Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Changes
According to those who study social trends, it appears that things are changing. In the ‘old days’ kids had to have a license to drive as soon as they turned sixteen. Today’s coming-of-age generation seems to be a lot less interested in having a car. Many of those who live in cities ride a bike instead of a car. And those who have a license to drive forego owing a car preferring the share-a-car idea now popping up everywhere. If the trend continues, it’s only a matter of time before huge cars are relegated to the dinosaur pile.
When I was charged with emptying a relative’s home after she moved into a care facility I was in for a surprise. She has exquisite things that I know for a fact cost a small fortune to acquire, but I had trouble getting anyone interested. For example, I was told by antique dealers that a set of superb gold-trimmed china is something nobody wants these days. And I hear the same type of remarks from boomers looking to downsize. Today’s younger generation is looking for dishes that can be washed in the dishwasher, so no gold trim. And they certainly will not spend time polishing silver.
And because of the forever-speeding-ahead technological advances those following us don’t own the things we had to have. We bought vinyl records and then CDs, VHSs then DVDs to enjoy in our home, and today find ourselves with piles and piles of them. By contrast, today everything is digital so the new generation downloads the music they want to hear and therefore there are no actual physical CDs to deal with. The same for movies. Today, young people simply choose the movie they want to see from the choices offered through television and wireless devices. Long gone are the days when you bought DVDs or had to go to the video store to rent a movie.
And with advances in photography, physical photos are becoming a thing of the past. Photos are available for viewing on phones, laptops, or tablets, not in photo albums like we used to keep them. There are some advantages to having photos stored electronically. They don’t fade or yellow like our photos have tended to do over the years. So will our kids appreciate getting all our old photo albums? Probably not. To circumvent the problem, I had all my old photos and slides (remember those?) transferred unto CDs and gave one to each of my children at Christmas. They really appreciated the gesture, and it is something they can pass on to their own children later on. Although, that might be a problem. I am told that CDs are becoming a thing of the past as many new computers don’t even have ports for them. Today it’s flash drives.
So what will happen to the CDs of photos I gave my children if their children can’t view them? I don’t worry about it; I’m sure someday they will be able to transfer them into some form of cyber storage. However, I do worry about getting rid of some of my things when I downsize.
If I have a yard sale, the new generation will certainly not show up. Young people seem quite satisfied to travel light.



Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Privacy
I am of the opinion that we should all be worried about privacy in a world where technology speeds ahead waiting for no one, often respecting no one. We don’t know who’s listening, who’s compiling data on us, who’s looking at us.
          Did you know that if your computer is hacked, or you use a public server, the camera on it can become a means of spying on you? It is said that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg covers his computer camera with tape. This is something I always do. If someone wants to look at me through my computer camera, they can only do so with my permission.
          Amazon’s Alexa is known to have recorded some conversations in private homes. How about that for stealing privacy? But that’s not the only culprit. We tend to be our own worst enemy on the internet by giving companies much data without our realizing it when we shop or when we rate preferences or anything else we write or do online.
          Also, how often are we asked to agree to this or that. Allow this or that. Do we always read what we’re agreeing to? You can get lost in some long privacy agreements and may give up before reading that it includes our agreeing to giving complete and permanent access to what we do on line.
          In North America tech companies are legally allowed to collect and sell our personal data which can generate targeted ads and so on. That’s one of the reasons your computer, or rather ads, are on a first-name basis with you. You’re reading something on the internet when a pop-up ads appears calling you by name. You have provided your name at some point when you bought something and the data has been noted and sold.
          That’s why I have devised my personal “computer engineering” system. I am not always truthful when I give my name. I use different names for different uses calling myself Cutie Smith or Lavender Doe. So when a targeted ad says: Hi there, Cutie. Have we got a special for you today ...  Or when I get an email addressing me as Lavender I know where the information originated. Not that it really matters given the real lack of any human involvement in all of it. Computerized machines reign today and are often really annoying.
          It’s not insane to think that in the so distant future your alarm clock will record and report how often you sleep in, or you may find yourself wondering if your car keeps tab on your driving habits and is reporting the information to your insurance company or even the police.
          My advice: Don’t think about it too much if you want to sleep tonight!
         
         

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Exercising with a Purpose
We all know that exercise is good for the body and by extension for the mind. Something as simple as walking every day brings benefits.
            But what about targeted exercises? For example, there are exercises specifically designed to help bones stay healthy. That is certainly something all aging women should be doing. I do a set of such specially designed exercises every second day in the hope that I will not be the victim of broken bones.
            And what about exercises to reduce the risk of falling?
            One study involved a sample of 256 physically inactive, community-dwelling adults in Oregon. Participants either took part three times per week for six months in a Tai Chi group or were assigned to a stretching control group. The purpose was to measure the number of falls as well as functional balance.
            The Tai Chi group had significantly fewer falls compared with the stretching group. Also, compared with the stretching group, the Tai Chi participants showed significant improvements in functional balance, physical performance and reduced fear of falling.
Who would not want that!
            These results certainly show that Tai Chi is very effective in reducing falls. And it is such an easy set of targeted movements that anyone can do them, with proper instructions, of course. And now that the good weather is back, finding a group of Tai Chi enthusiasts who follow an instructor in an outdoor setting can be that much more pleasant.
            There is such a group that practices in the large park near my home. I can’t wait to join them as soon as everyone feels the weather is warm enough.


           


Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Making it Count
Now that warmer weather has finally arrived, I have gone back to walking around the lake near my house. It is great to finally be able to stroll in the fresh hair after a long winter where most of my walking had to be done in a mall to avoid the ice and cold winds.
            A couple of days ago I was especially enjoying the warming weather when I saw a tall man I judged to be in his thirties coming in the other direction totally naked from the waist up except for his suspenders. He was carrying a shirt and a jacket in his hand. The weather was nice but it certainly was not summer. Like me, the other walkers were wearing a jacket over a shirt or top.
            I asked myself what that fellow is going to do during the dog days of summer. He certainly has nothing else to remove. I simply attributed his behavior to some sort of temporary insanity after a cold-induced trauma. Perhaps he had to spend a lot of time outside during the coldest days of winter due to a mishap, and now he was blessing the warming weather in the only way he knew how.
            I don’t think it’s unusual for people to do things the complete reverse of what is expected in order to sort of rebalance an order which has been assaulted. That’s why you see people, especially kids, wearing shorts as soon as the spring sun begins to warm up the air. You can almost hear them think: enough is enough. Just like some older people do the reverse and are seen wearing heavy jackets and hats as soon as the fall winds are expected. Their experience propels them to be ready.
            As people get older inner thermostats seem to get a bit out of kilter. I suppose that’s not surprising after decades of going from freezing to hot and then from hot to freezing the body becomes unsure what to expect. That’s why you see some seniors wearing sweaters even in summer months.
Don’t you think it’s truly amazing how we humans adapt to the various seasons year after year. We complain about the cold wind of winter only to turn around and wake up to the warmest day of the year.
We should all get a medal for our ability to adapt. Without necessarily going naked from the waist up!           
             
           

Wednesday, May 1, 2019


Connected
Those of us who remember the Beatles have known a world that was rather disconnected if you go by today’s standards. We had television and the telephone to keep us connected to the world, and our friendships were nurtured by direct interaction, not via a screen, whether large or small.
Today, the whole world is connected. Whereas there was a day not so long ago when long distance direct-dialing became a reality, today we can call half-way around the world at the speed of light using a hand-held device that once was the stuff of science-fiction. Whereas we used to write letters—actual letters—by hand, we have gotten used to emails that are so much quicker and efficient but so much less personal.
As we all know, things change and evolve all the time, and we have gotten used to tons of inventiveness as we made our way in the world over the years. And we learned about computers and how to connect to the world at a time when it was an unprecedented step. And the many constantly evolving hand-held communication devices have also joined the parade.
I question whether it is really important to be in constant communication with the rest of world. My grandchildren love social networking because it keeps them connected to their friends and what they are doing. In my view, if you want to know what your friends are doing, you simply pick up the phone and call them. Of course, that simply shows how far behind the times I am, I was told recently. Nobody calls anymore, everybody texts.
Life is changing in ways that may make us worry about the future for our grandchildren. Will they forget how to write a proper sentence after spending so much time texting, an activity where numbers stand in for words and vowels are all but forgotten?  Will they have problems interacting with people without a screen in front of them?
One thing we have all learned along the way is that nothing is ever perfect, but we humans learn to adapt to whatever we encounter. Every generation has its own challenges, so our grandchildren will be living in a world different from ours in many respect and they will make the most of it, just as we made the most of our lives. They will simply wonder how we could have been so far behind the times, just as, at some point, we thought our parents and grandparents were.
And life goes on!