Gentlemen... We Have the Technology....

There was an article in the British newspaper The Times regarding how drivers have come to rely so completely on their GPS systems that they have literally been up a creek with it. In this case, in a small shire in England, drivers apparently have been routinely following routes that lead them into fords that are far too deep for the average car to cross. Apparently the only one making out on this problem is the local towing company who is constantly fishing out these hapless drivers who end up driving in and swimming out.

The most common response from these drivers is that, "this is the route the sat-nav told me to take". Now GPS and satellite navigation are wonderful tools, that provide you with routes around town rather than constantly bugging pedestrians or gas station attendants. For the male ego it does wonders as well because we can constantly refuse to use it but secretly listen in to the directions when our wives or girlfriends punch in the destination for us. But even with such a device, common sense shouldn't be chucked out the window like a firey cigarette butt. I'm reminded of that sagely piece of advice every young person hears at least once in their lives, "If your friends jumped off a bridge would you do it?" In this case, if the GPS told you to slam into a wall because that's the shortest distance to your destination, would you do it?

Common sense says that if the route you are being instructed to follow is blocked, fine, move on to the next street and the system will adjust. Sometimes there are signs that we humans aren't as smart as the machines we program. (Cue the music from either the Matrix or the Terminator). I'm happy to report that my mom and dad are aware of this facet and whenever they use their GPS they have no problems adjusting their route; neither does the GPS system.

Okay, so you must be thinking that sat-nav's and GPS are just one thing. Let's further test the example. What's your girlfriend's number? Good. What's your home number? Okay, not bad. What's Uncle Morty's number? Ah ha... there you go scrolling through your cell phone directory again. We have difficult times remembering things like this. On the radio one of the guys was commenting the other day about how he was arrested and couldn't remember the number of his family or friends since the police took his phone. Finally he remembered the number of a friend and ended up calling them asking them to call his parents. Sad isn't it?

But why go modern? VCR's! For those of you younger readers, VCRs are Video Cassette Recorders. They are what people used to watch movies on before DVDs. Amazing isn't it? But I digress; VCRs have almost always had clocks in them, but how many times have you walked into someone's house only to see that clock blinking 12:00 constantly? They even have VCRs programmed to set their own clocks but even that appears to be complicated for some people!

We live in a modern age where almost every day some new invention or the other will help to further improve our lives. I'm just waiting for the day when we invent a machine that will help us get dressed in coordinated clothes and will not specifically tell you to wear pants. How much do you want to bet you'll see hundreds out there without pants walking around saying, "But the Robo-Valet didn't tell me to put the pants on!"