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It’s been many months since I turned off all the cable, phone and internet connections to my house. There are times when I think about how much easier it could be…
At times, like on Saturday, it is inconvenient. I was trying to get music to play through my Sonos from my new MacBook. Unfortunately, the software has been updated since May, so while the client software on my PC matches the Sonos players, the Mac doesn’t and there was no way to sync things up as Sonos requires the update to have a live internet connection.
There are also plenty of times when I’d really like to just watch something on television…to simply be entertained without having to invest any energy thinking, reading or creating.
Life could also be easier if I had a ‘net connection so that I could look up addresses and phone numbers. It would be easier to update this website, as I wouldn’t have to go out and buy a cup of coffee. I also wouldn’t have to wonder where the nearest business offering WiFi is located and if they filter out FTP or other services that I sometimes need to maintain the site.
Yep, if I had those things, there would be a number of very tangible benefits. Of course, you know I’m not going to say that I’m turning anything back on at home. The intangible benefits outweigh the tangible, even if I can’t “count” them.
When it’s constantly quiet, you start to hear yourself. I’m not trying to tell you that turning off cable fixes all woes…hardly. There are plenty of ways to replace television with substitute distractions. I’m also not saying that there’s some ‘mystical enlightenment experience’ by dropping the DSL.
I think what I’m saying is that life slows down when these things aren’t always chattering away. There is time to think, time to understand what is going on in your head better than you otherwise might do. Sometimes that’s hard to do, sometimes it’s easy.
It’s been rewarding, however…there’s no way I can imagine giving up a PC, even if only for 20 days.
