Not a relaxing coffee.
I am on the train to a customer this morning and bought a coffee, since I didn't have time to brew one at home before leaving. Once on the train, I had a sip, grabbed my laptop out and started reading a few random things before settling into write, as I booked a seat with a table in the middle, as normal - if I can. There are several on each train that don't require extra payment and since I am heading into the middle of nowhere, there is space. I took another sip and noticed a wet coffee ring. That's weird - I don't remember slurping it and I always triple check the lid to ensure it is secure.
Bloody cup was leaking.
The seal at the bottom was rapidly giving way and with it full and nowhere close by to pour it out, I had to scull it down like a frat boy losing at beer pong. Suffice to say, it wasn't the relaxing coffee I had in mind when I bought it. I guess the caffeine still works the same though.
And I think I will need it, as I only scraped in at five hours of sleep last night, since I can't sleep too early, and had to be up again at five in the morning to get to the train on time. That is okay - five hours is only an hour or so less than what I normally get, but, it does make a difference. I think that while I sleep quite little in comparison to many, I reckon I am a pretty efficient sleeper, mostly falling asleep within 10-20 minutes, and not waking up too often throughout the night, especially now that I have the CPAP machine for my sleep apnoea. So, this means that losing an hour or so has more of an effect on me, as it really makes an impact on the quality. However, I also have plenty of experience living life on too little sleep, so the noticeable effect to others is probably pretty low.
I decided to write a post rather than answer comments first, because the connection is cutting in and out. This way, I can write and it will save occasionally, without me losing it. However, I think I will have a break for lunch (not always guaranteed) that I can get to some comments.
While it is frustrating to lose connection on the train, I am not one of those people who complain too hard about it, considering that we are travelling 200 kilometres an hour through the middle of nowhere, and I am sharing my phone connection to the laptop. I could connect to the train wifi, which would likely work fine, but you know - public networks and me are not the greatest of friends. So, given all this, I can understand a few connection issues and going offline.
I think we get spoiled too quickly.
Once we have access to something, we seem to expect we are entitled to always have access to it. A new technology advances and we rapidly forget what it was like not too long earlier. Dial up 28.8k modems was where I started on the internet, with pictures loading visibly a pixel at a time. Downloading even relatively small warez programmes took up to a week. And internet porn was only images.
We are now living in the lap of digital luxury (in much of the world) yet forget that we are actually not entitled to anything in this life at all. It doesn't matter what we think we deserve, or even what the norms are, the universe just doesn't care. So while we feel we should get something, it doesn't mean we will. And being a good person or a bad person, doesn't really affect some of our outcomes. The "good die young" is far from the whole truth, but what it represents is that no matter what one does, randomisation doesn't care about just desserts.
Justice is a human concept.
And when it comes to being "online" I think that we should probably spend more time at least partially offline, as the view from the digital landscape warps the perspective of reality. Just like becoming accustomed to technological advancement, we start to expect certain outcomes based on what we consume digitally, which shifts our own behaviours and expectations of others. We create personal filters and heuristics on our consumption, and they don't always align well with the reality we face, so we end up in situations we are unprepared for, and unable to cope with well.
Disconnecting for a while and actually living in reality with some level of awareness, will very quickly uncover many of our various biases that we have created and allow us to reprogramme our conditioning. And it is conditioning, which yes, is largely engineered by corporations to control and milk us, but we have to be a willing partner in the crime, choosing to keep on consuming blindly.
Like many, I have been limiting my own connection to the digital world for some time, and spend very little of my screen time on pure entertainment. Instead, I see screen time as an opportunity to do something useful, not as an escape from doing something useful. Not always of course, but probably ninety percent of the time.
I guess I am not an outlier.
But I do think that on average, most people use digital spaces as an escape and avoidance tool a lot of the time, but justify their activity under various reasons, like relaxation. Yet, I wonder if it really is a good way to relax in front of a screen, or if it is like smoking where the relaxation comes from the easing of the desire, the addiction. I suspect a lot of the latter.
Maybe I am justifying also.
Taraz
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A few days ago, my son and I were riding on a high-speed train (Swiss-made). Two soft seats next to each other, folding tables on the seats, and plenty of legroom. They brought us coffee. Everything was great, the views out the window at 150 km/h, and sometimes I'd open my MacBook.
Everything was fine, except for one thing: paper coffee cups (almost all of them have a plastic lining) release a lot of microplastics into your hot drink. I definitely need to come up with something, because I love drinking coffee while traveling.
There are probably microplastics in it already. Everywhere....
Yes, there is. But much less than what's released from a glass, thousands of times less.
It's crazy to think that we used to be okay with all the "dithering". I think camping is when we most appreciate having WiFi and get frustrated when it doesn't work. We've had more than one instance of a storm bearing down on our travel trailer and being able to look at the radar is quite nice. Especially during tornado season.
:D
I had totally forgot the word!
When you are out camping, is the phone connection enough or do you go so far you need something more?
In Finland, there are almost zero dead zones for phones in the entire country. There are a few valleys way up in Lapland I think.
We have a hotspot that I use for my laptop. Work pays for it just in case I need to VPN into the network and fix a server or something. It's pretty rare though. We are usually outside enjoying nature, so our phones are usually more than enough.
I do think screen time becomes an addiction. Been limiting screen time myself for a while now. Mostly behind the laptop for school work and Hive anymore. Turned notifications off on my phone.
Anyway, glad the CPAP is working for you. I was diagnosed with Obstuctive Sleep Apnea years ago when still in the military. Helped me tremendously. Wife used to have to elbow me at night to make me start breathing again. They are literally life savers.
This is a big one for many people. Even if not checking the "ding" it still breaks attention.
Strong elbows? ;D
Oh, it aggravated and worried her to no end. Yes, she has some strong elbows and it also saved me from bruised ribs :-)
That is a great point about how we take modern tech for granted when the internet drops for a second. It is true that being constantly glued to our screens can slowly warp the way we see the actual world around us.
Everyone with sense will agree that taking a break to step away from the digital noise is a good way to reset our minds.
The comparison between scrolling on our phones and smoking an addictive cigarette is a really eye-opening and powerful way to look at things.
It makes a lot of sense to use technology as a productive tool rather than just a mindless escape from our daily lives.
What is the internet stability like there?
Fiber broadband in major cities is reliable but submarine cable faults and national traffic filtering often cause unpredictable slowdowns.
The leaking coffee was an opportunity starts to the day. I also agree that we get used to technology very quickly and forget how much easier things are compared to before. Sometimes taking some time away from screams once in a while can really help us see things more clearer.
Even if it is something useful, I still think we are justifying it... I tend to do things online that are useful (like my work) or research, etc. But in reality it is all the stuff I like to do, so it really is using the same reward mechanisms as an addiction...
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck ... then it must be a duck.
i drink a lot of these nowadays..
I also like to go offline sometimes and actually look forward to the next blackout..