I am spending the last few days of the year testing old gizmos. It was a way for me to see what was still working and try to revive these gadgets and use them in my quest to be more efficient. I wonder why I still keep them and not throw them away. I have been buying stuff admittedly with no intention to use immediately but in some future when everything is right in my life. After moving to my new home, I feel that I am now at that stage. Old equipment long shuttered because I did not have time to use suddenly can be used because there’s so much space that I can literally unpack theses old gadgets, line them on the floor and figure out their use in my strategy. I have used them in some way or another, then stowed away as obsolescence and new technology marched in to finally seal their demise. But I am a romantic and will try to find a way to revive their use.
Here is the breakdown of the old and used gizmos:
PDAs
• Casio Cassiopeia (one of the first Windows CE device)
• Sony Clio
• PALM device (one of the first PDA + phone combination)
Cell Phones
• Various Nokia phones (with their own chargers)
• O2 – one of the first Windows mobile phones (screen cracked last year when dropped in a motel in Flagstaff, Arizona after a visit to the Grand Canyon)
• Samsung Galaxy – Android 2.4 smart phone replaces old cellphone +PDA
Camera
• Canon Rebel SLR – old film camera
• Sony – point and click, 3 megapixels
• Panasonic – point and click, 5 megapixels
Video CAM
• Creative mini – video CAM
• JVC camera with DAT tape
• Kodak water proof CAM
E-Reader\Tablet
• Sony e-reader – given to my son but now returned to me due to obsolescence
• Archos 7 inch Android tablet
Presently, I have three old laptops in various states of working order: one Dell and two Acer laptops that I am converting to the test version of Windows 8. Additionally, two Lenovo laptops: one with the latest Windows 8 with touch screen and one provided by the office using Windows NT plus a tiny Lenovo computer connected to my 55 inch HDTV to watch shows in the Internet especially Google TV. I also have an Archos 7 inch Android 2.2 tablet used for general purpose internet surfing. To keep it all together, I use cloud computing services like Google apps and Dropbox to store my documents in the cloud. Essentially I can access any document I want from any device I have. Recently I purchased a used Canon DSLR so I can use the old camera lens and filter I bought together with my old analog camera and I also purchased a new 32 inch television with a camera so I can do video calls using Skype.
Keeping tabs with all these equipment can be confusing; I have spent several moments contemplating their use by multi-tasking with my reading and watching movies. I also surveyed all the other accessories that I have or given to my kids: wireless headphones, game consoles (Sony PS1, PS2 and PS3), phone ear sets (to wirelessly answer and make calls), camera tripods and a Panasonic voice recorder which I aim to use in my writing. I surveyed my plan to make my writing more efficient next year: Dragon Dictation software (for voice to text), microphone headsets, novel-writing software.
This is my writing strategy so far with the equipment I have:
Rough Draft:
• Dragon dictation software
• Panasonic voice recorder
• Two or three laptops that I can use to put the rough draft in writing
• Google document and Google Drive to store my drafts in the cloud
• Various techniques like mind mapping and concepts in the book ‘Writing the Natural Way’
• Join writer’s websites like Red Room to get feedback and criticism
Research:
• Android tablet and television connected to the Internet or with internet apps
• Sony Game consoles for role playing games like LA Noir and Dark Rain to get ideas on storytelling
Self-Development and Craft
• Attend online writing courses like NYC Writing School
• Do writing exercises from self-help books (Sol Stein, Stephen King, Ayn Rand)
• Stick to a regular writing schedule
I have spent too much time procrastinating and I think the new home and surroundings will give me the environment to finally complete my work. I have gathered the hardware, software, attended writing classes and read DIY books, plus practiced writing enough to get the needed confidence. Last night I watched a documentary on Werner Erhard and est training, whose teachings is similar to Eckhart Tolle (a real German) whose main aim is self-transformation principally through the teaching of Buddhism. Aside from the craft of writing, one also needs some deeper understanding of the creative urges and how it becomes a part of one’s life. Erhard came as a surprise as I had been watching Joseph Campbell - a much superior thinker and philosopher – both influential thinkers in the 1970’s and 80s. I am also reading Logicomix a graphic novel about the life of Bertrand Russell – all providing insights in my current undertaking. In a more immediate level I hope to read Andrew McCarthy’s articles to learn how he came to write his first book which I recently read.
It now seems that I am using technology to gain an advantage or perhaps in today’s age one cannot help but be a technologist because it’s a requirement of the times. The survey of all my gizmos also displays a materialism that one tries to avoid when following Buddhist principles; of Zen and the simple life. But nowadays new technology is like sex, providing a gratifying satisfaction in today’s stressful times. But perhaps it’s a way to get ahead, where being an adept in technology is like being an initiate in some secret teaching like a disciple of est or Tolle or Campbell. This is the link between being a gadget freak (or technologist) and being attracted to self-transformation thinkers – to find meaning in life by obtaining some sort of lead. The timeless solution then in both Christian and Eastern teaching is to live the simple life or a focused life devoted to action; free of useless thoughts. Revelation: I had prided myself in living a simple life but my possessions say otherwise.
Here is the breakdown of the old and used gizmos:
PDAs
• Casio Cassiopeia (one of the first Windows CE device)
• Sony Clio
• PALM device (one of the first PDA + phone combination)
Cell Phones
• Various Nokia phones (with their own chargers)
• O2 – one of the first Windows mobile phones (screen cracked last year when dropped in a motel in Flagstaff, Arizona after a visit to the Grand Canyon)
• Samsung Galaxy – Android 2.4 smart phone replaces old cellphone +PDA
Camera
• Canon Rebel SLR – old film camera
• Sony – point and click, 3 megapixels
• Panasonic – point and click, 5 megapixels
Video CAM
• Creative mini – video CAM
• JVC camera with DAT tape
• Kodak water proof CAM
E-Reader\Tablet
• Sony e-reader – given to my son but now returned to me due to obsolescence
• Archos 7 inch Android tablet
Presently, I have three old laptops in various states of working order: one Dell and two Acer laptops that I am converting to the test version of Windows 8. Additionally, two Lenovo laptops: one with the latest Windows 8 with touch screen and one provided by the office using Windows NT plus a tiny Lenovo computer connected to my 55 inch HDTV to watch shows in the Internet especially Google TV. I also have an Archos 7 inch Android 2.2 tablet used for general purpose internet surfing. To keep it all together, I use cloud computing services like Google apps and Dropbox to store my documents in the cloud. Essentially I can access any document I want from any device I have. Recently I purchased a used Canon DSLR so I can use the old camera lens and filter I bought together with my old analog camera and I also purchased a new 32 inch television with a camera so I can do video calls using Skype.
Keeping tabs with all these equipment can be confusing; I have spent several moments contemplating their use by multi-tasking with my reading and watching movies. I also surveyed all the other accessories that I have or given to my kids: wireless headphones, game consoles (Sony PS1, PS2 and PS3), phone ear sets (to wirelessly answer and make calls), camera tripods and a Panasonic voice recorder which I aim to use in my writing. I surveyed my plan to make my writing more efficient next year: Dragon Dictation software (for voice to text), microphone headsets, novel-writing software.
This is my writing strategy so far with the equipment I have:
Rough Draft:
• Dragon dictation software
• Panasonic voice recorder
• Two or three laptops that I can use to put the rough draft in writing
• Google document and Google Drive to store my drafts in the cloud
• Various techniques like mind mapping and concepts in the book ‘Writing the Natural Way’
• Join writer’s websites like Red Room to get feedback and criticism
Research:
• Android tablet and television connected to the Internet or with internet apps
• Sony Game consoles for role playing games like LA Noir and Dark Rain to get ideas on storytelling
Self-Development and Craft
• Attend online writing courses like NYC Writing School
• Do writing exercises from self-help books (Sol Stein, Stephen King, Ayn Rand)
• Stick to a regular writing schedule
I have spent too much time procrastinating and I think the new home and surroundings will give me the environment to finally complete my work. I have gathered the hardware, software, attended writing classes and read DIY books, plus practiced writing enough to get the needed confidence. Last night I watched a documentary on Werner Erhard and est training, whose teachings is similar to Eckhart Tolle (a real German) whose main aim is self-transformation principally through the teaching of Buddhism. Aside from the craft of writing, one also needs some deeper understanding of the creative urges and how it becomes a part of one’s life. Erhard came as a surprise as I had been watching Joseph Campbell - a much superior thinker and philosopher – both influential thinkers in the 1970’s and 80s. I am also reading Logicomix a graphic novel about the life of Bertrand Russell – all providing insights in my current undertaking. In a more immediate level I hope to read Andrew McCarthy’s articles to learn how he came to write his first book which I recently read.
It now seems that I am using technology to gain an advantage or perhaps in today’s age one cannot help but be a technologist because it’s a requirement of the times. The survey of all my gizmos also displays a materialism that one tries to avoid when following Buddhist principles; of Zen and the simple life. But nowadays new technology is like sex, providing a gratifying satisfaction in today’s stressful times. But perhaps it’s a way to get ahead, where being an adept in technology is like being an initiate in some secret teaching like a disciple of est or Tolle or Campbell. This is the link between being a gadget freak (or technologist) and being attracted to self-transformation thinkers – to find meaning in life by obtaining some sort of lead. The timeless solution then in both Christian and Eastern teaching is to live the simple life or a focused life devoted to action; free of useless thoughts. Revelation: I had prided myself in living a simple life but my possessions say otherwise.
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