Thoughts

Sometimes I wonder what's going through people's minds. For example, at work this afternoon I was helping a CES employee fix up her Microsoft Outlook so that it would let her send emails--for some strange reason all she could do was receive them. In the course of my intelligent troubleshooting (which ultimately did fix the problem, thank you very much--and you thought it was a joke!) she asked if we wear headsets at the GSD. "Yeah..." Of course we do.
Later I realized what a funny question that was for her to ask. Why would it matter to her that we wear headsets? Then I suddenly thought of all the possibilities; she could have been plotting a terrorist attack which involved killing off computer technicians around the world by systematically poisoning the earpieces on their headsets...or maybe she just felt like it would make me sound cooler and smarter if she envisioned me with a headset. Maybe it gave her a sense of security knowing that not only could I fix computers, but I can do it hands-free.

I also have a theory that people's driving habits are similar, in some cases, to their walking habits. One day I am sure that in the big cities of the world such as New York or San Francisco, there will be lanes painted on the sidewalk with bright paints, and we might even be required in some places to wear a funny backpack thing with blinkers and brake lights. That would make life so much easier for those of us who just like to get places fast--the 'talkers' could just pull off onto the shoulder and talk, while the rest of us breeze by, and if you're lucky there might even be a wide sidewalk with a fast lane on it so you could really scoot along. The only problem is brakes--the best solution I think to indicate you're slowing down is to tilt your head back, and have the brake lights come on whenever your neck bends backward.

I do admit that this would be awkward in any visits made to third-world countries, where they most likely would not be up to speed with this new way of life. And there we would be, walking around making bike signals and leaning our heads back for no apparent reason. At least we'll get some good home videos out of it.