Simple Pleasures Are the Best

Years ago, when my dad was in his seventies, I tried to teach him how to use a computer.  He was overwhelmed by what was for him a serious challenge.  This was long-enough ago that there were still dedicated "word processors," units which looked like a computer keyboard and monitor, but which had only one function — to create documents.  Learning how to use them was far easier than learning to use a computer and all it's distracting features, even in those days when they operated in a relatively limited field of effort.

My father tried, but a word processor was not for him.

I realized that the only technology my father might appreciate, even master, would be the closest technology to the manual typewriter he'd been using his entire adult life, a machine which would mimic his old Royal's features.  I was happy to show him how to work an electric typewriter, and he took to it like a fish to water.

I believe that one should consider before racing to adopt the latest technology, particularly if you are efficient using the technology you're used to using.  You should account for the expense, time to adjust, retrain, and even the loss of some aspect of your current process that you might come to wish you had retained, for whatever reason.

I posted about whether or not to agree to software updates years ago.

Be at ease with your own expert notion of what's comfortable for you.

Always use the simplest effective technology.

How to Shovel a Driveway with a Snowblower

We make work for ourselves misusing lower forms of technology, too. Time and energy clearing your driveway steals precious time away from the off-hours overtime you want to spend solving computer network glitches at work via your remote home office desktop.

Please note: this post does not apply to those who do not experience snowfalls. Nor does it apply to those who use human-powered shovels.

If you use a snowblower, you know you should first shovel down the middle of your driveway, right?

No matter where we begin our task, some of the snow—maybe most of it—will fall short, on as-yet-un-shoveled portions of our driveway, particularly if we have an economy model costing a mere several hundred dollars—which still doesn’t fit in the garage unless you collapse the handle, a nuisance on the coldest days when shoveling is most urgently required.

But if we drive our snowblower down the middle first, and work our way outwards towards the driveway’s edges, at least we’re not blowing snow on areas previously addressed.

Glad I thought of it. Actually, honestly, I’m glad my wife thought of it.