Category: tools

Toys or Tools

Many things can be both toys and tools. With so many things doing multiple jobs, it is easy to lose sight of their primary use in life. And that is okay. Remember it’s not all the tasks that a piece of electronics can do, its how people use the electronics to start with.

Many of the major electronic systems on the market will overlap each other in use by a large degree. They were designed to do this. What once was the purview of a desktop computer quickly became the use of a laptop, which allows us to take our office with us wherever we need or desire to go.  Downloaded work on the laptop can be accomplished almost anywhere, although it is easier if you have a connection to the internet.

The tablet took over from the laptop, doing most of the same work on a platform you could carry in your hands and a 7 to a 12-inch screen that was easy to read and handle just about anywhere. The tablet can do anything from playing games, to face to face conversations, to reading books, playing games or even running your business, the modern tablet far outstrips the old desktop computer, and the better computer tablets give laptops a run for their money.

Nowadays, with a smartphone, you can do almost anything that a computer or tablet can do. It can do this work over a cell tower or an Internet. And many tasks not requiring connections can be done without either a cell tower or an Internet. The phone can take a picture of what you want to organize. The phone can take a picture of the excellent work you did so that later on when other people mess things up, you can explain why it’s their turn to fix it. You can record and save your shopping list, control your calendar, your library, read books, watch movies, and do many more fun activities.

So are electronics time stealers who rob you of precious moments that you could be doing something else? Or, are these machines safety devices which keep you connected to the world allow you to perform most of your needed tasks and required planning? It depends. Electronic or not, a machine is just a machine. A computer can either do or not do whatever the user desires. They perform safety and emergency functions as well as communication and services of relaxation and enjoyment. The machine has no real intent of its own. It only does what is asked of it.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

How You Use Your Tools

I used to be much more substantial than I am now. I wanted to be thinner. I wanted to have the energy and the stamina to go out and do more things. I would go down to the store and pick out exercise tapes and bring them home. They never really worked, and I am not sure why. I used to lay on the couch for hours and watch them, and they never seem to do much good for me. I wonder why?

I know people who buy bug-spray they never use. Their kitchen cabinets overflowing with cleaning supplies, to the point they can’t get the newest purchase into the shelves. Tools that don’t get used and camping gear that just sits idle. And yet, the actual answers are easy. Get up and go do it!

The tools to make your life easier is great. Yet any device by itself is of little use to anyone if not actually used as intended. Does this sound like work? Might we break a sweat? Can I do it in 15 minutes? Yes, yes, and probably not. If you’re going to do something you must get up and go do it. Very little ever happens from the couch or the La-Z-Boy recliner.

It’s great that you have an exercise video. The fact that you purchased cleaning supplies means you know what needs to be done. And camping gear shows motivation. Now you have to make plans and go do it. Cleaning up the house? Try an hour a day. If you don’t have an hour, break it up into two 30-minute sessions. Maybe one at the beginning of the day and one in the evening. Plan a hike. Choose a weekend afternoon or morning, a place to go, and then make sure you do it. Just remember to make it fun.

If you’re going to use exercise tapes, check with your doctor to make sure that you are healthy enough to do so, and then try them out. At first, do so in small doses, maybe 30 or 45 minutes at a time. You might even consider making exercise a social venture. Find a gym or group in your area that has exercise programs or dance programs that you might enjoy.

There are many areas you could use these ideas in, not just the ones I’ve mentioned. Tools are great, but things don’t do the job, you do. The exciting thing is, usually the more you do it, the happier you become with the results.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Your Tools

There is new and fantastic software, both free and paid, out on the market today. It is much better than what we had a year ago. And probably, it’s nowhere near as good as the new software that’ll be out six months from now. Thus the rush, to have the latest and the best. We do this because we believe having the newest and the best will put us at the forefront and make what we offer and sell both the most original and the best.

Unfortunately, the idea of buying the best makes us the best is a fallacy. In our minds, we know this. And yet, the shininess of the new tool that does everything for you and the slick sales pitch always plays with the mind.

Imagine two competitors for a carpentry job. The first competitor is just out of school and has the newest all-in-one power tool that will do absolutely anything. And yet, the young man has not really built very much by hand.

The second competitor. Is an older gentleman with a dusty toolbox containing a handsaw, a hand drill, a T-square, and a worn hammer. All these tools were given to him by his father. The older man has built cabinets, tables, chairs and other projects every week since he was 13.

You need new cabinets built for your kitchen. Knowing what you know about these two carpenters, who do you give the job to?

You do not need to have the newest of everything. What you need is the working knowledge of and expertise in your craft and trade.

Please comment on this and let me know what you think. And have a good day. We will talk to you again tomorrow.