The news is out this evening that Robin Williams has died of an apparent suicide and many including myself are trying their best to process this.  Many like me grew up with this guy as a constant in our lives, from Mork and Mindy through Good Morning Vietnam to Good Will Hunting.  He was a never ending source of energy, only restraining it for a deep well of emotion when a role called for it.

My favorite Robin Williams movie is "What Dreams May Come" where he is the husband of a woman who commits suicide and has to retrieve her from her final fate in the depths of despair for the rest of eternity.  In real life, it was Williams himself who had to fight the battle, and ultimately succumbed to the demons he battled.

Depression is a nasty beast.  No one chooses to have it, and it isn't easy to defeat.  Many live with it on a daily basis, hanging on one day at a time.  I know depression and anxiety and it is a war, where each battle is tough and victory is short lived until the next time.  Getting help is a necessity, and having someone who understands and knows how to respond is of utmost importance.

Mr. Williams, you made the world laugh and feel better about itself.  Now the world mourns your passing.  The world is a little less funny today, and we will miss you.  Rest In Peace, Robin Williams.

It's hard not being on the cutting edge of technology sometimes.  It's even harder being on the back end of technology all the time.  We are the few.  We are the owners of the dumb phone.

Dumb phone talks, and it texts.  You can save your contacts in it, and even use it as a stop watch.  It stores images very poorly, and transmits them to other users sometimes depending on the size of the file and the cell connection.  It flips, or slides and you have to press buttons in order to call or type something.  It costs about $50.

And that's the way we like it.

Being the owner of a dumb phone is like being in a special club these days.  I may run into another member once in a while and share in the delight of how crappy our phones are.  There are so few of us around that people actually look at you funny if you are in the club.  How in the world can you function without a smart phone?  How do you live?

See, there are a few reasons us dumb phone users stay in the club.  In a way it's our way of rebelling, not being like anyone else.  It's like a tattoo before tattoo's became cool for everyone.  It's a statement that says we know how to get where we are going on our own, we don't need tools to tell us how many calories a hamburger has in it because we know there is a lot just by looking at it, and we actually put an emphasis on interacting with the people around us. 

We like owning a phone that is just a phone.  We made it this far with one, we can make it further.

As with the dinosaurs of yesteryear we are thinning out quickly.  And I myself am getting the tug.  I want to post storm photos instantly.  Dumb phone can't do that, smart phone can.  Internet is so entwined in our lives now, having it everywhere is almost a requirement, especially if your business depends on it (like mine!).  Dumb phone doesn't allow it.  Smart phone does.

I really do enjoy being in the dwindling numbers of folks who own dumb phones.  I'm doing everything I can to resist changing teams.  I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out, but for the moment I love being a dinosaur.