Day: January 22, 2013

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Wild About Harry

Can you imagine having every moment in your life poked and prodded by the media? I’m not talking about the crazies (some of them) who willingly submit to so-called reality television. With instant coverage a given in this tech world, Prince Harry is among one of the most-watched people in the world. Why? He’s 28; he’s a royal; people love to be voyeurs – pick your poison.

Prince Harry is ending his deployment to Afghanistan and the media was allowed to trail him for a bit. What you see and hear is a man who has grown up in the spotlight, and clearly does not like it. He’s been captured in Las Vegas with his pants down – literally and in other locales doing, well, what many 20-somethings do – having fun. Yes, he can be reckless, but thisPrince Harry makes a pre-flight check is the time when you are supposed to test the limits – within reason. There’s a great line from the fun chick-flick “Sex in the City.” Carrie tells her assistant, Louise, “Enjoy yourself. That’s what your 20s are for. Your 30s are to learn the lessons; your 40s are to pay for the drinks.” So true.

Now, Harry will return to his buttoned-down royal duties. And despite his disdain for the media and his fervent wish that the cameras would just all magically break when they get pointed at him, he’ll be relentlessly pursued by the media as he continues his bachelor ways. You can only wonder, what would Princess Diana think about how her boys have turned out and the media frenzy that can surround them. Unfortunately, she lost her life in that frenzy, something her sons have to live with and cope with daily.

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Too Much Tech

I just got through breakfast without first checking my phone and email. That is something I haven’t done in a very long time. It seems we’ve gotten to a point that unless we log in, point, click, reply, update, delete, before we’ve even had a cup of coffee, we are behind the rest of the world.

As I write this, my phone is buzzing reminders to me and it’s all I can do to not stop what I’m doing and see what I’m supposed to remember. We don’t really need to remember much anymore. Remember when you had dozens of phone numbers memorized? Now, you’re lucky if you can remember your own phone number let alone any other phone number.

PhillyMapWhen I was growing up, I remember my parents handing me a road map when we were on a drive somewhere. They would say, “Find where we’re going and the route we’re taking.” That map-reading skill is something else that is going away. Too often, we type in an address to our phone or car GPS and let the animation take us where we’re going. For me, I like the feel of the paper and enjoy folding that map up correctly (Yes, I know that is a nightmare for many people.).

Finally, I miss my film camera. I know digital photography is amazing and I do love my new Canon Rebel T3i. But I am back at square one when it comes to getting the photographs into all of my devices. I have an Eye-Fi card that makes is “easy” to transfer your photos from your camera to your computer, iPad, phone or other device. The learning curve is a lot more complicated than I want it to be. I need time and patience to navigate the new normal. I will have to budget several hours with no interruptions to figure this out. Remember the days when you had to figure out how to install the film into your SLR? Life was simple – and sometimes I miss ‘simple.’