# Dead Board



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

So lets try and wake it up....Every time I see a title stating " moving to Mexico" or something like that I think of this song by Jimmy Buffet ........Hope you likey too......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anQ2t8UgeMw&frags=pl,wn


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## TurtleToo (Aug 23, 2013)

Thank you for that musical interlude, Chico!

.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

I liked the line:

"Telling themselves the same lies
that they told themselves back home". 

It speaks to the error of thinking your life will somehow magically change if you go to a new place.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

We, who once communicated only by the handwritten word in the form of letters, and later by telegrams, soon became enamored of the internet and e-mail. Then, web boards came along and piqued our interest too. That seemed, and still seems to me, to be sufficient convenience and speed for communication.

But, time marches on, and miniaturization of the equipment, and of mental capacities of some, seems to have arrived with the now ubiquitous smart phones. OK, I admit that I have just bought one for my wife, but I remain without one, and see no real need for one. I will remain loyal to the web boards and e-mail as my main means of communication.

That said, the moster in the room is Facebook, and other such phone-centered systems. People may now communicate, if you can call it that, in just a handful of characters; touch-typing with their thumbs and frequently walking or driving into others, or into very solid objects. Trying to have a verbal conversation, or a longger written corespondence with these'thumbers', is a futile enterprise. 

I have even had to resort to informing younger visitors to my home that, "While here, please turn off your celphone and place it on the hall table, right next to your hat." Their eyse usually pop wide open in shock, but they get the message and comply. I think they know that immediate departure would be their only other option.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

The fine art of personal communication has gone somewhere from which it will probably never return. It's common to see a whole table of people waiting for their food and glued to their little devices.

As far as changes upon coming to Mexico, it would be strange if there were NOT massive disruptions happening in the lives of the people who come here to live. Nothing magical about it, and usually under-anticipated, if anything.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I use the laptop less and less to communicate and use the smart phone more and more.. I deal mostly with younger people and that is the way they communicate, They do not even speak on the phone that much, it is all about texting on whatsapp or messenger. Even people in the government pretty high up communicate that way so if you want to be in the loop that is what you do or you are cutoff..


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Simple reply: To hell with "being in the loop". I prefer face to face communication, because so much is revealed non-verbally.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

well face to face communication is just no possible when people do not live in the same place.. and I know that there are many places, including our house in Chiapas where whatsapp works but the phone does not and that includes the one from Whatsapp so the choice is writing e-mail or texting and texting wins every time. You can send pictures and videos very quickly it is way more flexible than e-mail for sure.

Being in the loop when working on projects is a good idea..or you just cannot participate.. it is that simple.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

We live very different lives. My "loop" consists of face to face communication with people who live near me, and as far as projects are concerned, it's the same. Otherwise, I work alone in my profession, by its nature. In other words, I have no need for much connectivity beyond emails to friends and relatives far away. As for the world of "social media" such as Facebook, I don't have anything to do with it. It's a world of its own.
For those who want things otherwise and are content with it.....we all have choices.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

A smart phone is out of the question for me, as my vision is too limited for such a tiny screen. However, I can do rather well at my 27" iMac, where I do virtually all of my communication and a large amount of my shopping, etc. The large screen is also wonderful for videos, and is a lot quicker to access than the procedure required to find something on the smart TV via internet.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I communicate with dozens of people on a regular basis and they do not live near me and often are out of the area where there is signal so sending text, they can read when they get back into places where there is signal is very important.. We are indeed living in a different world, .. Most indigenous I deal with have smartphones, that is the most important thing they own outside of land and their houses. It changed their world , it enables them to better their lives, to sell from remote areas, to bank without having to spend a day to go to a place where there is a bank so I would not put down smartphones.. this is how crops are sold and bought in Africa as well.. I can see that if you may not have any need for all the communication but people who have to make a living and survive need it so no need to put it down it may be a useless luxury for you but it is a necessity for them.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

I have no argument with those who need the new technology to make a living and better their lives.

However, not everyone needs it. I can afford the "luxury" of a smart phone. I neither need it nor want it. 

My point is that one size does not fit all. You're referring to business. I'm not. I consider the breakdown of face to face communication, such as a restaurant group all talking to their devices instead of to one another, (and not about making a living or anything necessary to their well being) to be a loss to the quality of life in general.

Perhaps the prize example of how far off reality some of this is becoming is the madness associated with life endangering "selfies".


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

The falling off cliffs while taking a selfie is funny and really tragic in a lot of ways..


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Most of my friends in Mexico do not live near me, so we keep in touch mostly through WhatsApp. Of course, I would prefer to communicate with them in person more often, but life and distances prevent that from happening.


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## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

The fax machine killed classic lines of communication


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Stevenjb said:


> The fax machine killed classic lines of communication


It is all Alexander Graham Bell's fault. It started with the telephone.


Edit: Actually maybe the real culprit was the telegraph. But then there were smoke signals before that.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You are all wrong! It was two guys beating on hollow logs with sticks. Centuries later, their descendants invented the drums, shortly after domesticating animals and learning that the skins were useful. 
We have always been slow learners.......


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

RVGRINGO said:


> A smart phone is out of the question for me, as my vision is too limited for such a tiny screen. However, I can do rather well at my 27" iMac, where I do virtually all of my communication and a large amount of my shopping, etc. The large screen is also wonderful for videos, and is a lot quicker to access than the procedure required to find something on the smart TV via internet.


The first time I ever noticed a cellphone being used was in a grocery store. A guy was standing there, holding a phone to his ear, ssking..........very loudly.........."Honey, did you say you needed broccoli?"
I vowed then and there never to own or use a cellphone, and so far, years later, I've managed to hold out.

My first brushes with technology have been memorable:
---walking through the Houston airport, I nudged my wife: "Look at that character, hands in his pockets, leaning his forehead against a blank wall, and talking out loud to himself." When I told the story to friends, they explained Bluetooth technology. 
---walking the beach at Isla de la Piedra, Mazatlan, a bunch of beachwalkers asked me to take a group photo and handed me their camera. "Where's the viewfinder?", I asked. "There isn't one. Just hold the camera at arm's length and look at the picture on the screen, then press the shutter." My first digital camera. I clearly recall how stupid I felt holding that camera out at arm's length.
---remember the first time you say someone taking a photo with a selfie-stick? Did you ever see anything more ridiculous? 

All that said, I fear that the unbelievably rapid expansion of the applications of smartphone technology will very soon drag me, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century, whether I want to or not. It will soon become impossible to conduct all one's usual affairs without a smartphone. 

I purchased my first computer - a desktop - perhaps 17 or 18 years ago. The Internet and e-mail were wonderful technological innovations, as were the free music services.....for me, first Grooveshark, then Spotify. Then I graduated to a laptop: more versatile, portable and I could still plug into my excellent external speaker system to enjoy music.

A year ago, I bought a tablet. Big mistake. 'Way too convenient. Now I can multitask: sit in front of the TV watching the latest Trump soap opera, while I surf the 'Net, check my e-mails, put the headphones on for music or watch the latest animal videos or car crashes on Facebook and YouTube.. Absolutely addictive. The biggest downside, besides wasting my time? I've stopped reading. In the past, I always had a novel or two on the go. Now? I haven't read a book in months. Guess I'll have to wait 'til we get to the beach in Zihuatanejo in another month, when I can return to reading real books. You know, the ones where you have to turn the page?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

HolyMole said:


> The first time I ever noticed a cellphone being used was in a grocery store. A guy was standing there, holding a phone to his ear, ssking..........very loudly.........."Honey, did you say you needed broccoli?"
> I vowed then and there never to own or use a cellphone, and so far, years later, I've managed to hold out.
> 
> My first brushes with technology have been memorable:
> ...


Actually calling someone from the grocery store and asking them what you need to pick up is one of the great aspects of cell phones. The worst aspect of cell phones is people in airports, buses, trains who talk loudly into their cell phones because the environment is noisy and they think they have to talk loudly for the other person to hear them. When actually, the other person could hear them just fine if they just spoke softly as if they were right next to the person on the other end.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

TundraGreen said:


> Actually calling someone from the grocery store and asking them what you need to pick up is one of the great aspects of cell phones. The worst aspect of cell phones is people in airports, buses, trains who talk loudly into their cell phones because the environment is noisy and they think they have to talk loudly for the other person to hear them. When actually, the other person could hear them just fine if they just spoke softly as if they were right next to the person on the other end.


I think the worst place is in a restaurant, how rude.........


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Even more rude: When a visitor to your home spends half of his time answering his cell phone! Maybe even worse: The plumber is working on your problem, at $150 per hour, and answers every call on your time.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

Before I moved to Mexico, I coached youth football. I will never forget one Saturday afternoon coaching my team. During a timeout I looked over at the stands, half the parents, and more of the dads than the moms, had their noses stuck in their smartphones. I actually found that disgusting. Here were their kids, trying their best to win a football game, and half the parents were not paying any attention. 

I have a smartphone and have for years. But, I do not bury my nose in it when I am at an event.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

RVGRINGO said:


> We, who once communicated only by the handwritten word in the form of letters, and later by telegrams, soon became enamored of the internet and e-mail. Then, web boards came along and piqued our interest too. That seemed, and still seems to me, to be sufficient convenience and speed for communication.
> 
> But, time marches on, and miniaturization of the equipment, and of mental capacities of some, seems to have arrived with the now ubiquitous smart phones. OK, I admit that I have just bought one for my wife, but I remain without one, and see no real need for one. I will remain loyal to the web boards and e-mail as my main means of communication.
> 
> ...


Hope you shoot them if they don't get off your grass!


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