tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post7154113667348589772..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Open the Pod Bay Doors, HALJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-6001470502874081422013-02-16T11:22:36.182-06:002013-02-16T11:22:36.182-06:00Tools are only as good (or bad) as the human wield...Tools are only as good (or bad) as the human wielding them. GIGO. I can recall when television held so much promise as an educational tool (we even had a closed-circuit TV in my elementary school classroom--that's where I learned the rudiments of Spanish). There's good stuff there for the taking, if you're willing to sort through the chaff. Same with the interwebz. "They" are not the enemy--in the immortal words of Pogo Possum, "We have met the enemy and he is us."<br /><br />I'm OK with change--bring it on! It's good to step outside your comfort zone once in awhile--keeps you young ;-).<br /><br />Jim, as you can see from this excerpt from the 'About' page of my blog, we are of one mind on this subject:<br /><br />As a humanist, I find this to be an amazing time to be alive. The rapidly evolving, expanding, and maturing field of ‘digital humanities’ fills me with wonder and awe. The alliance of storytelling and technology is plunging ahead at breakneck pace, and *change is good.* In an attempt to make some sense of it all (which is, admittedly, a little like trying to take a sip from a fire hose), I will occasionally record my thoughts and impressions here. We are poised on the threshold of a Brave New World of creativity and ideas, my friends; a little scary but incredibly exciting—*ain’t life grand?* <br /><br />~the Digital Warrior-Poetneocelthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749768101955435672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-33162051663381830482013-02-14T20:25:03.745-06:002013-02-14T20:25:03.745-06:00Same old future shock. A generation ago it was en...Same old future shock. A generation ago it was enough to warn the elderly not to trust every guy with a kind face and a promise ("The world is different now, grandpa..."), now they must be aware of phishing, credit cards scams, people Facebooking their receipts, etc. We propeller-heads understood this decades ago, but it takes a while to filter down to the muggles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-28688880833667362802013-02-12T13:35:05.347-06:002013-02-12T13:35:05.347-06:00Shit. I feel so inadequate now. FB has never asked...Shit. I feel so inadequate now. FB has never asked me how I feel! WTFO?! What's wrong with me!? Denis Kaufmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06430259956722708755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-41953949772670050762013-02-11T20:11:34.183-06:002013-02-11T20:11:34.183-06:00BTW, Jim, I just ran across an app to make Faceboo...BTW, Jim, I just ran across an app to make Facebook more palatable. It's called FB Purity ( http://www.fbpurity.com/ ), and has cleaned up MUCH of the crap FB throws on the page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81543847774657048312013-02-11T14:17:42.080-06:002013-02-11T14:17:42.080-06:00At first thought I was thinking to myself that Jim...At first thought I was thinking to myself that Jim’s preaching to absent audience. My second thought was that he must have misspoke, surely he meant, “I can’t wait to see what happens next. Just as long as it involves greasy jungle monkey sex with killer robots.”<br /><br />I have a band saw that never cuts where I want it to, I’m throwing that POS out!<br />Dana Teelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02686989075671803137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-77975329840625523782013-02-10T17:30:01.564-06:002013-02-10T17:30:01.564-06:00Fortunately, not all old people get Old People Sho...Fortunately, not all old people get Old People Shock--I did get Social Security and Medicare this year, though. I agree with Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." I can deal with that; I don't have to understand how the technology works to use it. I've owned a computer since the Apple IIC and surfed the Internet since Netscape was a pup. I can buy stuff, research anything that interests me, read the opinions of people I'll never meet in real life, and carry on written conversations with strangers half a world away. My Kindle holds 150 books. My GPS system keeps me from getting lost, mostly. What's not to like?<br /><br />OK, lots of things. I hate it when I buy something and Google sees fit to send me dozens of ads for alternatives to the thing I already bought. Facebook is a time-suck of the first order, but it's useful for keeping track of what the kids and friends are up to. It is getting a bit personal, though. I deliberately don't spend much time there. My GPS has a creepy mechanical voice--a choice of several, actually. I don't like it when my name appears after a cheery "Hi!" on several websites I visit regularly. I'd hate it if my computer talked to me.<br /><br />As far as technology goes, today's users have nothing on my great-grandmother. She was born in 1862 and died in 1962. When she was born, there were no electric lights, telephones, automobiles, airplanes, radios, televisions, computers, or any of the dozens of appliances and gadgets we would find it all but impossible to live without today. Antibiotics didn't exist; neither did X-rays. Women regularly died in childbirth and most families had lost at least one child. By the time she died, all those advances were in routine use (UNIVAC was used to predict the 1952 Presidential election), antibiotics and X-rays saved countless lives, and the death rates for new mothers and children had dropped dramatically. If great-grandma could manage so much change in her lifetime, I can cope.<br /><br />That Other Jeannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-82545041567047649402013-02-10T12:49:11.306-06:002013-02-10T12:49:11.306-06:00LMAO! LMAO! hedgewytchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-51714321307040332262013-02-10T12:39:16.218-06:002013-02-10T12:39:16.218-06:00Kinda like the eight-ball question answer-er thing...Kinda like the eight-ball question answer-er thingy. Should I click "like" on this post? shake ..... "Ask another time"hedgewytchnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-53323393652384702432013-02-10T10:16:16.207-06:002013-02-10T10:16:16.207-06:00That is a beautiful story that shows some of the b...That is a beautiful story that shows some of the best of people using the internet! Thank you!<br /><br />No, not just 'words on a screen'; I agree that someone has to be cold-hearted - I would say very self-centered - to view sincere comments and responses that way. There are real people typing those words, and when the intent is to connect and share rather than to simply 'bray', the results can be wonderful and the reach is so much farther than before such technology.Debteehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04197703432632549237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38305617995315094372013-02-10T10:13:18.269-06:002013-02-10T10:13:18.269-06:00I think you shouldn't read too much into the i...I think you shouldn't read too much into the inane Facebook questions, it's just a "clever" way of not having a white comment box.<br />Remember the "good old days" where you could have your Facebook status update talk about yourself in the third person? :-)Renehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09193552314188953480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-81320863813895156952013-02-10T10:10:25.753-06:002013-02-10T10:10:25.753-06:00Judith - FB CAN be the way you mentioned for those...Judith - FB CAN be the way you mentioned for those who do that immature stuff, but you can basically bypass all that foolishness and use it to get connected with anything/anyone that interests you. I love the politicial groups and related petitions, belong to some pet rescue/networking groups, etc., and quickly disconnect from anyone or any group participating in gossipy drama like the high school nonsense you fear. You do NOT need to friend everyone who asks (I don't), and if you have strong hermit tendencies (as I do), FB can connect you with many similar people who like ideas more than they need to socialize. I was surprised to enjoy it so much, and would miss my great contacts and the information exchange if I quit.Debteehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04197703432632549237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-84530229111214955862013-02-09T18:55:48.873-06:002013-02-09T18:55:48.873-06:00It IS unsettling that my facebook says "how&#...It IS unsettling that my facebook says "how's it going, Colleen?"<br /><br /><br />I'm 26, I'm "hip to the jive", I don't like it. ColleenSMASHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11684539673102851209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-24609470300823883292013-02-09T15:29:53.097-06:002013-02-09T15:29:53.097-06:00Earlier, our technology was likened to Star Trek&#...Earlier, our technology was likened to Star Trek's, such as the Padd. I think our iphones are almost like the Joymakers from Fredrik Pohl's "Age of the Pussyfoot". <br /><br />"The remote-access computer transponder called the "joymaker" is your most valuable single possession in your new life. If you can imagine a combination of telephone, credit card, alarm clock, pocket bar, reference library, and full-time secretary, you will have sketched some of the functions provided by your joymaker." - from the novel <br /><br />The only thing on this list iphones don't have is the pocket bar! And I bet that's coming soon.<br /><br />NaluGirlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-40989986769991447012013-02-09T03:26:26.265-06:002013-02-09T03:26:26.265-06:00Hey Jim, My first blog was called "FutureSho...Hey Jim, My first blog was called "FutureShock" on Xanga. I worked at Verizon Wireless and the data phone thing was just taking off. Boy was it taking off. And at my age, I was having trouble keeping up. The 20-somethings I worked with were not having the same trouble :-) Brought to mind the old babysitters we used to get who couldn't figure out how to use our TV set. I could figure out any TV set in seconds. So....there is really an age factor to this, a learning ability thing. I happen to love Facebook. I have met friends on FB who have become 3D friends. I don't have many friends because I am challenged that way. Aspergers, alcholism and Borderline Personality Disorder make me a hard person to be around. But these folks were forewarned and are just Da Bomb. I feel very connected with FB. I go through a real withdrawal without it. I am Borg. I need to be with the Collective. Otherwise I am a very lonely misfit. Thanks for writing this!Alycia Keatinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12552350513028203050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-41702365073320638982013-02-09T01:40:20.394-06:002013-02-09T01:40:20.394-06:00Thank you, thank you, thank you. I always knew I ...Thank you, thank you, thank you. I always knew I never got older than 34, but I didn't have a reasonable argument before! Seriously, if I did know the quote, I'd forgotten it, and I plan to use it as a sig. <br /><br />Maybe the difference actually is science fiction, in my case anyway. At least half the future I've been expecting hasn't gotten here yet. Having said that, I'm beginning to feel a lot more hopeful about the next 10 years. So, for real, thank you again.<br /><br />Ann C.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-44383042203201707732013-02-08T20:56:13.816-06:002013-02-08T20:56:13.816-06:00Actually, "Open the pod bay doors Hal" i...Actually, "Open the pod bay doors Hal" is something I would be very likely to say while using an intelligent toilet.<br /><br />"you’re having greasy jungle monkey sex with a Cuisinart"<br /><br />You do realise that there is probably a FaceBook group or newsgroup for this, or if there isn't, there soon will be.<br /><br />I can't wait to see the new warning labels on the Cuisinart boxes :)<br /><br />I use FB, but never publish anything that isn't already known about me or I wouldn't disclose to potential employers, girlfriends or whatever. I don't care what FB does with that data - I ignore the ads, or dismiss them with silly reasons (Cat food for being sexually explicit, credit cards as offensive or against my views etc). What I do object to is FB seemingly knowing about my non-FB browsing and serving ads related to that.<br /><br />I did have some sort of future shock some years ago, when I realised I had no idea how to play the fruit machines any more, with their features and trails and stuff. Whatever happened to hoping for three lemons?A Forest Dwellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00756241855508078576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-4720115194918639712013-02-08T19:19:16.369-06:002013-02-08T19:19:16.369-06:00Social media is here to stay. As you point out, it...Social media is here to stay. As you point out, it's a tool and we'd better know how to use it or get passed by. I love your writing, Mr. Wright, and thanks for being here, presenting a welcome change: correct spelling, thoughtful assertions, and the courage to own your opinions. Without FB I'd be missing all this! Thank you! Miznyehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14278714082340390125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-7749781966320858622013-02-08T16:00:03.103-06:002013-02-08T16:00:03.103-06:00The classic SF stance of machine intelligences vis...The classic SF stance of machine intelligences vis-a-vis feelings is not an overly friendly one. "That does not compute" morphs rapidly into "Danger, Will Robinson" If the whole singularity concept has any validity, I wouldn't worry much about the Zuckerman tribe's attempts to make you think they care about you or anyone else's feelings if they aren't making a nickel off them. You might even have to reconsider your Skynet statement at some point. And really... was seeing Kirk Douglas' ass all that traumatic when there was a nude Farrah in the same shot? Enjoyed it as always.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17304298916490995059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-55039820978894107622013-02-08T14:36:06.158-06:002013-02-08T14:36:06.158-06:00I don't know if you read xkcd...
Heh. You'...<i>I don't know if you read xkcd...</i><br /><br />Heh. You're so funnyJim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-28237454311431385572013-02-08T14:30:17.647-06:002013-02-08T14:30:17.647-06:00I don't know if you read xkcd, but your compar...I don't know if you read xkcd, but your comparison of SOPA and PIPA with the gun control argument reminded me of a strip I think you'd appreciate: http://xkcd.com/504/drakvlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38032302846112400782013-02-08T13:04:14.662-06:002013-02-08T13:04:14.662-06:00Were I live, there still are people plowing the fi...Were I live, there still are people plowing the fields behind teams of horses. The guy I'm doing a brochure for does sell buggy whips (it's not what the brochure is about, but they're there in his store). Life has a funny way of just integrating the new with the old. <br /><br />I've met too many people online who I've then met in the meat-space (does that term now age me?) to discount online relationships. It's easy to knock what we don't like. I did the same with blogs, facebook, and twitter. About the only one of those I don't use on a daily basis is Facebook, and that's just because I don't have the time (not to mention my boss is my "friend" on there, so I have to watch what I say or they take it the wrong way). <br /><br />But Douglas Adams had a quote that's apropos, “I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. 2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. 3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.”<br /><br />I personally like living in the future. Not everything is good (job being done away with, high-fructose corn syrup, stuff like that), but I love not dying of dysentery.Steve Buchheithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-73642020117343184812013-02-08T12:10:12.021-06:002013-02-08T12:10:12.021-06:00You could say Toffler thought about it a bit wrong...You could say Toffler thought about it a bit wrong. It isn't "Future Shock." It's "Present Shock." That's where we are when it gets to be too much. We're surfing the now. If you aren't on top of the wave, the wave's probably on top of you. And just like surfing, the next wave is already coming at you.<br /><br />I'm a 60-year-old, and I've seen a hell of a lot come, and some of it go. I'm on Facebook, and my ex-wife's daughters reconnected with me after 25 years. That's a real blessing, which probably wouldn't have happened in a world that wasn't connected.<br /><br />I also had a Real Life friend who decided to dump me when I pointed him to StoneKettle Station. Too much for him to bear, the ideas and opinions and such. So now my Real Life friend is not my friend, and my "Virtual Friend," our host Jim, is still my friend. I like my on-line friends, and they are just as real as my off-line friends. And since I'm miles and miles from most of my friends of either type, it's much easier to stay in touch with the on-line ones.<br /><br />Color me connected, and happy.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273212686600552771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18619044623355300402013-02-08T12:03:08.879-06:002013-02-08T12:03:08.879-06:00Some people don't seem to be able to exist wit...Some people don't seem to be able to exist without their gadgets. But when your Smart Phone gets too smart and you get too needy, what can poor SIRI do then? Impossible for her to get away when she's trapped in that tiny plastic box.Sherrie Lynnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02252760828781482263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-39759679927026385422013-02-08T11:45:58.638-06:002013-02-08T11:45:58.638-06:00I saw a recent cartoon (maybe Lockhorns?) where th...I saw a recent cartoon (maybe Lockhorns?) where the guy was seated at his computer saying wearily, "Oh, look. 14 people's computers remembered my birthday..."Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00273212686600552771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-49026216038121862492013-02-08T10:35:10.372-06:002013-02-08T10:35:10.372-06:00"God don't pay rent"
Nor taxes. Ne..."God don't pay rent"<br /><br />Nor taxes. Neither does a church.Jerry A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01835584492326180042noreply@blogger.com