SMS

For all my love of technology I can be somewhat of a naïf in its use.

To put this into a popular cultural context, there is a scene in Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life where a hospital administrator is showing VIPs around the obstetrics theatre where a woman is giving birth amidst a confusing tangle of cables and machines. The administrator clearly acknowledges the valuable asset the technology represents but has no idea, absolutely no idea at all what it is for.

I am, at times, appallingly like that administrator, understanding that this new technology is fabulous, immensely valuable and has a satisfying ‘ping’ but little idea how best to use it.

In this example the technology is not even really new…

Mooba in Subiaco were at the receiving end today when I attempted to order a coffee via SMS using my new phone. Said phone has a wonderfully inept spell correction feature that ignores any previous efforts you have made to add to its dictionary and you have to repeatedly tell it to fuck off before it understands that you just want to spell a word your way.

I COULD turn the feature off, but it is handy at times and on balance the good outweighs the bad…

Unfortunately, the ‘send’ button is also where the ‘backspace’ button was on my old phone – which led to today’s series of texts:

1 FE

(at this point I had attempted to backspace to delete the ‘e’ and substitute a ‘w’ but sent the message instead)

Ignore prev.

(Lest I receive a cup of iron filings I thought it best to cancel that order)

1 M FW w 2 sugar, 1 M FW thanks

(and hit send...)

*facepalm*

No name.

Thankfully the barista’s at Mooba managed to interpret their way through my technological ineptitude and both coffees were ready when I arrived a few minutes later.

I must try this adventure again soon…