Changing Times and Changing Technologies

So, PoppaGeek and I finally cut the cord. sort of. We called the cable company to cancel our moderate cable TV package. We also have internet through the company, and we didn’t want to cancel that. The cost-analysis resulted in us keeping our current cable internet package and keeping limited basic cable (which is pretty much just the local stations, but at least I’ll get most of the Steelers games!). We’re going to maintain our Netflix (which is now Netflix *and* Qwikster which is now just Netflix) DVD and streaming account. We also picked up Hulu Plus, which gives us a few more television shows and movies.

After we made this change, I started thinking about another big modern technology change we made about 6 years ago: We gave up our home phone in 2005. We each had a cell phone and neither of us talk on the phone very much. Since then, we’ve both picked up smartphones and probably couldn’t live without them now. (Ok, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but you get the idea.) I’m curious to see some statistics about the changing face of technology in homes today--how many other homes have cancelled their land phone line? how many other homes are switching from traditional cable to streaming services?

The latest development: we went and ordered our new smartphones--We’re each getting an iPhone 4S! I (finally) watched a demo of the Siri voice activation features. Dang! That’s unbelievable. I’m curious to see how it works in real life. I don’t have much experience with voice activation, but if it works they way they say it will work...well, I think I just walked into a science fiction story.

Sometimes, I sit back and think about the different technologies that are coming and going so quickly nowadays. When PoppaGeek and I were first married, we had one computer (a moderately-priced Dell desktop machine), one cell phone, and one gaming console. <grin> We used to take turns playing Diablo and watching each other work through the levels. Now, before you blame me for exaggerating (and I holler something about getting off my lawn), my point is really to think about how technologies, such as laptops, cell phones, and the like, have rapidly improved, become less expensive and more accessible to everyone. I think it’s a good thing, because most of these technologies make our lives easier. The trick is to maintain a balance. I’m not saying that I’ve been successful at finding the balance, but I constantly try to look for it. Part of it is setting some boundaries (for instance, work gets done at work, and when we come home, it’s time to be a family and play with the toddler). I’m excited to keep watching as the technologies keep changing.

Unanswerable Questions

As we go through life, we learn that there are unanswerable questions. Why do some couples have trouble with fertility? Why do people sometimes die so young? The one I’m struggling with today is why do some children die without getting a chance to live?

Friends of friends of ours have lost four-month-old Baby J today. While we don’t know Baby J or the parents, my heart is breaking for them. I pray for the parents, the grandparents, the friends. I can only hug my baby a little more closely tonight and hope that our friends know that we would be more than happy to help in any way we can.