About

Computer problem? Never-mind the computer, reboot yourself and defragment your mind.

The world is moving very rapidly.  And by ‘world’, I really mean the blistering advancement of technology.  How can we keep our heads above the flowing tide of new services/opportunities/gadgets that are rapidly transforming our lives and the way we communicate and interact?

Easy - with this blog.  zen | tech | thought is your spiritual guide to navigating modern society’s technology riddled path.

So who am I?  What gives me the self-appointed authority to even waste your precious reading hours?  What the hell do I know about technology and life?

My unique position to comment on the deeper philosophical roles that technology plays in our lives stems from my vocation - I fix computers for a living.  This has been my joy and curse ever since, in 1988 when I was 7, my folks brought home a brand new, shiny 8086 XT Personal Computer.   My life was altered forever.  I was instantly branded my families technology fix-it person for the rest of my days, and there was no use fighting it, so I became a computer tech for my work too.

So I guess I have learned a few things along the way.

By far the most important ability or tool a computer technician/technology consultant/”the IT guy” can have is Patience.  And not patience for technology, but for the people who use it. You can be a fantastic technical person will any number of brilliant solutions and abilities - but impatience (and a range of other human traits this blog will cover such as stubbornness, ego and of course my favourite, rage) will unhinge you everytime.

Sometimes we seem to forget that without our input, these 'machines' (a general term for computers, phones, gadgets etc) are close to useless.  They do not spring to life of their own volition, intent on agendas of file corruption and email deletion.  They are passive and we are active, so if there is a problem, look first at the user (or technician) and second at the device.  But, a wise tech knows that he cannot change a user, only himself and his reaction to them.

But the posts on the blog are not aimed at technical people - in fact quite the opposite - it is hoped that the blunders, cock-ups and frustration of the millions of technicians (myself well and truly included) out there can be reflected upon and dissected should we all benefit from our ongoing and changing relationship with the technology beast.

It should be a wild ride...