![\"rotary-phone\"](\"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/rotary-phone.jpg\")
<\/a>This year I will hit a milestone birthday<\/strong>. \u00a0I have frequent reminders that I’m getting older, mostly from my knees and memory. \u00a0But these days the true test of whether one is on the “back nine” of life<\/strong> is dealing with technology. \u00a0I have long prided myself in my interest in computers and anything the least bit geeky. \u00a0I owe this to my long-time technology guru at work, Doug Clayton,<\/strong> who always assured me that pressing the “F10” button on the keyboard was NOT going to blow up Hong Kong<\/strong>. \u00a0He encouraged me to experiment and right-click<\/strong> my way through most problems. \u00a0I wish that I still lived near him – a man of endless patience who never once rolled his eyes<\/strong> at me or called me an ignorant slut. \u00a0Although he certainly would have been justified on many occasions.<\/p>\nThese days, I browse Best Buy<\/strong> like it’s a candy store. \u00a0Honestly, I’d rather spend two hours there than at Nordstrom (unless it’s the Nordstrom Cafe with their delightful chocolate cake<\/strong>). \u00a0I think for someone who started out with a black, rotary phone<\/strong> and a phone number that started with a noun (Twinbrook 23537), I’ve come pretty far. \u00a0I have lived long enough to marvel through push-button phones<\/strong>, cordless phones, answering machines, cell phones the size of a shoe box<\/strong> and now the Apple watch. \u00a0As for computers, much like the old TV sets, my first one at work had a 10 inch screen with bright green letters on a black background<\/strong>. \u00a0I remember when, with more enthusiasm than talent, I hooked up our first DVR back in 1986 and it was a simple matter of connecting two coax cables. \u00a0Now…well, there is a computer in everything,<\/strong> from my fitness band to the washing machine. \u00a0And everything connects wirelessly<\/strong>. \u00a0Even the TV is now called a “smart TV”. \u00a0I don’t know exactly what that means but I know one thing, it’s a heck of a lot smarter than me.<\/p>\n I spent the next two days uttering language that would make a sailor blush.<\/strong>\u00a0 Somewhere over those 17 years I lost count of how many devices I’d hooked up wirelessly until, one by one over the weekend,\u00a0they stopped working<\/strong> – the printer, the wi-fi extender, both iPads and the cell phones. \u00a0Don’t even get me started on that “smart TV”. \u00a0If it’s so damn smart why can’t it hook itself up?<\/strong> \u00a0Honestly, would it be that hard for it to detect that there is a new wireless router and think “Gee, the old router is no longer online and there is a new router. \u00a0I think I’ll connect to that one.” \u00a0I don’t think that’s asking too much<\/strong> of something that purports to call itself “smart”.<\/p>\n In any event, here I am a week later, and everything seems to be working<\/strong>. \u00a0Of course, we all know that I’ve lulled myself into a false sense<\/strong> of security. \u00a0I’m guessing that within the next week something will go down and I will have to call Tech Support in India<\/strong> where “Dave” will walk me through all the things I’ve already tried before transferring me to someone in Poughkeepsie. \u00a0<\/strong>Some days that old black rotary phone looks pretty darn appealing.<\/p>\n P.S. \u00a0For those of you who kindly commented, and related your own stories, on my blog about “Un-Fun Money”, we can now add “new garbage<\/strong> disposal”<\/strong> to the list. \u00a0It never ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Suzanne Sparrow Watson This year I will hit a milestone birthday. \u00a0I have frequent reminders that I’m getting older, mostly from my knees and memory. \u00a0But these days the true test of whether one is on the “back nine” … read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Last week the intersection of technology and my ineptness<\/strong>\u00a0crossed when, after 17 years with the same phone and internet company, I decided I’d had enough of their slow speeds and faulty phone lines. \u00a0So on Friday a nice young man<\/strong>\u00a0from the new company showed up at our doorstep ready to install everything I’d need to wisk me through the digital age.<\/strong>\u00a0 He said it would take about an hour. \u00a0That was at 10 a.m. \u00a0Apparently our home, which is only 15 years old, is\u00a0the Parthenon<\/strong>\u00a0of technology wiring.\u00a0 At 4 p.m. he finally finished, having had to cancel every other service call<\/strong> scheduled for that day. I peered over his shoulder (which I’m sure he just loved<\/em>) to watch how he hooked everything up. \u00a0When it was all up and running he left. \u00a0Big mistake. \u00a0I should have kidnapped him.<\/strong><\/p>\n