Wednesday 13 March 2019

Technical brains.

For most of my adult life I have not had to think 'technically'.   Both of my husbands - in very different ways - were very practical men who could come up with a sensible solution to almost all problems - and who could call in an expert when they couldn't.

Now I am having to think technically for myself  and, dear reader, I have to tell you that I am totally and utterly useless at it.   Even the most simple problem sends me into a muddle.   And today I am totally ashamed of myself.

When I came home from town yesterday in my car I realised that the car radio was on and playing very quietly in the background.   I don't like background noise - however  quiet (something to do with being deaf I am sure) - but I just couldn't see how to turn the darn thing off.   I must have turned it on, but I didn't know how I had done that either.   This morning the sound was still there when I went to the Hairdressers.

She offered to come with me to my car after my hair was done but she is after all in quite an advanced stage of pregnancy so I thought it very unfair to drag her out in the gale which was raging outside.   And I knew friend S was coming this afternoon to take Tess for a walk, so I waited.   Friend S is a practical lady and as I knew - she opened the car door and switched the radio off.   I must have pressed the on switch accidentally at some point.   Why didn't I know how to do it - it was simple enough?

Is it just that some of us can't be bothered to learn these simple things?   I do remember once in the far distant past, before I trained to be a teacher, I worked - getting experience pre college - in a school for mentally handicapped adults - it was a very happy year in my teaching life.   But one day, when the head (a very strong, capable lady) had been called out, the plug broke on the electric iron when one of us was teaching a pupil ironing skills.
There were three of us there and none of us could change a plug!   When Mrs G came back I remember what she said, word for word:   'I despair.   Three so called capable women and not one of you can change a plug.   You should be ashamed of yourselves.'   (I still couldn't do it today - in fact I am not even sure whether you do change plugs these days or have we moved on from that?   (if not then please feel free to despair on my behalf).

27 comments:

Bovey Belle said...

I am practical a very practical person, as long as it doesn't involve electricity (but then I have my husband here to do that). I can change a bulb (but not a tyre, though I know roughly how it's done - by people with more strength and better tools than I've got in the car), experiment on the computer to see what I need to do to alter something, but technical stuff isn't really my speciality I have to say! Anything with figures (finalizing my accounts for instance, which is an Important Thing) also has me in a complete panic.

I'll stick to what I'm good at I think!

Bovey Belle said...

Ignore first practical!

wherethejourneytakesme said...

That was a harsh comment the head made - if we are not shown how to do things we often don't know - my dad taught me how to change a plug - these days they are welded on in some way so you cannot tamper with them.
I smiled about the radio - I was four miles down the road in my new car before I found out how to turn mine off on the first day!

Virginia said...

You’re certainly not alone! Anything electronic I’m useless with. I have to take my car in to the dealer whenever the phone refuses to sync. I’m deaf , so the Bluetooth connection is the only way I can hear in the car.its only a case of pressing buttons ina certain order, but it’s beyond me. And the not-yet-4 year old is better at tuning the tv to DVD and back again than I am.i was floundering around randomly pressing buttons and he said “Try the other remote Grandma “ ..... he was right!

lynda said...

Have just gotten a new, much more complicated sewing machine..I figure that learning how to use it will take the rest of my life!

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

When I was in London in 1967 (I'm from the US) I was amazed at the plugs and electrical things for sale in a department store........As I was amazed at bins of feathers and down in German department stores in the 70's.... We didn't have any of this, and I wouldn't have a clue how to change a plug.

Penhill said...

My husband now has dementia and I am having to teach myself all the "practical " things he did,it is a sharp learning curve.

Gail, northern California said...

I listened to an interview with American actress Glenda Jackson the other night. She is currently playing the part of King Lear on Broadway. She told the story of switching from her land-line phone to an iPhone. "I'm on stage every night performing a difficult part, I had to memorize pages of dialogue." Evidently her children gave her the iPhone, telling her she would "love it." In sheer frustration, she had to ask her 7 year old grandson for help to retrieve her iPhone messages. He told her, "Grandma. I showed you three times and I'm not going to do it again." I guess we rely on others...'til we can't.

Joan (Devon) said...

I am useless at technical things, but when my husband was working abroad, (in the 80s, a time when we did have to change our own plugs) I managed it with the help of a book (no internet then). I have since forgotten and I no longer have that book, so thank goodness for the present day when plugs come already attached. Technology is alien to me, even the computer which I use every day for the blogs, but if something appears or not that shouldn't or should, I call for help.

My grand-daughter of eight is more informed about all technology as she has grown up with it and you should see my youngest grand-daughter of nearly two years old when she manages to get hold of my husband's mobile phone and her mother's I-pad (is that the term?) her little fingers know exactly where they should be going.

Heather said...

We all have capabilities in different fields so you should not feel ashamed. I will now confess to all and sundry that I am having to learn how to use a mobile phone! My great grandchildren probably use them, but the wretched things are beyond me. The biggest drawback is remembering to keep recharging them!

Tasker Dunham said...

I work on the assumption that problems of any kind needs patience, perhaps even thinking about for a few days, possibly a bit of of trial and error. The main thing is not to mess things up further, which impatience tends to make you do. Eventually you get there. I'm sure you would have solved the radio problem in time, and felt wonderful about it.

Tom Stephenson said...

Don't worry Weave. I know plenty of middle-aged men who are just like you. Everyone has their moments.

the veg artist said...

We were taught to change a plug in Physics at my girls' grammar school in the late 60s, but I haven't had to change one in years, although I do keep a box of fuses just in case. I'm quite practical all round, the product of generations of farmers and builders, but practicality is far from being everything! There are many things I can't do or don't like doing. I'm impatient, not all that sociable, very bad around illness and can't cope with drunks. I think these qualities are more important than being good with technology.

Janice said...

We were at the mall the other day and ran into my aunt so we decided to go and have a coffee. During conversation my aunt was saying what a useless phone she had because she couldn't here it ring. My husband looked at it and discovered she had it set on mute-for four years!! We had quite a laugh over that.

shadypinesqltr said...

At least with a new car you get an owner's manual but with most electronic gadgets you have to go online to get instructions and help. My new laptop arrived sans instructions and I couldn't figure out how to go online to get instructions on how to go online!

Cro Magnon said...

My car has all sorts of gadgets that I never use. It has Fog Lights, but I have no idea how to turn them on! You're not alone; although I can change a plug, build a roof, and plaster walls.

thelma said...

My car came wth a manual but I still haven't worked out how to stop people getting locked in the back (child lock), the manual is so thick. It reminds me of the early days of computers when enormous, brick size, manuals arrived with computer to set it up.

Librarian said...

I've never changed a plug in my life, but Steve did know all these things; he built his own computer, did all the repairs and work necessary around our flat himself. When he died, I learned to do some of it, but still prefer leaving things to the experts, especially when electricity is involved.

Sharon in Surrey said...

I can fix a lot of things - yes, I can change the plug - but I was a farm kid til I was 12. And the oldest of a bunch of kids so I learned early. I bought myself the Reader's Digest HOW TO FIX ANYTHING & HOMESTEADER books when I was in my 20s just so I could make soap, kill a chicken & install a new thermostat in my dryer. I built my own computers 30 years ago. But I'll tell you, technology is moving so fast nowadays that I can't even recognize most of the parts inside my computer anymore although plugs & dryers have remained fairly simple. I thank Reader's Digest for those great manuals & necessity for making me learn how. And just remember, you can't do it all. That's what we have the kids for!!!

Rachel Phillips said...

You set out on a negative outlook. This is not good. I am practical and always willing to have a go. In modern cars the radio can be turned on by touching the radio controls on the steering wheel. It will probably happen again. I hope you noted and touched the off switch yourself when your girl turned it off so you will know for next time. Appliances come with plugs. I suspect you have noticed this. Men like females who are helpless so you will be well positioned for a new husband if you want one.

Derek Faulkner said...

Like Cro, my car has numerous gadgets/functions that I can't work out how to use/don't need. It hasn't been made easier when some of the controls are buttons on the steering wheel that are easily pressed without you realising it. My big problems are mobile phones (as a result I stick to an ancient Nokia) and computers. The slightest deviation away from how I use my computer throws me into instant panic, followed by intense lack of patience. You will have skills/knowledge that can leave looking like a dim-wit.

JayCee said...

Ah yes. We are just about to change our current car because it has too many gadgets that we don't need or will ever use and that keep beeping at us all the time. I am not too bad on computers though and am often summoned to help the other half when he gets stuck online. Like you, I am hard of hearing so would probably never have noticed that the car radio was on in the first place!

The Weaver of Grass said...

You don;t know how relieved I feel after reading all your comments. My radio button is not on my steering wheel Rachel it is on the dashboard - but now I know where it is and it is OFF and will remain there - I never have listened to the radio in the car - being deaf I find it too distracting. So thanks to one and all.

Joanne Noragon said...

I wonder if we use irons today! But, I can change a plug. My father was an engineer who maintained that any man who could not change a washer was pretty useless. I failed washers, back in the day our plumbing required washers, but, by damn, I can change a plug!

Gwil W said...

You'll have to learn the radio switching off thing. You don't want a flat battery one cold morning!!!

My car which is really a small van switches everything off when I get out and lock the door behind me. There are many expensive German cars which don't even do that. I've seen BMW's, Mercs etc.. with headlights left on all night.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Gwil I intend to get the Media manual and read it. I think my radio did switch off a minute after I locked the door but I do need to be sure don't I?
I still use an iron every week Joanne.

Rachel Phillips said...

I am surprised Vauxhall modern cars have nothing on the steering wheel for radio control whilst driving.