my choices to make

… in the world of tech­no­logy.

You can tell this retired mecha­tronic auto­ma­tion tech­ni­cian a lot, but not when it comes to what choices he is supposed to make for him­self in the world of tech­no­logy.

Tech­no­logy has to work…

Only a small percentage of what is intro­duced as “new and innova­tive solu­tions”, is worth my atten­tion.

The few innovations I find uses for, I either use my way or not at all. Whether my way happens to be the way others intended, or not, is of no concern to me.
Whoever wants to can keep the rest, or place it in a museum if they like.

techno­babble galore

Whether it is young people who take almost too quickly and uncriti­cally to new tech­no­logy, or older people who are slower to pick up on new things, those who don't under­stand a particular range of tech­no­logy often feel a bit overwhelmed and intimi­dated when new things get pushed their way and backed up with loads of pseudo-intel­li­gent techno­babble.

Never mind the tech­no­logy; the pushers are the real, and in fact the only, problem we're facing. My advice is to ignore them, and check facts.

“The biggest invention since sliced bread”, is one of those expres­sions we hear quite often. I prefer to slice my own bread so I can vary the thick­ness at will, so that type of expres­sion only tells me that what­ever they offer comes with some serious limi­ta­tions.

No amount of sales-talk and techno­babble can improve tech­no­logy, and talk is cheap compared to making things work. A few rounds of lies, and no-one can say for sure where those lies origi­nated or who was respons­ible for them – which is the whole idea in marketing.

I put about as much faith in marketeers' words, as a pig waiting in line for slaughter puts in a bloody butcher's. That is; a little more than I put in a banker's or poli­ti­cian's words, or big-business people at large.
Remember: a lie is a lie regardless of whether it comes from the original liar or gets repeated by many – also by those who don't know any better, and no amount of lies changes the truth. Only the verifiable carries any weight, regard­less of topic and source.

too much useless auto­ma­tion

Despite my background; I have seen too much auto­ma­tion for auto­ma­tion's sake, and prefer hands on control wher­ever practical. Why? Because I don't want to lose my skills and rot away as a slave of market forces and con­sumer of services.

Auto­ma­tion usually means some­one else has too much control over how things are done, and that can wait till I'm no longer around. The only types of auto­ma­tion I rather not be without, are those that can “hold the fort” in accor­dance with my plans when I'm not present to take care of things myself.

The only thing I want to consume more of is know­ledge about how, and how not, to do things myself, so I won't have to rely more than abso­lutely neces­sary on others to do things for me. There is always more to learn, and more to do.

where's the “off” switch‥?

Sales people have always promoted “the latest and greatest” in tech­no­logy. It's their job, and I am usually a good listener. All too often I have seen their jaws drop, when – after a more or less thorough inspection – I simply ask them where the “off” switch for all the features they just have presented is located.

I usually know exactly what I want from tech­no­logy, and all the fancy stuff that is added is more often than not just a nuisance. If what­ever it is cannot be reduced, turned off or eliminated to suit my needs, no deal is made.

Software and hardware processes meant to make repetitive tasks easier, are the first I want total control over. I shape, and reshape, my own routines as I see fit, and have yet to see any store-bought solutions that deliver anywhere near my standards.

I block all software that requires on-line access in order to “assist” me, and other­wise all that inter­rupts me in my work. With those more than 90% gone, I can focus on getting some­thing done.

pragmatically

Always some who think I am paranoid, or worse, but that is their problem and one less issue I will have to waste time on.
I am actually quite relaxed and prag­ma­tic about most of what goes on in the world around me, as not much of the bad part is my res­pon­si­bil­ity.

I prefer a somewhat secluded life, with time for con­tem­pla­tion and access to tech­no­logy of my choice. I see no reason to offer excuses for wanting to have it my way, and neither should anyone else…

sincerely 

Hageland 28.dec.2017
last rev: 16.jan.2018