GRIZ BEAR COMMENTS | It seems life is just getting too complicated

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Sometimes it just seems life is getting too complicated. What was once just a simple task now requires so many steps a fellow hardly wants to take it on.

It may be technological advancement to have the latest cell phones, digital cameras and computer programs which do just about everything, but whatever happened to the old axiom: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?

I used to be able to go out with a film camera, take light readings, compose a photo, click the shutter and get back from the processor a quality print with beautiful color and detail. Now, for the sake of convenience, I take all the same steps and then have to crop, sharpen, adjust color and contrast andsend it off to a printer, just hoping their machine will read things the same way as I read them on my home computer. And more often than not, the results are less pleasing.

Though I lived the majority of my life without the convenience of a cell phone, I have to admit that I like my old cell phone better than land lines. It’s nice to be able to take the phone with me and make and receive calls when needed, but why would I want to carry a bigger and more cumbersome cell phone with me everywhere for the sake of all sorts of other applications which I already have on my home and office computers? I’m not supposed to use them while I’m driving anyway and it would be unsafeto do so since I need to focus all my attention on those who are texting and using computer apps while driving on the wrong side of the road. And why would I want to give up the simplicity of a phone which works well for one with minuscule numbers and so many other apps I have trouble using the telephone?

Speaking of phones, how much better it was to receive a busy signal than to have a call picked up by an answering machine or - worse yet - recordings full of menu items which lead to nowhere I want to go! And how hypocritical it is when the recording says, “Your call is important to us; please stay on the line.” I figure if my call was really important, someone would answer the phone and talk to me!

You can ask Mrs. Griz how much I hate it when I’m put on hold. I think I must kind of turn green and growl like the Incredible Hulk, though I think a more fitting name for mewould be the Incredible Bulk.

Of course, I must admit that figuring out how to use the new technology sometimes takes more effort than I really wish to put into it - I hate reading lengthy owner’s manuals when I only want to do what was a simple task. If I put the effort into it, perhaps some of the newest technology wouldn’t seem so daunting of a task to figure out and use. But by the time I get it figured out, someone goes and changes it all - to make it better, of course.

We have a new phone system in our office to replace a more simple system in which one person answers the call, says it’s for you and hangs up after you pick up the call. Now we can put callers on hold and transfer calls between stations while the caller listens to less-than-tasteful music, I’m told.

The only problem is that none of us can seem to figure out how to transfer the calls - we thought we had it figured out last week, butthe same procedure doesn’t work this week. We end up disconnecting customers and losing calls somewhere in cyberspace. Retrieving voice mail poses a similar problem for us.

We are, however, working on it, so things may turn out all right after a little more effort or some training to help us figure everything out.

But the complication isn’t just with technology; it’s spread to everything. What was a simple and often inexpensive task just isn’t that way anymore.

It used to be that a fellow could work on his home, put up a fence or shed and do pretty much what he wanted on his own property. Now even the simplest tasks require engineering studies, ecological impact analyses and numerous permits and licenses. I’m almost afraid to hang a birdhouse in my back yard for fear of violating some law or ordinance of which I wasn’t aware. I’d hate to find that hanging a house for one species of backyardbird might offset the balance of nature and drive another backyard bird into extinction.

And whatever happened to common sense and just doing what’s right without it being necessary to have it spelled out in ordinances, codes and regulations? It’s about impossible to do good without some government agency’s permission!

I suppose I’ll have to save most of my complaints about federal government complications for another column. The Feds would certainly top the list if I were giving out a Most Complicit in Complicating Things Award. Of course, I could simplify matters and just point out how all its complicated government programs are simply a buyout of power - a topic for another day because it’s a bit complicated.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by e-mail at rmoll @ nwaonline .com.

Opinion, Pages 7 on 09/01/2010