With a prevalence of high quality, inexpensive or free software has technology become the ultimate disposable good? Maybe it always has been but because the the current speed of change it is more noticeable now. Just like bricks and mortar we find ourselves using certain building blocks while coding but they have morphed and evolved into dozens of different materials.
So leave a comment and let me know what your comfort is. Is it food, music, a blanket, stuffed animal, technology? Can technology be a comfort? Comfort Zone
Lately, I have been thinking about comfort stuff. We all have comfort foods, ice cream, chips, fries, chestnuts roasted on an open fire. We also have other items we fall back on in times of stress or need. I know I can always play some Cocteau Twins (for you youngsters they are a 1980's/1990's alternative band) when I am restless and cannot sleep. My kids have their favorite stuffed animal and if I am nodding off on the couch I know I prefer a particular blanket over the others.
What I have not been able to find is a comfort technology. For someone that is immersed in tech on a daily basis I find that a little weird but also interesting. It may be that my attitude toward technology is get in, understand, get out. It certainly seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life.
I have heard stories about people falling in love with their iPhone and fearing their life would end in ruins if something happened to it. I might find it annoying to replace it but certainly don't think my life would be in ruins. Same thing for code. I know guys that refuse to move past laying things out in tables. I struggle a little with CSS (as an aside I am not sure how much of that struggle is actually me and how much is due to the restrictions in the CMS I work in.) but for some time I have been forcing myself out of the comfort zone of tables to at least understand the basics of CSS. Although this is just a small example it is indicative of how I have ended up using tech.
I have also been wondering if this is how others view it. Especially open source and social media. With a prevalence of high quality, inexpensive or free software has technology become the ultimate disposable good? Maybe it always has been but because the the current speed of change it is more noticeable now. Just like bricks and mortar we find ourselves using certain building blocks while coding but they have morphed and evolved into dozens of different materials.
So leave a comment and let me know what your comfort is. Is it food, music, a blanket, stuffed animal, technology? Can technology be a comfort?
With a prevalence of high quality, inexpensive or free software has technology become the ultimate disposable good? Maybe it always has been but because the the current speed of change it is more noticeable now. Just like bricks and mortar we find ourselves using certain building blocks while coding but they have morphed and evolved into dozens of different materials.
So leave a comment and let me know what your comfort is. Is it food, music, a blanket, stuffed animal, technology? Can technology be a comfort? 
I found your blog after performing a Google search for Cocteau Twins. Here, I thought I was their only fan. I really enjoyed your post and you are right, some people find comfort in a blanket, a special place, a cold pitcher of beer and I guess even in technology. For me, I find comfort thinking back to my grandmother’s cooking. She was a very good baker and made the most delicious blueberry and pumpkin muffins. She called them blumpkin muffins and they were so delicious and satisfying. When she was cooking them the entire house would smell of their goodness. Thank you for taking me back to that special place. I have not thought about those muffins for a long time. Consider this your good deed for the day I guess. I will be back to your blog.
Special thanks to Jay Hc for sending me this way! After Don left the old Cocteau forums, it was pretty lonely just the two of us. Now with Spike, Jay and Archie we can start to grow this place as the new gathering place for all things Cocteau!
In the spirit of the blog (I still feel silly using that word after all these years!) , I’ll answer the questioned posed.
While I’ve heard the stories of the fabled “blumpkins”, I know I’ll never partake in Grammy HcHenry’s delectable treats, so I’ll have to draw solace from my own special place. My comfort lies in all my thoughts and memories of being at Elysee Monmatre in ’86 and having Elizabeth seemingly rape me with her vocals and icy stares during Aikea Guinea in the encore. I still have the shirt I bought at that show (Jay, it’s the one I wore it to Coc-fest ’03) and wear it on those days I’m feeling down. So, I guess you could say my true comfort zone is curling up on the suede chaise, a big bowl of B&J Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and listening to those mysterious words overcome me while i’m swaddled in that worn cotton t-shirt. I just wish I could get a blumpkin to go with it!
COCTEAU!
Arch, you old SOB how are you? Oh man, some serious stuff went down at Coc-fest in 2003. What was that girl’s name? The red head with the crazy tattoo of the soldier on her lower hip protecting her “special place?” For the life of me I cannot remember her. If you recall her name, tell her about the new boards here and tell her to jump on the bad lemon – that is not the only thing she jumps on. Hahahahaha. Oh man, we were high on life that week. What a thrill. We need to get the old gang back together.