What is inside the Bawx?

Posted by random olio

I am a bit of a minimalist. That does not mean I do not get giddy when I find a unique item that I hope only a few others have, or maybe is even one-of-a kind. I would rather wait for that very special thing, rather than finding a zillion other items that I only partially like and that fill my closet only to be worn once, or not at all. No, I am one to cherish and wear out something I love. Chris often asks me why I get on a trend of an outfit, bag, or a pair of earrings. It is not that I am a creature of habit as much as a creature of comfort. I like something and then I latch onto it, and wear it in nicely.

So when I heard about Bawx, I thought maybe it was just the right thing to share the day after Christmas. Many of you may have gift cards or cash burning in your pockets, ready to hammer it out with other more than crazy people returning their Christmas gifts for a different size or color. I encourage you to wait a bit and think more about your purchase. Do you really need that thing? Or the other one? Or that one? Instead you can buy a cardboard box. Yes, that is what I said. You can buy a cardboard box.

Bawx is for all the possibilities. It originated when two guys started looking at how children play. The result is a company that raises conscious thinking and supports children’s charities. The idea behind it is that often children like to play with the box more than what is inside. I wholeheartedly agree, except maybe if there was an iPhone or iPad in that box. They tend to be kid magnets regardless of the age.

In any case, I hope that Bawx makes you think before you make a mad dash out to Best Buy today. Do you really need it? Will it eventually just collect dust on your shelf? Maybe instead you will buy a Bawx. Prices range from $24.99 to $499. I am intrigued, are you?

Has this gone too far?

Posted by random olio

Seriously? An iPad potty training chair. What has the world come to? While I do not have kids, I have worked with plenty of children, (daycare and babysitting) who were being potty trained. A good book often did the trick. I am sure there are a zillion ways to engage a child, and train them, as well as a zillion ways children respond. They are all different right? Yet, have we gone too far with an iPad potty chair?

My mind has visions of children growing up in grade school, high school, college, and then in the workforce, that can only do their business while holding an iPad. I mean I already have a husband that does his business with the news on his iPhone, and if that is dead, the default is a magazine. I am also an offender, I catch up on Candy Crush in the bathroom. (The only place I am truly a captive audience). No, I am not ashamed to tell you that I give a few mind-numbing moments of my day to Candy Crush.

Having said all that, I cannot even remember how I was potty trained, most likely I was given a book and told to come out when I was done. If we start early with iPads on toilets, where does that lead us? Does that become a security blanket? Why are we not teaching kids to come up with dreams, tell stories, sing songs, read stories, as well as teach them to sit and be. Maybe that form of meditation on the potty is just what the little tykes need in this non-stop, technology seeking world.

What do you think?

#saynotoiPadsonpotties

Fees, Fees, please no more fees…

Posted by random olio

I was talking to a colleague yesterday about the fees he incurred to purchase one $27.00 concert ticket. After the fee and order charge (which totaled $12.00) the ticket cost was $39.50, and that was using will call, so no shipping fees. So my question is: what does the $8.50 and $3.00 go to? Why not just post the tickets as $39.50? Is it like a plane ticket where depending on the website you purchase from, you sometimes have to wait until the final screen to know how much you are really paying in taxes + fees?

Fees and taxes seem to be on the rise across many industries. We all know the crazy airline fees and taxes we have had to pay in recent years. I am not sure many of us even understand what we are truly paying for when we purchase a ticket. Add on to that a hotel room, or a rental car. After you add-on the taxes and fees, it often feels like you have paid twice as much. It seems like it would be easier to just give the price to the customer inclusive of all the taxes and the fees. Although just a few weeks ago, airlines rolled out new fees that are supposed to make travelers happy. This article states:

“Extra legroom, early boarding and access to quiet lounges were just the beginning. Airlines are now renting Apple iPads preloaded with movies, selling hot first class meals in coach and letting passengers pay to have an empty seat next to them. Once on the ground, they can skip baggage claim, having their luggage delivered directly to their home or office.”

Now we pay extra taxes and fees when we purchase a ticket, to bring extra baggage, and for the luxury to not have to share the seat next to you. What will be next? Purchase an entire row so you can stretch out?

Does instant information mean too much access?

Posted by random olio

Last week Siouxsioux shared a comment on my recent blog: Photo Cops Suck:

“I agree — a “real” traffic cop stop is more humane and allows for exceptions. However, your wake-up call ties in with what I’m feeling in this spy-info-obsessed environment. We like 24-hour automated tellers, expect instant assistance from Google and appreciate GPS-assistance complete with photos of where we’re going or where we’ve been … but no one likes being spied upon. If we keep willingly giving away info and expecting instant, automated assistance, at what point does it lead to too much outside control … with no turning back?”

Siouxsioux’s comment really made me think of how often I am impatient and frustrated when the gadgets in my life are not moving as fast as my brain might be working. It reminds me of Louis CK on Conan O’Brien a few years ago. The part relating to our world of automation starts around 2:45 in the video clip. Another great section is at 3:25 regarding our impatience with the Internet not working while flying on an airplane. He later says how a plane flight now consists of, “you watch a movie, take a dump, and you are home.”

There is a balance of instant access to information on our iPhones, iPads, and laptops, and what security and privacy we may not even know we are forfeiting while searching and utilizing that information. As Siouxsioux mentioned, I wonder at what cost. I know I am slightly addicted to the Internet. Well, more that slightly addicted to instant information at my fingertips. I am assuming that Words with Friends knows how often we play, or how addicted we are, Facebook can tell almost anything about our lives, our local library knows what we read, the grocery store you frequent knows what you eat and buy, and Amazon can tell a lot about your spending habits. If someone put that all together, I am sure there would be plenty of information for your shrink.

So where is the line, and have we already crossed it?

Handwriting or typing on a computer/iPad?

Posted by random olio

I am a fast typer. I could not tell you where the keys are on the keyboard. Yet, when the thoughts form in my mind, somehow without really thinking about it my fingers go fast and I watch the letters slide across the screen. How does my mind know so quickly which direction to move my fingers? I do not think about it, it just happens. Except for the random word with a z. That usually slows me down just a bit.

My typing has got me thinking about the lost art of real letters that we write with our fingers. With a pen or pencil. It seems these days schools are not teaching cursive or the art of true handwriting. Kids today know how to text faster than they can order chinese food, they have a language that only they can decipher. Yet, I wonder if true legible handwriting is extinct? Does it mean that in the age of texting, Facebook, and email that we have lost the personal touch and flair that happens when a personal note is shared with another individual?

I did not learn keyboarding, typing, or computers until the fifth grade. These days children are not even learning on computers, they learn on iPads. I have no problem with that, they already learn in a way that no other generation has learned. It is different. Their brains are or will be wired differently. It will breed a generation of adults that think in a way that we cannot even imagine. Yet, I am concerned. There is a design and art in handwriting.

Is handwriting lost forever?