Technology

How about all of the new gadgets and toys we have today. I can’t keep up with half of them. My wife has Onstar for her car. I have mixed emotions about it. You have heard all of the ads. If you lock yourself out of your car, the folks at Onstar will unlock it for you. Now you are SOL if your digital phonebook is locked in the car, too. Maybe it’s a good thing, but I don’t know. Do they keep records, and laugh at you if you lock yourself out of the car several times. “I don’t believe that fool. He’s locked himself out of his car three times in the last month. What a loser!”

Certainly, if you have an accident, you will probably be glad they are there for you. They actually come on the car’s speakers and ask if you are OK, and call emergency people. You have heard the advertisements. The man or woman has had the gas bag go off in the face, has maybe had some injuries, and is thanking the Onstar person profusely for their help. The Onstar person responds with, “No problem.” No problem? I just hit a tree, and you say, “No problem.” And do they talk about you after the accident? “Hey, remember the guy who locked himself out of the car three times last month? He just hit a tree!”

I was looking in a clothing catalog the other day. Do you know they now have clothing that will repel mosquitoes? It’s something special they put in the fabric. Pants, shirts…just put them on, and mosquitoes will not bother you. I wonder how long it lasts. The ad did not say. But what if you wore something a lot and washed it a lot of times, so it was comfortable and old? Would it still work, or would it only repel old mosquitoes?