Too smart for our own good

http://www.freep.com/article/20110106/NEWS09/101060531/1319/Smart-home-appliances?-For-many-consumers-theyre-genius

The article linked above talks about some of the biggest hits at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show - smart appliances. Internet-connected telephones, ovens, refrigerators, everything.

I can see a lot of benefits to this. How many times have I wanted to run the dishwasher but wanted to wait until the end of the day...and then wake up to dirty dishes? Set it up and there's no way I can forget. The laundry's loaded but you're not in a big hurry? Set it up and the washer will wait until a more energy efficient time to run the load.

However, putting aside the huge issue of who is controlling my oven, I worry about what we worry about. What will it be like when we depend on the internet for EVERYTHING?

Your milk is about to expire? You'll get a text message on your phone telling you to pick up more milk. How hard is it to figure out when your milk is about to expire?
What do you need to shop for? Your fridge will tell you, and probably at which store can you get everything for the cheapest.

I'm okay with not having to worry about mundane things like expired milk. (I'm definitely not crying over it. Ha!) Rich people have been doing it for years. I just worry about what we as humankind will do instead of worrying about expired milk: I just have a feeling it will have a lot to do with the Kardashians or something else that won't be a contribution to society. Too bad it probably won't be about serving others, conversing as a family, pursuing education, or reading the scriptures.

What do I do on my spare time now, however?

Ramble on, my wayward son

Two ramblings for today:

1. A year and a half ago Torrie and I made the decision to leave the Boeing Company and accept a job with the FDIC.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2013713745_dreamliner19.html

http://www.kirotv.com/money/26047371/detail.html

A move, derided by some at the time, appears to have been a good one. Torrie, myself, and now Clara are very happy in Lexington. The job itself is a better fit for me and it’s much more secure, especially with the continuing problems at Boeing. We own a home. We were able to see our families multiple times this year. While we miss family and friends in Seattle, we are nothing but happy with our decision.

2. I’m grateful for the lessons on saving that my parents taught me as a child.

As a fifth-grader, I found out that my family was moving to Detroit. I didn’t know much about Detroit, except that they made lots of cars there, and that they liked hockey. So I decided that I should start to like hockey.

How did I acquaint myself with hockey? Well, I knew of two ways: first, read the newspaper. I started reading all of the box scores that they had on the back page of the Omaha World-Herald. Secondly, I had to get a hockey video game. NHL ’94 for Super Nintendo looked to be a good fit. It had all the teams, it looked pretty cool. Now, how does a fifth grader buy such a game? My parents encouraged me to save up and buy it myself.

They could have bought it for me. They could have called it a Christmas gift, or an early birthday gift, or something like that. They could have decided to buy it for me to help me gain friends after we moved. They could have given it to me because all my friends had video games. But instead, they encouraged me to save up and buy it.

So that’s what I did. I did my chores, saved up my allowance, and eventually I had enough money to buy it myself. What a great day, especially after having worked so hard to obtain it. While I enjoyed playing the game and learning a whole lot about hockey, the more important lesson of making a goal, followed by working and saving towards that goal, was much more important.

I’m grateful my parents helped me learn that lesson – one that I feel is not taught enough these days. Life does not just give you what you want, you have to earn it. That lesson shapes my life today and I will pass it down to my daughter.

Mafia.

Seeing as the url of my blog is www.loganisreallyawesome.blogspot.com, I feel the urge to tell a story about a time when I did something awesome.

One day, not long after my mission, I was in an apartment with some of my friends. It was still that awkward time when nobody really knows anybody and there are a lot of people trying to impress each other. (Count me as definitely one of them. I’m sure I was awkward and overdoing it. Hello, I was right off my mission.)

I think it was a Sunday evening, and we decided to play the game Mafia. You know all that game. Well, I was feeling a little cocky, so I turned to the girl next to me and said, “You know what, you are going to be the first one to die. I guarantee it.” She laughed, told me she was ready for the challenge, and even bet me an apple pie that it would not happen. (That was always a good move. Betting someone a prize that leads to a date. As long as she’s cute (and you wouldn’t make her a bet if you weren’t, you always win, whether or not you win or lose. Not that I would ever lose.)

So the game started. Now Mafia is a quirky game. One innocent comment by someone, someone decides that you look suspicious, and BAM you’re dead. And that’s exactly what I did. I cajoled and insinuated and did everything I could to convince everyone that she was Mafia. (I swear I heard her move! I know I did! It was her!) Well, she was chosen and then killed. I had won. I had won an apple pie. BOO-YAH.

The story does not end there. Yes, I felt pretty sure about myself, and at the conclusion of the game (I’m pretty sure the townsfolk won) we decided to play again. In my confidence I again bet my friend, but this time, I told her that I was going to win. (A bold statement. Remember earlier statement on how quirkly Mafia is, especially if someone is specifically trying to get you out.) How did this game go? Well, being Mafia, I killed my new friend in the very first round, and kept on surviving, even though she continued to talk while she was dead, trying to get people to vote for me (a blatant violation of the rules, I might add.). After the final vote was held, leaving me to win, the other players of the game cheered at my masterful Mafia skill, and I ran out of the door, with my arms raised over my head in victory.

It was awesome.

P.S. My favorite such group game is called “Silent Football.” I think it’s perhaps the funnest game ever. I’ll tell you about it some other time.