FY,T2 - Technology Strikes Back

I could never be a Luddite. (Or neo-Luddite, or whatever is correct - the guys that oppose technology.) I'm not one of those people who would rather have been born in the 1800's, or 1950's, or whatever. I loves me my technologies. As an attorney and an aspiring writer of bad-ass sci-fi/fantasy, I love my laptop to death. I've tried writing on a typewriter before, and it's fun for the first 30 seconds, until you want to rewrite something, and then you pretty much have to scrap the whole project and start over. I love the internets. I love cell phones. I love rocket-guided missiles that can shoot down satellites and filthy Russians. I love laser pointers that drive cats nuts. I love special effects. I love fuel-injected cars. I hate robots, but I like TV shows about blowing robots up.

Still, technology has been biting me in the ass lately with its robotic teeth. Witness my partner in law's account of yesterday, which felt a lot like it must have felt to be a Holocaust victim (if, in fact, such a thing happened).

And more and more, I'm seeing technology that I just don't need or want. For instance, the magical paper towel dispensers that you just wave at and they dispense towels. Or the sinks that you wave at and they dispense water. I know the theory behind each is the reduction of germs, because you don't have to contact these surfaces with your hands. But when I stand in front of these things waving my hands in vain and getting no towels or water, I feel like a fucking retard. I don't know why, but some of these things you either have to wave your hands just right, or else nothing you can do will trigger them. Either way, same result - I stand there unable to perform a ridiculously simple task, just because some toolbag decided we needed to upgrade our hand washing/drying to the point where we can't wash/dry our hands anymore. Keep that shit -- I'll stick with the manual method.

Also, I still can't access any of my bank accounts.