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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

The "Everybody's On The Phone - JB" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking on my smartphone.  Doesn't everyone talk on the phone ... all the time ... everyday!  It sure seems like it to me.  You do realize that it's been 10 years since Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007.  The smartphone has become the friend, perhaps the best friend, of so many individuals of all ages.  Good or bad?  For many it has been a godsend.  If you know how to use the GPS on your phone the chances of getting lost are pretty slim.  But, that's if you know how to use it.  Just when I think I know what I'm doing, I hit the wrong key and presto!  I end up on a dead end street. Now, I'm pretty good with the camera part of my smartphone and I enjoy using the set of gadgets I purchased that give me either a fisheye, wide angle or closeup photograph through the use of an adapter that I clip on my smartphone over the camera lens.  Takes a few seconds and they are sent to my laptop so I can share them with you.  Also use it for taking panorama shots and plenty of photographs while on vacation.  Someone asked me if I hold my smartphone horizontal or vertical when taking photographs.  Do you know that 94% of people hold their smartphone vertical when taking photos and videos.  Do you also know that filmmakers in Hollywood generally hold their cameras horizontal.  Been doing that since the 1930s.  So why don't people shoot video or take photos holding the smartphone the same way?  Hollywood says that vertical is great for capturing personality while horizontal is good for most other items.  Also know how to use my timer while cooking steaks on the grill and how to turn on the flashlight, but there are still many features on my smartphone that have outsmarted me for as long as I have had the phone.  I understand that the new version of the smartphone will be able to recognize my face or my fingerprint when I want to turn on my smartphone, but why do I need my phone to know who I am?  Starting to get a bit too personal.  All this smartphone stuff has begun an entire new generation known as the iGeneration.  Duh!  People no longer talk to one another face to face.  They would rather sit in a room by themselves and text or talk to others without human contact.  They do it all day long and into the night, stopping to eat a bite or get a few hours of sleep.  And, that's where the problems begin.  Fewer hours of sleep, too much time on the phone and we are growing into a society of hermits.  And this App thing ... there's apps for everything.  An app for the weather, an app you can use to buy groceries online, an app that will help you understand how to get an app, etc.  Many use their phone continuously while driving the car.  I love to blow my horn when someone obviously is using it when the light turns green.  Scares the crap out of 'em.  And, someone using their phone more than likely hit my mailbox with their car and took off.  It was back in 2006 when Jimmy Buffett recorded his song "Everybody's On The Phone".  Boy, how did he know what was going to happen?  Interesting lyrics that makes me wonder if he really knew over 10 years ago what was going to happen.  I will end with the lyrics for you to check out and also a YouTube video so you can listen to the song.  Think you can stay off your phone long enough to read and listen to the song?  I certainly hope so.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.


"Everybody's On The Phone"

Message in a bottle, rhythm of a drum
Smoke signals and telegraphs make the airwaves hum
But that's all ancient history like bongs and Lincoln Logs
Now we livin' like the Jetsons in a wacky wireless fog
Talkin' squawkin' hawkin' who knows if anybody's gettin' through

Toasters talk to crackberries, Boston to Bombay
Teenage schemes and Ma-bell's dreams as minutes tick away
We act like crazy people talking to ourselves
Crashing cars in conversation while that shit flies off the shelf
The information superhighways locked up like a L.A. traffic jam

Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Let me text you with your master plan
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone

Do you remember dialing up?
Yes I remember well
Now I just can't go anywhere with out that sacred cell
I think that I might die if I miss anything at all
Text me, send me an e-mail, link me up, give me a call
I'm ADD on AOL tryin to read the writing on the wall

Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Let me text you with your master plan
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone

Now I'm a real jungle jumper
I'm a megahertz man
I swing from tree to tree on the very latest plan
On the download In the dropout zones
In every major city 'cross the land
I got my Marley on my ringtone, get up, stand up, reach out, touch somebody man

Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Let me text you with your master plan
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone

Can you hear me?
Can you hear me now?
I gotta get over by the beerstand
Oh shit my batteries are going
I'll call you back


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