What inventions have had the biggest impact on your life?

Last June, I wrote a bit on a gift my children gave me for Father's Day - a subscription to StoryWorth. This week's question was a great deal of fun, so I thought I'd share it...

What inventions have had the biggest impact on your day-to-day life?
StoryWorth, Week Twenty-one
November 9, 2020

OK, OK, the most obvious answer is the computer, smart phone, and the Internet. Impactful on my day-to-day life? You betcha. But I believe there are other gizmos that have improved my retired existence even more. And I would not give them up even if it meant losing my digital devices.

The recliner. I spend approximately 99% of my waking hours in my old brown leather recliner. It is my office, my theater seat, my dining room, and my library space. All my writing is done in the recliner, including this story. My parents had matching gold fabric recliners when I was growing up. My siblings and I were relegated to the sofa where we could fight over territory. They say sitting isn’t good for you - that’s why I recline instead.

The remote control. Given the warm embrace of the recliner, it is a terrible ordeal to have to leave it in order to change a TV station, adjust music volume, or pause a DVD. I like remote controls so much, I actually have a “bowl-o-remotes” on my coffee table. I suppose I could replace them with one of those voice-activated devices (“Alexa, turn that damn thing down!”) But for now, I will keep my remotes even if I don’t know what 90% of the buttons on them actually do.

The microwave. While I love to cook from scratch for family and friends, I despise having to cook for myself. Thankfully, the microwave and Marie Callender have made my life ever so much nicer. Pot pies and microwave popcorn now mean that even though I have to leave my recliner to get food, it doesn’t have to be for very long. If I remember, my aunt bought me my first microwave oven in about 1982. Microwave popcorn was one thing I regularly smuggled back to Saudi Arabia after visiting home each year. 

The automatic light timer, motion sensor and Clapper. Each morning as I make my way downstairs to my recliner, my path is lit by an end table lamp that comes on at 5:30, turns off a couple hours later, and then does so again at 7:30 each evening. On the landing of my stairs, there is a nightlight that comes on when it senses movement - which I am certain will help me whack any home invaders who may be after the priceless treasures in my house. While I don’t have a Clapper (clap on, clap off!) yet, I’ll someday find a use for one. Or again, I could just say “Alexa, turn the damn light on.”

The electronic fireplace. No, it doesn’t really look like a real fireplace. It doesn’t even look like a gas fireplace. But it does provide warmth, especially to my feet as they extend out from my recliner. As anyone who has had a wood burning fireplace will attest, they are a big pain in the butt - chopping wood, splitting it, getting it lit, treating your burns after using gasoline to get it lit after other attempts fail, clearing out the ashes, the chimney, and changing bandages. I may well wind up in debtors’ prison due to my electric bills from this fireplace, but I’ve heard you can bring a recliner into your cell. Oh, my fireplace has a remote!

The automatic garage door opener. Now and again, even old retired guys must leave the comfort of the recliner to go grocery shopping and have their teeth cleaned. When those tasks are imminent, I become extremely grateful for my garage door opener. Not only does the opener save me from the physical effort of actually lifting the door, I do not have to exit the car after leaving the garage to shut it again. If only the driver’s seat felt a bit more like a recliner, I’d go out more.

The ice cube maker and dishwasher. I will admit I almost never use either of these. The icemaker in the fridge makes a terrible racket as the cubes fall into the big plastic bin that holds them until they become a huge frozen unusable mass. The sound is not something you want to jolt you when engrossed reading a thriller at night at home alone in the recliner. I use so few dishes that by the time I run the dishwasher, food remnants are pretty much permanently welded to the plate, fork tine, etc. which means getting out the steel wool and removing the icky bits with much vigorous rubbing. It’s impactful to recognize that not all labor-saving devices are all that labor-saving.

The birdbath heater. I love the birds and squirrels and bunnies and chipmunks that make their home in back of my house. In the spring, summer and fall, my pond provides all the water they may need to drink or bath in. But in the winter, the pond freezes and the creatures still need moisture. Hence, a heated birdbath. When I moved into my house, it did not have an outside 110 outlet where I could plug in the heater so I jerry-rigged a solution using a socket adapter and added a motion detector just for fun. It looked pretty ugly.  I recently bought an outdoor light fixture that actually has a couple 110 plug-ins built right in. I did my own installation, including electrical. Surprisingly, the house has not yet burnt down due to my wiring job. The only negative about the birdbath is that it is difficult to see from the recliner.

The keyless door lock. The 2020 pandemic restrictions on travel and recreational opportunities like plays, movies, skydiving, stock car races, etc. has meant that I have had more discretionary money and time than I might have had normally. So, throwing fiscal prudence aside, I purchased a door lock with a keypad. And throwing common sense aside, installed it myself. I’ve loved its convenience each of the three times I’ve left my house (and recliner) since installing it in August. On my way to the garage, I am usually balancing a cup of coffee along with my gym bag, dead body, or whatever else I am hauling. So it’s nice not having to dig out a key to lock the door (just one push of the button) or reopen the door (just four pushes of the buttons). You know what would be really nice? A push-button that would lift the foot rest of my recliner. Perhaps using garage door opener principles? One can dream.

The book. Paper or electronic, the invention that has most impacted my life, if it can be called an invention, is, of course, the book. I owe my love of reading to my grandparents (and mother) who read to me as a very young child - often while sitting in a recliner. Growing up on a farm, the Hardy Boys and Robinson Crusoe and Tarzan showed me other worlds than the flat corn fields outside my window. My career as a English teacher and librarian was driven by a desire to share my love of reading with others. I read few paper-format books anymore, choosing the convenience of my iPad, Kindle, or phone. But an evening spent in my recliner with Travis McGee, Jack Reacher, Harry Bosch, or some new fictional friend is always a pleasant one. Unless the icemaker was turned on accidentally.

Oh, there are certainly other inventions that make my life better - the cordless drill, the electric toothbrush, the alarm clock that shines a readout of the time on my bedroom ceiling. But if I keep droning on, I may miss my nap time.

BFTP: The art of saying no

Given all the new challenges and tasks of all educators, especially school librarians, I thought this old post might be helpful.

Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.
Winston Churchill

The school library profession does not lack new job responsibilities. Everything from updating the school website to inventorying classroom instructional materials to managing student devices to teaching online learning resources, new tasks are often given to the librarian.

The difficult question then remains - just what has to leave our days in order for new "duties as assigned" to be slipped in. Or should we be better at saying no to new job responsibilities?

Before practicing saying no, we must take a good long look at the task we are being asked to perform. Taking on jobs nobody else can or is willing to do is a pretty good job retention strategy. If you take on the job of say, updating the school webpage and few other unpleasant tasks, when the principal needs to choose between cutting your position and the music teacher, she might reason "If I cut the librarian, I will need to find someone else to update the webpage. I will cut the music teacher instead." And remember my motto:

So let's say you've factored in the advisability of saying yes to the new task and you really don't see how you can accomplish one more thing. Here are some things I try to remember to do when I feel I must say no:

• Start with "Anything is possible." An automatic rejection of request response quickly earns you the reputation of a reactionary. "He's never tries anything new!" By starting the conversation with "anything is possible," the one doing the requesting knows that your eventual decision was not a foregone conclusion. And who knows, the discussion might change your "no" to an enthusiastic "yes."
• Suggest an alternative. Often the need is legitimate. But the proposed solution is not practical. You can get a reputation as a problem-solver by helping the person in need solve his/her problem even when you can't support the original solution.
• Ask for a priority judgement. "Sure, I can teach students how to use the new learning management system as a part of my information literacy curriculum. However I only meet with students for six hours and here are the current outcomes. Would you help me determine which ones I need to eliminate in order to accommodate the new lessons?" If doing a new thing results in something else going undone, a full understanding of the trade-off is essential.
• Express regret. I have problems with people who say no with great glee. It's a cheap form showing power and that power usually tends to be petty. Real power comes from making things happen, not keeping them from happening.

Often in my career I often had to practice the fine art of saying no. I remember regretfully having to turn down a speaking engagement in Hawaii (no vacation days uncommitted that year) and to contribute to a YA podcast (not my area of expertise). At the day job, I regularly told others "no" due to a lack of time, money, or necessity. And sometimes just because the suggested project was not real smart. And the worst job of all is telling someone who applied for a job that another candidate was chosen. I really hate saying no to hopeful people.

But it doesn't hurt quite so much if you can do it well.

Original post 5/12/17

A lesson in political humility

 

In viewing last week's election, both political parties should view the results as a lesson in humility.

There were no red or blue waves, no great mandates, no consensus on any issue or person. Margins were very thin in many victories and the majority of both Houses of Congress has shrunk. Minnesota state government remains divided. Republicans can be disappointed in the national executive branch decision; Democrats can be bemoan not doing better on the legislative side. There seems to be no basis for claims of fraudulent voting. Neither party has anything to be smug or prideful about. 

My hope is that all politicians analyze not what was effective in solidifying their base, but how they can improve by creating platforms/goals/actions which reach out to more people. That middle ground can be found. That the country can move ahead as a result of compromise. That those with whom you may not agree still have priorities and realities and concerns that need to be addressed. 

I am actually quite happy the election turned out as it did. Political waves of any sort are dangerous, leading too many people to believe they have "won" through moral or intellectual superiority. People stop questioning their own beliefs and start ignoring the views and values of others. Lawmakers try to ram through great changes that will then have a boomerang effect the next election cycle instead of making thoughtful, measured progress toward goals that improve society for all of us. It's great for both ends of the liberal/conservative spectrum to have aspirations. But it is just as important to have those pragmatists who can actually move us toward them.

I remember once reading that divorce settlements that give everything to one spouse are never really victories for the one getting everything since the decision causes lasting bitterness and resentment instead of healing. Perhaps the same can be applied to elections.

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