Right, I’m off to sit on a real beach for a week or two. I’ve booked a holiday with TechFree™, the outfit that promises a 100% technology-free experience – all electronic equipment is banned from the resort. That means no web access (so no blogging – sorry), no malfunctioning AutoChefs and smart closets, and no annoying interruptions whatsoever. It’s going to be strange, but somehow wonderful, I feel.
Have a safe time while I’m gone.
It seems like our schools might be getting yet another shake-up. Following hot on the heels of the plans to scrap most public exams and ban Google from exams in general, the latest government plan is to abolish homework for most subjects (homework will remain for maths and some sciences). Apparently homework causes all sorts of problems, including:
The government plans to allocate more time during school hours for kids to do independent work, rather than bringing so much of their work home with them. Will it work, I wonder?
For the first time ever, the three main candidates in the upcoming national election are all TV personalities: George Swift (the News365 anchorman), Trixie Duke (star of many a daytime TV programme), and Stu Maloney (winner of last year’s Madhouse reality show). These days it seems that you need to be a famous TV star to be electable (presumably because if the great unwashed haven’t seen you appear regularly on TV then you’re not important).
Of course, none of this is new in the US (I still remember Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger) but it’s the first time I’ve seen it happen to this extent over here. A bit scary if you ask me.
I still remember the magic of going into a public library as a kid and browsing the books. For our younger readers, let me explain: Public libraries were buildings that stocked old-school “paper” books. Rather than buy or rent an eBook via GoogleTunes, you would show up with your library membership card, pick a book to borrow, take it home for 2 weeks, read it, then return it to the library for someone else to borrow.
This probably all sounds very quaint to a 20-year-old today, since public libraries all but disappeared in the 2020s (mainly because they had crazy opening hours and never stocked enough of the best sellers).
However, believe it or not, libraries are about to return to our urban centres. Of course, they won’t stock paper books; instead you’ll buy or rent books via online terminals, much as you can at home. So what’s the point?
The answer is that they’ll have the human touch. They will feature knowledgable staff (much like the “librarians” of old) who chat with you to find out your interests, then recommend eBooks and eZines that you might want to read. You’ll also be able to browse books using immersive 3D technology and all sorts of other cool stuff (including having a cup of coffee). It’ll be interesting to see if the idea takes off.
Books and news-”papers” have been pretty much digital for a couple of decades now, but one thing has always bugged me about e-readers like the Kindle 7 and GooglePaper: you can’t read them in the bath! (At least, not without risk of getting the thing wet and buggering it up permanently.)
Which is why the new Kindle 8 will be on my wish list this Xmas. Like the Kindle 7 it’s only 1mm thick and can be folded and rolled, just like old-fashioned paper. Unlike the Kindle 7, though, it’s 100% waterproof. So now I’ll be able to read everything from the New York and London Times through to War and Peace from the comfort of my bathtub. Luxury!
I had to give a talk to a shareholder meeting this morning and was in one hell of a rush. Unfortunately things were made worse by everything breaking down around me.
For one thing my smart closet malfunctioned (it suggested pinstripe pants with a Hawaiian shirt – I really don’t think so) which meant I had to spend 10 minutes picking my own clothes. Then my AutoChef burnt the croissants so I made my own toast in the TastyGrill. Finally, to top it all off, the car couldn’t recognize my voiceprint and refused to start, meaning I had to catch the bus. Needless to say I was late to the meeting.
And I thought modern technology was supposed to save us time?!
Horrible weather outside today so I’m spending the day on the beach – a virtual beach, that is. My SimRoom™ has recently been upgraded with a UV system so I can even get a tan while lying on my “beach”. It cost me a fair bit to upgrade but it’s a damn sight cheaper than an expensive flight to a hot country with real beaches. I also don’t have to put up with noise, cold winds, or kids kicking sand everywhere. I think I’m in heaven.
Ooh, gotta go – my RoboMaid has just brought me my SlimDown™ ice-cream.
Took the bus into town this morning for a change. On the bus, I watched a trailer for the new Batman movie. (It’s quite cool how they project movie trailers onto the floor of the bus.)
I must say I’m impressed at what computers can do these days. All the graphics, actors, voices and music in this movie are computer-generated, and even the script was written by a machine. Supposed to be a half-decent movie too. That said, I still hanker after good old-fashioned movies made by actual people.
Had great trouble getting to sleep last night so I snorted some QuickZee™ (wonderful stuff – asleep in 10 minutes and slept like a log).
Went down the local pub at lunch-time with Annie. They’ve got a new system in place now that scans your mind as you walk through the door to find out what you’d like to drink. The drink is then ready for you by the time you get to the bar. Quite spooky. It got both our drinks right too (BrainBeer for me and a SynVod for Annie). The barman said the idea was to save time but I did miss having my usual chat about their range of fine ales on offer. Such is progress I suppose.
This is a clever new business idea. Since airlines recently started charging passengers according to their weight, some clever entrepreneur is setting up pre-flight gyms where you can go to shed a few kilos before your flight weigh-in.
The gyms are pretty pricey but they guarantee that they’ll pay for themselves when it comes to paying for your tickets!