Wires and Gadgets
I've realized that our lives are completely run by electrical wires. It's unbelievable how many wires I have around my flat. Let's take a look around - and I'll link to pictures of the different electronic gadgets I use in my daily life, just for fun!
At my desk I have my Philips cordless landline phone with two wires - one to the power socket and one to the jack. Then I have my broadband modem plugged into the wall, with another wire coming into my PowerBook. Then there's my PowerBook charger. And the power cord to my HP printer. That takes us to my printer table. In the top drawer there are four USB/firewire cables ready to be connected to my PowerBook: printer, Canon camera, iPod, and LaCie portable harddrive.
Next, over to the TV area. Now here we have all sorts of stuff, so I'm going to eliminate the interconnecting wires and just go straight to the ones with power-supply cables. Sony TV, Sky satellite receiver, Telewest cable receiver (comes free with my landline and modem) - those three are plugged in by default. Then I have four other cables ready in waiting: Aiwa CD/DVD player, subwoofer for surround speakers, white Pro-Ject Audio turntable, and Pro-ject Audio phono pre-amplifier (which is only about the size of my hand). My CD/DVD player is currently out-of-order but I have to plug it in when I play my turntable because it connects to the amplifier, so whenever I want to listen to my vinyls I unplug the three TV/satellite/cable plugs and put in the four others. I guess I could do all seven at once but it just freaks me out having that many things plugged into only two wall sockets at once!
Anyway, let's move around my flat to the corner of my kitchen counter that overlooks the "dining room" (the far end of the counter that I don't use for cooking purposes) - that's where I keep my iPod and Canon chargers, tucked away in the corner. Then turn around to the countertop near the stove. Three plugs there: Russell Hobbs toaster and kettle, and a generic sandwich maker (although the latter I usually keep inside the cupboard). Then of course, down by the floor are the fridge and washer/dryer plugs. On to the bedroom. (But on the way if you peek behind the living room door which is always kept open by a doorstop, you'll see a vacuum cleaner hidden away in the corner with another plug in waiting. And if you peek under the bed you'll find the iron also waiting. Not worth pictures!)
Then by my nightstand there are three plugs: my bedside lamp, Sony Ericsson charger, and Tivoli Audio radio A/C adapter. Then there's also one last little wire in the drawer - to connect my iPod to my Tivoli Audio.
And let's not forget the wire that travels with me daily - from my headphones to my iPod! Depending on the day, where I'm going, and how big/full my bag is, it'll either be my Sennheisers, or my Panasonics (silver, not blue - and I know these are quite old and outdated but I love them).
That's a helluva lot of wires! And I'm not even any sort of techie-geek. I can only imagine how many cables you guys have, and I certainly can't imagine what it would be like if P and I lived together. As for my gadgets, I need a few upgrades, as you can see. First is my mobile (which I've had for over two years and currently looks like a dog chewed it), and my iPod (which recently died and was resuscitated but is ready for a replacement). Then something needs to be done about my CD/DVD player. Some audio-techie guys I know have offered to try fixing it for me for free. Hopefully that will work because, although it is a few years old, it is really compact and sleek-looking, and I'd hate to give it up. Finally, I also want a much more advanced camera but I'm not going to worry about that until I move back to Kuwait next year - for now I love this one because it's so compact and the quality is great.
Anyway, I guess I should mention that the reason I was thinking about all this tonight was because I spent the better part of my evening re-organising all the wires and cables around my TV area. Just another Saturday night. I guess I am a geek after all!
At my desk I have my Philips cordless landline phone with two wires - one to the power socket and one to the jack. Then I have my broadband modem plugged into the wall, with another wire coming into my PowerBook. Then there's my PowerBook charger. And the power cord to my HP printer. That takes us to my printer table. In the top drawer there are four USB/firewire cables ready to be connected to my PowerBook: printer, Canon camera, iPod, and LaCie portable harddrive.
Next, over to the TV area. Now here we have all sorts of stuff, so I'm going to eliminate the interconnecting wires and just go straight to the ones with power-supply cables. Sony TV, Sky satellite receiver, Telewest cable receiver (comes free with my landline and modem) - those three are plugged in by default. Then I have four other cables ready in waiting: Aiwa CD/DVD player, subwoofer for surround speakers, white Pro-Ject Audio turntable, and Pro-ject Audio phono pre-amplifier (which is only about the size of my hand). My CD/DVD player is currently out-of-order but I have to plug it in when I play my turntable because it connects to the amplifier, so whenever I want to listen to my vinyls I unplug the three TV/satellite/cable plugs and put in the four others. I guess I could do all seven at once but it just freaks me out having that many things plugged into only two wall sockets at once!
Anyway, let's move around my flat to the corner of my kitchen counter that overlooks the "dining room" (the far end of the counter that I don't use for cooking purposes) - that's where I keep my iPod and Canon chargers, tucked away in the corner. Then turn around to the countertop near the stove. Three plugs there: Russell Hobbs toaster and kettle, and a generic sandwich maker (although the latter I usually keep inside the cupboard). Then of course, down by the floor are the fridge and washer/dryer plugs. On to the bedroom. (But on the way if you peek behind the living room door which is always kept open by a doorstop, you'll see a vacuum cleaner hidden away in the corner with another plug in waiting. And if you peek under the bed you'll find the iron also waiting. Not worth pictures!)
Then by my nightstand there are three plugs: my bedside lamp, Sony Ericsson charger, and Tivoli Audio radio A/C adapter. Then there's also one last little wire in the drawer - to connect my iPod to my Tivoli Audio.
And let's not forget the wire that travels with me daily - from my headphones to my iPod! Depending on the day, where I'm going, and how big/full my bag is, it'll either be my Sennheisers, or my Panasonics (silver, not blue - and I know these are quite old and outdated but I love them).
That's a helluva lot of wires! And I'm not even any sort of techie-geek. I can only imagine how many cables you guys have, and I certainly can't imagine what it would be like if P and I lived together. As for my gadgets, I need a few upgrades, as you can see. First is my mobile (which I've had for over two years and currently looks like a dog chewed it), and my iPod (which recently died and was resuscitated but is ready for a replacement). Then something needs to be done about my CD/DVD player. Some audio-techie guys I know have offered to try fixing it for me for free. Hopefully that will work because, although it is a few years old, it is really compact and sleek-looking, and I'd hate to give it up. Finally, I also want a much more advanced camera but I'm not going to worry about that until I move back to Kuwait next year - for now I love this one because it's so compact and the quality is great.
Anyway, I guess I should mention that the reason I was thinking about all this tonight was because I spent the better part of my evening re-organising all the wires and cables around my TV area. Just another Saturday night. I guess I am a geek after all!
posted by Kleio at
12:48 am
5 Comments:
I know the feeling. Wires aren't a problem the really scary part is count how many of your gadgets need charging.
By
nibaq, at 10/29/2006 9:06 am
But HC, the world would NOT be the same if you weren't a techie geek with a million wires everywhere. Ive had that same hay'wire' realization too but I definitely have a lot less hardware than you...! Yella pack up I hear your comin back for a visit- if your not packed already...!
PS...eman...
By
Anonymous, at 10/29/2006 5:54 pm
Nibaq: So true. And isn't it an absolutle crisis when you go out and realize one of your gadgets isn't charged, or the battery runs out? Like sometimes I'll take my iPod out of my bag while sitting on the bus and I'll see that the battery symbol is completely transparent and I'll just panic. "What am I gonna do now?!?!" Or when you go out thinking your camera is fully charged and you take it out to take a picture and see that red light flashing. And probably worst of all is when your mobile battery dies. Although for me, when my battery dies I'm only worried that my family or P will try to reach me from Kuwait. And when P's battery dies while he's out and I'm all the way over here......
BDW: Oh I totally agree - I have no objection to technology running my daily life! I love it. I certainly can no longer imagine my world without my iPod. I love all my wires. There is a thrill you get when you buy a new gadget and then spend hours just playing with it. Do we need these things to survive? Certainly not. Do they bring us happiness? Absolutely. Is that shallow and materialistic? Probably, but who cares? :) At least they're useful...and pretty! The fusion of art and science - aaahhh, finally!!
Emanoooooo: I had to shorten my nickname that you wrote in your comment to just HC because I thought it might give away too much about who I really am! :) Yaaaaaay I'm coming in less than a week! Party in the basement? Can't wait to see you and the gang.
By
Kleio, at 10/29/2006 6:23 pm
:D
By
Anonymous, at 10/30/2006 2:00 pm
P: Tee hee hee! ;)
By
Kleio, at 10/30/2006 4:42 pm
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