Thursday, May 10, 2012

fingertip fragments for friday

Enjoy free fragments from my fingertips. I imagine with technology like Siri, future writers may just dictate their writing. 

If you like FF posts then be sure to visit Mrs. 4444's blog. She has a whole catalog of FF links to share.


Mommy's Idea

As my fingertips hit these keys I’m reminded of technology’s impact. Our daughter just returned home from a final exam and had already checked her final exam grade via her smartphone (she is pursuing an advanced degree now). It just struck me how most people probably remember going back to the school to check a grade posting taped to the classroom door. 

Technology becomes accepted, part of daily life and then invisible. Do you think about the electricity when you flip a switch? Turn the shower faucet on and you might start thinking of your next blog post. I doubt you give much thought to the wonders of indoor plumbing. The internet is becoming water, electricity.




Don’t confuse marketing with technology. Did you hear this one yet? 
“In the category of you just can’t make this stuff up, a Chinese fashion company, Xiamen Jinzhi, is marketing a line of sunglasses under the Helen Keller brand.” 
Helen Keller sunglasses?  Really?  Here’s the story link.



This sounds like a stand-up-for-principle story. A bank customer sues his bank over $26.50. He is seeking a class-action suit (I hate wearing suits, they stop action) over the bank’s alleged practice of taking advantage of math errors. He made an error (bank got $26.50 extra) on a deposit slip and the bank didn't report the error or show it on his account statement.  This report here, goes into more detail but here’s the gist of it.
"Citizens Bank affirmatively masks or hides the actual amount deposited and retains and diverts customer funds into at least two accounts Citizens Banks maintains and control."

I don’t know if banks ever had great popularity but since 2008 they rank high as public enemies. Recently I finished the book “The Quants”. I am about finished with “The Big Short”. Both books take you behind the headlines of the 2008 market collapse. I actually feel like I could explain what happened in a general way. I now know what CDO and CDS investment products are. But the stories are much more than financial products. The authors introduce you to very interesting characters. One character, Dr. Michael Burry, saw the subprime disaster coming and he only had one working eye. 

Excerpted from “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine”, by Michael Lewis 
“He sensed that he was different from other people before he understood why. Before he was two years old he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, and the operation to remove the tumor had cost him his left eye. A boy with one eye sees the world differently from everyone else, but it didn’t take long for Mike Burry to see his literal distinction in more figurative terms.”


(proofreading provided by C. F. Eyecare)

23 comments:

Bearmancartoons said...

That cell phone reminds me of the big cell phones from the 80's

lisleman said...

 It's a little oversized but the screen looks like a big screen smartphone.  Maybe it comes on its own wheels.
thanks

Joanna Jenkins said...

I'm guessing "Helen Keller Sunglasses" won't sell well.... At least I hope they don't.  That's beyond tacky.

jj

Barbara said...

Helen Keller sunglasses? ugh! But it is amazing how we just take all of this technology for granted now, just like indoor plumbing and electricity. Wow.

lisleman said...

I agree.  Maybe we can write it off to Chinese not understanding American culture.
thanks

lisleman said...

As JJ commented maybe they will not sell.  When you have had time to see and witness the changes, it does make you stop and say wow.

wepearsons said...

Not liking the Helen Keller sunglasses. Have a great weekend!

Viridian61 said...

I've read that internet access bundles are right up there for most people as necessary utilities like electricity and water.  And they pay serious amounts of money for access too.

Profwaynewsmith said...

Helen Keller sunglasses?  Oy vey.  The use of technology by the younger generation is incredible.  My 18 month old will not remember what keyboards and mice were.

Jene said...

Have you tried the Dragon speech-to-text software? We have it at work and it's fun to play around with. I'll probably end up using it for my dissertation, but not for blogging.

Thanks for the book recs, I just added them to my list.

lisleman said...

 I have heard of it.  I'm not interested since I'm comfortable with the keyboard.  It must be good if you would consider it for your dissertation.  How many words is a typical dissertation?  thousands?
thank

lisleman said...

 I have heard of it.  I'm not interested since I'm comfortable with the keyboard.  It must be good if you would consider it for your dissertation.  How many words is a typical dissertation?  thousands?
thanks

lisleman said...

 yeah much like rotary dials on phones

lisleman said...

 You are not paying serious money for your access?  I am.  I remember dial-up was about $20 a month and I think the broadband should have stayed in the about the same price range.

lisleman said...

 I don't think it was meant to be a joke but I find it a little funny.
thanks

unknownmami said...

Of course now I'm wondering what grade your daughter got. 

lisleman said...

 That's not the point.  Funny how our minds work.  I believe she aced it.  thanks

Laurie Matherne said...

Yikes. Helen Keller sunglasses sound very tacky. I am glad someone out there understands the banking crisis. I don't have time nor the inclination. 

lisleman said...

 Understanding it and about $3 will get me a good coffee at Starbucks.
thanks

tettelestai said...

The only reason I do think of those things is the historic homes and places we have been recently.  It's easy to visualize.  I remember when computers made it big, I remember CD's, I remember DVD's...heck, my cousins and I rocked out to old 45's.

lisleman said...

 You are right that one's age makes a difference.  I also have memories of owning and playing 45's but most of my music was on LP's.  I think being witness the change vs. just being born into the new technology determines what you might take for granted.  Those 45's and the transistorized players were a technology that didn't exist in the 1920's.  Someone from that era was probably amazed but the 1960's technology.  Maybe 40 years or more from now old people will be fondly recalling the I-pods vs. whatever new gadgets exist.
thanks

Keetha Broyles said...

Technology funny:  My friend was waiting at a Red Box several years ago now.  An elderly gentleman was in front of him and was attempting to return his DVD with no success.  My friend spoke up and said, "Sir, you need to tell the machine what you are trying to do first."

At that the elderly man bent forward and very loudly said, "I'm returning my DVD now!"

TRUE STORY.

lisleman said...

 Thanks for the laugh.  Oh a touch screen can be very foreign to some people.

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