oliviatamccue

Travel is like an interlude on a different life trajectory before returning to the familiar orbit. The different perspective brings sharper focus how routines have changed over time.

It starts with packing the luggage.  Years ago, when commodities are not as globalized, we pack in stuff that may not be readily available in the arriving cities; not any more, it is more that we need to bring money in case we miss something these days.  Wait a minute, we don’t need to bring money or travelers’ checks neither, we bring “global” cards and the ATM machine would flush out the right currencies. Globalization and technology deserve credits for these conveniences.  At the same time, technology occupies the luggage with more electronic devices and their accessories than ever before.  It has not been long when bringing a laptop has been a practice more for the computer professionals on business trips.  These days everyone is bringing some sorts of computer devices.  For my household of 4, in our 2014 trip to Hong Kong, there are 1 Kindle Fire, 1 laptop/tablet, 1 laptop, 3 smart phones, 1 Nintendo, 1 iPad; a total of 8 devices, an average of 2 per person; and not to mention the 2 local phones that have been arranged.  And these devices have their own “friends” as a big bag of adapters, power plugs, and bundles of cables in the luggage.

In recent years, airline check-in could be done online in advance with seat selection and boarding passes – another technology enabler. When we get on the plane, the most frequently asked question is not the flight time, but whether the plane offers Wi-Fi, power supply or personal in-flight entertainment.  Not that many years ago, people bring books or magazines; now hours can be killed with an electronic device.  Food quality has improved but it is still intriguing why it remains so hard to make the food taste as good as at the ground level.  Maybe technology could get us there too.

Fast-paced cities, like Hong Kong, bring home the influences of cell phones.  Cell phone used to be of the size of water bottle and can be used as a defensive weapon when needed.  Now it is more of a personal choice with size to fit in the pants’ pocket or with size more pleasing to the eye; the cell phone at times become more of an essential than the wallet used to be. On the subway, three quarters of folks, regardless of their ages, are busy on their phones – games, text, videos, movies and only once-in-a-while that they are talking on the phone.  And in the subway, there is a frequent announcement to remind folks to not only pay attention to their cell phone while riding on an elevator.  Is the phone (aka telephone) still being used the same as what the dictionary has defined it to be – an apparatus, system or process for transmission of sound or speech to a distant point, especially by an electronic device?

Have the conveniences brought by these smart devices also stealing time to do other stuff that does not rely on the smart computer?

Posted in About Learning, Dear Diary