The blog... here it is. There it is. It's up, it's alive (very much) and it's, frankly, refreshing. For a start, my parents can't even operate a VCR (I'm absolutely certain they could do it ten years ago, even as recently as five) and here is a man (50 not out) who can not only use the most up-to-date technology available but actually understand it (and the related acronyms)!
Then (and I've had to pause in my reading of said blog so I don't forget to mention this), in the middle of all this marvellously well-informed techno-blogging, he, in a single sentence, both uses "IMHO" and informs us which of these high-tech devices "more or less stink". To me this evokes much the same delight as, while walking the streets of Paris, passing the elegant buildings, poodles, and patisseries offering delicate delicacies, and turning the corner to find oneself engulfed in the overwhelming cacophony of sight, sound and smell that is an African market in full swing. Well, almost the same delight. The same goes for having a Nokia Thingumibob stick out of Oscar Wilde's jacket pocket. Brilliant.
I must confess that I am far from savy in these matters. I have recently borrowed a mobile phone (though never owned one), most of my cameras still take film (though that's pretty difficult to get for Kodak Brownies these days) and I got an iPod because they do look nice. Not sure how you replace the stylus though (the needle, not the thing you write with). Wouldn't want to damage my records. I've got this wonderful portable device (which I found in a box under a pile of papers in a corner) which lasts for days before it needs charging. It could do with more ink at the moment actually. It's very compact, with a threaded lid which guards quite nicely against leaks. I'm not a luddite, as such. Just a retrophile.
I do have some questions. Is SMS threading as difficult as trying to rescue a draw cord whose end has disappeared into the seam of a garment? Is a PC suite more comfortable than a Presidential one? Are SmartPhone designers allowed to be on Countdown? "WinMop, AMP, Psetamab, Nimap, ITP, NIS..."
I'm amazed to find that anyone can talk about a realm so complex as these devices in a similar way to how Clarkson talks about cars. Cars I understand. Cars have moving parts (at least, my triumph Herald does) and dashboards with dials and switches (not a widget in sight on a Herald).
My hat, therefore, comes off to one so clever as to perfectly grasp both as much knowledge as is available in an encyclopaedia which might still come in volumes and contain page numbers, as well as a veritable expertise in the field of objects that are capable of squishing an entire world of information into something so small that Oscar Wilde could have had it sticking out of his jacket.
