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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nI\u2019ve noticed that my handwriting has gone absolutely to hell. My handwriting was never beautiful either cursive or printed. Both looked like I\u2019d strangled a palsy stricken chicken then dipped it\u2019s feet in ink. My writing was so bad even doctors had a tough time reading it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Now days, my writing is worse. Much worse! I\u2019d bet that a future Archaeologist, upon discovering anything of mine that was handwritten, would assume they\u2019d discovered another type of writing for which there was no Rosetta Stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/handwriting.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nI\u2019d been aware of the degradation for many years. Last year it all came to a head when I\u2019d written some notes during a phone call and found that I couldn\u2019t read them an hour later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
At the time I was annoyed at myself. After ten or twenty minutes I was able to decode my chicken scratch and make sense of it. The problem wasn\u2019t spelling it was formation of the characters themselves. I immediately recognized the problem as one of fine motor skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Without actually writing by hand, I\u2019d begun to loose fine motor skills, not due to any malady, but due to lack of use. I proved this hypothesis by writing large on a piece of paper, then scaling the size of the characters down to fit in a single ruled line. (And yes, I was wearing my glasses!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
For those of you old enough to remember learning to write letters in grade school this is why all of us, as children started out with paper ruled in 2\u201d lines. It wasn\u2019t that our vision was terrible, it was that we needed the space to train the fine motor control in our hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/diplomat-classic-collection-1922-fountain-pen-Dualtone-irridium-Medium-nib-German-Made.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nI\u2019d also noticed some other effects of the loss of fine motor control. Chief among these was soldering . I used to be able to solder the finest circuits by hand. If I made a repair on a board, you had to look really hard to see it. Cold Solder joints? Not on my work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Now\u2026 Not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
A year ago, recognizing the problem and its cause, I dusted off my old Franklin Planner. I cleaned out the 10 year old notes and calendar, then wondered if Franklin Planners could still be purchased. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/franklinplanner.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nA quick web search reassured me that Franklins were in fact, still a thing. There wasn\u2019t nearly as wide an array of page designs as there once was, but Monticello, (an old favorite) was still available. I placed an order and was pleasantly surprised when the package arrived two days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/36230monarchmonticellodailyplannerrefill.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSo I began writing by hand again. My penmanship has improved over time as a result. (I\u2019m still not going to win any awards!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
I still receive digital Calendar invites and my household still uses common shared ToDo lists. But I transcribe the Calendar invites into my Franklin. Yes, this is redundant but it keeps pushing the ball forward on improving my penmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Now when I\u2019m on the phone scheduling something I\u2019m noting it in my Franklin daily notes. I\u2019ll add the event to the Franklin first, then move it to the Online Calendar if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Admittedly, it\u2019s hard to switch back to Paper and Pen. Digital services are cloyingly seductive. I\u2019m willing to eschew the ease and convenience in trade for penmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Pentel-Pencil.jpeg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAnother benefit of the trade is that my soldering ability is coming back. It\u2019s not the quality it used to be, that\u2019s something you acquire by doing it 8 hours a day 5 days a week. But it\u2019s improved to the point that I\u2019m not ashamed of anyone seeing my work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s Franklin refill arrived Monday. It\u2019s not the old standby \u201cMonticello\u201d this one is something new. It\u2019s clean and elegant with a bit less visual \u201cweight\u201d on the page. I noticed when I placed my order that there was a larger number of design variations on the Franklin web site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
I wonder if more people like myself are going \u201cRetro\u201d as a way to keep old skills?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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As I mulled this over, an article notification popped up on the phone about a sitting congressman being served a warrant by the FBI for his phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
According to the article, The congressman was traveling with his family and all the FBI wanted was his phone, this struck me as odd. Then I recalled that almost every \u201cHigh Profile\u201d FBI search and seizure over the past few years has also included seizing the person\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Thinking about it, I realized of course they\u2019d want his phone. His phone would have a log of all his calls and their duration. The FBI would have access to all of his private text messages including those between him and his wife or children. His entire Calendar would be available as would his contact list. The phone would even have a GPS log of places that he\u2019d been recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/FBI-logo-wall-788433040.jpeg\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThat single device provided the FBI with anything and everything the FBI could want and it\u2019s 1000 times better than the old McCarthy era tactics which required your friends or colleagues to serve you up. Your contact list could provide the FBI with 100 or more additional people to investigate<\/em> due to \u201cguilt by association\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I rarely have more than 100 contacts in my phone. I just don\u2019t interact with that many people. Folks I haven\u2019t heard from in a year or so\u2026 I delete. My Calendar, Text Messages, Photos, and ToDo list are another matter. There are literally years of data in those systems. The GPS issue isn\u2019t much of a problem because I delete that log whenever I think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I wondered, \u201cWhy don\u2019t people execute a remote wipe of their phones when the FBI seizes them?\u201d (I would just for spite!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n All of this got me to thinking. Will the handwritten word and perhaps day planners experience a renaissance? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I find myself wondering if it is time to move my data out of the cloud. Is it time to memorize important phone numbers and addresses again? Does Thomas Brothers still make their excellent Thomas Guides? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not guilty of anything, I\u2019m not likely to have my phone seized by the FBI. It\u2019s a matter of privacy and principal. Why make it easy for them, or for any other 3 letter department of whatever?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n It occurs to me that true protection of privacy is only possible if everything is in your brain. Anything and everything put on the \u2018net lives forever. Has it come to the point that the only way to ensure our privacy is to disconnect? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n The FBI these days looks more like an enemy of the people and the enforcement arm of a socialist\/communist government than law enforcement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n That is a chilling thought. Perhaps my switching back to writing on actual paper in my day planner is a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I can burn the day planner. I can write notes that only mean something to me in it. I can refuse to decode those cryptic notes. I can choose to not clearly recall details,<\/em> I can invoke the fifth amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n My digital devices, not so much. They can only do as they\u2019re commanded. My devices have no concept of Constitutional Rights and no ability to determine if they should obey valid commands or not. (I\u2019m not even sure that I\u2019d want them to have that ability<\/em>) There are some things only a human mind can, or should do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Have the powerful little bricks in our pockets become a liability? I was reminded of Blade Runner<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Will someone in the near future be visiting Apple and having an exchange like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Rachael<\/strong>: It seems you feel our work is not a benefit to the public. I\u2019m going to be thinking about stuff like this for a while. In the meantime, I\u2019m going to be using my Franklin a lot more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" God knows there\u2019s a lot of convenience having our schedules on our phones and all of our contacts and \u201cToDo\u201d lists in the cloud. Our online calendars make sure that no matter where we are, we can add a doctor, or car service appointment or know when our next meeting is. I\u2019ll admit it\u2019s really … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Blade-Runner-Rachel.png\")
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