Generally I am quite attached to my mobile phone. It is my alarm clock, my calender alert (yes, as well as my Filofax), it is my substitute watch, a notepad, a camera, a quick link to my email, it houses games for moments of boredom, provides me with newsflashes, it is an mp3 player, a radio, a vital source of information, a sat nav and a Kindle. Occasionally, just occasionally, I send and receive texts and sometimes use it for phone calls. The battery life is none too clever so I am always hooking it up to the one plug socket in the kitchen that seems to be the "Charge Me, Charge Me Now" favourite. At any given time this plug socket will have a mobile phone and a Nintendo DS hanging off it with more mobile phones and various mp3 players in the queue with literally seconds-worth of charge left in them. And woe be tide anyone who unplugs the charging gadget before its juice is completely refilled!
The other day I was sat looking at all the wires dotted around the house that keep me switched on and clued up. It's definitely a sign of the times that everything I use needs plugging in and charging up (me too on the odd occasion). I regularly drain my laptop battery when working in my study because I forget (or can't be arsed) to take the power lead upstairs. I then have to sit at the uncomfortable end of the settee because the wire doesn't stretch any further. Yes, I do realise that buying a second power lead would solve all these problem but I never do things the easy way.
For all my love of technology I do wonder if I'm a bit too "wired"? I would love to ditch the mobile phone and laptop for a week or so - in fact, when we went on holiday last year I really did disconnect myself for a full two weeks (OK, I logged on four times in an internet cafe but that was because I was waiting for an assignment score from the Tutor From Hell). I read about eight books, countless magazines and wrote lists of ideas. It *was* really good to step back from it all but the temptation is a bit too strong at home.
Disclaimer: I had this post half written when I was offered the Powermat to try. I have been using the Powermat 2x Mat with Powercube which retails at £69.99. Its intelligent system means that as soon as the battery is full, the Powermat stops using energy - fab for the environment and the battery life!
PS: Since writing this blog post, we have lost the use oftwo three mobile phones:
Enter, stage left (or via the letter box... whichever visual you prefer), the Powermat. Kev had been looking wistfully at these online and was wondering if it was worth forking out £70 just to tidy a few wires up. And through the wonderment that is the occasional opportunity that lands in my email inbox, we got one to try a few days later. It is now sitting in my study, happily charging my mobile phone with a comforting 80s video game "bleep" each time I un/plug the Powercube. (The Powermat has different adaptors to enable you to charge different devices and two devices can be charged at the same time using either a Powercube or a special cover for your device. Have a look at this video to see it in action - it's a bit nifty... I love it!).
The other day I was sat looking at all the wires dotted around the house that keep me switched on and clued up. It's definitely a sign of the times that everything I use needs plugging in and charging up (me too on the odd occasion). I regularly drain my laptop battery when working in my study because I forget (or can't be arsed) to take the power lead upstairs. I then have to sit at the uncomfortable end of the settee because the wire doesn't stretch any further. Yes, I do realise that buying a second power lead would solve all these problem but I never do things the easy way.
For all my love of technology I do wonder if I'm a bit too "wired"? I would love to ditch the mobile phone and laptop for a week or so - in fact, when we went on holiday last year I really did disconnect myself for a full two weeks (OK, I logged on four times in an internet cafe but that was because I was waiting for an assignment score from the Tutor From Hell). I read about eight books, countless magazines and wrote lists of ideas. It *was* really good to step back from it all but the temptation is a bit too strong at home.
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Disclaimer: I had this post half written when I was offered the Powermat to try. I have been using the Powermat 2x Mat with Powercube which retails at £69.99. Its intelligent system means that as soon as the battery is full, the Powermat stops using energy - fab for the environment and the battery life!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
PS: Since writing this blog post, we have lost the use of
- One was being used in the bathroom, the back fell off and was flushed down the toilet
- One is so old that we can't remember where it came from and the speaker is failing
- One has teenage tendencies and is being temperamental
