Tech it or leave it

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Back in my Gaelic (Irish) football-playing days, when the extent of strength and conditioning training was often little more than running and sprinting, I was quite the stickler for following the exact course of any run.

Tech-ache: The rules of engagement are constantly changing. 

For example, if we had to do laps of the field, I wouldn't cut corners — I'd stay outside the lines of the pitch, which was what we were meant to do. And it annoyed me when more laid-back teammates didn't follow these rules. Cheating so-and-sos.

If they happened to finish before me, I'd console myself with the belief that their disingenuous actions would work against them in the, um, long run. (And, quite literally, over longer distances this was usually the case. Or at least the short-cutters would generally finish behind me in such pursuits. It was a different story with sprints. I wasn't blessed with blistering speed.)

'Play up, play up and play the game'

My latent Catholic beliefs no doubt played a part in this mindset. The sinners would be punished for their devilish deeds. OK, they could confess and receive absolution but knowing the characters involved, I figured it was unlikely they'd fess up. 'Mine shall be the Kingdom of Heaven.'

It's one thing, though, being obedient and rules-bound in training. It's quite another to bring that attitude to a competitive game, where winning is everything and your opponents will do what they can to defeat you, including bending if not exactly breaking the rules of engagement. To paraphrase the Kenny Rogers classic, Coward of the County, sometimes you've got to play a little dirty to win.

Or, in a less violent sense, at times you've got to play the field as it is, not as it once was or as you'd like it to be. If not, defeat is inevitable. To avoid that outcome you either adapt to the new conditions or find a different game to play — if that latter option is possible and desirable.

This all resonates with me on various fronts. The most pertinent one is continuous technological advancements, particularly AI, artificial intelligence, in all its forms. For if I continue to play the content creation/multimedia game and dream of better results, there are tools I could use that would most likely enhance what I produce and boost the chances of growing my reach. Yep, still chasing those dragons.

'It's like a man going to battle with a bow and arrow even though some of the most advanced weaponry is at his disposal.'

Now, I've no intention of using AI to write blogs for me. Not only do I view that as beyond cheating — it'd be like a footballer replacing himself on the field with a potentially better robot clone — but it would also be counterproductive personally. I do, you might be shocked to learn, enjoy writing and I like to try to better myself at it, challenging and frustrating as it oftentimes is. In any case, no AI can write like Wrong Way, right?

Laptop lassitude

Where the latest creative technology can be of assistance to me, it seems, is in the making of vlog versions of my blogs. The means, I believe, already exist to make such videos slicker and more eye-catching without much extra effort compared to the crude ones I currently create for Spotify and YouTube. I just haven't dabbled in these means yet.

A general lack of enthusiasm to turn on my laptop these days plays its part. And this laptop lassitude is made more acute in Colombia's hot lands, so my current base of San Martín de los Llanos in the Meta department doesn't help in this regard. Plus, I lack a suitable office with a WiFi connection here — I find it hard to do computer work where I cook, eat and sleep. San Martín, though, is good for me in other ways, I must add.

With my smartphone, I can easily write anywhere. But creating videos requires laptop work. One has greater scope and precision working with a mouse and a bigger screen. Or at least it used to be the case that a computer or laptop was needed to make videos that require a degree of editing. Perhaps the latest smartphones and certain applications make video creation a breeze on phones now. I've had my device, a Motorola One, since 2019; practically a relic in 21st-century tech terms. But if it ain't broke . . .

At play, too, is my minimalist approach and general lack of interest in cutting-edge technology. I use only the apps and gadgets that have become next to essential for my modus operandi, no more, no less.

Nonetheless, to come back to the football field, while I'm still running laps to try to get in shape, most others in this game are working with the best strength and conditioning techniques available.

It's akin to a man going to battle with a bow and arrow even though some of the most advanced weaponry is at his disposal.

So, I either change the way I attack or choose to fight a different war. A blend of both might just be the best option right now.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

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The Great Reset

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

There's been much talk of the pandemic ushering in a Great Reset. Depending on your viewpoint, it's either a positive opportunity to change how we live or it's an attempt by the controlling elite to exert even more influence over us, to ensure our subservience to the overlords.

The use of mechanically propelled transport will be severely curtailed.

Whatever the case, on the individual level, many of us have been reappraising our lives throughout these hokey-cokey times (by hokey-cokey, I refer to the 'one foot in, one foot out, shake it all about' lockdowns and other such restrictive measures we've experienced of late).

With both a desire by some to live a more virtuous life and a potentially enforced Great Reset in mind — heavy on grand rhetoric but light on specifics as the latter appears to be — here I suggest changes to a few key areas that, if implemented, will surely have us within touching distance of salvation. Until the rules of engagement change again, that is.

Travel and general movement

Good news first. There will be absolutely no restrictions on moving around for those on foot or push-bike (we're not sure about rollerblading and skateboarding — they seem a bit too radical). In other words, self-propelled movement, as in using your own energy to get around, is limitless. No interfering state here (but it will be tracking you, all the same).

For those who feel the need to use transport whose motion is propelled by means other than one's own energy, there will be a daily limit of 20 kilometres. While this may seem quite tight, you will be allowed to accumulate unused kilometres. So, for example, if you didn't use mechanically powered transport for two years straight, in the third year you'd have built up 14,600 kilometres to use. What more could you want?

Needless to say, billionaires and world leaders are excluded from this — and all the following measures — due to the fact that civilisation would end should their ability to operate be curtailed in any way.

Food and drink

Similar to travel, there will be no restrictions on what you can consume provided it is sourced within a — give us a number — OK, 50-kilometre radius of where you live.

To be clear, by sourced I mean grown or reared within that catchment area.

'As we're nearing the end of history, references to the past will be removed from the internet. It's time to look forward guys, not back.'

All other foodstuffs will be subject to very punitive taxes, the exact details of which have yet to be finalised.

Clothing

In line with the previous — can you guess what's coming? — there will be no limit on the purchase of clothing whose raw materials come from inside a 50-kilometre radius and whose fabrication also occurs within that area.

Outside of that, the restrictions are as follows:
- No more than five units of each officially recognised undergarment per person per year, i.e. five pairs of socks, five boxers, five vests, five knickers, five pairs of tights, five bras.
- No more than two upper-body items of clothing per person per year.
- One lower-body item of clothing per person per year.
- One suit per person per year.
- No more than two footwear items per person per year (there will be an associated campaign to get people to walk barefoot more often — think of it as bottom-up toughening up).

Technology

All citizens of the world will be provided with a smartphone that must be kept switched on during one's active hours.

What's more, everyone must have a Facebook account and spend at least two hours per day on it — no problem for many, that.

People can publish whatever material they wish, provided it meets the approval of the moderators. In addition, material can be removed with no prior warning and no reason needs to be given. 

Moreover, users can be banned from posting material should these faceless, answerable-to-nobody moderators see fit to do so. (Please note, the identity of moderators is not revealed in order to protect all of humankind.)

Finally, as we're nearing the end of history, references to the past will be removed from the internet. It's time to look forward guys, not back.

That's enough to take in for now. I'll be back with more later. In any case, it's an impressive blueprint for a better future, isn't it?
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

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Taking the time to think

Many of us were brought up with, and still adhere to, the old adage, ‘The devil makes work for idle hands’. 

In other words, not having anything to do invariably leads to negative occurrences. Thus, to keep out of harm’s way it’s all about, to borrow from Rihanna, ‘work, work, work, work, work’; always having something to do, always being busy. Indeed.

Playing the bored game

However, there is a growing appreciation — backed up by research — for a little bit of, if not quite utter idleness at least a bit of boredom in our lives. The thinking is, in today’s always-connected world, we don’t leave enough time aside to actually think. It’s all go, go, go.

Disconnecting is good for us ... (Image from ClipArtPanda.)

What’s more, even in our downtime, a lot of us are staring at a screen, plugged into music, messing around on our phones or suchlike. There are distractions all over the place preventing us from truly switching off and getting in touch with our minds on our own terms.

Where once the daily commute to and from work could be used as a time to ponder, now it’s rare to find somebody not fiddling with their smartphone. (Heck, even the old sanctuary of the toilet is under attack, be it with people using their devices on the throne or rushing the experience so as to get back to work.)

For sure, a lot of people don’t view using the latest app or whatever in their leisure time as a bad thing, but research suggests that it can adversely affect creativity. 

A case of when we’re using such things, even if they’re educational, somebody else has already done a large part of the thinking for us, so to put it. (Where alcohol, to a point, stimulates the creative juices — so some like to think — being too busy, too "switched on" impedes them. Sure didn’t some of the best Irish writers of times past like a drink every now and again?)

From a personal viewpoint, not having a smartphone, nay any phone, these last few days — a forced absence due to a theft albeit — has been quite refreshing (we’ve found the silver lining in this cloud).

Nonetheless, and unfortunately in certain aspects, not being in the smartphone loop these days can mean missed work opportunities, especially for independent workers.

What’s more, for those of us working in areas where the internet is a fundamental part, there are many pros to having a smartphone. In effect, it’s a convenient, pocket-sized office. So what previously was considered lost time, like waiting for a meeting to start, can now be used more productively.

In theory, this should free up other time to be used as we see fit, at our leisure, letting our minds wander. In practice, however, it often leads to us trying to squeeze more smartphone time into our days. 

Rather than letting the battery die, many of us frantically search for a power point. ‘Sure I couldn’t be without WhatsApp for 30 minutes now, could I?’

Another angle to all of this is multitasking. Modern technology has allowed us to have lots of things on the go at once. What can happen here is that we fail to devote enough time to any one of them to complete them properly. A variant of the old ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ line.

As we’ve said before on similar themes, it’s all about balance. Finding time in a busy, always-on-the-go life to pause, take stock, let the mind drift, this is important. This little bit of helpful ‘boredom’.

On the other hand, however, there are those who perhaps think too much, question what they are doing, where they are going to the point where it becomes a problem in itself. This can be a momentary thing, like after the death of a loved one or some other life-changing incident, a natural reaction really.

Yet, if it’s more long-lasting, it’s more than likely a sign of feeling unfulfilled, believing our lives lack purpose. 

In this scenario, the cure may be found in fewer moments of boredom or excessive thinking and more action.

Whatever the case, bored or busy, keeping that dastardly devil at bay, that’s the key. Most of the time anyway.
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Going underground

By the very virtue of the fact that I maintain a blog as well as being a paid contributor to an on-line media group, the internet and its associated tools are important for me. 

Indeed, for practically all journalists and writers these days, it's almost an essential part of the gig, especially for those trying to get their name 'out there' or build up a following. Of course, the same could be said for most, if not all, professions.

A life in the wilderness ... ... perhaps it'd get boring after a while?

Therefore, and only looking at this from a work perspective not a social one, when it fails you, it makes your working life damn difficult, frustrating and close to impossible. 

You could say it's like an old-school trench digger without a shovel; the whole operation becomes infinitely harder.

OK, while a man being asked to dig trenches mightn't be too bothered if he's without his shovel through no fault of his own — it should mean a less taxing day — the majority of us who rely on the internet tool get stressed out when we don't have it.

In Bogotá's historical centre, La Candelaría, where only one seemingly incompetent operator, ETB, is the provider, irregular, unreliable service is par for the course; as is the case for many things throughout Colombia you could argue.

Now, I've been trying to let it slide, to not get worked up about it. There are far worse, life-or-death problems both here and elsewhere that make no internet connection pale into insignificance. 

It's a First World issue being played out in a Second/Third World country. But when you pay for a service where a large part of your income depends on its functioning as promised, it can be hard not to lose the cool when it frequently fails.

It does, however, make me dream about being in a position to leave the communications loop, to go underground so to put it. That is, not to be reliant on the internet and all associated with it; both good and evil as these things can be. 

About the only way you can do that, though, is if you escape from the madness and go to live in the middle of the jungle or some other wilderness, completely removing yourself from the modern world.

Maybe it's time to return to some more honest work? (Photo: firstworldwar.com.)

It must be said that, in many ways, I am a conservative technology user as is. I'm still pretty much a smartphone novice, with my use of it limited enough. It enables me to write practically anywhere I am and WhatsApp is a cheap way of maintaining work and social contacts. 

For both monetary and switching-off reasons I don't have a data plan. So I can only use the phone to its fullest when I'm connected to Wi-Fi and that's enough. When I'm out socialising I don't need to be checking e-mails or engaging in virtual chats.

Yet the idea of totally withdrawing from technology and virtual communication while still living in the modern world is akin to becoming a nobody (I'm not quite there yet, so I like to think). Invasive technology has come to dominate our lives in almost every facet; not being part of it puts you at a distinct disadvantage.

That being so, the key is to try and take control of it, not let it control you. We need to find the balance and know when to step back from it. The machines may be rising, but we're still the ones at the pulley.
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Computer says "no"

There have been numerous movies in recent years – too many to mention – that depict scenarios where computers/technology take over the human race. Most people put such stories very much in the realm of science fiction: How could the creators of these machines be mastered by them?

"Eh OK, but what do you say?"

Well, you don’t have to go too far out of your way to see that this process has already begun. 

Something you can call the traffic light approach to life. That is, an inability to do anything unless a system gives you permission to do so. It’s a phenomenon that was brilliantly parodied by the ‘computer says no’ lady from the British comedy sketch show Little Britain.

Now, while it might be humorous to mock, being on the receiving end of such behaviour is generally quite the opposite. 

As a rule, those who live their lives this way tend to ignore the physical realities staring them in the face if they don’t match up to what their piece of machinery tells them. 

Of course, it’s always good to have a scapegoat or to relinquish all responsibility whatsoever, and in this technology age many people shove all the blame and accountability on to the computer screen sitting in front of them should there be any problems.

Take the following example. Having commenced a new twice-weekly class for a client here in Bogotá, we had been entering the industrial estate where the company is located trouble-free for weeks, registering with security staff at the main reception each time, as is required. 

Then, one day, one of the security staff who had been dealing with us regularly tells us that we can’t enter. 

“Why so?” 

“Well I’m sorry but the system doesn’t recognise your document number” (well, it was said in the gruff Spanish equivalent of the same). 

“But it’s us, standout extranjeros/foreigners (and thereby infinitely more trustworthy than locals) and we’ve been coming here for weeks – we teach a class for 90 minutes and then we’re out again. Surely you can let us in?” 

“Nope, you’re not on the system and therefore you cannot enter.”

Crap!

Cue a few choice expletives from ‘Team Wrong Way’ aimed at the controlled-by-technology security man (perhaps that should be robot) and that was that. 

The students didn’t get a class that morning, although, thankfully we still got our payment. Cheers to BSR Idiomas for that – the best English language institute in Colombia bar none (we’re still good for that 20K Colombian pesos plug deal Robert, right?).

The above instance is just one of a number of similar experiences we’ve had in the last few months since we started work here in Bogotá. This is not to say that it’s solely a Bogotano or Colombian occurrence – though, it does seem quite endemic here. 

It’s just that due to the nature of our work (see The money tongue http://bit.ly/V8ELH4 for more) we’ve been unlucky enough in having to face it in these parts more regularly than in any other location. 

However, more or less by definition many in the developed world are much more ‘corrupted’ by computers.

That ambiguous phrase, ‘to think outside the box’, may be doing the rounds for some time but thanks to the rise of technology, it has taken on a whole new, clearer, meaning. 

That is, try and use your own brain from time to time rather than letting a square lump of wires and chips sitting in front of you dictate your actions. Perhaps, though, judging by the way some people behave it’s best that a computer makes the decisions for them.

The monster cometh — beware.

In our Unsocial media post a few weeks back, we wrote about how people’s overuse of social networking sites may see them living like hermits but with technology. At least, in this regard, they may still be able to use their own initiative. With the computer-says-no mentality, however, we run the risk of severely hampering people’s innovative skills.

So, while technology – arguably – has vastly improved the way we live our lives and has put previously difficult-to-obtain information at the fingertips of billions of people, there are obvious drawbacks.

It has been argued before that laziness, not necessity, is the real mother of invention. So is the human race on the cusp of being consumed by what can only be described as true, suicidal laziness? That is, to submit the use of our brains to technology.

‘Frankenstein's monster’ walks menacingly amongst us.