They're Here!

The cicadas have arrived. Ewww! While walking my daughter to school this morning, I took a step and saw something jump near my foot.  When I looked down it was one of those ugly-looking cicadas!  I then saw five more. . . and then 4 skeleton shells. Uggh. I put a post on Facebook to warn others of the doom of their arrival and in no time at all I had about 20 panicked responses! But, no fear, Home Depot sells Cicada Netting and we can all fashion some unique, stylin’ summer gear from that! 

I can remember when the cicadas were here in 1979 . . . I was a kid running around at my uncle’s barbecue and suddenly all the adults were frantically moving the picnic table from under the tree. I wanted to know why, but I was told it was too cool in the shade of the tree! Huh? It was July and a blazing 90 degrees plus! Then I overheard someone talking about the bugs falling off the trees and onto the table.  I guess the adults didn’t want to scare us kids by telling us about these insect skeletons falling atop of our picnic . . . but, they underestimated us. This was cool!  Let’s collect them! Who could find the most? The biggest? Our day took a turn toward adventure.  

Flash forward 17 years to 1996. An adult this time around. Did I even see them? I have no memory of the 1996 invasion . . . I probably repressed it because in 1996 they were gross, ugly, enough to give me, an adult, the heebie-jeebies! No collecting this time, no fascination . . . just a reminder that Mother Nature’s creations aren’t always beautiful (although I know an entomologist would certainly put up a fight against my opinion!). 

Now it’s 2013 and they’re back . . . and so are the heebie-jeebies. Nothing fascinating about them, but perhaps, just perhaps there is . . .

I started thinking from a cicada’s point-of-view (gaining a little favor with those entomologists out there). What was the world like 17 years ago? Imagine going to sleep SEVENTEEN years ago and waking up today? How the world has changed! Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much technology has changed in the past two (nearly) decades. In 1996, I was still walking around with a cell phone that had an antennae! True, 'tis true, but as my friends would point out, not a fair representation of the time . . . others had moved on to their flip phones and I was already behind the times (just for the record, I am similarly behind the times today carrying around my flip phone when everyone else has their sleek, high-tech, the-world-available-at-their-fingertips iphones)!

But let’s talk about that for a minute. In 1996 we still used video cameras (“hand-held” but quite the monstrosity even to be labeled as such!), 35 mm cameras with film that had to be developed, cd walkmans, answering machines, home video game systems, and we even still recorded music onto cassettes (no MP3s)! Again, my perception is a little skewed because I have always been a little slow in jumping on the technology bandwagon, but I know that I bought my first music CD in 1995 and I hadn’t even seen the Internet in action until 1996 when I went to work with my husband on a Saturday to check out the Internet on his work computer (we were nowhere near getting a home computer at this time). I was hooked after surfing the net all day that Saturday, but it wasn’t commonplace yet to have a computer with Internet capabilities in the home (plus, they were expensive). What to do? Problem solved circa the second half of 1996. I was visiting a friend who had . . . wait for it, wait for it, ready?   . . . WebTV!!!! This was fantastic! I could have the Internet at home at my fingertips, wait a mere 15 minutes while it connected, and then in five short minutes any page I searched for would appear on my television screen. It even had this eerie, but strangely calming, music that would play in the background while you waited for your search to appear. Word of this fabulous technology spread and before long I was even patiently explaining the complexities of WebTV to my parents who had purchased the new and improved model that was even faster than mine and could be hooked up to a printer.

But, I digress. Where were we . . . oh, yes, the iphone. So, in the past 17 years, we have taken many gadgets – video cameras, 35 mm cameras, music on cassettes and cds, answering machines, WebTV, and home video games – and squished them all into one sleek, handheld device that can go with you WHEREVER you go. What would the cicadas think? This is the pure definition of culture shock. All in a mere 17 years. Oh, and I almost forgot . . . as a directionally-challenged individual back in 1996 I had to rely on carefully written directions (“turn left at 3rd traffic light and then bear right”) or, worse yet, paper maps, in order to get where I was going (many times missing the destination completely). Fast forward 17 years and we now have GPS technology in our cars, trucks, RVS, AND on our phones! The world has never been smaller – everything is in my own backyard (of course, I still miss some turns that sneak up on me too quickly and then I have to listen to that annoying woman’s voice repeating “recalculating!”). Too bad we couldn’t attach tiny GPS units to the cicadas and direct them to a lovely little haven, far from here where they could flourish and be happy all on their own . . . like maybe Mars? Oh, and by the way, if you don't have any cicadas in your neighborhood, you can now watch them live on a cicada-cam (yet another technological wonder)!

Now, I will share a secret. Just as those 1996 cicadas are a different generation from the 2013 army that is now emerging, I, too, am making a metamorphosis of my own. I . . . the wary consumer of new technology . . . am now working for a company called The Technology Experts, LLC. Yes, the world has certainly evolved in 17 years for me. Back in 1996, the most technology-oriented word I knew was WebTV, but now, now I’m working with a vocabulary that includes things like: Web Design & SEO, Network Solutions, Wireless Setup, Upgrades & Migrations, Social Media, and
Software Installations, to name a few. I’ve learned that many small businesses do not have their own IT departments, and employees have nowhere to turn when there is an issue, slowing production.

The Technology Experts, LLC offers these companies a solution, similar to the in-house help desks larger businesses provide to their staff. The Technology Experts, LLC also offers individuals that same peace of mind when it comes to making the most of their home systems (excluding, WebTV, lol!). 

So, while the cicadas have emerged into a much different world today as opposed to 1996, I, too, have emerged in my own way into a technological world, with some help from The Technology Experts, LLC.  That’s about the only parallel that I am willing to make between myself and the cicadas . . . but, if you, like me, are in need of technology backed by great service, contact The Technology Experts, LLC –
Expertise that will put your mind at ease! Just don’t wait 17 years!