Ground Control with Major Tom: Your Life in Your Hand

I have never been much of a gadget guy. I have outdated TVs( seriously- one of them has a VCR in it), a used iPod( 50 bucks), a cheap laptop, and the N64( Turok/Mario Cart rules!) is still my game console of choice. Dont get me wrong- I love technology. I love playing XBox, I love iPods, I love my computer. But I never seek out gadgets- they have to bite me in the ass.

Here is where I admit that my ass hath been bitten by a slick little serpent tempting me to partake of the Apple. That slick little serpent is none other than the iPhone. I have never had a smartphone, or a cool phone at all-the phone I just replaced was a flip nokia with its front screen broken and no real internet access. I am an admitted latecomer to this arena, so any observation I may make is coming from a neophyte. I make this disclaimer because there are many murmurings of discontent against Apple and AT&T lately, coming from disillusioned users. I respect their opinion, and will have to experience my own troubles before i can comment on this. I would simply like to comment on this wonderful lil gadget on a general level, just as we love to do here at The Modular Man.

My cell bill is more expensive than it has been in the past, but this is understandable in light of unlimited data access, and, as one of my coworkers so aptly pointed out, it is a small price to pay for 'your life in your hand'.
I can pay my bills, check my email, take photos and videos, access all my work data, and even post on this blog. I can chart the seas, listen to albums, call my brothers, and teach my children phonics. I can read a book or sketch with my finger. I can IM, watch movies and play games. All of this from my literal fingertips. Once again-this may be nothing new to some people, but it is mind blowing to this modular man. I cannot imagine my now passed grandparents being able to process a device like this. or even assimilate our now accepted verbiage like 'there's an app for that'( "What the hell is an 'app'?", my grandpa would say). Even a few years ago this insanely easy to use device was but a twinkle in Steve Job's eye. Not even the visionary cartoon the Jetsons imagined something so simple yet so complex.

To all the people complaining about the lack of MMS and Tethering through AT&T on the iPhone at this time(understandably so), or the Google/Apple 'divorce', I would like to remind us all that a device of this nature was a fairy tale back in the day.
This is what we call Transience: the passing of time through technological advance so quickly our minds cannot process the change, thus taking it for granted. In this aspect, I am glad that I am a late comer to this arena. I don't want transience to steal my joy. I cant wait until the iPhone's full functionality is unleashed upon the user by a carrier that can handle it all(AT&T says the missing features are coming soon), or when the troubled waters between Google and Apple settle, but until then, my 3GS is beautiful just the way it is. Seriously, its like Christmas at our house.

Now excuse me while i go to bask in the warm glow of my life in my hand.