Your Electronic Gadgets. Is it cruel to let them go flat?

I feel for my electronics when they die. Electronic gadgets are so intelligent nowadays and yes, I do feel a little cruel when I forget to feed them their diet of electricity.

Looking around my office today I see my GPS sitting on the bench and as the battery does not last long anymore, and I need it today, I have plugged it into the USB port on my laptop to charge. I don't want to wait ages for it to fire up after I plug it in to the charger in the car, and I don't always trust the darn thing to work after the battery has been flat, and I get lost as soon as I leave my street sometimes, as there are at least two directions to go.

When I look around at all the power outlets, I see 4 chargers plugged in at the moment, and even when they are not in use, the ones with coils in them, (transformer type) still use electricity to heat the coil.

Most of the electronics and electrical gadgets I have are in some way intelligent, storing information about how they are expected to perform, what time it is including daylight saving, or when I want the temperature to rise or fall to suit the weather conditions, and many other signs of intelligence.

In the last year I have seen that Aldi stores are now selling batteries in bulk at hugely discounted prices, Coles Stores, Myer, Big W, Woolworth are all selling large packs now.

I almost feel guilty when my lack of battery charging and replacement results in one of my electronic helpers losing all their brain capacity.

I feel a helluva lot MORE guilty when I leave all the battery charger transformers turned on without using them though!

I remembered my phone copped a lot of talk time yesterday and may be half flat by now, and as I will be out for most of the day and need to talk to a few people, I will need to put it on the charger too, or I may not have a personal communication device and will need to go looking for a phone booth. This is the second battery I have had that only holds charge for about a third the advertised time.

I like to watch my blood pressure since it got too high a while back, and have a portable blood pressure monitor.It takes 4 high powered AA batteries, so I better get an extra set so I can ensure it always has working batteries.

I will be testing a light switch that is not working for one of the built in bedroom roof fans, so I hope the batteries in my multi-meter are still OK, I haven't used it for a while, and I think my son may have left it on all day when he borrowed it.

I just stopped writing for long enough to plug my electric drill battery in, as it will need to be used this weekend.

My new LED torch is holding up well, but the aluminium one needs two new batteries, as I noticed when I used it yesterday it is no longer very bright.

My remote controls are all working at the moment, at least in my little office. A couple in the house still need fresh batteries.

I only have a few remote controls of my own.

I have one for the heater, one for the fan, one each for the TV and DVD, Foxtel of course, and I guess the mouse is a sort of remote control, and it uses 2 AA batteries.

I just hope to goodness we all recycle old batteries properly, otherwise we may poison the planet with them.

It seems that I need an electronic device to remember things for me, to keep me warm or cool, brush my teeth, open a can of beans, check my health and keep a record of where my life is going generally.

Electronic gadgets own me!