Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Progress ?


In calculus you learn about maximums where at a certain point a value of 'y' stops rising and begins to decline as the value of 'x' progresses. All endeavors have a maximum which is an optimal point. This can be applied to a point where a useful technology is beneficial because of ease of use (y) until it becomes so feature rich (x) that it becomes so complicated that the primary beneficial goal begins to decline. When writing programs this phenomena is called 'feature creep'.

1) There was once a day when the term 'can you hear me now' did not exist. It was possible to take your finger and hit large buttons to connect a phone conversation. Once connected the circuit generally remained solid with little interruption. Nobody could steal your phone and run up charges against your account. Cell phones come in handy if your car breaks down in a coverage area.

2) There was once a day when you could go to your favorite blog, make a comment, post it and see what others say. Now some of my favorites I am getting a little frustrated when I hit the Post tab and wait... and wait not knowing if the thing will ever post.

3) Firefox when it first came out was hailed by all as a better alternative to Internet Exploder. It was simple no-nonsense until features began to evolve. Now it is no better than exploder.

4) I thought this TPP movement was a good thing so I signed up. Now I find it so contorted with features I don't even bother with it any more. Though I used a common password variation I have learned that the blog section isn't the same as the main site. Try to log in there with the same credentials and get rejected. The times I have gotten in there I find every Joe and his dog are trying to co-op the movement so they can be somebody. So I just said to hell with it.

5) What site is the most popular as a news source? Drudge. Why? Because it isn't crowded with a bunch of whistles and bells BS. You go there, you see something interesting and click on it. As simple as it gets.

6) Why do I not own a blackberry? Because the letters are so small I cannot see them nor will my fingers fit on the little buttons.

7) I have more passwords than I can remember. It is not safe to use the same one for everything so I have two variations on two passwords. But I can't remember which variation I use so guess what.. I write them down. If someone finds my book of Knowledge then my life becomes theirs.

8) There was a day when if I felt musically inspired I flipped a switch on a 4-trak and began to play. Now by the time I configure all the digital setting on my mixer, my digital recorder, my digital guitar effects I have lost all inspiration.

The more our society 'progresses' the more problems it creates and the less we reach the goal of our effort.

8 comments:

nanc said...

I agree with you on most points - and here awhile back decided to actually write all my pw's down in a draft to myself in one of my email accounts (in code) - although like you say, many are just a combo of others.

The bb buttons are small, but i have long nails so don't have a problem - my husband, however...

You are spot on in the TPP - certain ones anyway. I'm so busy and there's not enough time to keep up - I got tired of a couple of people promoting their TPP songs - they were mostly horrible!

IOpian said...

Yep, right at first the TPP commenter were just people then I started to get these 'hi love your site, come check out mine and join my group. Oh and check out my special offer".

I went to help a friend move furniture. Could not carry on a conversation since we were constantly interrupted by his cell phone, mostly from his wife wanting to know our exact coordinates and estimated times of arrival at each station.

Sad thing is I make my living by technology and once my contract is up in three weeks and go looking for work I may just look for something not related mainly to computers but at this point that's all I have been doing for twenty years.

I am technologically burnt out.

nanc said...

We want to go back to our mountain and start up an RV park on our highway property - there's a big construction project about to break wide open within twenty miles and it's a two to three year project. Pray for us. As it is, the work pop is in is plentiful right now with some contractors vying for his expertise in certain matters.

IOpian said...

Man I wish they were vying more my expertise but I am on the opposite track with mine no longer needed. This is going to be a stressful season. Maybe I'll have a job next year, likely I won't. The life of a contractor.

nanc said...

I will be on the lookout for you. Do you have any experience in mechanical engineering? There is a very good job available in n/w ark - the pay not so good, but the bennies are to die for.

IOpian said...

I have applied for a job with this new system. I have a small chance. Important people know I have.

Been about a month and no interview call but a co-worker told me they can't do that while I am still under contract through this other company. But recall my post about how men don't have anything on women with back-stabbing on the job.

Well the 'lady' that got this project because I was so busy back then is like that manager commenting on that girl's clothing. To my face it is always bubbly 'have a nice day' but behind my back she will fight tooth and nail to never let me near this new product. Because her technical skills are nothing compared to hers I am a threat. I would be the only person with the right set of experiences to assume her position and she would lose leverage of threatening to quit if she decided she wants more money. Having me available reduces the worth of her stock. But there are others that know should a legal storm arise with state authorities I hold their fate in my hands. I know they are aware of this and the thought should be in their mind that if they let me go will I be willing to help them if they take a dump on me. Oh I'll help them but my mortgage will get paid in doing so... no mercy.

But if this doesn't pan out I am going to find something that pays enough to survive but keep the amount of taxes I owe to a minimum.

IOpian said...

I will join the working retired.

nanc said...

Some people are so vile - yes, I too have worked with a few and had the displeasure of calling some friends on occasion - It's true however, only the people you know and care about can hurt you. At least you have her number and know what she's capable of, the dirty wench!