We are constantly bombarded with news about great technological breakthroughs that will make our ever increasingly hectic lives a bit easier. I am a firm believer of doing things the old fashioned way, because technology is bound to drop you at one stage or another - and normally when you can't afford it.
We had just moved into our new townhouse and while I was busy hanging up the curtains, Dylan was completing his assignment for university. He had a lot of work to get through and only the weekend to do it in. I heard him pottering around in his room, talking to himself and it wasn't long before he came sauntering into my room.
"Mom, guess what?" From the excitement in his voice, I gathered that he had made some groundbreaking discovery......"My laptop is voice activated!!!!". Now, to me, voice activating a laptop is completely useless. Voice activating a door so it will open when your arms are full of wet laundry or the coffee machine when you are blow drying your hair with one hand and applying eye shadow with the other, now that's revolutionary!!
"That's great, Dylan......" wondering what this will mean to mankind......
"Instead of writing or typing my assignment, I can now speak to my laptop, and it will type as I speak.... It will be much faster and before long I will be finished."
In my head I'm saying "yeah, right.....", out of my mouth the words "That's fantastic!" errupt.
And so Dylan returns to his room and I carry on hanging up curtains.... and this is what I hear next:
".... skeletal muscle is made up of fasciles....."
"..... skeletal......"
"......skeeeeleeeetaaaaaallllll....."
"skeletal"
"You stupid machine! No don't type that.....aaaaaahhhhhhh......."
"Moooooommmmmmmm!"
"muscle......."
"Muuuusssscccclllleeeee....... No, not national!!!!"
"Dylan, maybe you should change the language from American English, to South African English?"
"Aaaaaahhhhhhh!"
And so I say again, do things the old fashioned way and you'll find the job is finalised much sooner......
