Screen time

I've spent the last couple of days on the topic of simplicity vs. environmentalism. So far I've hit on cars and cell phones. I've talked about how they can detract from our interpersonal relationships in addition to being bad for the environment. I think that this next point is taking it to the next level. Interpersonal relationships are important, but I don't think any are as important as those with our family. Televisions, video games, this blog that I'm writing and you're reading, they all take you away from your family (it would be the ultimate compliment to me if you stopped reading right here and went to spend time with your family). I suppose that you could argue that my bike commute also takes me away from my family, but if I didn't commute by bike I would still enjoy going for bike rides and I would still need to find time to exercise. Besides, my bike time is great alone time and I think that is important.

I want you to do an experiment. Go find a movie or TV show from the 60s or before and start watching it. Count the time between changes in camera angles. This is not just scene changes, but a different view of the same scene. Now I want you to find something on television today (besides sporting events, they seem to be an exception to this trend). If you want to maximize the effect, change the station to MTV. Again, count the time between changes in camera angles. Now I'm going to give the results of the study away. It used to be that there was a lot more time between changes of camera angle. Now you will often find that the camera angle changes almost every second (I believe i read somewhere that it averaged between 2-3 seconds).

So who cares, new technology has made it easier to edit footage, so now there are more changes, how is that bad? While the technological advances are part of the reason for change, it is also demand. People demand more stimulation (you can't tell me that the television industry wouldn't take the easy way out if they could). Shows have to be ever changing and exciting to attract viewers. The same is true for video games. You have probably found yourself bored reading my blog, that is because I don't use a lot of pictures or visual break-ups on the screen. I could do a lot more to hold the reader's attention, but that's the entire point. If you aren't here for content, I'm not trying to attract you... Except my family, they just want pictures of the boys, I doubt they enjoy my random rants.

I want to give an example. We don't own a television. We do, however, own a small portable DVD player that we occasionally use for movies (it's cute having the family of 4 gathered around a 8 inch screen). Last night I was watching the boys while my wife went to a friend's baby shower. I had some grading for one of my classes that needed to get done, so I suggested to my older son that we watch a movie. He refused and suggested that we draw something out of our activity jar. (It's a jar of ideas of things to do so that when you feel that you don't have anything to do you can be given an idea... our boys LOVE it!) So we chose a slip of paper that said the boys were supposed to draw something and then I was supposed to copy it the best I could. Then we would change roles. The Mugwump drew a dragon and I copied it the best I could (it was unsatisfactory to the original artist). I then drew a picture of a boat. The Mugwump could identify what it was, but was unwilling to try to copy it.

That was the end of the drawing game, it was then time to go learn about the dragon and the Mugwump taught an amazing lesson about dragons and what we should know about them. Six-Pence participated in that entire thing, but his artistic abilities are still developing, as are his communication abilities so it was a passive participation. I would have missed that opportunity to play with my kids had I watched a movie. I would have missed the opportunity to show my boys that I love them more than the light box. My older son would not have had the opportunity to teach a lesson on dragons. My younger son would not have had the opportunity to sit in a "class".

Are there good things on TV? Sure... whatever. Are the "good" things on TV better than spending time in reality interacting with your family? My answer would be, ABSOLUTELY NOT! Oh, but the TV is how I relax... Read, read to your kids, watch your kids play, learn to draw, learn to play an instrument.... Do you really depend on the TV to relax, or is it just an excuse?

I don't drive very often, but my family owns a car and we do use it to travel longer distances.

I don't own a cell phone, but I would if it would allow me to live off the grid.

I don't own a television and under no circumstances, not even if you offered me lots of money or a new bike, would I ever own a television. Of all the changes I have made toward simplicity, I think that not having a television is by far the best.

Simplicity vs. Environmentalism

Phil commented the other day to contend with my distaste for cell phones. I agree with almost everything that Phil said. Cell phones probably don't pollute any more than the wireless phone that I have at home (as long as I don't trade it out every year for a new one), and the cell phone could certainly be handy if I ever get the chance to live off the grid. The main problem with cell phones is that people consider them expendable and they end up contributing a lot of nasty electronic waste to landfills. I agree with Phil, aren't necessarily a terrible invention and they may even provide opportunities that wouldn't otherwise be there.

I'm not going to speak for Phil because I don't really know Phil, but I think our differences lie in the words simplicity and environmentalism. It seemed to me that Phil took an environmental approach to the discussion, which is fine. I agree completely that the environment is important and something we need to be working to save. My main goals in life, however revolve more around simplicity than environmentalism. The reason that I don't like cell phones (beyond the fact that most people dispose of them far too regularly) is their social impact. Will the social impact of cell phones have a negative impact on the environment? Not that I can see, but I do see the impact on people and communication.

I have been in college since the late 90s and things have changed a lot since then. I used to be able to walk out of a huge class, find someone heading in the same direction as me and start a conversation. Now I leave a class and almost everyone either gets out a cell phone and makes a call or puts anti-socials (ipod or the like) in their ears so that it's more difficult to talk with new people. Sure, I could get my own cell phone and then I too could make a call at the end of class and have someone to talk to, but I just don't feel that is good for our society. Communicating with people face to face and interacting is an important part of life. Meeting people (not on facebook) and learning the social skills to interact are important. Sure, we are moving to a different type of communication, but I don't think it is a good move.

I'll give another example. My wife and I went out to lunch for our anniversary. Being the cheapskate that I am, it was a pretty casual place (I did, however, carry the tray for her). Anyway, as we were standing in line there was a couple behind us, the boyfriend was talking on a cell phone while is girlfriend stood with her arms crossed looking grumpy (probably because her boyfriend took her out for lunch and then talked on the cell phone instead of to her). Then as we were eating two girls came in to the restaurant, both on cell phones. It was sort of like they were spending time together as friends... except their attention was on the phone. In short, I don't think cell phones promote healthy relationships. Of course they can be used appropriately and that's not a big deal, but they have changed the way people interact and I don't think it is progress.

My disdain for cell phones resolves around my ideals of simplicity. I want to focus my interactions with people on real life, in person conversations (except, of course, for this blog which is generally anonymous and a way of communicating with people I will likely never know and really not even knowing who or how many I am communicating with). I believe that the most important parts of life are the personal interactions and relationships that we develop. Living a simple life is about the simple every day relationships that make life full. Sure, cell phones could facilitate communication, but when it gets in the way of your present life, it's unnecessarily complicating things.

Simplicity

I got to thinking about what simplicity is yesterday and I want to discuss that a little. I think the first thing to do is say what simplicity is not.

• Simplicity is not the easy way.
• Simplicity is not popular.
• Simplicity is not commonly known.
• Simplicity is not easy to find out about.

Really when it comes down to it there isn't much simple about simplicity. Let me explain. When I think of simplicity I think of living an organic life. A life centered around the earth and the elements. An understanding of how the things around you work and being an active participant in all aspects of your life. That would mean that you could look around you and see no "black boxes". You could walk through your home and know how everything worked and how to fix it if it broke. You would be able to make the things that you need from the resources that you have.

Is that an easy lifestyle? I would say absolutely not, but how rewarding that would be. It's also not popular. Iphones are popular. Going without one is not so popular. Toilet paper is popular. Going without is not so popular. Most people don't even think about simplicity on a regular basis. Why would I go without a cell phone when they add so much convenience to my life? I think that convenience comes at a price. The cell phone, for example, has decreased our ability to remember and plan. What is your best friend's phone number? Do you remember it or do you look up the name on the phone and hit send? Are there long term consequences to that? When is the last time you planned to meet someone at a specific time, at a specific place? Or did you meet in a general area and then call each other and walk around until you saw each other talking on the phone to each other.

I find the whole simplicity thing to be quite ironic. There's a group of people who want to simplify their lives, so what do they do? They hang out on the Internet looking for ways to simplify. Ironically, it's extremely hard to find. It's ironic that I blog about simplicity, but I am quite aware that I'm not the only one. I also know that people read these blogs (not necessarily mine). Finding how to manage an organic garden is so complicated, but the earth does it on its own all around us. Figuring out simple things like what wildlife I want to attract to my garden to keep away pests and how to attract them are so simple, and probably well known, but they are hard to find, or it takes a long time to figure out.

So there it is, I think the simplicity movement needs to be simplified.

Children's Museum

We went up to the Children's Museum in Salt Lake last week. It was interesting. I love going and watching kids play and interact. I also like watching the parents and how they interact with their children. I learn a lot and try to find things that I can do better and things that I never want to do.

We'll start with the things that I never want to do. OK, what this really comes down to is a disdain for portable electronic devices. Lets start with cell phones. Dads were particularly guilty on this one. If you are going to take your kid to the Children's Museum, spend time with your kid. Take the obnoxious blue glowing growth out of your head and interact with your kid. Leave the cell phone in the car, is there really that much that is as important as spending time with your children? Of course if you're a doctor on call, it would be appropriate to have your cell phone, but the conversations I overheard were not medical emergencies. I fear that some fathers think that spending money to get their kids into the Children's Museum is their exhibition of love. I'll give you a hint, it's not the money, it's the time and interaction. While the Children's Museum offers some unique opportunities for interaction and exploration, entrance is only the monetary fee for a positive relationship.

I'm done bashing cell phones... Well almost. My next annoyance was digital cameras, which are often built into a cell phone for your convenience. I have nothing against recording images with a digital camera, but let the kids play! I don't know how many parents I saw rushing their kids around to each exhibit so that they could get a picture of their child posing (pretending to play, but looking at the camera), just to be pulled to the next exhibit to "play". Of course I recognize in this modern age that if there was no picture taken of an event, it never really happened (excuse the sarcasm). Why did you pay to go to the Children's Museum, to let your kid play, learn and have fun, or to get a different back drop for pictures? Just because I didn't like the people posing their children and moving them, doesn't mean that I'm against pictures, see, I even took a couple myself.

So here's the top of Six-Pence's head while he's playing with dominoes at the Children's Museum.

This is the Mugwump building a castle out of giant Legos. Notice the great view I got of the top of his head. No balding yet. Oh, and the giant Legos were really cool, just PLEASE don't get us any, could you imagine trying to store those things?

So what are you supposed to do at the Children's Museum? Here's my opinion... not that I'm opinionated. While I may have led you astray with my comments on cell phones, I don't think that you have to constantly play with your kids at the Children's Museum, especially if you play with them at home. You just have to be available to play. I like to let the kids run free and just follow them and watch how they interact. Often they will come interact with me and then I get a chance to play, but if they want to play with other children, that is fine as well. This works great for the next month, and then we'll have three kids. So how does that work if there are two parents and three kids? Anyway, I think that parents being available to their children is hugely important.

As I was getting the pictures from the Children's Museum, I found some others from a topic that I forgot to write about. Christmas. It was great, thanks to everyone who got us stuff, we appreciate it. This was a wonderful year because we didn't get any electric junk or commercialized toy stuff. I don't mind toys, but when the toys are all based on TV shows or movies, suddenly the toys are no longer imaginative, they are a marketing ploy. Anyway, we didn't get any and we're thankful for that. Here are a few pics.

That is Six-Pence dressed up as a frog. The boys love imagination and dressing up as things. Grammie did a WONDERFUL job making costumes for the boys, they are beautifully made and the boys love them. The only problem is that big brother steals the eye balls of from the frog and then makes the frog close his eyes and run around blind. Grammie is really smart, she sent four spare eyeballs in case some get lost.

The Mugwump can now dress up like a cowboy. While he loves the shirt, vest and chaps, we find him wearing the boots all over the place.

Look at this, both boys are looking toward the camera and one of them is even smiling. These pictures are rare. You can also see the truck that carries toy cars. The boys love that as well. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Global Warming

A friend asked me the other day if I was big into the global warming thing. I said yeah, but then I got to thinking about it. I'm really not. I don't want to be misunderstood, I think global warming is a problem and I am sure that humans (or the "stuff" we produce and use) are the cause. I just don't happen to think it's the biggest problem and it's not the reason that I'm trying to simplify my life. So why did I tell my friend yes, I was into the global warming thing? Because it is a buzzword that people listen to (or choose to ignore). Sometimes, especially during an extraordinarily hot summer, people will hear the phrase "global warming" and it will initiate some change in them. So I associate with global warming and will use it to my advantage at times, but really there is much more that drives me toward simplicity.

I'm really against the over reliance on cars. Sure, cars are a huge contributor to global warming, but they are far worse than that. Cars are closely associated with the 5 leading causes of death in the United States. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive lower respiratory disease and accidents are the five leading causes of death in the US. The exhaust from combustion engines contributes to the top four leading causes of death to some degree. In addition, the automobile contributes greatly to a sedentary lifestyle which also contributes to the four leading causes of death in this country. To be fully honest, a sedentary lifestyle isn't a huge contributor to cancer or lung disease, but I have seen links to both of these in peer reviewed journals. To this point I haven't mentioned the fifth leading cause of death, accidents. The majority of all accidents involve a motor vehicle.

Of course I don't like that the over reliance on cars is killing people. I wish we could all live longer and be healthier. What really gets to me is the things that I don't have a choice in. I do my best to prevent expelling exhaust. I have a reel lawn mower and ride my bike for the vast majority of my transportation. I don't use much gas. What makes me mad is that my taxes subsidize the use of gas. Gasoline and diesel should cost at least $8/gallon so that tax money doesn't have to pay for gas. (I may go into why gas should be so expensive another time, I have other points I want to make now). So first I subsidize your fuel and then, as a result of your use of the fuel I get hammered with more taxes for Medicare and Medicaid and a huge insurance premium. If people weren't so reliant on cars, there wouldn't be as much pollution making people sick and killing them. I have grown up the son of a capitalist pig (my mom... she admits it openly), and it just doesn't seem fair to me to be charged (through my taxes used to subsidize the cost of gas and diesel) for a product that I don't use and then charged again for all of the problems that it causes. What do I get for my money?

I had a lot more to say, but I stopped... you should be grateful. Cars have also contributed to the downfall of social ties. How many people walk into their garage, start their car, drive to the parking garage at work and walk inside without every being outside and without ever corresponding with another human being? Oh, I know they have cell phones for that (further contributing to the fifth leading cause of death), but I will save that soapbox for another time. On my bike ride to school, I pass at least 3-5 cyclists going each way. Most of whom I have talked to and look forward to talking to again. How often do you meet a new friend in a car? Dr. Putnum has written extensively on social capital and cars are destroying it. We just don't get out and talk with people anymore and it's destroying neighborhoods.

If I have to take a stand against global warming to get cars off the road, I'll do it. Not because I think that global warming is the worst problem we face, but because if there are fewer cars on the road, it will help alleviate the other problems that are wreaking havoc on our society. I also don't believe that cars are bad or that they should never be used again. They are sometimes needed, but people rely on them far too much and I think that everyone should be able to make a smooth transition to living without one if it was necessary (that means that most people need to make a drastic change!)

Bumper Sticker

Guns don't kill people, drivers on cell phones kill people.