New Must Have Gadget

I blogged a few times ago about Shirley leaving her cell phone at a restaurant. She is not the first person to do so nor the last. It is a serious problem as your phone becomes evermore critical in defining who you are. ... and it won't be long before it is also our primary payment device, replacing plastic cards. It is not something you want to leave behind.

Enter the new ZOMM. A bluetooth connected attachment to your key chain. Get more than 35 feet from your cell and it starts to vibrate, light up and beep. A savior if you are going to your car, not so good if you're entering the restroom. You need to get used to asking for a table within 35 feet of the restroom. Otherwise you will probably start leaving your keys at the table with your phone. This works if you're driving, but what if you rode with someone else. oops.

A new technology wave has begun … and the consumer rules

Apple has ushered in the next technology wave, the one where normal consumers are now in the lead. In the financial industry where I work, techies have always been the early adopters for new products ranging from online banking to bill pay. This began to change with the iPhone. iPhone owners have become the early adopters to mobile banking, followed by other smartphone owners. Techies are third.

The reason is that anybody can download an application from the app store and it works. And it is easy. No longer is it like getting a wireless router for your home and spending all weekend trying to make it work. This was a source of pride for the techies. For the rest of us, it was “I going to wait for one of my geek friends to figure this out for me.” Now, we no longer need to wait.

Phase 2 of this phenomenon is the iPad. It is simple, it’s sleek, and it is ooooh so powerful. It has access to almost all of the 150,000 + iPhone apps and already has several thousand apps of its own. iTunes redefined the music industry. The iPhone redefined the cell phone industry. iPad could redefine a bunch of industries:
· The laptop (and in most cases the mouse) is likely dead. It is hard to find a reason to have one anymore.
· The publishing industry. They hope it will provide the basis for a profitable subscription model. Regardless, the industry is going to go through a major change.
· TV. Why not watch what you want, whenever you want via the Internet. Steve Jobs will likely get the cost of a TV show down to $.99 (and I’m sure CSPAN, PBS and many others will be free). You won’t need a TV or cable unless the manufacturers get lucky and hook you on 3D.
· Bye, bye Microsoft. Office like apps for the iPad cost $10. Microsoft no longer controls the operating system or the browser. It will be a slow and painful death.

Banking?? Who knows? Most consumer banking will be done via a smartphone or tablet in the not so distant future. Me, I'm thinking of giving up my IBM Selectric.

Thomas Jefferson Who???

Scientists and theologians have been at odds for centuries. Science believes in challenging what we think we know. The religious believe in faith and punishing those that challenge any part of their faith. Copernicus was persecuted by the church for theorizing that the earth revolved around the sun vs. the earth being the heavenly center of the universe. Galileo was imprisoned for his discoveries.

We now have a modern day version (besides jihad terrorists). Texas has a board of educators that determines what goes in the textbooks for our children. This year the board voted to enact new teaching standards for history and social studies that will alter which material gets included in school textbooks. It decided to drop Thomas Jefferson from a world history section devoted to great political thinkers. Jefferson is widely regarded as one of the most important of all the founding fathers of the United States and the chief architect of the constitution … but he also is the one that first suggested the separation of church and state. Hence, he is no longer part of US history in Texas … and a lot of other states that end up with the Texas textbooks because the publishers can’t afford different books for every state. And I bet these people are also concerned that Obama is taking away their country.

Oops

A person with a great memory can be absent minded. I am a case in point. I always amazed my dad with my ability to remember things of minute detail but I have always been absent minded. I often focus on one thing and forget the other things I’m doing. Of course, now I’m older so the memory is gone ... but unfortunately I’m still absent minded. The other day Shirley and I were at a local mall sitting at a table. The time came for Shirley’s hair appointment so she left me at the table with the Laurel Burch bag of recent purchases while I was finishing a Sudoku on my iPhone. I finished the puzzle and left, and yes, without the bag. I picked Shirley up at mall entrance when her hair was done. We were home before Shirley asked where the bag was. She was shocked. What was my problem? In my defense, she has known about this problem for about as long as she has known me. It was like the second meal we ate together when I forgot my sunglasses on the table. Ever since, she takes any objects I’m about to set on a table and puts them in her purse. Why would she trust me with a bag now? What is her problem?

Today, I was working from home. I was on a business conference call using the home phone when a call was coming through from Shirley. She was home and knew I was on a business call. I went to find her to figure out what she was doing. She said she was looking for her phone and could not find it. I gave her my cell to call her cell. The restaurant we ate dinner at last night answered. I guess we all lose something when we get old. Touché.

Puppies ... Puppies

Let me introduce Bentley and Bristol. A few weeks ago Shirley and I adopted these two puppies. You might wonder why it took me so long to blog about it. To be honest, it was a trial period. I was hoping we could trade up for some cute ones but no such luck. We had to give them names that started with a “B” as per Shirley rule 187. I think in this case, a mistake. The mother appears to be mostly Jack Russell and nobody knows who the dad is. We’re thinking one night stand. The Vet, Shirley and others think Bassett Hound. However, I think differently. The way Bentley gnaws at my fingers, burrows into the covers and gives me that stare; I’m thinking more rat. I thought Willard would be a more appropriate name. Shirley exercised her normal veto on that idea. So Bentley it is. You’ll need to watch your toes if you come to visit.

Frequent Flier Blues

Monday was a cloudy, rainy day. I was scheduled to fly out but everything on the Internet indicated flights were on time. I arrived 2 hours early at the airport for a flight to San Diego. There was an earlier flight leaving in 20 minutes in terminal A, gate A29. I was in the terminal D, scheduled to leave from D37. Rather than rush over to A29 via the tram, engage in some serious speed hiking and a likely get middle seat if I’m lucky enough to get on, I thought it better to get a Starbucks coffee and chocolate chip cookie, go to my gate and leisurely wait for my flight. I was scheduled to arrive 3 hours before my dinner with Lea, no problem. After about an hour, I noticed I was still about the only person at the gate. I checked my emails and sure enough, American had sent me several notifications of a gate change. The new gate was A29. I’m thinking this is a bad omen. I get to A29 in time to hear the announcement of another gate change to C2, a third gate in a third terminal. I’m thinking a really bad omen. I get to C2 about 25 minutes before scheduled departure. The gate attendant is asking all the San Diego passengers to find a seat and quit bothering her. She needed to focus her attention on getting the plane that was currently at the gate awaiting departure for Mexico City. This is no longer an omen, its crap.

The Mexico City plane was held for passengers due in from Honolulu. The two previous gates I was at were empty. Someone is messing with me. Finally, that plane leaves the gate, my plane arrives and empties passengers. Then just we are getting ready to board, the gate agent announces that an emergency chute accidentally deployed and they need to call maintenance. An hour later we finally start to board. The plane is full and no one is looking forward to a 3 hour flight. We wait in line for our turn to take off. Finally, it is our turn. Then we get the announcement that they just closed the airport, waiting for a thunderstorm to move through. The pilot explains how important our safety is but I just want to kill someone. Instead, I call Lea and cancel dinner. I’ve got three million American miles and wouldn’t mind if I never got another one.

Unintended Consequences ... again

I gave 21 month old Hayden an iTouch. She was always using Jill’s iPhone; often when I would call or soon after a missed call. For some reason she would never tell her mother that I had called. Having her own iTouch seemed the perfect solution. Jill would know I called and the life of her iPhone would be extended at least a year. And all was going along swimmingly for a month. Other kids and parents would ooh and aah as Hayden navigated through the touch screen and played counting games and matched barnyard animals to their silhouettes. Her mother and I would beam at the feats of this amazing child. She also liked to watch her favorite YouTube videos of Elmo, Dora and others. She hadn’t figured out the navigation so she would ask Jill to change videos once she tired of the one playing and replaying. All was well in Hayden land.

But then one day at 22 months she did figure out how to navigate YouTube. She knows she likes Dora but doesn’t know she wouldn’t like “Death of Dora.” We did not see that coming. Besides her nightmares, Jill and I have this fear that some unsuspecting child and mother coming over to watch her play on the iTouch only to see Dora’s limbs being severed by a chainsaw. I know I don’t sleep nights anymore.