my life as a techno-idiot (and why constants suck)

Once again, i managed to find wacky behavior in technology. I went to create a blog entry this morning and only half of it uploaded. It didn’t save to database and crash like normal – it just saved half. It was weird. I flipped out (like always) and whimpered (like always). Boris once again came to the rescue.

It appears as though my comments template has a lastn of 5134 (which y’all exceeded). And it appears that my Atom template is trying to find 1M entries (which i haven’t written yet). What’s up with the constants? Why do we need constants in code. ::groan::

The wireless in my apartment still isn’t working right even though my angelic roommate has spent a bazillion hours trying to hack the firmware to amplify the antenna and now he’s trying to buy a new antenna because it can’t reach to the other end of the apartment. I feel completely clueless.

Everyone around me is obsessed with camera phones and i still can’t figure out how to take a goddamn picture and get it to send. Worse: i have zero motivation to take a picture.

I realized something this evening: in terms of techno-capability, i’m your generic user and completely techno-clueless… I am not capable of using any interface and i think that the black box should just work but it never does. The only difference is that i adopt early and pay attention to what people are doing, even if i think it’s completely pointless. But i don’t have the mind of a technologist and i can’t figure out how anything works (or, as my roommate likes to tell me, i refuse to try).

8 thoughts on “my life as a techno-idiot (and why constants suck)

  1. Charlie O'Donnell

    This is why I think, in spite of how big blogging has gotten, we haven’t even come close to seeing its full potential… because very few people seem to pick it up on their own. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve had to sit down and explain how to get a blog into Bloglines or a reader and where to find blogs, etc. There’s a lot of great stuff out there that isn’t really that intuitive. (Point being, its not just you!) My next “to do” is figuring out podcasting.

  2. Nick Douglas

    I know what you mean, Zeph. I’m adept at software, but I’m still struggling through my CSS. Users like you and I are on the cusp of power-user status — we know the concepts, we understand the basics, but we still need a real techie behind us. This is a new kind of user that couldn’t exist in the days when one person could know everything about computers. Graphic design is separated from web coding is separated from software coding is separated from hardware maintenance is separated from network upkeep…

    Result is, everyone feels incompetent at one point or another. That’s why we all support each other.

  3. john

    “I am not capable of using any interface and i think that the black box should just work but it never does.”

    every developer should feel this way.

  4. ana

    I am not capable of using any interface and i think that the black box should just work but it never does.

    This is probably due to the fact that most interfaces you find today suck, so you shouldn’t blame yourself!

  5. tony

    Just look into the mirror and say,” Hi, my name is danah and I am technologically challenged.But gosh darn it,I can tie my own shoes!”

    I only wish I had 10% of your skills.I wonder if there is a local T-C chapter out here…

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