Posted on 10/15/2006 3:52:14 PM PDT by Chi-townChief
First prize winner, for sure.
Today I am announcing this column's inaugural blue ribbon award for the totally dorkiest look of the year.
There's no contest here.
Without any doubt, the dumbest sight anywhere in 2006 is a human ear with a Bluetooth technology device sticking out.
For starters, it looks ridiculous — like a reject part from the Borg (evil cyberbeings).
Is anyone so important she or he must be linked to Verizon Wireless or Cingular or any mobile service on an 24/7 basis?
I don't think so.
And if one has to be on call for any reason, there are more subtle devices.
But hanging out of the ear?
That is — so not fashionable.
Regular readers probably are thinking about my passion for all that is Star Trek and how the first Enterprise communications officer, Lt. Uhura (Robbins native Nichelle Nichols), wore an earpiece.
Yes, she did.
But Uhura was on a starship, traveling at warp speed across the galaxy in the 23rd century.
The Enterprise crew had to stay connected on all wavelengths, including subspace.
When you're hundreds of light years away from home, constant monitoring of all transmissions is mandatory.
Evil forces such as the Romulans could surface anytime.
On TV sci-fi, the ear thing was nifty.
But on Earth, uh-uh.
So on Tuesday when my husband, Murray, told me he bought a phone with the word-that-cannot-be-spoken technology, I went ballistic.
He assured me he'd only use it when driving alone in Chicago or anyplace with a law requiring hands-free phones behind the wheel.
That is, unless Romulans are nearby.
Meanwhile, on the subject of technology, more than one person contacted me about the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and other robots, the subject of last week's column.
Lucy Venditti, of South Chicago Heights, summed it up in her e-mail.
Last summer she saw the Honda Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility, or ASIMO, robot on stage at Disneyland in California.
"He was about 5 feet tall, his arms bent at the elbows (and) hands moved. ...
"He walked forward and backward, went up the stairs and down, answered the phone, packed lunches for his stage family and sent them off to work and school," she wrote.
"He even gave each a tender hug. I'd love to have one. ...
"My daughter bought me (a Roomba) for my birthday, but I had her take it back after a couple of days.
"ASIMO I'd keep."
(You can check out ASIMO with video and more at www.asimo.honda.com.)
Alas, ASIMO costs about $1 million and is not yet mass produced.
But as Venditti reiterated, the age of Isaac Asimov's vision for robots has begun.
Myra Eder may be reached at meder@starnewspapers.com or (708) 802-8818.
Thanks for the info.
I call 'em phone zombies. Knock it off 'em and they'll die from lack of connectivity.
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