I’m hip to all the new technology we are living with these days (are the kids still saying “hip?”). I have an Apple iMac, an Apple laptop computer, iPad and an apple iPhone. I lease space from the Apple cloud and have Apple music to listen to when I am trying to find out why my Apple anything is not working. I just checked into my “Chill” mix. I think you can see the direction I am going. I worship at the altar of Steve Jobs. All those folks screaming blasphemy, give it a rest. I don’t think Jobs is a god…more like a demigod.
The reason I got hooked on all things Apple is because I worked in the graphics industry and even when everyone thought PCs and Windows were the thing, Apple and MacIntosh products were best suited for graphic arts. It has now grown into a juggernaut and has become the leader in more than just computers but also in anything related to software.
What I always liked about my MacIntosh computers is the fact that it spoke my language. I am old enough to have set type on a Linotype Machine and set hot type in a race. I understand that most of you have no idea what I just said but think of this as an educational moment. Look it up and be amazed at how old I really am. I will now continue.
My time as a graphic artist has spanned all the way from the old fashioned manual ways to everything being done on a desktop computer. It is truly amazing and at the same time baffling, to people like me, that still haven’t figured out why that number 12:00 is still flashing on my VHS tape deck. Wait a minute…I have just been informed by my wife that nobody uses VHS tape decks anymore. That might explain why I’ve been having a hard time finding a Blockbuster to return some overdue tapes I still have.
His Holiness the Jobs did not just stop at computers, he expanded into the communications industry. After creating desktop machines that can hold a warehouse worth of graphic tools, he ushered in the invention of a portable phone that has more computing power than the computers that help put man on the moon. After seeing some people driving a car while operating the awesome computing power of an iPhone, I am thankful they were not involved in the Apollo moon landing program in the late 1960s. Who knows where Neil Armstrong might have ended up. I, like most of the rest of the world, have become dependent on my iPhone. I can do such important things like make business calls, get proper directions to any location, do my banking and be able to check in with my family and friends via texting. I can also take pictures of every meal I have had at a restaurant, take embarrassing selfies and inadvertently post them on social media, constantly answer robo-calls when I need to be doing something important, and post comments on sites like Facebook and Twitter thinking I am completely anonymous. Another interruption by my wife…she just told me Siri is (Amazon’s) Alexa’s sister and they are in cahoots, spying on my private life in order to sell my info to giant marketing firms that will result in more of those robo-calls. I guess the Groucho glasses and mustache aren’t fooling them.
Just a couple of years ago my beautiful wife presented me with an Apple Watch as a gift. Again, being a complete Apple geek, I couldn’t be more excited. It is amazing what it can do. The first thing I had to do was sync it to my iPhone. I’ve decided I am fine with that. I really don’t mind if Siri is keeping an eye on me. At least it gives me one follower. I then checked out the apps that my watch has that will benefit me. It has a workout app that will keep track of how much exercise I am getting and count my calories for me. I have a sleep app that allows me to see how well I sleep at night. I also have an app that keeps track of my heart rate and if set properly, will let me know if I am having an episode with my ticker. I also have the watch set up in case of an emergency, I can just say I need help and it will call 911, give them my GPS location and notify everyone on my emergency contact list.
I discovered that particular app is a bit sensitive. I was driving home one day after a round of golf and since my watch and phone are synced with my car, the phone started to ring over my radio. I assumed I had a call coming in but all of a sudden, a 911 operator was asking what the nature of my emergency. I was shocked, I was feeling pretty good. When I explained there was no emergency and my watch did it, she nicely explained I should correct the problem and wished me a good day. That was followed by two calls from my panicked wife and youngest son. They are my two emergency contacts. I calmly explained nothing was wrong and it must be a glitch in my watch. I thought it was over but the episode repeated itself three more times. I finally pulled over and turned off my watch. I was conflicted, I was really enjoying the attention but felt guilty by the way I was getting it. A restart of my watch fixed the problem.
I am now as dependent on my watch as much as I am my phone. Thanks to my watch I work out more often and harder than before having it. If I don’t reach my goals, I feel guilty and get back out there and keep exercising. Each day I check my app that tells me how many steps I take. Heart rate is important and I am checking it on a regular basis. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is see how I slept. Seems strange since I’m the one sleeping but need my watch to tell me if I had a good night’s sleep. It has gotten to the point that when someone greets me and asks how I’m doing my answer is, “Let me ask my watch.”
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