Chiseled in Stone

Hi neighbors. Have you ever had to fill out insurance forms? You would think there could be an easier way than having to toggle between a CD and an Internet site; printing out a page and/or e-mailing it to the insurance company.

Nothing is easy these days.

Remember how computers were going to make us a paperless society? Guess that didn't work out like they planned it. Any place that uses computers knows that even if you save it on a disk (now obsolete and useless) or a CD (get one scratch on it and it's gone for good, along with all your information) or save it to the hard drive (now there's a horror story that will keep you awake at night) -- you have to print it out to make certain you will have a safe copy of the information.

Now, we are so paranoid about our computers crashing that we save and double save, print and double print everything of value that appears on our desktop.

About desktops -- how cluttered is yours? Do you have folders containing icons, documents,web sites, photos and other folders?

It's a mess! Try to find anything in a hurry and it's like digging through a pile of papers and folders on any solid wood desk. Some improvement.

The only time-saving part is the fact that all your work can disappear in an instant. I've had my desktop go blank leaving just my coffee cup wallpaper staring back at me. Once the little bar at the bottom of the screen flipped itself up to the right side of the screen where it was vertical instead of horizontal. Talk about a plot eligible for an "Outer Limits" television show!

What about those "error" codes. If something is wrong, why didn't computer programmers have it fixed so that the computer would say what is wrong? Instead, you get a code number and you're supposed to remember that and call for help.

Another problem with that is the little window with the error code usually disappears by the time you've found a piece of scrap paper to write down the code.

In my decade plus use of computers, one lesson I've learned well is that I'd best keep a stack of paper handy just in case.

I suppose each century has had problems with the various ways of communicating.

The biggest problem at first must have been developing a language. We all grow up learning some language and it's difficult to comprehend what life without any language might be like.

After language was at least in its infancy, writing had to come along.

Oh, it's great to talk to people, but what if that person is a mile behind you on the path and you decide to take the right fork of the road instead of the left? How do you let the fellows behind you know which way you went?

You could draw an arrow in the dirt if you come from a society that has arrows I guess. Maybe you could leave your shoe or some other personal belonging on the path you chose so they could tell you went that way. If they recognized your shoe as being yours.

Maybe you could draw your picture in the pathway with a rock or branch. A little stick man image would do.

Beginning languages and the writing of them had to be very simplistic. They didn't have that much to talk about did they?

Certainly not things like e-mail, jet-lag, photocopies, television, space stations, ball-point pens, telephones, radios, microwaves or even popcorn.

With so little to discuss I'm surprised language ever developed anyway, much less writing.

Those first trials at writing had to be pretty difficult. Luckily for all mankind, Clovis was on the case.

For those of you who don't know about Clovis, he is a 20,000 year old caveman who often invents things before their time.

"Clovis!" his wife snapped as he trudged out the entrance of the cave. "Don't forget to pick up some fish, some wild garlic and a couple of bird eggs on your way home from hunting today."

"How am I supposed to remember all of that?" he asked.

"Make a list."

"With what?"

"Oh, I don't know, chisel it in a rock or something." So he does; although it takes him all day to do it and he returns home empty handed.

The next morning he proudly shows her his engraved list on a nearby boulder.

"How will that help you remember the list? It's too big to carry."

"I should spend the day inventing paper."

"Never you mind that! Go get the garlic, eggs and fish!" I'm surprised writing was ever invented at all!