A Word from The Woods
Posted at 5:09 AM on September 11, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(20 Comments)
This week the Ford Motor Company became the first car company to endorse a bill in the Senate that penalizes states if they don't outlaw texting and driving. The research on this is clear - it increases the hazard significantly when somebody tries to drive a car and compose or read a text at the same time. Others might go farther and claim that multitasking is a myth. A person can only do so much at one time, and every distraction reduces your effectiveness, no matter the task. A recent study at Stanford University confirmed that multitaskers are bad at everything they're doing.
Thus I was not surprised to get the following on my cell phone this morning. I've already translated it from text-speak:
Hello from the woods! Bart the bear here.Did you know the bear hunting season has started in Minnesota? My favorite time of year (not really). I have until October 18th to stay out of sight as much as possible. Thanks to whoever wrote the rule that you can't shoot a bear in his den. That means I get to spend lots of time dug in here, composing text messages.
Texting is a great way to stay in touch, even in the wild places. You'd be surprised how much coverage there is, really. So I hope you'll tell all your hunting listeners that texting is a really productive pastime while you're sitting around in the great outdoors, waiting for a bear to wander by.
You can catch up with old friends from far away and tell long, funny stories. Don't forget to drop in all those neat icons. It may take a lot of concentration to find them on your little keyboard, but believe me, it's worth the trouble.And if you do get lucky enough to bag a bear like me (hope not), you might need those texting skills to call for assistance in skinning me (really, really hard work) and dragging my body out of the woods (I've put on lots of weight) so you can quickly cool me down so I don't spoil (a difficult and expensive job).
Hunting is fun! Make sure every hunter you know brings a cell phone into the woods, and video games, too.
Your friend (still alive and texting),
Bart The Bear
I think Bart is trying to undermine the effectiveness of our hunting population.
Have you ever become so absorbed in a task you failed to notice what was right in front of your face?
Comments (20)
oh, clever Bart - so nice to hear from him. thanks for sharing, Dale. and much good luck to Bart during hunting season.
Harvest Festival is at Duluth Bayfront Park tomorrow 9 to 4, with Greg Brown concert following. rain or shine. please check it out and come visit us!
(the woman who is coordinating this for our Sustainable Farming Assoc. seems to be able to do 80 things at the same time - admirable!)
Please Dale, don't ever let Bart get shot.
Sometimes I get so absorbed in Trial Balloon, that I fail to notice the clock. When school's in session, that can be problematic. This year I'm trying to be more disciplined. How many of you have noticed that I've cut back my posts from 7 days a week to 6 and 1/2? Still, when I see an entry that I can't resist responding to, and the time is crunching, I just give myself permission to be late - it's much healthier for my psyche that way. When my administrator questions my tardiness, I just tell her I had diarrhea. She never wants to hear more.
Any songs in the library for a queasy tummy?
Bart's attempt to distract hunters would certainly work for me. I certainly am not a mutitasker like the woman that Barb mentioned.
If my computer stops the audio part of Radio Heartland while I am writing a comment, I don't notice at first because I can't pay attention to the music and write comments at the same time.
There is some problem with my system that causes it to turn off the audio and it has to be restarted. I don't know if others who listen ro RH over thier computers have this problem. It might be something that is only in my system.
Donna, i have noticed the severe decline in your postings! i think it's time to retire so you can devote all of your efforts to one thing - listening to and enjoying RH in the morning.
and Jim, i had that problem w/ streaming using the first choice (the main option) and also media player - always cutting out. now i use the "MP3" option on the computer (i have no idea what a MP3 is) and it works great! it uses "Music Match Jukebox" to play on our computer, so imagine you need some kind of player in order to do that option.
as far as multi-tasking goes, i can't even milk two sides at a time or i end up with a goat foot in the bucket. one needs to be watchful - the slightest shift means a foot is coming to the bucket soon. they count on this lack of concentration to take advantage. :-)
Ha ha Barb! I'm not quite old enough to retire - dang!
When I do, any chance you'll need a hired goat-hand? I'm cheap!
Say "hi" to Greg Brown for me.
Greetings! When it comes to multitasking, count me out -- I have a one-track mind, so to speak. Very clever of Bart to endorse texting while bear hunting!
I'm quite adept at tuning out people when I'm reading or listening to music. I'm extremely focused and intense when I'm in karate class -- almost to the point of being rather non-congenial!
I will completely lose track of time when I'm completely absorbed and focused on something that I really enjoy doing. When I'm writing and it's really going well, I get so into the story that time just evaporates. Also usually when I'm in the darkroom. I'll only notice the time when my stomach starts growling and I think, "Why am I hungry? Oh, because I've been in here for 8-10 hours straight..."
As I get older I get less able to multi-task (if it ever truly was possible). Driving and texting? No way. Too many things to think about. Heck, I even tell my daughter sometimes that I need to concentrate on driving and I will finish the story I am telling her after a couple of blocks if traffic is bad.
That said, I can get hyper focused on some tasks. I have a friend who has been known to call be my family nickname (loudly) if she can see that I'm so involved that I have stuck my tongue out (without realizing it). Most often this is when I'm building or painting something.
Bart must pay a lot of extra roaming charges...
More often than not I become engrossed enough in configuration and network related tasks at work that I don't know what is going on around me. My co-workers take pleasure in walking into my cube to startle me practically out of my chair. :-)
I use a high degree of concentration during my reading time at lunch. I get so involed in the story that I have to be careful getting back to work on time. There's never quite enough time to finish the next chapter. Now, the thing to do is find a job where I'll get paid to read! Have an awesome Friday!
Barb, thanks for the information on a better way to connect. I'm getting ready to go on vacation, but, if I can remember, I will give your suggestion a try latter.
If I were to text while driving it would be the same message every time:"Help! I need directions!"
i have never been distracted form my primary focus for any reason. ask my wife.
bart, it is too bad that the humans are the only ones who can organize hunting parties. i think if the bears could get together and begin thinning out the Norwegians and Germans it could be an interesting co existence. a Swede skin rug on the floor of the den is just what the cubs need to show the family heritage.
On Sunday my husband and I saw a young adult man riding his motorcycle down a fairly busy street in our town, without helmet, texting with both hands. I never knew you could steer a motorcycle with no hands.
Aw shucks, attempting to translate Bart's texts are fun (but do appreciate the translation as well).
Always good to hear Iris DeMent.
When I was very little, maybe age 3, I had an encounter with a bear in Yellowstone. We were at a picnic area having something to eat, and being absorbed in our meal we were surprised by a bear which suddenly wandered into the area. Being age 3 in the 1960s, I thought this was quite cool and exclaimed 'it's Yogi Bear'. My parents thought otherwise and whisked me into our camper van. The bear never threatened us, he/she was just interested in our food. We have some of the incident on 8mm movie film.
yes, i'm pretty sure multitasking is overrated---quite the opposite of concentration, focus, absorption.....i'm not surprised the RH folks are in the "concentration camp"--heh heh
alright, bart--turn the technology back on the technicians!
re bears, when i was a little kid, maybe 3, the family went in to two harbors and there were bear cubs on display in a cage. we were all told very loudly and clearly to keep our fingers out of the cage! however, i was completely taken with the little cubs, single-minded, drawn like a magnet...and put my fingers through the cage to touch the cubs and got bitten (not severely)---
this family story was only told by my dad, who liked my sense of focus but recognized the dangers of not listening to the wisdom of elders when drawn to the wild...
I'm a congenital multi-tasker, I'm afraid. No attention span whatsoever. I can sometimes (but not always) completely focus during a musical performance, or while writing.
Favorite example of multi-tasking: Several years ago (pre-cell phone era) I was driving to St. Cloud to give a speech for which I did not have an opening. A car rocketed past me in the left lane, going at least 80 mph. I looked over in time to see that the driver was busy reading a newspaper draped over the steering wheel. I next saw that the car had Iowa license plates, and realized that I had seen the Iowa version of the information superhighway.
And I had an opening for my speech.
I'm afraid I'm hardly able to concentrate on anything with out being distracted. Husband on the other hand can bury himself in a book OR ANYTHING and you have to get right in his face to be heard. Coping mechanism for 29 years of marriage?
as a retired person with no cellphone there is no texting in my house; i find i concentrate better in my old age, which is good cuz the twins tend to chatter loudly , at the same time, about different things, constantly, and i've learned to tune them out so i can get things done
I spent the morning finding out that I have spurs in my knees, and they aren't jingle, jangle, jingling. So I am catching up, here. What a treat to hear from Bart!
I tried to text while I was driving once, only I was too big of a wuss to do it when the car was moving. So I was typing in a word or 2 at stop signs and stoplights. I found myself wishing the light would be red longer so I could get my message sent and realized how ridiculous that was and gave it up.
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