Why does everyone want to empower me?
I need a computer person.
Specifically, I need a computer person who will actually do stuff for me. Now, I’ll admit, it’s mundane stuff. I need to upgrade my OS, install some new software, and do all of that without compromising any of the data I’ve already got stored.
Sure, I could do this myself. And this is why I have not yet found a computer person. You see, every “geek” (and I say that lovingly) I talk to offers to explain to me how to do it myself. They want to empower me so that I’ll be more self-reliant in the future. Or maybe they hate doing this stuff, too.
There is a long list of things in my life that I could be doing for myself. It includes:
- Hemming my own pants. (I’m short. Every pair of pants I buy needs hemming. I took sewing. I know how to hem. I won’t do it.)
- Changing my own oil. (Totally unwilling to get under the car.)
- Shovelling my own driveway in winter. (It just makes me cry.)
- Dying my own hair. (Messy.)
- Baking my own bread. (Yes, I have a bread machine. I use it for pizza dough.)
- Blah, blah, blah.
By refusing to do the above list, I create employment for others. I pay them for their time and skill, and that frees me up to use my time and skills to do the things at which I’m really good. Such as writing. Compare my writing to my sewing sometime and you’ll see why I’m not a tailor.
Why don’t geeks get this?
So here’s what I’m going to do. From now on, when any of my technologically astute colleagues call to ask about how a word should be spelled or whether the grammar they’ve encountered is correct, I’m going to refer them to the section of Fowler’s Modern English Usage that will help them figure it out for themselves. Or maybe I’ll just cheerfully explain the rule for doubling the T or L before adding “ing” or “ed.” When I get to the part about how having the accent on the first or final syllable changes the rule, I’m sure they’ll get their butts right over here and install that new OS for me.
I second all that. Just don’t ask me to install your OS for you.
I couldn’t agree more. The last time I tried to do this stuff, I was furiously scribbling down notes so I could follow it step by step. You know, shorthand is a lost skill, and there’s no indication that it found a home with me. I have actually had to plead with the geeks to take my money because I don’t WANT to do it myself! (I am exclaiming loudly which is why I used that punctuation mark).