This Is This

I got a new phone yesterday. It’s black and shiny and it makes calls, records video clips and stuff like that.

I know lots of phones already do that, but I’ve had the same mobile for about five years. It didn’t have a camera, it couldn’t receive video files or use the internet properly, but it made calls well and the battery lasted about a week and a half on a single charge, and it came free with work, so why change, right? It was also tough as hell. The body is all cracked up but it still goes, and how many of us can say that?

Now the trouble starts. I have quite an obsessive personality. If I read a book about the US Civil War, I will stay up until very small hours for weeks afterwards browsing websites for accounts of the battle of Gettysburg. If I watch a TV show I like, I programme the PVR to record every episode, then get cranky if I don’t make time to watch them. That’s why I have never seen an episode of The Sopranos. I know what I’m like.

On the plus side, I rave, I am passionate, I enthuse and delve. The downside, is that I become blinkered, obsessed, needy, like a child.

My wife knows this. She said last night, before I had said anything: “You’re not going to tell me about your phone non-stop for the next two days, are you?”

I had said nothing. I was reading leaflets. Of course I won’t. Now why would I do that. Listen to yourself: “…next two days….” Who would do that?

So my phone, right.

I was reading leaflets, and that’s how it starts. Now I want to know everything about what my phone can do. If I don’t know it, it’s a waste. What does 3G mean? I mean, really mean. That’s why I was up until the early hours of this morning pouring over features. And it seems all right.

I like how technology can teach us things about ourselves that we may not have known. We learn about our characters as we programme them. It’s a nice affirmation of the shrinking space between things and us.

Rob, is that a TIT4 statement?

Either way, have a good weekend. And that goes for everyone. I don’t want to hear it. Now go on. I’ll be right here. The guy with the shiny black phone.

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Related post (although not strictly to this)
I have been writing about blogging a lot this week and remembered this post, which you might like.

Also on This Is This
I don’t often hand it to the French, language-wise, but they have one or two bon mots every now and then.
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This entry was posted on Friday, November 2nd, 2007 at 8:36 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed, or you can skip to the end and leave a comment yourself.