I Am A Bad Technogeek

Apparently, it isn't dating that makes me insane, it's me. I do it to myself.

Some background:

As I've mentioned previously, I own a new BMW. (Okay, I lease a new BMW.) The 2005 5-series comes with Bluetooth technology as standard equipment. For those of you who don't know, Bluetooth technology wirelessly and automatically connects electronic devices such as your cell phone and headset. Bluetooth uses a set of industry standards to allow equipment from different manufacturers to connect, and the process is not seamless...as I learned when I got my BMW.

Now, I am familiar with Bluetooth, because I also have a Blackberry phone, which allows me to get e-mail and phone calls and surf the Internet on one device, wherever I am. For example, I may be out for Sunday brunch with my daughter, and get a phone call from a friend inviting us to a movie. I can use my Blackberry to go to MovieTickets.com, purchase the tickets, and then will receive the e-mail confirmation through my normal e-mail address. All without consulting a newspaper or needing a computer or having to get up from the table.

How often I have done this since I got my Blackberry is immaterial. As with all toys, it's not that I have done it, it's that I can do it. Please, if you are not a technogeek, do not try to understand this. As my mom is fond of saying about my dad, "The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys." (Ben Franklin may also have said that first.)

So, since a Blackberry is obviously a useful tool for high-powered business people, and a BMW is a status symbol for many of those same people, it follows that the BMW and the Blackberry would have compatible Bluetooth connections, doesn't it?

Not so fast.

It turns out that the Blackberry will find and connect to the Bluetooth in the BMW, but will not hold the connection. You can't use the BMW Bluetooth with a Blackberry phone.

Now, I consider the use of a cellular phone the way most people do it (by holding the phone to the side of their head) to be dangerous if it's done while trying to operate a motor vehicle. Let's face it, California drivers are hard enough to deal with when they have your full attention. So, in my view, hands-free is a safety issue. (And again, it's not that I actually use this capability, it's that I can use this capability.)

Long story short: I had to get a second cellular phone for my car. I took great care to ensure that the phone was compatible. And I leave it in the car all the time.

And, rather than have friends and family note the new phone number, I select "auto-forward all incoming calls" on my Blackberry whenever I expect to be in the car for more than five or ten minutes. That way, they only need to call once.

Are you with me so far? I hope so, because this is where I confess to making myself insane.

As I got in the car on Friday night, before my date, I set my Blackberry to auto-forward all calls. And when I got home...I forgot to turn the auto-forward feature off.

Yes. She did return my call.

When I checked the voice mail from my car this morning, she had left two messages: one on Saturday night saying she'd had a good time, too. And another on Sunday night, apologizing for getting home a few minutes late and missing my call. It turns out she figured I'd gone to bed.

We have another date on Friday night. She asked me out, this time.

Apparently, she likes insane technogeeks. It's a shame I'm so bad at the technogeek part.

Final note: Women should not necessarily worry when a guy doesn't call. Sometimes guys trip over their toys and don't even know it.

Addendum: Two minutes after I posted this, I got an e-mail from BMW of North America that began, "Bluetooth Technology Now Available On Most BMW's! Hands-free calling has never been easier in a BMW..." Ach, ja! If only I'd gotten this e-mail sooner.