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Red Light, Green Light, Yellow Light Go.
Today’s forecast is calling for more rain here in the Midwest. Splashing around in April Showers have transformed into enjoying random downpours courageously described as some-more showers (Summer = some more…I tried).
The point is that rain and thunderstorms have not been uncommon this summer. Actually, it’s been quite fitting for any Midwestern city. Six days of the week are normal, but on that seventh day, whichever one it may be, Mother Nature humorously throws us a curve ball from a past or future season.
We never pack our seasonal clothes away here. We’re always prepared with a perfectly nonsensical combination of winter coat and a pair of shorts.
It actually looks pretty cool, but whatever…
While I was thinking about the rain that’s collecting in the heavens, preparing to descend on this clear summer day, my eyes were drawn to my yellow post-it notes on my desk at work. Undeniably eye-catching. There is no chance I will ever not see that bright yellow pad during the day. No chance. It’s like a sign of some sort…a very bright, obvious, conspicuous sign.
Yellow is a color that is unmistakably bold. It is by no means a color of subtlety. It represents warmth, happiness and purpose. Even fate.
It’s really surprising that more people have not embraced this color, especially when it rains.
We’ve all seen the show and know the story by now…
The Bicentennial!
This is the 200th Post on Jimmy’s Daily Planet!
It’s a bit surreal to be writing my 200th blog post. To be more precise, it was never on my horizon to even think this far into the future when I first started Jimmy’s Daily Planet. I knew what I wanted this website to be in the beginning and it’s been gradually evolving with each new post. I for one am truly excited to see where it continues to go from here!
Just reflecting solely on the number 200 reminds me of what a big number it is. The United States of America is 237 years old, there are more than 200 restaurants in New York City…plus 4,000 other ones, an electric motorcycle has broken the 200 mph barrier, there are at least 200 different types of wine in most grocery stores these days and I’ve probably quoted my favorite television shows and movies more than 200 times.
But maybe it’s just a matter of perspective. Whose perspective? How about a robot with a perfectly pertinent name for today’s celebratory occasion with the always amazing Sam Neill as his somewhat reluctant comedic sidekick:
(Oh, and this post is also two hundred words long)
Here’s to 200 More!
Handing Over the Keys
The new iPhone 5S features a futuristic entryway: a fingerprint scanner.
Apple has now successfully enabled us to rest our minds from remembering and typing one more password to access our phone or to make a purchase. Instead, all we need is ourselves and our trusty finger to press on the Home button on our phone. Just like that, everything is accessible. Surely it makes perfect sense since every single person’s fingerprint is different. In essence, it’s the perfect password.
It should be noted that Apple did not invent the fingerprint scanner, but this latest adaptation by the technology giant seems to be the best version for consumer purchase.
Initially, this technology seems like it could be the first spark of a fire for an infinite range of technologies to be invented/adapted in the future. For instance, just add “smart” to any device, car (not those), entertainment product, light switch, etc. Imagine the safety of owning an electric fireplace that is only operational by scanning the parent’s fingerprints…
The benefits seem clear, purposeful and cool.
And yet, it does feel a bit too personal. Our fingerprint is ideally unique. Our fingerprint is one of the undeniable differences we maintain against everybody else we come into contact with in our lives.
My fingerprint belongs to me and only me.
With this recent innovation, Apple is continuing the short-term and long-term discussion in society that is constantly dancing on the delicate line between cool convenience and privacy. After the recent revelations about the NSA, there should certainly be serious concern over the potential and/or likelihood of our fingerprints being turned over to security officials for who knows why. This skepticism is absolutely warranted (the last word seemed appropriate).
Is the fingerprint scanner a good idea?
It’s ultimately an issue of trust.
On the one hand, it’s an intriguingly cool technology seemingly built for the future. On the other hand, it also conjures up gentle thoughts of a world from the past…like around 1984.
Will you scan yourself?
We All Have an Ocean View
Information is addicting. Plain and simple. Those NBC commercials titled, “The More You Know” always spark an internal curiosity in me. Watching those brief messages on the weekend from NBC personalities is like taking a swig of Knowledgeade.
I’m ready to go Mr. Lauer!
Aside from these brief, uplifting messages are a myriad of other outlets before us that present nearly unlimited opportunities for discovery and insight. The access to information on a daily basis is astonishing in the 21st century. It’s even borderline mesmerizing considering the world once existed and functioned well before a printing press was invented, let alone the pre-Internet era. Consider this: a phone is actually a computer first, with its calling capabilities down to probably third or fourth on the priority list of preferred functionality.
We all know it’s true. And if you think that’s an exaggeration, perhaps you are forgetting about the camera, your wide array of cool apps and your digital music player. Plus, don’t neglect the GPS (seriously, don’t neglect it).
Even the term “iCloud” has altered our perspective of the sky above us. No longer do we glance up into the open sky and blankly ponder the open space with imaginative daydreams. Instead, we look up and visualize data points and infinite transfers of structured and random information moving from Point A to Point B with a diagonal cut to Point S.
Is this a good evolutionary trait?
There are some nights when I look forward to relaxing and taking a break from writing papers and participating in the daily grind. Laying comfortably on a couch with a favorite show playing on the television in front of me, the urge becomes too overwhelming. I instantly (while simultaneously regretting it) open up my MacBook Pro that was closed and start searching for witty articles by a specific author or funny interview clips from a talk show.
On the one hand, it’s good that we are a people that is anxious and excited to seek and find new bits of information. Expanding our horizons should be viewed as a positive characteristic.
Still though, is it really positive that we’ve developed a never-ending quest for knowledge (traditional and non-traditional alike) that prevents us from taking necessary mental breaks?
On the knowledge front, we’ve all moved to the beach with a beautiful ocean view. Everyday, we look out into the vast blue, shimmering openness with the ambition to learn something new, knowing full well that complete knowledge is impossible. We take the dive regardless. On Wednesday, it’s waves hitting a bunch of rocks we see far to the right that stirs our inquisitiveness. On Thursday morning, we see surfers, which makes us want to learn about the history of surfing. Friday evening shows us fun being enjoyed on the boardwalk. Something clicks in our minds that we find too irresistible not to explore.
The rocks, surfers and people on a boardwalk represents something different to each of us. Regardless, these are topics we now find ourselves searching about…virtually nonstop.
While we may be exhausted, we are still seeing things we may never be able to or think to see again.
It’s a classic dilemma.
Speaking of classic…
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