My technological dustpan
I’m getting way too much of my world news on Slashdot. Stories like the mobile phone manufacturer that wants to put a 64-core processor in a handset, or the Chinese factory that wants its employees to sign “no suicide” pl edges shouldn’t even be on my radar. I don’t need to know that the new owners of MySQL are doing a better job, in return for lots of money. Why do I even care about Flash cookies?
Part of the reason: I work on the trailing edge of technology. That means that I’m the guy with the dustpan. Picking up the pieces. I help other people. And for that reason, alone, I need to keep “up to date” on the changes in a technical world. Otherwise, my dustpan won’t be large enough to get the scraps. I guess.
And Slashdot is fun. Forget the articles, and jump straight into the waterfall of comments. No need to RTA; it’s part of the mindset. Comments that make no sense are better rib ticklers than just about anything else. The only thing missing is a soundtrack.
I’m trying to find time in my busy schedule to renew a library card that I don’t need or use. A letter arrived from the provincial wing (the archives), reminding me to stop in and prove that I still exist. The penalty for non disclosure: cancellation. I have a date to respect.
The route planning is done. I will jump off my homeward bound bus, go upstairs, sign in and put my belongings in a locker, go to the reception desk and show approved identification, recover my belongings, go downstairs and take the next homeward bound bus. A delay that will mean I’ll be late for supper, to boot. What to do, what to do?
