48 HOUR TECHNOLOGY FAST

LIVING IN THE 50's

I chose to attempt a 48 hour technology fast while celebrating my 9th anniversary with my wife in Las Vegas.

In order to set the proper mood for this endeavor, I booked a two night stay at the Golden Nugget Casino. The Golden Nugget was built in 1946, definitely in the pre-digital era. 

Upon arriving, we went to the check in desk. In order to follow the spirit of the fast, I pre-printed all check in documentation so that use of my smartphone was not needed. 

As for activities in Vegas, our plan was to do as little as possible. After unpacking and getting settled in, I reached for my phone, picked it up and remembered that it was in airplane mode. This was my first realization that the next 48 hours was going to be a definite change. 

Throughout our time in Las Vegas not only was I technology free, but my wife's phone would not connect to WiFi nor cell data. So essentially we were both without the convenience of technology. The time we spent together felt more carefree and we were more connected to one another. 

Normally when in Vegas we travel to new restaurants and look for new places to discover. This trip was markedly different, our vehicle did not move from where we parked it when we arrived, until we left for home. Because of this we spent quite a bit of time walking from place to place, and enjoying the sights and sounds around us.

Our disconnect from the digital world helped to spur important conversations. In these conversations we set goals to limit our family screen time at home. 

In all, this 48 hour time period was a great learning experience, and a benefit to the whole family. 

DEVICE REVIEW

ANOVA SOUS VIDE

The Anova Sous Vide is a water circulating temperature controlled cooking device. 

This device can be used anywhere there is a 110 volt receptacle. 

I believe this device can be revolutionary for: Students, Travelers, Home cooks, and Anyone who is obsessed with perfectly cooked healthy meals.

The Anova Sous Vide is linked to the Bluetooth of your smart device to intelligently cook the items you wish.

The simple user interface allows you to set and forget.

After intelligently cooking your item to perfect temperature the Sous Vide will reduce temp and hold the item at 130*, ready to serve when you are.

Benefits:

• Cook in any container that holds water (even plastic)
• Achieve professional cooking results
• Low cost compared to other cooking devices
• Pack-able
• Safe
• Tech friendly
• Low cooking temps
• Preserves nutritional content

*APP Review*

aWALLET PASSWORD MANAGER

Home Page

Categories

Password Generator

Permissions

Feature Matrix

APP Creator

Data Entry Fields Customization

Pros:

• No data connectivity permissions
• Password Generator
• Import / Export data
• Can be backed up to Dropbox / Google Drive (Upgrade / Cloud)
• No Ads- Even in free version
• Data export to USB in all versions .csv file

Cons:

• Only available on Android OS
• If not backed up, break your phone, loose passwords
• Easy to loose complex auto-generated passwords
• No data import in free version

The Medium is the "Mass-age"

I did  not intend to jump down the rabbit hole when studying the sayings and content of Marshal McLuhan. Nevertheless I write to you from a subterranean bunker while monitoring my attempt at electric 

re-tribalization via Facebook.

I continue to puzzle over the meaning of “The Medium is the Message”, what I have translated thus far is the idea that we are surrounded by the medium. And because the medium is ubiquitous, the message by the same token is also an all-encompassing one. This creates a form of circular reasoning that is impossible to reconcile with a single perspective.

With a topic that is so simplistic, yet confounding we are required to recognize that the new mediums of technology are bringing us ever closer to the singularity of medium and message. I don’t attest to understand the underpinnings of the way technology forces us to take notice of and implement the use of these mediums in order to effectively deliver our intended message. What I do understand is that without the recognition that the medium and message are intricately intertwined, we are at a great disadvantage as communication professionals