Sometimes you just want a cup of coffee and a work truck.

I have a fellow ham who just had his wife swap out his old cell phone when they renewed their contract and the wife tried to do the right thing and seemingly failed miserably. She bought him some kind of super smart phone that you can do all sorts of cool, neat and nifty stuff with including send yourself instant messages from Outer Mongolia and answer them in Inner Slobovia. It also has a program built in that will tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.

I guess the old one you simply made telephone calls on which is all he does with a telephone.

Like me he probably figures that if he has time to text then he has time to call and he most likely figures if he needs a computer he wants a computer with a keyboard instead of a thumb board. I don't blame him because I feel the same way.

Now this guy isn't intimidated with the newer technoogy. He's a ham that is into all sorts of technological things with radios so learning how to use his new phone would probably be a snap for him.

The old phone would take a charge and last for several days before he had to recharge. The new one requires daily charging.

While a lot of people out there are fascinated by the latest technology, I guess thet there are a lot of us that are not. We are just simple souls with simple needs and simple tastes and that is that. We feel no real need to compete in the rat race of technology but we are not afraid to use it if the technology actually fits our needs.

Every time I buy a new vehicle I have the same headache because I wind up having to go all over hell's half acre to find a simple rig to haul myself around with. To me a pickup is a pickup and the purpose of it is to haul me and my stuff around. I do not need power everything to do this with and I happen to prefer driving a clutch.

Of course, everyone and their cousin warns me that I am going to have a hard time with a clutch in heavy traffic and when I am done answering the warner they either feel foolish or are pretty mad at me. I generally point out that I have had a driver's license since long before they were born and have probably 75,000 miles of city driving under my belt and really haven't noticed it.

I just like to keep things simple.

I imagine there are a lot of other people out there that feel the same way but have simply tired of arguing or feel that they have no say in things. You do but you had best be ready to fight for it tooth and nail. The best weapon you have is the fact that it is your money and you can spend it as you see fit. If they want it they have to give you what you want.

Anyway, this has even gotten down to the point where buying a simple cup of coffee is a major chore. This same guy was trying to buy one a while back and got hit with all of his options of cuppacinos, frappacinos, lattes, and God knows what else. All this poor soul wanted was a lousy cup of coffee.

His frustration went into the red and he told the kid that if he didn't just get a simple cup of coffee he was going to rip the kid's head off and empty his colon down his neck. Three seconds later he had his coffee, paid and left.

He and I are not alone in wanting simple things. The guy behind him walked up and snapped, "I want what he just ordered."

I'll bet the guy that was behind him had a cell phone he didn't want, too.

This guy that I am talking about has asked me what to do with the new cell phone that has been imposed on him. My reply was simple.

I told him to kill it with fire. That's what I would do.

Then again I am a seaman and I have the option of sending things like that to Davy Jones' locker. It is a wonderful option I have used several times over the years and I am grateful to have it.

This has been updated: Seems his daughter needs a new phone and his will fit the bill nicely. He just snagged a $30 simple clamshell off of eBay and everything looks like it will come together for him.



my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/