The times they are a changing….

28 11 2007

lost.jpgSo this is the story.  A friend of mine was in South Africa on holidays in 2002.  Having had a few too many to drink he found himself alone and drunk in area of town he didn’t want to be in.  With that he pulled out his trusty Irish mobile to get some directions.    The problem was, he couldn’t ring Ireland, because South Africa is on the same latitude as Ireland, so everybody would be in the same time zone. Instead he rang Sydney Australia, where another friend was able to get on the internet, fins out where he was, and then direct him to his hotel.  He called australia from his irish mobile to get directions in a small town in South Africa.  The thing is I used to think this was a great story.  And at the time it was.  It was a clear demonstration of the arrival of the new digital globe.  The story was revolutionary.  But not anymore…    I found myself telling this story tonight, and discovered fairly quickly, that it wasn’t a story anymore.  It was a grandads tale.  I found myself wondering why he hadn’t just accessed google maps mobile. You see even then, five years ago, (dear lord it’s that long), google maps didn’t even exist.  This was ground breaking stuff.  Of  course this is coming from someone who still qualifies stories with,  ”You have to remember that this was before  we had mobiles”. Anyway, I had to get it off my chest.  I still haven’t worked out whether this is  about how much technology has changed us, or how I’ve been generation gapped.  Time will tell….





Here’s Johnny!!!!

26 11 2007

Here’s JohnnyAfter being out in the wilderness for forty days and nights, I have returned to the fold.  Blogging will resume as normal. IE Spurts of extreme activity followed by long gaps of nothing.   
However there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve recently purchased a spanky new macbook, which will help facilitate the blogging process.  So hang in there. In the works are articles about my experience as a new apple user, and of course there’ll be the usual dross, such as reports of famous crusty plonker Jeff Minter ranting about no one liking his new game Space Giraffe. Awww. 
So strap yourself in and get ready for some sporadic and mediocre journalism.I know I’m excited too! 
Big Red