Almost a Luddite
Apr 8th, 2007, 01:55 PM
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Almost a Luddite
Okay, I am typing on a computer and do not hate other people using machines, so I am not really a Luddite.
Still, I like going to Europe without my wife's cell phone. (I don't own one.) I traveled for years in Germany w/o GPS and can not see that changing. I would not know how to operate a PDA or an IPOD. I will confess to a digital camera but use it on automatic.
When I was first in the Army in the 70's, we got a home phone as my wife of the time was an OR nurse and was on-call. Therefore, in the Army emergency notification and alert system, I was responsible for knocking on doors to alert other service members in our village if we were called to duty or if there was an emergency message. The real point was that many service members did not have home phones and seemed to survive w/o them. Most of us wrote letters to stay in touch with home.
That was not unique to the military or to Germany. I was in a car wreck in a French village and wanted to report it to the police. We were directed to the house in the substantial village that people used for telephone calls. The French lady that owned the phone was evidently also the town mediator. She looked at our paperwork and assured me that the owner of the other vehicle had admitted that the accident was his fault. So, no call need be made. I took it on faith and it worked out.
I wonder if we would be more in touch or less in touch by traveling with our phones, laptops, etc.
Regards, Gary
Still, I like going to Europe without my wife's cell phone. (I don't own one.) I traveled for years in Germany w/o GPS and can not see that changing. I would not know how to operate a PDA or an IPOD. I will confess to a digital camera but use it on automatic.
When I was first in the Army in the 70's, we got a home phone as my wife of the time was an OR nurse and was on-call. Therefore, in the Army emergency notification and alert system, I was responsible for knocking on doors to alert other service members in our village if we were called to duty or if there was an emergency message. The real point was that many service members did not have home phones and seemed to survive w/o them. Most of us wrote letters to stay in touch with home.
That was not unique to the military or to Germany. I was in a car wreck in a French village and wanted to report it to the police. We were directed to the house in the substantial village that people used for telephone calls. The French lady that owned the phone was evidently also the town mediator. She looked at our paperwork and assured me that the owner of the other vehicle had admitted that the accident was his fault. So, no call need be made. I took it on faith and it worked out.
I wonder if we would be more in touch or less in touch by traveling with our phones, laptops, etc.
Regards, Gary
Apr 8th, 2007, 02:22 PM
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I'm a semi-Luddite. I do wish there had been a GPS system in the rental car I had years ago in the UK since I had no navigator & was driving alone.
Never had an IPOD or a PDA & so far, have resisted traveling with a laptop.
I don't care to be plugged into music all the time but if I were younger, that would probably be a different story.
I hate phones & one of the joys of my vacation is not having to answer one.
Never had an IPOD or a PDA & so far, have resisted traveling with a laptop.
I don't care to be plugged into music all the time but if I were younger, that would probably be a different story.
I hate phones & one of the joys of my vacation is not having to answer one.
Apr 8th, 2007, 08:58 PM
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I guess I qualify as a semi-Luddite myself. I wouldn't know an IPOD or a PDA if one came and bit me on the ankle. I do have a cell phone, which, after being stranded on the freeway at midnight on New Year's Eve with no way to call a tow truck, I carry when I leave the house. However, I can do nothing on it but make or receive calls. No text messages, no pictures, no nothing. Just a phone which I rarely use unless there's a family emergency.
I often wonder when I see young people walking across the nearby campus, with cell phone or music system clamped to their ears--do they ever just walk and think? It seems to me that when one walks for a time, one does a special kind of thinking ..about "stuff"...God, the universe, the meaning of life, and who really is the father of Anna Nichole's baby.
Maybe it's just me.
I often wonder when I see young people walking across the nearby campus, with cell phone or music system clamped to their ears--do they ever just walk and think? It seems to me that when one walks for a time, one does a special kind of thinking ..about "stuff"...God, the universe, the meaning of life, and who really is the father of Anna Nichole's baby.
Maybe it's just me.
Apr 8th, 2007, 11:31 PM
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LOL, I must get to bed but really..
Pegontheroad..yes one does not want all of the electronic stuff when one needs to consider life and its serious problems such as "who is the father of Anna Nichole's baby". Love it!!
But guess I am a semi-luddite also (although quite frankly not sure exactly what the definition is) as I have a cell phone which I never turn on unless I need to use to it which is rarely. I don't take my laptop anywhere with me and I don't have an IPod and don't want one etc. And no, I don't have a GPS or a PDA.
Pegontheroad..yes one does not want all of the electronic stuff when one needs to consider life and its serious problems such as "who is the father of Anna Nichole's baby". Love it!!
But guess I am a semi-luddite also (although quite frankly not sure exactly what the definition is) as I have a cell phone which I never turn on unless I need to use to it which is rarely. I don't take my laptop anywhere with me and I don't have an IPod and don't want one etc. And no, I don't have a GPS or a PDA.
Apr 9th, 2007, 12:14 AM
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I am apparently the most ignorant traveler on this board because I actually go to Europe with my own quad band phone and pay "rip off prices" to call home.
I have a portable GPS which I use when driving instead of engaging in "old fashioned map reading."
I have a PDA which I use to make notes for trip reports when I feel like doing so.
I sometimes take my laptop with me and sometime I don't.
The point is I can easily travel without any of these devices and have a wonderful time.
And, I actually leave tips in Europe based on my evaluation of service received even though I'm told all the locals will think I am an idiot.
I have a portable GPS which I use when driving instead of engaging in "old fashioned map reading."
I have a PDA which I use to make notes for trip reports when I feel like doing so.
I sometimes take my laptop with me and sometime I don't.
The point is I can easily travel without any of these devices and have a wonderful time.
And, I actually leave tips in Europe based on my evaluation of service received even though I'm told all the locals will think I am an idiot.
Apr 9th, 2007, 01:54 AM
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Servants are to be in reach all of the time.
Well, a cell phone is an useful tool, for those who need it, but you are on vacation, arenīt you?
There are post offices in Europe, there are telephone booths in Europe, and, a lot of people have cellphones in Europe, so one can kindly ask to use it in the case of emergency.
I was told, there are providers for cheap telephone calls in every town with an African community for providing cheap telephone calls (even in Leipzig I saw such a shop).
Are there Fodorites who have tried these providers?
Well, a cell phone is an useful tool, for those who need it, but you are on vacation, arenīt you?
There are post offices in Europe, there are telephone booths in Europe, and, a lot of people have cellphones in Europe, so one can kindly ask to use it in the case of emergency.
I was told, there are providers for cheap telephone calls in every town with an African community for providing cheap telephone calls (even in Leipzig I saw such a shop).
Are there Fodorites who have tried these providers?
