PortaPocket Notebook

When my daughter & I were at the GORGEOUS Casa Loma in Toronto at the end of last month, I visited the restroom and went into a random stall and found.... a cell phone balanced atop the toilet paper dispenser. Gah!! Now, you can imagine what that means. 
Some woman is (likely) in a foreign country without her cell phone & having a complete meltdown. This is where the phone was: 

  (I should've taken a pic of it on there), but due to the situation, I rushed through my business and bolted out to shout to anyone there..."Anyone lose your cell?!"

   It was with luck the gal who had done so rushed over and was profusely thankful I had found it & returned it to her, but OMG, why does this have to happen all the time? It's 100% preventable.

  Travelers, I beg of you...  PLEASE don't wait for a really bad moment or circumstance to "get it.

Just GET IT before you go and you will have way more fun with less worry. Seriously.

  Love, PortaPocket Gal

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Not sure if you heard about this, but the latest apple iWatch and iPhone 14 have a new feature. It's a feature that seems useful, but it's actually creating a new problem unintentionally. While 'smart' electronics often enhance our lives, it seems that in this case it's having an opposite effect.

The issue stems from the new 'crash detection' feature. So when you're on a high speed ride, the sharp movements and drops are seemingly like those one might experience in a car accident. So your apple tech is now summoning the ambulances on your behalf. Oh my! 

This is a fail on multiple fronts as any misguided efforts to assist people who don't need emergency services results in a waste of resources. Dispatching people and equipment to unnecessary missions disallows them to be available for more urgent situations where people actually need help.

Some parks that are now aware of this situation have started installing signage to tell patrons to please turn off their cell phones &/or watches, or leave them off the ride altogether.  The first step in fixing the problem is always awareness.

It's a start. 

Every time I go to the gym (which is often), I see the same things. This has been going on for years and never seems to change. It's the cellphones. You know the drill. They're all over the floor. And balanced on water bottles. And left on the machines. Or forgotten by mistake in the bathroom stalls, etc. Sometimes you'll see them shoved in a waistband, or yes, sticking out from (or just the outfline showing that they're present in) a pants pocket...

It's a fail. 

It's a fail because people are inconvenienced. 

It's a fail because people lose things.

It's a fail because people are uncomfortable, and at times they break their phones by accidentally hitting their cells with a weight, or immersing them in sweat.

Why do we do this?

The good news is that we really don't have to anymore. There are easy answers if you look for them, and will stop these problems before they start.