[mgd]

...cuz I'm working for a living. Maybe the demise of country singer Johnny Paycheck has some people wondering if we are working too hard. Are we? Kellog's 6 hour day lasted until 1985? What? How did they do it? Maybe we are working too hard. If someone has to wear a pager off the job, shouldn't they get compensated for it? I went on a hike a few years ago to Snow Lake with a friend. He worked for Boeing and had brought his pager along unbeknownst to me. A couple miles up the trail it goes off. "Oh no!" he says, "It's a 9-1-1. I have to call back now." Fortunately there was no phone around and I told him unfortutantely we would have to keep hiking So is the pager a modern form of slavery?

[Karen]

Yes, I think the pager is a modern form of slavery and so are cell phones. I don't understand why so many people in this society feel the need to be plugged in at all times. The whole point of being in the wilderness (at least for me) is to GET AWAY from all that. I do realize that some people have to wear pagers because of their work but I feel sorry for them. I would find it difficult to fully appreciate going out for a hike if there was even a remote chance that I could be called in to work. I don't have a pager ... I had one for a while and the first time it went off it vibrated and I felt like I was wetting my pants (no kidding). I was walking down the street and all of a sudden there was this warm, unsettling effect .... so I don't use one at all. I have a cell phone which I use about twice a year and I don't take it on the trail. I never talk on the cell phone while driving. I don't think most people can handle it and many who think they can, can't. What is so important that you have to be on the phone at the same time you are driving? Nothing should be more important than being safe on the road and I believe that takes full concentration. I can always tell when someone is on a cell phone as they drift as they go down the freeway. There are a few exceptions .... there ARE a few expert drivers who CAN talk and drive at the same time but most people are not in that category. I am not a total dinosaur -- I enjoy and am fascinated by a lot of things in this technical day and age (digital cameras, scanning, computers, imaging, etc) but I feel and respect the need to pull away from it completely and hike unencumbered and not plugged into anything at all. I LIKE being out of reach at times and I LIKE it when no one can find me. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if the power went out for any length of time? I have. I could survive. I have a huge library and things to occupy me if/when the computer is down. My biggest regret is that my ex-husband convinced me to get rid of my old portable typewriter. I sure wish I hadn't listened to him. In general it doesn't seem like people talk to each other anymore. They talk through cyberspace (and I do this too) and through forums like this one (I enjoy this forum too) and when they are on foot in the city they are on cell phones rather than talking to each other. That makes me sad. In our haste for better communication are we losing our ability to truly communicate? I wonder. Sorry to ramble. Karen

[polarbear]

How did the Grand Coulee Dam, the Space Needle, our major freeways and trail system, and our original telephone network all get built without pagers, cell phones, and faxes. I suspect there was good communication and perhaps even better scheduling before these devices existed.

[#19]

Nice ramble Karen.

[Backpacker Joe]

"A" men Miss. Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaren. Oh heck, I know it's easy to crab about these things. I'm fairly certain every generation has complained about one new gadget or another. Miss. Karen is correct in that we are all getting closed in! People in small neighborhoods dont even know eachother anymore! Seattle is a VERY cold city. A very non friendly area. Ive been all around this country and the world for that matter. i travel for a living. Not only that but I work with guys from all over the U.S.. There is a constant with them; Seattle is cold, and it's the worst place to meet women they've ever seen! Dont jump all over me for this one. Again, Ive been to most states and cities. I work with guys from all over the U.S.. Hell, even guys from the Tri Cities say that Seattle is the worst place to find a date they know of. If you arent rich, or driving a BMW forget it. I hate to say it, but in most ways, I concure. Sorry! TB

[polarbear]

BPJ, you need to trade in a 4-wheeler for a BMW with a snorkel.

[Tom]

I'm pretty sure I saw BPJ's soul mate the other day at the Jack in the Box drive thru in Issaquah. She was driving a monster truck with monster tires. I believe Lisa was her name (per license plate caption which also stated "Bad ass chicks drive bad ass trucks").

[Backpacker Joe]

DANGEROUS DAVENPORT STRIKES AGAIN! Everybody is a wise guy! (you and P-bear included) If there is a soulmate she would be required to conform to WAY to much! Although, that DOLL is on her way that's for sure. The latest babe that I am with (God bless her) is 5'9" and THIN baby! I am SO lucky! The main reason is that she is, SMARTER than I am! She's a Washington alum. I just love it when the ladies are smarter than I am! It gives me so much to look forward to! I LOVE a good debate! We're looking for a place on Bainbridge. She wants to live on the water! I must admit, the views are spectacular! So, we are talking, 5'9" tall, Blond and THIN, and a true conservative! How many babes out there are conservatives??? Man am I in heaven or what! What a COUNTRY, you've got ta love it! TB

[MCaver]

Seattle has been a tough place to crack, but I must say there's a pretty good hiking community out here. Dallas was even worse than Seattle about social circles. In most of parts of Dallas, if you aren't a lawyer or drive a German luxury car, you are nothing. I don't miss that place at all. I don't see too much of that out here because of the circle of friends I've made out here. Most are as laid back as I am.

[Quark]

bpj - you complain that all you can dig up are shallow women who want money, yet your avatar on a hiking board is a possession....and then you go ape sh** happy over someone who meetys your physical requirements (thin, tall, blonde. big surprise) i find these things about you very interesting.

[Backpacker Joe]

Oh come on, I was *kidding!* Brother! I dont dig up any women, all I was relating to you was the experiences Ive been told about from my coworkers who have come from other areas. I was born and raised here, this place is normal to me! I dated miss. tall blond thin gal for a year when I was in high school! We simply found a way back into eachothers lives! My father was a pilot, my brother is a pilot, I learned to fly when I was 18! Yes my avatar is a *possession* because I LOVE ariplanes! Here's to you feeling alittle better about me! TB

[#19]

[Tom]

BPJ, this sounds serious. Hmm, tall, thin, and blone... and smarter than you? What are the odds of that?

[Damian]

I'm concerned about the notion that an avatar actually speaks to one's character. Especially since mine is a rock.

[Quark]

You people are boring. I was hoping to stir up trouble, as life for me is too calm. Everything is in my life is just too damn rosy all the time. No worries, no stress - frankly, I'm bored. Guess I'll have to post stuff and argue with myself using different names like I suspect Stefan used to do on the old TT.