Technology

I know. I haven't posted in a while. I have been busy. Isn't that what we all say? I think this thought is what has led me down a technological path. Well, that and I am supposed to be teaching my students to think that way...so I thought I should take a walk down that path as well. So, I put my kids and their little noses to the grindstone this week. I decided that they should be thinking outside of the norm and create their own technological enhancements for the world. The ideas and creativity were astronomical (literally) and I was proud of them. However, as I was contemplating the enhancements I would like to see, it occurred to me that we are an incredibly busy society and we tend to feel a certain amount of entitlement when it comes to convenience.

So, as I am waiting on my latest iPod updates (which take longer than the average person's wait time) I am going to blog about what enhancements I would like to see in the "future"...

I would like to see someone develop an app that would take away the pain that some of these kids (and some adults) have to suffer through. Why can't there be a button that you touch and social services show up at the door to "catch" parents abusing their children? Or better yet, why not develop a social services app that might respond better than the real thing?

I would also like to see an app that would allow the user to conveniently touch a button and have mean people all together be sent to a remote island where there was no free television, education, or other conveniences? That would be pretty cool. :)

I think it is only fair to also have an app where you can just override a stupid comment or situation. Maybe a little button that lets you completely ignore someone - I think it is only fair that if someone says or does something, then the Richter scale app gives them an immediate test (like a shock collar) and decides if they are being ridiculous for a reason, or just out of spite. I think the perfect test would be to use it on the fine people from Westboro when they show up at a military funeral with their stupid signs. I am sure that if there were cameras focused on them, they would jump at the chance to "prove" how righteous they are. Hee hee - that was probably pretty mean of me and if there were such an app, I might find myself "shocked", but there isn't and I have the same freedom to speak as they do. Ironic, isn't it?

Or how about an app that speeds up slow people when they are walking (or driving) in front of you? That would be super sweet.

I am really on a roll, so let's just go ahead and discuss an app that cleans your house, does your laundry, and babysits...oh wait, that last one already exists. Which brings me back to my original idea about parenting.

Well, I still have about an hour before everything updates, so I will continue with my rant...if you please.

Another app might be one that with the touch of a finger will reach out and flick someone on the nose or forehead (we like our choices when it comes to technology). I would like to try this latest idea on the powers that be who make educational decisions for our country. What could they possibly know about individual children? Have they been to my classroom lately? I can't teach because I am running around checking on home lives, dealing with drama, or shall I say it???? Doing the jobs of those around me who prefer to get a paycheck simply because they show up? Oh - WOW! That would be a great app!

I wonder if people in the old west were this frustrated (of course, they thought a stage coach with metal wheels was technology at its best)? But really, I bet people were a whole lot less apt to run their mouths when people around them toted guns and weren't afraid of being politically correct. HHHHmmmmm. Well, that and a few hangings for those that lived to see it.

Anyway - back to my technology discussion:

I think technology is really great. (I mean, could I blog if it weren't for my trusty computer and Internet?) But I think the applications that are out there are for entertainment purposes more than anything else. While I enjoy the finer things in life, I am also not so gullible as to think that we (the human race) already pay ball players way too much to entertain us, and don't even think about the ungodly figures that celebrities make to entertain us - I refuse to mention the Charlie Sheen groupies that couldn't say anything productive if their lives depended on it. Ooops - is that entertainment? Perhaps I am too hard on them and should focus on solutions.

I know...an app that feeds starving children or helps the elderly get medical attention...or people turning to God instead of their phones. Wonder what that kind of world will be like...

Oh, I know. It would look like the world we grew up in, where people spoke face to face and spent their evenings together around a table, and developed relationships instead of apps. Well, there. I have said it and danged if my iPod is still not updated. :)