Luddites

The Luddites were a group who rebelled against the use of the machines that replaced people during the Industrial Revolution. Their leader was a man by the name of Ned Ludd. The name has since become a term for anyone who is against new technology.

My wife Carol is a Luddite!

When we got our first computer in the late 1990's I was completely enthralled and I was soon emailing, learning how to do spread sheets, editing photos, and using the word processor. Carol reluctantly and sparingly used it for email, genealogy, and solitaire games. That was twenty years ago and she hasn't updated her opinion or use of computers a bit since then.

When the old original Packard Bell became outdated, I ordered a new custom built computer from a company in Tacoma and then after a few years, when it got long in the tooth, I built a state of the art, super fast, new one from scratch. (With help from my brother!) I transferred all of our old video tapes to DVD and edited them using the new computer and it became an important part of my daily life.

Carol isn't comfortable with more than one remote control in the living room. Even though there are separate remotes for the surround sound, the Bluray DVD player, the CD player and the VCR, we keep them put away out of sight.

In contrast, my brother JC, has at least six remotes (at last count) sitting on his coffee table. His big screen TV plays 3D movies and his lab and bedroom are a technophobes dream. (Or a Luddites nightmare!)

Lately I've begun to agree with Carol. I know that when we all get together for a barbecue or just a visit, sitting outside on our patio or JC's deck and talking is a whole lot more fun than sitting in silence in the living room watching a movie on TV.

I've already made it clear how I feel about cell phones and now people are packing lap tops, tablets, iPads and iPods around with them also.

New cars come with GPS systems and built in computers, new refrigerators have computers to tell you if your food is out dated and that's just the beginning.

I'm afraid that if there was an electromagnetic pulse, either from a giant sun spot or a nuclear attack, which would fry the power grid, kill the computers in automobiles and shut down all of our electric and electronic devices, we'd all be walking helplessly around in circles not having a clue what to do next. Aborigines in the Australian out back would hardly be affected and would go on with their daily lives, blissfully unaware that the “civilized” world was coming to an end.

It's all coming so fast that I feel like technology just passed me by and left me spinning in its wake.

I'm afraid that I'm becoming a Luddite too!