![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/photo-on-2012-08-14-at-21-34.jpg?ssl=1\" "\\"A")
<\/a>A legitimate smile (John at 225 lbs)<\/p><\/div>\n
A very dear friend just asked me a very interesting question, which I’ll paraphrase to “Is there a conflict for you between your love of technology and your love of a simple life?”<\/p>\n
In no way whatsoever is there a conflict for me. Let me explain.<\/p>\n
I do not love all technology for technology’s sake, and I do not love all simplicity for simplicity’s sake.<\/p>\n
For example, one might consider the new Google Nexus 7, an Android based tablet, a technology. Books are technology too, by the way, but I assume that she referred to my love of new technologies. I love it because it is open. I love it because it is useful. I love it because I am a fan of Google as an organization. I think they make good choices. I love it because it is innovative. I love it because it is portable, functional, and benefits me in my lifestyle. I love it because it is extensible, flexible, and\u00a0meaningful\u00a0beyond the technology in and of itself.<\/p>\n
It provides me with a certain simplicity in many ways in my life. For example, I use it\u00a0to log my calories while I am out, as I eat during the day, using the MyFitnessPal app, which allows me to track my caloric goals, get support from the community, look up calorie values for just about any food I eat, and store all of my eating activity. I could do this with a simpler solution, such as a notebook, pencil and calorie counts book, but it is simpler, in my opinion, to carry just one object, in which I can do those tasks with less effort.<\/p>\n
Another example is my beloved Fitbit, an amazing device that acts as pedometer and altimeter, tracking steps taken very accurately, stair flights taken, sleep, and calories burned. I have used a few pedometers in the past, and I got incredibly frustrated with their limited function and inaccuracies. The Fitbit allows me to know when I have done enough movement for the day, when I’ve not, how I’m sleeping, how many calories I’m burning, how fast I’m going, and more. Guesswork is gone. Using other methods to do this might be without technology, but they would not be simpler in the least. When I walk in my home, the Fitbit wirelessly syncs with my account on the web, updating my charts and reflecting my effort. All I have to do it remember to throw the Fitbit on my hip, and the rest is simply movement. This is simplicity defined, given my goals.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, technology provides increased simplicity, or it has less value for me. \u00a0Technology and simplicity are not only compatible for me, they are deeply connected.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A very dear friend just asked me a very interesting question, which I’ll paraphrase to “Is there a conflict for you between your love of technology and your love of a simple life?” In no way whatsoever is there a conflict for me. Let me explain. I do not love all technology for technology’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3653,17],"tags":[302,346,809,905],"class_list":{"0":"post-1159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-insights","7":"category-photography","8":"tag-fitbit","9":"tag-google","10":"tag-technology","11":"tag-weight-loss","12":"czr-hentry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3h6y2-iH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4781,"url":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/2013\/09\/23\/weeks-events-opportunities-lemasney-consulting\/","url_meta":{"origin":1159,"position":0},"title":"This week’s events and opportunities with LeMasney Consulting","author":"lemsy","date":"2013-09-23","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi, all. There's a lot going on this week, and I wanted to make you aware of some of the offerings and events that might help you. Also, you can always click on the link at the bottom of my site to see what classes and other public offerings I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "affiliations"","block_context":{"text":"affiliations","link":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/category\/cv\/professional-affiliations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"20110816","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm7.static.flickr.com\/6077\/6051333641_8019907382_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":871,"url":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/2013\/03\/13\/just-added-to-ppl-lineup-google-plus-hangouts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1159,"position":1},"title":"Just added to PPL Lineup: Google Plus Hangouts","author":"lemsy","date":"2013-03-13","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 In this session, John LeMasney will show you how to use Google's Hangouts feature to\u00a0video conference\u00a0with up to 10 people, share screens, broadcast yourself, and archive the recording, all from your computer, tablet, or phone. John uses the technology to create a series of shows on using technology in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "affiliations"","block_context":{"text":"affiliations","link":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/category\/cv\/professional-affiliations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Instagram Google+ Hangouts Screen shot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/6917097839_2ec3e1fe03_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":509,"url":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/2013\/04\/07\/the-technology-and-the-design-on-android\/","url_meta":{"origin":1159,"position":2},"title":"The Technology and the Design: On Android","author":"lemsy","date":"2013-04-07","format":false,"excerpt":"In this quick video (video is now working, sorry for anyone who tried earlier), I give an overview of the reasons why I love Android, and invite viewers to come and see me talk about it at Princeton Public Library on Tuesday, April 9th, 2013 at 7 pm in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "classes and presentations"","block_context":{"text":"classes and presentations","link":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/category\/portfolio\/classes-presentations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":755,"url":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/2013\/02\/04\/spring-2013-princeton-public-library-free-technology-classes-offered-by-john-lemasney\/","url_meta":{"origin":1159,"position":3},"title":"Spring 2013 Princeton Public Library free technology classes offered by John LeMasney","author":"lemsy","date":"2013-02-04","format":false,"excerpt":"All of these sessions are offered at Princeton Public Library, Witherspoon Street, Princeton NJ. They are in the Technology lab on the second floor furthest from the main stairwell. Please come and join me to learn about these fun and useful technologies! Tues, Feb 5 from 7:00-8:30 Discovering Google Chromebook\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "affiliations"","block_context":{"text":"affiliations","link":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/category\/cv\/professional-affiliations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John LeMasney","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/photo-on-2012-09-19-at-16-18-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/photo-on-2012-09-19-at-16-18-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/photo-on-2012-09-19-at-16-18-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4670,"url":"https:\/\/lemasney.com\/consulting\/2013\/08\/20\/technology-and-the-arts-on-getting-started-with-scratch\/","url_meta":{"origin":1159,"position":4},"title":"Technology and the Arts: On getting started with Scratch","author":"lemsy","date":"2013-08-20","format":false,"excerpt":"So, Brian Kelley and I did the third installment of Technology and the Arts, our weekly\/seasonal podcast that focuses on the connections between technology and art. 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