So you interviewed them, did you also write the article you linked to? If so, I bow down to you for the absolute brilliance of the opener:
MOBILE, Ala. - As he was treading water for hours in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, Biloxi resident Easton Barrett made a short video on his cell phone.
“Well, the boat sank,” he said. “No bueno. Love y’all.”
That is downright British levels of understatement. Next time I have the occasion where I might normally deploy “FUBAR” I think I might instead say: Well, the boat sank. No bueno.
Its more syllables but way better IMO.
So this thread went from the nitty gritty of satellite messaging to more of a values discussion at some point. My comment is as an amateur experimental archaeologist, I am sensitized to the fact that over our history we’ve shaped our tools, and then inevitably our tools shape us. I’m no luddite, but I try to stay alert to how my tools are shaping me and whether I like or value it. For instance, I notice when I use sat-nav while driving I don’t retain the knowledge of how to retrace my steps and usually would not be able find my way between those locations again, sans sat-nav. Whereas prior to the ubiquity of sat-nav I could usually retain how to get between places after traveling that path once. My attention is just applied differently.
I know which one I prefer. Couldn’t cite studies that “prove” anything about it on a values- or concrete level (like it’s as beneficial as Vitamin C or something) And I’ll still absolutely use sat-nav in certain scenarios. While I try to also remember there was “Life before (X)” and we had robust low-technology techniques for not-dying-prematurely then, too.
Please don’t flame me. I’m just saying what I prefer and why.
