The Comforts of Home

My brother's wife stopped by my house this afternoon to talk with my wife. During the course of the conversation it came up that there are a number of appliances that decided to break down at my brother's house all at the same time. I feel my brother's pain as I had something similar happen to me several years ago. It felt like every time I would get something fixed, something else would break down. Furthermore nothing was cheap. It all cost money to fix and that only seemed to make things work.

It is at times like this that I think back to what really matters as far as technology. Nobody likes being uncomfortable and so proper shelter is very important. Once I had my heater go out and couldn't get it repaired for several days. The culprit turned out to be a $2 light switch on the furnace. I also had a leaky roof replaced this summer. I was tired of going into my wife's office and seeing water damage after big rain showers. Heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, and a solid roof over head are all important for comfort.

However I think the most important technological invention during the past several centuries is indoor plumbing. That contributes to my comfort more than almost everything else combined. I don't care about high-definition television nor do I care about being able to heat things up in an ultra-modern microwave if I can't have a hot shower or have to use an outhouse. Think about the last time you were sick and how comforting it was to be able to soak in a warm tub.

When it comes to the comforts of home, we all think we need high-speed Internet connections and the latest TV technology. In the end, indoor running water is much more important. If you don't believe me, go camping for a week. Trust me, you will come back with a renewed appreciation for the simple things at home.

It is Good to be Home

Friday night I made it from Tokyo back to Salt Lake without too much difficulty. It is good to be home again. Unfortunately it is a short weekend as I have to head to California for the week ahead. Two days in my own house is not enough and so I am looking forward to being able to return again Thursday evening.

While in Tokyo I used a number of technologies to keep in touch with my wife. Normally I use Skype but my wife's schedule didn't allow it this time. At least not computer to computer. I did use Skype on my iPhone while in my hotel and called my wife directly on her mobile phone number. It cost me only a few cents per minute but was well worth it.

My wife wasn't always available to talk and so I sent her a number of text messages. I kept my iPhone in airplane mode and just turned on the WiFi. As my wife and I both have iPhones, we were able to exchange text messages over WiFi and without me having to connect to the local network in Japan. I have written about this before and my son informs me that you can do the same thing with Android phones, but I have yet to give it a shot.

Next week my wife and my schedules should sync up a bit more nicely and that will make talking much easier. I love that technology has made it easier to call home as I will be missing it a lot this week.