I sincerely hope people didn’t buy into that lie; all the internet has done, is to empower cowards to attack their
fellow human beings online, while hiding behind a flat screen monitor in their parent’s basement. Something they would never do face to face.
I was in the Navy at the beginning of computers being used as a tool in the workplace. Well if that wasn’t the greatest lie we ever heard. Do you remember they said; “It will lighten your workload and you’ll have more time off?” Have any of you LiP readers seen that yet?
I can remember when I had an in and out basket on my desk, that told me how my day was moving along. The faster I could move an item from “In” to the “Out” side, was how I knew when it was time I could go grab a beer.
With the computer it just never ended, something was always waiting there that needed to be done. Gone was the time when you could stuff unfinished paperwork into a Navy Guard Mail Envelope on Friday and mail it to yourself to receive it on Monday. Try that with an electronic tattle-tale computer that your boss can check at any time.
The other “make work” item is E-mail, not your home E-Mail that you can ignore but official E-Mail like the Secretary of State could hide, ignore or delete, but a lowly Senior Chief was not afforded that option, but I do like the idea of it.
Now when I owned those two clubs in Puerto Rico, I never bought a computer because I still remembered how to use a Balance Sheet and Ledger. And a notebook in my pocket to store receipts until the next day. The wonderful part was a Tax Audit from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and they stilled liked paper too. Maybe a computer would have been a good idea.
Next were MSC Ships, which were pretty much all computers, but the advantage was the clock, if I were to be required to work past knock off time, it was a Call-out” and I received 2 automatic hours of overtime. Plus 30 minutes to go eat my meal. You need me to do what boss? No problem! I’m as happy as a clam to finish that. But otherwise, that ice cold beer ruled the day.
Shipboard or inter-ship E-mails with MSC were slight, if I did get one from a boss, I’d ask what he meant until they moved the 100 feet and spoke to me. But every day we received a “BURST” that would open an electronic valve or something for a few seconds and the ship would be inundated with junk E-mail from around the world. It was amazing how much was never received by me; remember this was a new technology. And like some other government employees whom shall remain nameless we could delete the hell out of them until they learned how to track them.
Then the government (Or at least the MSC ships) went paperless. What a lie that was, an inspection team was going over my records and asked where the paper backup copies were, Gentleman I have none as regulation such and such paragraph uppity-clutch clearly states…
Mr. Thompson this team requires you keep copies for five years. Here is the deal Mr. Inspector, buy the storage space we can drag behind the ship and we’ll store anything your heart desires. But until you issue that order countermanding MSC regulations I won’t do it and I dare you to fail me! Of course, I passed.
Now I’m retired and use my computer for other purposes, I at one time was political and attacked the foolish trolls who would parrot anything they were told if it fit their beliefs. Then I realized I was becoming one of those assholes and stopped. (Well a small dig once in a while) Now on Facebook, I will comment something like:
Have you ever wondered why the guy who tells us this is an old joke didn’t bother to post it when it was new, why did he make us wait so long?
Or;
Kind sir;
If I could have but one wish, I wish I could have sent this post to the Grammar Police prior to posting. But alas I didn’t, but then I knew you’d be lurking out there to nick-pick anything others post. I thank you for your service here on the worldwide web
I have mellowed so much in the past few years, but I still will never suffer a fool! And neither should any of us! 09; 28 in the morning, and now Paul is going offline for the day!
Here on the Interweb, some person will open a business, restaurant, car repair or whatever. Will design a nice page to advertise it post it to Facebook and neglect to tell us the location. Is it even in the same country we are in?
Well; did the internet bring the world closer, and lighten your workload? Let us know!
Computers were going to cut down on paper but there seems to be more than ever. Nobody seems to be able to print on both sides of the paper either.
But, without the internet we wouldn’t have LIP.
MarJorie;
Bob Martin was fighting the internet while working on my story, so we were joking over it by E-Mail. The incident on my ship proved it to me. We backed up the computer at the end of every day and transmitted it to the main Office in the states. If the ship sunk, would they send divers to retrieve the backup paper work, or just check the backup on their dry land computer? I rested my case with those inspectors and walked away.
…and if it wasn’t for Al Gore, there wouldn’t be an internet, yes? 🙂
John,
When no one believed him about the internet, he invented Global warming and cooling or climate change , and made some real money on that, Now the UN is taking over that business on a global scale. Well except the United States, only California
.
“Official E-Mail like the Secretary of State could hide, ignore or delete” So true!!!
Alex,
Since I now shy away from political comments………..Oh hell you’re right! (LOL)
Paul ~ I agree on both counts. I’ll probably get attacked by anti Trump people but your comment was too easy not to ignore. hahaha Who deletes 33,000 emails and destroys phones with a hammer and gets away with it?
Alex;
Wait according to the DOJ, and the incomputable FBI who found that particular “MATTER” to be false, nothing to see here please move on! (LOL)
Paul ~ Yes, let’s move on to Russia, Russia, Russia to get Trump. Oh it was HRC and the DNC who sold the uranium to Russia for millions in donations? Ooops…..Let’s just write a book called What Happened? and kill anybody who disagrees.
Alex;
I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark, that you are not fond of HRC. The soon to be a pulitzer price winning book, if the DNC can come up with the money to buy all the unsold copies, as they did with the past president’s book. it will also ne a New York Times Best Seller, under the new title of “”Just Don’t Blame Me” by HRC…..
Paul ~ I didn’t know the DNC bought Obama’s books, but I’m not surprised. Perhaps the Clinton Foundation will buy HRC’s. I’m sure she would love to move from the worst sellers list to the best sellers list. Kinda hard to be fond of a criminal that is above the law and should be in jail, sharing a cell with a lot of her criminal friends 😉
Alex;
And then donated copies to all public libraries and public schools and any place that would take them, because they did not blow out of ant stores in high sales. This is a man raised by a White Mother, is life and education paid for by her parents, but the guy he idolizes in his books, ran away and deserted him, and nothing in his books about the people who reared him and never ran away.
About 20 years ago I read an article about how Navy ships were converting from paper equipment manuals to online (computer-based) manuals. The article said that the average Navy ship would ride about 2-4″ higher in the water after getting rid of all those paper manuals! I don’t know if it every happened, but I thought of that article when I read your post!
Steve;
That is true, but the old guard still required the hard copy as computers off timed failed. I left my last ship in 2000, and they still had a backup hardcopy, due to the high cost of the internet running 24-7 off a military satellite back then I would wager that today the manuals are still onboard. I’ll ask a shipmate who is still steaming. plus that inspection team i had to deal with. (LOL)
A
Hi Paul,
Yes I think the Internet has brought the world closer together as without it I might have never learned about and experienced The Philippines the way I have for the past decade or so. Interesting that you posted a pic of a Teletype model 28 ASR. Prior to the internet I used Teletype machines over Amateur Radio for printed communications all over the globe. In some areas when new models came out, some of the phone companies would give away the old ones to Ham Radio operators for free as long as you signed an agreement that the machine would never be returned to commercial service. The machines I had are long gone now since being on the internet since the late 1990’s .
Best wishes to you and your family for Christmas and the New Year !
Bob NY First PASKO NA!!!
The Navy paid for ours, but it was once state of the art, I don’t know what the government did with the Navy’s old gear. But I’ll bet they are stored in a Warehouse 13 type of place. Were we sent all those paper files the ship had no room for? BTW I’ve not heard from you for a while?
Hi Paul. Good topic…even though it’s not specific to the Philippines. Since I use the internet all the time, for me the positives outweigh the negatives. That being said, I agree there are a lot of negatives and you did a great job of touching on several.
Steve;
I was sailing those ships in and out of the Philippines and living here since 1993. E-mailing my company and my family from here in the RP. It was not like the US .
Prior to that; I lived in the Caribbean before moving here. Since age 18 I have lived in the United States for a total of about 12 years on and off. I can only write from my point of reference, but thank you, for your complement. I’m glad that you saw the good side of the internet back in the states during the 90’s.
Ask Bob about the internet he worked with when he moved here to set up his internet business and all he went through, it has improved since then, and in 1993 I arrived here in Olongapo 25 years ago the internet was in its infancy and only large cities were being connected.
Hi Paul,
I think the internet has definitely brought the world closer in recent history. If we go back over 100 years the invention of the flying carriage also called an airplane by some brought the world closer. It would take quite awhile to steam to the Philippines. Back to the internet. I probably would not have met my wife if I had not seen her photo on an international pen-pal site. We did not communicate with the internet as I am sure most similar couple do now with mixed results. We actually hand wrote letters which I think was better at least for me.
Now my wife talks to family for free as long as the family can get a smart phone and internet access. As far as work goes the internet has made some aspects of my work a little easier, but really has not had a tremendous affect on me personally. Just think Paul without the internet you probably never of “met” me. Well we haven’t actually met, but we have exchanged thoughts, idea and opinions.
Peace
Jay
Jay;
You make a strong point about how it aided in your meeting your wife, and I agree there are many good things that came out of Al Gore’s wondrous invention.(LOL)
Even though I arrived in back in Asia in 1992, and picked up my first ship in Guam, steaming to the Philippines is quite relaxing. Especially if you are well paid, while doing it. Distance at sea is something you take for granted. You wake up in your stateroom, turn on the coffee maker and get ready for your workday. Walk 100 feet to the galley and have a great breakfast. (Served by waiters or waitresses) walk 300 feet (Plus up and down a few ladders) and you have commuted to work.
Funny thing about living on a ship, money is never required until you step back on shore, so it tends to pile up between paydays.
But at work the computer will rule your day. We have food and spare parts onboard that the US Navy wants delivered. Plus they always need it yesterday. In days of yore, that information would be waiting on the pier in things called envelopes or delivered by secure radio traffic, and out of sight of land the day moved at its own pace. With the computer it was demands 24-7 on the screen. But the troops need it so you do it, but the computer lightening the work load? It never happened. But back to agreeing with you about aiding in romance. , with me on the bounding main,, communication with Mayang Adobo in Olongapo was far easier .(Alter I bought her a computer) No letters every couple of weeks, we now had E-mail.
The phone deal was much later in the internet evolution.
There is the good and the bad to it, but it never made our life easier as they promised, it in fact added stress. I don’t want computers gone, as now being retired I have full control, over them by just shutting it off and taking a walk with one of my dogs. Oh and I never would have met you! Proving the World Wide Web has value!.
Hello Paul,
Anonymous folks have been stirring things up since the quill and ink days. It’s just faster, and seen by more people now.
I’ve been behind the curve on the computer age my entire professional life. I first encountered them at the military warehouse that was my first duty station. The platoon SGT gave me a tour of the place before I started to work. One of the stops was to visit the “brains of the operation”. We went through a double airlock door into an air conditioned room lined floor to ceiling with those big mainframe computers, with the reel to reel tape wheels clicking along at uneven intervals. I was fresh out of the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I had seen those James Bond films where the evil genius had a room just like that so that he could take over the world. Scared the crap out of me.
My lack of computer savvy has kept me out of some higher paying jobs that I would have been otherwise qualified for. But then I saw those folks pulling their hair out over the hundreds of e-mails and other electronic harassment, and just smiled.
Now I’m retired, and can use the internet as per those early promises. Bring my widely scattered family and friends closer together.
Take care,
Pete
Pete
Yes, that rabble rousers scribing on a piece of parchment and then tacking it to a tree, have always jacked my jaw! (LOL) No doubt it will aid in reaching out to touch somebody, or yourself if you like that side of the interweb. And many other positive sides of the machine.
But no one so far on LiP has pointed out where it has freed them up to work less hours and go forth and enjoy life. Which was the whole point of my musings which by the way was a form of work, as I had to sit down and change my thoughts in to bites (XXX’s and OOO’s) and then you folks had to read and answer them. Well you didn’t really have to answer them, that was “Free Will” taking over. In the years since the Navy involved me with computers, my best time was my two clubs in Puerto Rico, without one. Oh, not once did my ledger and pencil crash….
The first task that comes to mind that was made easier by computers is what we used to call writing, then word processing. Easier to type and edit on a screen before hitting print or send, than to rip pages out of a typewriter and start over. But all that resulted in was the bosses expecting more “productivity” out of folks doing the writing. “No extra leisure time for you!” to paraphrase a famous comedy sketch.
Take care,
Pete
Pete;
Prior to a computer sitting on every desk there already was the word processor, which you could write on, save and print. After the raise of home computers, they were replaced with the IBM units. Once they became affordable. Nice try Pete! (LOL)
Hi Paul,
I am not really arguing with you because you are writing about your experience, but my work has been made a little easier by e-mail. I have to turn in a monthly invoice. I type it and send it to multiple people now including myself in case there is an error in my pay because I am paid based on the invoice. I used to fill it out with pen and paper. I was suppose to get it copied, but I did not feel I had time once. My supervisor at the time misplaced it and it was a problem that cost me time. I ended up finding the invoice in my supervisors file cabinent which he had not given me permission to look into, but had left unlocked while I was going through useless documents he had provided me to try and reconstruct my invoice that he claimed I had not turned in to him. I don’t know. I understand your experience with your work was different and there are things I find annoying about the internet as well. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Peace
Jay
Jay;
It sounds like E-mail could have helped you in that situation, as much as a Xerox machine could have. But a more competent supervision was all that was really needed.(LOL)
All any of us can write about is our own life experiences, I tend to look for the humor, which off times lies just below the surface of all situations I just point out the funny that others might miss.
A most joyous Christmas to you and yours also!