Today I was taking some photos of the house for our landlords. Clutter seems to show twice as much in photos, so I was tidying up as I went along.
Since we rent, we didn't drill holes when we hung our flat-screen in the living room. (I always have to mention this when someone comes in the room, because I can't just let them think I made the decision to do that.)
Forget the days of one cord going from the TV to the outlet: High-definition televisions require more wires! This thing in our living room has one wire that's actually five bound together, plus a two-wire bundle and two other individual wires. (That's nine total! As Dan counted them for me, he actually said, "See this one here? This one is the shit!" because it is a really thin digital-to-digital connection between the PS3 and TV.) The TV wires are kind of draped across the fireplace mantel, then gathered with a twist-tie, where they fall and join an annoying wire will comprised of cords from the Playstation 3, XBOX 360, Bose iPod station, Rock Band accessories, and other peripherals.
If you ever check out my Flickr profile, you probably know how much I hate wires from one of my sets called Wire is Life. They look so messy and almost barbaric, in my mind a blatant example of disorganization--and a clear vulnerability for any invading aliens. Snip snip, and we're screwed.
Remember that Robert DeNiro scene in Brazil where he almost hidden among the wires and ducts of an air-conditioning system? That movie was all about a future over-reliance on machines (and bureaucracy), and I think it's funny that the scrambled wires were kind of symbolic of inefficiency. We really live like that, don't we? Check behind your office desk and try to identify all of the wires, where they go, and their purposes for a small glimpse into the global madness of wires. Another example: Sections of Miami simply shut down for days after a nearby hurricane, due to downed or compromised wires.
I'd like to know how we can fund space mission after space mission, continually relying on wireless technology for communication with the International Space Station--not to mention, uh, billions of mobile phones--but can't make all of our home electronics exist on a close-circuit wireless system. There have to be some weirdos currently living this way, right? If you know them, can you please introduce me to them?
I would pay a lot of money to get rid of the wires in my life... and because this seems an eventuality, I'm putting together ideas for what use that extra wire clutter may have. It's funny (and slightly terrifying, if you believe in technological singularity) to imagine that wires may not be necessary at some point, at which time they will become a bizarre movie prop for future generations.
In the meantime, does anyone have proven suggestions for managing large quantities of wire? I think those corrugated, vacuum hose-looking dealies are ugly. The bent metal cord keepers that hook onto desks are really hard to use, especially if you need to frequently move things around. I apparently am not the only one with this desire (are you familiar with a site called CableOrganizer.com?), so please, could someone just make the technological leap necessary for wireless everything already? Thank you in advance.
Since we rent, we didn't drill holes when we hung our flat-screen in the living room. (I always have to mention this when someone comes in the room, because I can't just let them think I made the decision to do that.)
Forget the days of one cord going from the TV to the outlet: High-definition televisions require more wires! This thing in our living room has one wire that's actually five bound together, plus a two-wire bundle and two other individual wires. (That's nine total! As Dan counted them for me, he actually said, "See this one here? This one is the shit!" because it is a really thin digital-to-digital connection between the PS3 and TV.) The TV wires are kind of draped across the fireplace mantel, then gathered with a twist-tie, where they fall and join an annoying wire will comprised of cords from the Playstation 3, XBOX 360, Bose iPod station, Rock Band accessories, and other peripherals.
If you ever check out my Flickr profile, you probably know how much I hate wires from one of my sets called Wire is Life. They look so messy and almost barbaric, in my mind a blatant example of disorganization--and a clear vulnerability for any invading aliens. Snip snip, and we're screwed.
Remember that Robert DeNiro scene in Brazil where he almost hidden among the wires and ducts of an air-conditioning system? That movie was all about a future over-reliance on machines (and bureaucracy), and I think it's funny that the scrambled wires were kind of symbolic of inefficiency. We really live like that, don't we? Check behind your office desk and try to identify all of the wires, where they go, and their purposes for a small glimpse into the global madness of wires. Another example: Sections of Miami simply shut down for days after a nearby hurricane, due to downed or compromised wires.
I'd like to know how we can fund space mission after space mission, continually relying on wireless technology for communication with the International Space Station--not to mention, uh, billions of mobile phones--but can't make all of our home electronics exist on a close-circuit wireless system. There have to be some weirdos currently living this way, right? If you know them, can you please introduce me to them?
I would pay a lot of money to get rid of the wires in my life... and because this seems an eventuality, I'm putting together ideas for what use that extra wire clutter may have. It's funny (and slightly terrifying, if you believe in technological singularity) to imagine that wires may not be necessary at some point, at which time they will become a bizarre movie prop for future generations.
In the meantime, does anyone have proven suggestions for managing large quantities of wire? I think those corrugated, vacuum hose-looking dealies are ugly. The bent metal cord keepers that hook onto desks are really hard to use, especially if you need to frequently move things around. I apparently am not the only one with this desire (are you familiar with a site called CableOrganizer.com?), so please, could someone just make the technological leap necessary for wireless everything already? Thank you in advance.
