Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Speed of Thought? Almost

Bill Gates made a prediction that it would not be long before the internet gave us real time results for our thoughts.

I have to say he is mostly correct, and I have daily evidences of that.

Someone in the next seat over talking to someone about that one movie where so and so was the lead role with whats-his-name and they were being chased all over by this underground organization, and, wow, it's on the tip of my tongue, and within that amount of time, I can usually say, that was The Net, with Sandra Bullock and Dennis Miller, Yeah, that's it, and I did that on my iPhone.

The thing is it happens all the time, what does a rugby ball look like, what is ataraxia, what state has the largest football stadium, all kinds of stuff, and much of it downright trivial in nature.

So why my excitement tonight? Well, tonight I got a call from a young lady I have not talked to in over 25 years, Chrissy, and I am telling you, it was like we were kids on the phone again, just out of high school, never had we met except through letters and an occasional phone call, and then, life happened, and we stopped talking. That was then.

One recent evening I was going over some memories in my mind, and her name popped up so I typed into Google, her name just as I remembered it, and the first three hits were Reunion.com (shameless plug). While at first I was excited to find that I could see some of the details about her that I recognized were probably her, no contact info was available unless I signed up for three months minimum.

So i did, and got her phone number and called her, yep, her message still sounded like her, wow, she had her old name back. What's she been up to? So I left her a message with a few key moments described that I figured would jog her memory if it really was her and would not mean a thing if not, and left my cell phone number.

The next day, right at the end of a perfect day, I was driving home from a run to the store, and she called me and we talked for an hour, and reminisced, and I laughed as I thought about how, tonight we were reunited after more than 25 years, and it took Googling her name, and paying a small price to access a reunion service, and she was now on the phone with me. If that isn't speed of thought, it almost is, and is darn well close enough for most of us.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Marvel of Modern Technology

I have long said that we would not truly be in the Information Age until we no longer printed to hard copy before something we received digitally was usable to us. Basically, we have arrived and I still print things, and am truly at times amazed at the marvelous things these Printer/Scanner/Fax machines can do. I mean, who thought faxes would even hang on this long, they are like the 8 track tape players in a sea of CDs.

But today I was emailed some UPS shipping labels to print out and put on some boxes to be picked up in a few days and I was again amazed at the intricate detail that this printer can produce on a piece of paper passing under this whirring box with some cartridges attached to it.

Seriously, when I looked at the printout, I was again amazed at a technology that I have taken altogether too much for granted. Still more amazing is the fact that there is a gun that can read that UPC code and get so much information that has already been duplicated and stored at another location so that the data can be compared and tracked at the right points, without having to write anything down.

So here again, Wow, after all these years, a little contemplation of modern technology still leaves me amazed and awed.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

So Much Reality Might Not Be Good

Reality TV has made itself onto the web, to the extent that individuals with little or no film experience, put whatever their minds can conceive on the web, at places like You Tube and FaceBook, and many others.

I have noticed a lot of the content has no restraint, no moral limits, and represents to a great extent the very base and animal natures that are finding new expression in the upcoming generation as well as those who have merely found a freer place to bare their minds. There is plenty of good in the world, and I refuse to take too dim a view of this phenomenon, except to say that we still have an obligation as individuals to decide what is real, and what is garbage. Remember the old computer construct, GIGO, Garbage In, Garbage Out, is as true today as ever.

Those who allow media outlets to report what the world is like are often the ones who tend to blame their surroundings and consequences for the way they feel, act, even live. If you allow your life to be a reaction to life around you, then you will find yourself sinking deeper as the world around you does so.

Rise up, create your life, and decide each moment what your reality will be, and you will find a new and wonderful world of excitement manifesting itself to you. And you will be the master of your own destiny.