CDs from reasonably modern to classical to listen to.

All the above may sound a little strange to the young and I wonder if my folks had a similar problem as they aged. I don't think they really did because things back then didn't progress so rapidly. It's as though manufactures of these items are racing to outdo each other and not worrying about people who are being left behind.

I know mum and dad weren't keen on modern music - crooners and such - so I had my own gramophone to play my records in my room. Yes a wind-up gramophone...oh boy, does that age me. I actually still have it here and it still works and even have needles for it as well.

The world has certanly changed in the past 50 years but much more so as far as technology is concerned in the past 10-15 years. It has left me behind and even though at times I feel left out I am not sure I want to be bothered with it. I prefer simple things and there don't seem to be many about now.

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