Project 313 – Post No. 123

As people age, they often worry they’re losing their memory. The big worry is Alzheimer.

I maintain that forgetfulness — at least a reasonable amount of it — is directly attributable to the fact each day we’re alive we learn new things. Or, at least, are exposed to new things. Just think of it . . . twenty years ago you had no idea what a smartphone was or how to use one. The internet was pretty simple compared to now. Most appliances were easier to operate. Not so nowadays. 

Everything is more complicated even when “made to be easy”. 

I believe I know where it all started. 

It was the VCR.

Let’s face it, maybe one-in-ten people learned how to program one and I don’t just mean being able to set the clock. You’d be talking to someone and they’d say they were interested in a particular show and when you suggested they should schedule a recording, the typical reaction was an “Oh, yeah!” accompanied by an uneasy smile. Few people wanted to admit they spent $500+ on something they couldn’t operate. 

The VCR was the start and things never got better. I’m confident in stating the majority of people over the age of 30 know little of their smartphone’s capabilities. All they really need is a phone that lets them talk and text but instead, they carry a powerful computer that’s hardly taxed beyond a 10th of its capability. 

Truthfully, even the majority of people younger than 30 do little more than take selfies and text. 

And, it’s not only phones. I bet there are people driving around right now that don’t know what all the knobs and switches on their cars do or how to set and disengage the parking brake or even use the cruise control. 

And yes, few people still bother learning how to program stuff like clocks on microwaves, coffee pots, televisions (although TVs might get set automatically if hooked up to cable or the Internet). 

So, if you are worried you’re losing your memory, stop and consider you might have too much stuff jammed up there. Even if you read the ten signs of Alzheimer, I could probably argue that a number of them can easily be attributed to the complicated lives we live. 

Note, I’m not trying to minimize the disease, but I know people who worry about it and it causes them actual stress when they can’t remember the title of one of the thousands of movies and shows they’ve seen in their lives. Or, they forget the exact spot their car is parked in a lot that’s multiple acres and packed with other cars. 

I have a method that works for me . . . I don’t worry about remembering stuff. Look to the future, I always say. And, if I really need to remember the movie where the tall actor with the funny hairdo played the love interest of that actress that used to be married to that other actor that’s now married to the other actress that did that movie that had the song that won the Oscar back in the last century . . . well, there’s always Google. 

But, if you are worried about Alzheimer, keep a journal or diary. Or, write. Also, learn new things. Take one of the hundreds of free courses online. Buy a program and learn how to use it. Learn what all them apps on your phone actually do. Heck . . . try programming the time on the coffee pot.

And now, the photo:

I thought this treatment turned out pretty well. A regular Ansel-Adams-wannabe-but-not-quite am I. 

I am totally on board with this next cartoon. 

However, I do have to differ a tiny bit from what the cartoon implies . . . lots of advancements have been made . . . they’ve just not been shared because they don’t last long enough for anyone else to see. 

People are forever experimenting with food albeit not always successfully. For instance . . . It Was Colorful but the Watermelon Wheel Experiment Ultimately Ended in Failure.

And . . . that’s it

Some of these posts will likely be longer as the mood hits me, but most will be thus; short, uninteresting, bland, and relentless.

You can read about Project 313 HERE.

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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