Weebles Wobble but they don't fall down. That's the marketing statement for this 1970's British toy.
I recall throwing my Weeble Bus in the road, along with it's full load of Weeble passengers, whist having a tantrum at 5 years old. I don't recall the reason for the hissy fit but I remember being very upset at the time - especially after my self-defeating moment of destruction. The bus was in bits, but the Weebles - true to their marketing claim, merely wobbled and lived on to see another day.
I kind of feel like the Weeble people at the moment - thrown in the road of life - getting bashed around, but still re-righting myself to live another day. Thing is, how many more times can I be thrown (or more likely - throw myself) in the metaphorical road of life, before the self-righting mechanism breaks? There's going to be a limit and I really don't want to approach that limit any time soon through my self-destructive lifestyle.
Enjoyment of the summer time seems to be the paramount objective for me right now. I'm sure that's the same for most. It's peak season and yet there's not been enough sunshine moments. For one, the sun hasn't been out much here in the UK but also, there's been too much alcohol and late nights to fully take on board the vitamin D from daytime environmental activities, plus too much depletion of the energy levels in general to keep from fully bouncing back up again.
The seasons mostly determine the activity we do from day to day, what we choose to do at the weekends and keep up doing as a routine over the coming months.
The winter is mostly becoming a no/low drinking season for me (alpine holiday aside), with the spring a mostly no drinking (Easter and birthday aside), bike riding/general fitness enhancement season. Whereas, the summer has become an endurance test of sleepless weekends, roller-coaster recovery weeks and balancing my sanity when the work responsibilities require much more than a dulled brain power. Autumn as I recall from last year, is a time for recovery and also a battle against the habits that have built up through being repeated throughout the summer months. A tough resolve is required to right the Weeble during this time. Every year seems to be getting tougher and I'm not sure if it's the age difference, the excessive levels reached - or maybe a combination of both. One thing is for sure - in order to keep the Weebles righting themselves, the amount of wobbling needs to be reduced. August will be a big month. An early swan-song for the summer and an even earlier start to the recovery & rejuvenation season starting September.
Technology ages faster than us. Just like cats and dogs, we think of our equipment's lifespan in terms of years whereby, 1 human year is the equivalent of 10 years for something like a smart phone. I left my (still sprightly 30 something year old equivalent) 2013 5s at a friend's house yesterday and am currently tapping out these words on my old 2012 4s. Comparing the phone and features, I can see there's really very little difference in how the other newer phone works. In fact, I kind of like the weight and sturdiness of my older 4s considerably more.
We've become so caught up in the advancement of technology, that we can be suckered into believing something completely adequate for the job, is defunct and useless. We spend the equivalent of a week's luxury holiday on a piece of kit, that if we're completely honest with ourselves, has very little extra to offer from the expensive piece of kit recently marketed out to the knacker's yard - and evidently still capable of doing the job as well.
One thing that I remember at the time of the iPhone 5 launch, was the (slightly) larger screen being touted as a real game winner. And coinciding with the launch of iOS7, rightly optimised for the extra screen space, there were obvious gains to be had upgrading to iOS7 for this 'new' fandango technology. I, on the other hand, chose to jailbreak and add the then missing nifty features to my perfectly functioning iOS 6 4s device. Strange how my phone worked a treat and other 4s user, fed up with their now sluggish iOS7 driven device, gave up with their ancient (6-12 months old) phone to get the benefits of whatever new features the latest version offered - but at the normal speeds experienced by new adopters on the most current model. Apple are pros at marketing. They have done a great job of re-packaging the same thing over and over ever since the iPhone first launched just a short time ago in a little over nine short human years. The new iPhone, due out in just a few weeks time, will be the same phone, badged as being revolutionary, I'm sure.
Don't Believe The Hype
It's not just the phone and computer manufacturers trying to convince the world that they really do need the latest gadget on the market - car companies are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. Yet, whenever I'm driving my 41 year old Mercedes SL, I can't really see much difference in the ride quality, in fact, I'd say the ride is superior because I can still hear the engine, feel the road and 30 still feels fast to me around town - 70 is exhilarating on the motorway with the roof down. This car is the last of the great cruisers. They don't build them like this any more - otherwise, why buy a new car? So what if I have to wind the window up and down by hand. I already know the fuel economy is low compared to a Prius - that's because I'm driving a V8. Do people really watch that Eco-fuel reading anyway (and weren't the fuel economy results all bogus)? A driver's focus should be on checking the road for hazards. The only other function apart form adjusting the temperature, should be to change the volume on the stereo as far as meddling with in-car entertainment goes. Otherwise, plug in the iPhone 4s to the Aux for some tunes and navigate with it's perfectly functioning SatNav, readily supplied by Google maps, perfectly adequate kit to reach your destination.
The above commercial, with iPads covered in cream leather, the key feature of essentially, the same overly expensive car (with an already outdated bit of kit by the time it was aired), was, incidentally, shot on an iPhone 5s. So there you go - a 30 year old piece of kit (in technology years), really cutting it back then in 2013, to create a pretty slick premium advert.
So, if you believe the kit you have now is becoming a bit slow and out of date - it's because you're being suckered in by the marketing from the technology giants in a very lucrative market - the smart-phone market. With the re-invented wheel, surely comes a (I know it's cynical), built-in obsolescence with the current model. But if my jailbroken 4s can even run Siri (not that I need it anyway), as well as the other gestures for fast app switching shipped with iOS7 and beyond, as well as provide the (now standand) revolutionary features from 2007, like play music and videos - in exactly the same way as the very first iPhone could do, then why do we keep falling for the same tricks? Perhaps it's because technology became so exciting as a way to improve so many already dull lives and supposedly offer us life-enriching possibilities. Or maybe we've become obsessed with stuff we don't really need...
Less Is Most Definitely More
A thousand songs in your pocket? That was the original iPod advertising slogan. And it's so much more now with improved WiFi and 4G streaming options that we're really spoiled for choice. And the same goes for other media content. I have over a thousand books saved on my iPhone 4s. But I only have one set of eyes, so I have to limit the options - otherwise there's choice overload. So I've narrowed it down to a very generous half a dozen books on my 5s. I like listening to new music - but the value is lost when I'm racing through an artist's blood sweat and tears to get on to the next track, album or genre. Too much choice in my music library is making it harder to choose what I want to listen to. I'm literally getting lost in music! To prevent this, I now aim to listen to an album a few times over - just like I used to. I'm even ditching music from iTunes and the like - because I don't need it. Chances are, I'm never going to listen to it again anyway.
Pay Attention
Attention spans have shortened across the board. We're addicted to the buzz of technology without actually appreciating what it can offer us any more. Look at all the bored couples in restaurants. Nothing to say, but instead, grabbing a smart phone for a fix of anything they can get, rather than make an effort to chat. We need to switch off and tune in a lot more to what's really going on in the real world.
Technology Downtime
When technology works and makes our lives easier- great. But when it's trying to replace jobs that can be done just as well as before - for the sake of it? Switching the lights on with an app. Nah, I'll use my good old fashioned finger, thanks. It's bad enough playing around with a troublesome router when technology fails. My recent time-eating experiences of technology problem-solving, have woken me up to a very clear realisation. Why waste all that time fixing a problem that wasn't there in the first place - especially when the light switch was just a finger-click away? Hence, like many others I know, I'm steadily moving towards a more lo-tech future to realistically make my life easier.
I'm also moving back to a pre-tech social state of being. We all tend to grab our smart phones on auto-pilot these days. Next period of downtime, observe how you go for the phone without even thinking. Because of this mild addiction to technology, the next holiday, I may even leave my phone at home, dig out my Sony Sportsman with maybe 2-3 D60 cassettes with a selection of tunes and pack only two easy-read paperbacks to occupy my mind with. Sure I'll get lost on route without Google maps, but at least the girlfriend and I will be talking again - plus that's another part of the fun we're missing out on by not having a map and navigator in our pockets too - arguments aside, we discover more of the things we didn't know we were looking for.
I Love a good wedding. So I worked hard all week plus splashed out a fair amount of money purely to get my car ready for the wedding of a couple who I'd never met before.
Organising a wedding is stressful. There's a lot at stake to make sure the day goes well and a lot of people to please. Hence, hiring my car for this event meant I had to step up my efforts to deliver a well presented vehicle that would make not only make the bride and groom happy but be impressive enough to the rest of the wedding party to satisfy everyone that the best efforts had been invested.
Arguably, I over-delivered on my offering. My time and expenses were high. l should have charged more for the 'just married' number plate. I should have charged for the additional flowers and to make the drive more of an enjoyable experience, I should have included the option for chilled champagne in the price. It's a lesson learned for next time on making the best of my time and offering.
But I am very pleased that the car made the grade on this occasion and this experience will definitely spur me on to promote the car for future jobs where my impact will be a positive influence in the lives of others on that special occasion.
Attending the funeral of an old family friend this weekend plus seeing a little girl at the beginning of her journey, I'm again reminded of how great life can be, how short it is and how important it is being a positive influence in other people's lives if we are to get the best out of our time here.
Childhood Influences
John was an abused child. He was treated with cruelty by his parents and lacked the love shown from his family to equip him with a capacity for loving others. His childhood set him up on a path in life. He influenced others in many ways - both good and bad. Failed marriages, relationships and business ventures. But fortunately, he had good people in his life that gave him love and it was through them, that he learned to love. So, from a poor beginning, he eventually had much love in his life - particularly nearing the end. There was a lot of appreciation for John's life and the positive influences he had on others. This fact was evident at John's funeral as we listened to the speeches given to us by close family and friends.
We are all influenced through our life experiences. But we still have a choice in how we absorb these moments and use the influences to determine our future. Cruelty, hardship and poor parenting can create a cycle of behaviours that pass on down through the generations or we can make a decision to improve our lives through breaking the patterns created through poor influences.
Meeting my girlfriend's sister Vicky and 6 year old daughter Charlotte the day after the funeral, one can clearly see how a family can effect the life of a little girl at an impressionable time in her life. If there is struggle and poor peers around her, there will be higher chances of creating a troubled little girl. But if there are positive people around her and uplifting, happy, carefree moments experienced, then the life of this little girl can be a reflection of the good childhood she's had and not a dysfunctional one. She needn't battle her way through adolescence, make many mistakes in her early adult years only then to discover later in life, what has been holding her back all this time - as perhaps John did towards the later years of his life. She can be helped now and guided on to a happier path. And so it is up to me, as a positive connection - an influence in Charlotte's life, to ensure my moments with her and my connections to the family, are the ones to bring harmony and happiness. We are all connected in many intricate ways. It's up to us to be fully conscious of how the actions and non-actions will influence those around us.
We need to recognise when important moments of trust, respect, solidarity, reliability and courage - enriching actions and defining impressions - are bestowed upon those around us that can, in turn, go on themselves to share their positive influences to create a network of positive connections in the world.
It's a stark reminder of life but with some down time at work this Friday, I found myself watching a fascinating series of videos about the final stages of life and ultimately - death.
I confess, it's not the most uplifting of subjects for a Friday afternoon, but what these videos did for me was remind me of the inevitable end. Who knows how it will happen or predict when it will come, but come to us all, it certainly will. Time has one direction and our short lives tick away every second.
Friday came and went in a blur. Last weekend felt like it was just yesterday. Without my daily diary reminders, I wouldn't be able to recall what I did this past week let alone in the past 6 months. Time is racing along and we really have to hold on tight to every waking moment if we're to get the most from our experiences out of the time we have left remaining. Our last breath could literally be just around the next corner, so seize the day.
I'm not one to dwell on morbid issues, but we all need a regular reality check to keep us focussed on living life. Too many are walking dead - daydreaming through the greatest moments of life. Too many are squandering their best years doing nothing worthwhile and regretful of what could have been - only becoming aware of the pending finale when it's too late to do anything about it.
Grab Life
After a few too many drinks on Thursday, I clearly needed to get some quality rest and head home for a good night's sleep. But, after another full-on week of work, this was only possible for me after a few more drinks were had and some Friday fun. Friday, as a marker to the end of a working week, should be celebrated by everyone. All those who are healthy and able, should get out - raise a glass and toast the arrival of the weekend, the glory of summer, the good fortune of having someone to love, to be loved, to remind us of those who are with us no more, the ongoing pursuit of happiness, freedom and of being alive.
