A New Toy
Fri., February 10, 09:40 AM
When my children were little, I often told them “that is not a toy.” It might have been the telephone, or an appliance with moving parts, or the stove. It was the standard admonition and seemed to work better than “don’t touch that.”
As adults, those same children are quite fond of “toys” – fancy cell phones, iPods, complicated sound equipment. I, on the other hand, am not looking for toys. Well, I consider certain computer applications to be great toys, but that’s not quite the same thing. Back in the day, when we wrote our own startup batch files, I had some bugle calls. I wrote one into my startup so that, when I booted up, my computer would play “First Call”; that’s the one you hear at the racetrack.
But that stuff gets old. To me a cell phone is for making calls, not playing games or watching football. I don’t need an iPod because (1) I know enough songs to sing that I can keep myself amused and (2) I like the radio when I’m driving. And I don’t want satellite radio; I want the local station that offers me both network news and local news. If there’s a fire or an accident blocking my route, I want to know while I have plenty of time to choose another way.
However, there is a toy that interests me: the Global Positioning System. I first saw one in action in the ambulance the last time Husband was rushed to the hospital. There was my very ill spouse in the back, and there was l’Empress up front, going “that is so cool!" It’s an important tool for ambulances, fire trucks and delivery people, but for the rest of us – well, I really didn’t know whether it would be practical. I’ve been mightily impressed with the concept of OnStar – almost enough to consider getting a GM car. (Not quite.)
U.D. recently got the opportunity to acquire a personal GPS. These are designed to be carried to whatever car you happen to be driving. You may have seen them advertised under such brand names as Magellan or Tom Tom. They’re fairly pricey, but she used Froogle to find a lower price. And last week I got to see it in action.
The device knows where you are. It always knows where you are. And it contains maps of all the U.S. streets. (U.D. is planning on buying the Canadian data as well.) You enter the address where you’re going; the man may tell you to turn around, and then he tells you how to get there. (Don’t want a man? You can choose a woman, as well as the accent you prefer.)
What’s especially exciting is that you can change the route, which is always showing on the display. We decided to make a left turn before the one suggested by the computer. It immediately recalibrated. U.D. took it on a longer trip and asked it to avoid the tolls; it does that too.
In any case, I have to say this is a toy I’d recommend. I wouldn’t want one for myself, just because I don’t expect to be driving much longer. But if you’re looking for an expensive toy for someone, especially if you worry about a child who drives a lot but doesn’t have a good sense of direction, this is a good choice.
U.D. is on a semi-business trip this week, and she took her Tom Tom with her. As I remember, driving in southern California is kind of scary, but she seems to be doing fine. Having stored the address of the hotel, she will always get back to where she started from. Absotively posilutely amazing!
There are, naturally, all kinds of accessories available to go with it. May I suggest a carrying case – a sturdy camera case would work better than the standard – since you certainly don’t want to leave this gadget in the car.
I’ve got mixed feelings about U.D.’s absence. Certainly, there’s a little more freedom. I can shower or do laundry without wondering if someone else is going to need the hot water. I can cook meat without anyone remarking that she “smells death.” And I found out who’s using up all the tp.
At the same time, I miss having her around, to shop with me or run errands if I don’t feel up to going myself. There’s no one to run interference with Husband when he gets stubborn, as he did this week. (It took him three days to realize she was gone.) I also have to deal with der verstunkene Katz, who misses her and creates all sorts of mischief trying to get my attention. I found my glasses on the floor and my mouse in the trash basket. Husband must have opened the door for him…
