Be Prepared!

I like to be prepared, and I thought I was. After hurricane Irma, I realized that while I had a generator, food, water, and tons of flashlights, I was missing a link in my communications arsenal. I'm a ham radio operator, so I could communicate with other Hams, but I couldn't communicate with my wife, at least not without carrying another radio. So, even though GMRS radios worked, I wanted something that would allow me to use our cell phones. Enter Gotenna.

Click here to checkout the Gotenna Mesh

I did my research and found several solutions, with Gotenna being the best IMHO. It's a small transmitter that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and let's you text and send your location to other Gotenna units. The more I thought about it, the more I could see using it on trips abroad, at concerts, sporting events...anywhere our cellular network fails. AND, the more units in your area the greater the range, because they mesh, just like Google home Wi-Fi or similar systems.

So check them out...BTW, I'm not affiliated or sponsored by them in any way, I just think these are a cool solution!

To Text, or Not to Text, That is the Question...

I was just reading an article on CNET on the CTIA show about how cell phone manufacturers are scrambling to create phones with full QWERTY keyboards that are not smart phones.  Why?  Because of the preponderance of people texting these days, despite the rising costs or messaging.  Makes sense, I mean what does a fourteen year old need with a a phone that has Microsoft Office anyway?  What didn't make sense was one of the user comments, which said in part, "And now a word from the age of the dinosaurs (i.e., people born before 1980) - I've never sent a text message in my life and I'm not going to start now. Not interested."  HUH?!?  I was born back in the '60's and I text like a mad man.  Granted, I work in a technocentric  industry (video production) with a lot of people younger than me, but hey if you don't text these days it seems like nothing will get done.  Yes, I still think it's important to talk with people to establish relationships, build trust, etc.  But, if you can't have a conversation (or don't want to have a conversation) a nice quick SMS is the way to get things done. Although, lately I've noticed a lot of people texting at lunch, and I consider this to be a serious breach of etiquette.   Everyone knows it's rude to speak on your phone during lunch, so why is it acceptable to text.  After all, you're still having a conversation with someone else, albeit a silent one.  Nonetheless, not cool.  

So, to recap... texting good.  Texting at lunch, bad.  Not texting at all, stupid.