Technology
A little discussion about technology and High Tech.
Warning!!! Don't Read this If You're One of those people who absolutely, positively has to have the newest, coolest, bestest ( Yhea, I know you can't say that) Stereo, car, Web design or pillow out there. You might take offense. some of this is serious, some of it is humor.
Web Complaint (serious)
Well, this is going to be semi serious, and I came up with this a little while ago when I was surfing in the net ( first time in a long time)
and pretty much by the 3rd page I entered I Knew WHY I Hadn't been out there for a while. first off, I was greeted with three popups, and an instant opened link to another site I didn't want to visit, all with pressing the " enter this site" link. good, okay, the owner probably has to have those so someone sponsors his site. next off, I'm waiting for the main page to open for about three to four minutes. ( okay, I have to admit, that may be my connection, and My Sanctuary takes a bit of loading too..) however, all that trouble just to get some newfangled Java program with a constant shifting of pictures ( called carousel I think, and yes, I admit, it did look cool) and a badly recorded midi file blasting me, ( set to infinite play, no doubt.) didn't really help my mood much... a few minutes later, when the site was FINALY all downloaded, ( Java links that do a rather nice animation when you click on them before fading the page out and taking you to the next, and frames.) well, it's all nice and good, and although I personally despise frames, these were actually acceptable, but they did slow down loading. the next irritation followed up. An error sound and a little window with " thank you for visiting my site, please enter your name " flashed up. very well, good, Monorus. " thank you Monorus!!" your welcome. I clicked on a Java link. nothing happened. I clicked again. this time there was a slow reaction. the first thing that happened was that another midi file joined the first, followed by another long load time. I don't really know what was on the page, because by this time I was foaming at the mouth and hammering on the back button. good. maybe it was just a case of bad luck. but when I couldn't get into the files I wanted from the next page because I needed a special program that had to be bought, well, I disconnected.
what all of that is trying to say is that the trend seams to be going in the direction of having ultra modern web design and no content, I mean, yes, frames, Java, music, images and movies are all nice and good, but they don't replace content. ( yes, I know my other page consists only of Images, but that was the first page I ever made. and it does have some original stuff in it.) For someone who isn't a computer genius, it can get really frustrating just to navigate a website( or get in, depending on your connection speed.) which brings me to my next complaint. pages seam to be getting huge, and unless you have a cable modem you're hair turns gray before the main page has loaded...
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to say that all web sites out there should drop their Frames Etc. and turn into text based sites ( although there were some really great ones) but They shouldn't overdo it with the tech. ( like my example above) Images are fine, but please, don't put a 500 kb Image on your title page! ( like some people I know...) backgrounds are fine too, but a dark gray Bg with black writing tends to be a pain in the eyes...
Appliances of the future ( humor)
Hey, Mono, Did you read this article? It say's that in fifty years Appliances are going to be intelligent!
You Mean with voice chips and stuff built in?
*shrugs* Probably. I can Imagine it.. a toaster going: " Your toast is ready ma’am." or a vacuum cleaner that cleans on it's own... sounds great...
I don't think I can agree there... sounds more like a nightmare to me...
oh? why?
well, think about it, my VCR for example... Do you know what I say to that thing whenever it eats a tape or doesn't record something? now imagine what would happen if it understood me? I can't understand it, but it me? I can already hear it yell back at me...
If it understood you then you wouldn't have to worry about it not recording something.
Hmm... but with intelligence things will eventually develop a consciousness, and a sub-conscience, right?
*blinks rapidly* well, I suppose they would have to be conscious to do things the most effectively...
See? so they would develop a personality and an attitude. Just think of it, a bathroom scale with an attitude problem! and what if my grill realized what is good for me, and tells it to the rest of the kitchen? the microwave will say; " I'm sorry, but instant burgers are not part of a balanced diet. I won't cook that." or what if my toothbrush made a dentist appointment for me without asking? what if my TV only lets me watch the shows it thinks are good? worse yet, what if the Vacuum cleaner complains that I make too big a mess?
well, I ...
and just think of it. they all talk to me. I come home after a hard day of work only to hear how every one of their days went... I'll hardly get a word in.... and maybe they would talk to each other too... just think! the Stereo and the TV fighting over who was the better media! I wouldn't need Children! and... maybe they will talk about me too... what if... what if the electric kitchen knife and the vacuum get together? and I come home, one day and... * runs his finger across his throat*
Err.... Monorus?
*stares* you know... it could be like that even now...
What?!
well, I can't put my finger on it, but did you ever come into a room, and every one just goes unpleasantly quiet? and you just KNOW that they were talking about you?
Well... yes, sometimes... not as often as you, I'm sure, but..
It's the exact same way when I get home. I come in, and everything is all quiet. too quiet. and then I see the blender, sitting there, acting all casual, as if nothing were going on. and I say to him *extends his index finger.* " YOU @*$$§&%!!". Who Can I trust?! Is my Fridge still on my side?!
............
What? oh... * pulls back finger* sorry.
but I tell you, machines are probably already on the same mental level as humans.
They definitely are on yours already.
Trends (semi serious)
You know, I have been looking at trends, or the Norm a little closer lately, you know, this is in, this is out, that’s cool, that’s not.
I personally stopped trying to go with it because it was getting on my nerves, I mean think about it, you go to a store and buy a new pair of the newest Ultra cool pants out there. well, if you don't rush home and put them on, their going to be out before you get to wear them more than twice. not only is that stressy, and sure to make you a heart attack candidate over a longer range of time, it's also reeeeeal expensive, depending where you are. personally, I think Trends are part of the reason that there are so many singles out there.
" well, Mike is nice, but his shoes totally clash with my Hair." or "Sally is cute, but her handy is soooo last century." the best is, " I really love him, but I won't be caught dead in that queen sized bed when I can have my designer pull out couch."
honestly. There’s supposed to have been a trend where you asked your significant someone; " so, should we have a dog or kids?"
I would not have had a hard time over that one. that question really is saying; " should we mess up our carpet or our entire lives?"
My personal nightmare is if a world war were to break out. think about it, every American, European, Japanese and whatnot is out in the war field, and a cell Phone goes off. every one is going to stop for a minute and go; " uh?! Was that mine?!" there wood be total chaos. besides, no one has time for a war. every one would just protest and say; " what a world war? now? no way man, those things take forever! My VCR’s just programmable for a week! and then sit around in cramped conditions, some freak with a shaved head yelling orders to you while there’s green gas coming in? sleeping in mud for three or more years , only to be killed a day before its over? that’s soooo forties!."
If the president were to declare war, every body would probably tell him where to stick it. ( Yhea, if this were a perfect world...)
back to reality... Trends seam to be going around in a circle. take incense for example. that was in in the sixties. or wearing clothes that are three sizes too big ( yes, I know I'm going to get a few nasty letters over this one...) pretty soon people will be asking one another " what’s your sign?" one of the things that bother me though is smoking... depending on where you are you drive down the street and there’s these 12 year olds Chain smoking on the corner... I'll bet in 50 years their all going to sound like the god father. then there is alcohol... a few people I knew thought it was cool to get drunk... I personally don't share that opinion... from what I see, it goes in this cycle; you drink to a point, get kinda funny, throw up. drink some more, get depressed, throw up. drink even more, get either aggressive or sentimental, throw up. drink some more, propose to the ugliest creature on the face of the earth ( or an object) throw up. drink some more, take some with you ( and the 'partner' you picked up in a bar) go home, drinking, get home, throw up in harmony, drink whatever is left, have sex, throw up. wake up, your head feeling like its going to explode, wonder what the heck happened the last night, throw up. pump yourself full of aspirin ( to kill Beelzebub, who has made himself at home in your throat, and to revive your liver) swear you'll never do anything as stupid as that again, see that Madame Jekyll whom you dragged home last night is really misses Hyde... well, and we all know what comes then, right? ( hint, the only other thing besides drinking you did all night.) not my definition of a great time, but hey... finally, there are clothes. I personally have a problem with these loose clothes, because my experience has been, you meet a girl, nice face, looks well built ( as far as you can tell through the clothes) you fall deeply in love with her and... then you see her in shorts and a skin tight T-shirt. it's either something out of a third world country or a middle class sumo wrestler under those clothes.
which brings me to models. think about them, there are girls in their late teens starving themselves so they can look like a twelve ( what is it with twelve? twelve year olds smoking, twelve grades, twelve months, twelve monkeys...) year old model with no personality and absolutely no sex appeal ( sorry, that’s how I see it. )
well, that’s enough of my ramblings over the state of the world for now.. you can leave now.
Ellen, do you think we will be invaded by aliens?
no. not any time soon at any rate. they wouldn't get here.
Because our armies are so tough?
No. because of our junk shield. with all that space garbage and those thousands of satelites up there they would be destroyed before they got into the atmosphere. . unless they had really tiny space ships at most the size of ours, and if they knew where what was zipping around.
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