Technological Devolution

I have several points to cover in this post, and several of them revolve around YouTube. I reiterate that I honestly believe that YouTube is just another Internet fad, just like blogging or MySpace, and will have no more long-term significance than anything else. That having been said...

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It appears that BBC News is falling further into obscurity and obsolescence. Why do I say this? They've been reduced to covering what the latest fad video on YouTube is. A few weeks ago, a prime sidebar story was the Filipino prison Thriller video (you can watch it here). Two days ago, I noted another YouTube video in the sidebar: the so-called Battle at Kruger (you can see it here).

Honestly, I know that news services cover fake news (and not Jon Stewart style fake news) when there's too little real news to cover; or when they don't have the resources or the motivation to cover really important stories; but isn't covering what's hot on YouTube going too far? I mean, really. This is beyond the time news agencies waste on stories like who's the favorite to win American Idle (no, that's not a typo), or how many minutes Paris Hilton has spent in jail, or which stint in rehab Lindsay Lohan is on.

I'm all for the occasional public interest story, because let's face it: people like me, who pay almost no attention to stories about kittens nursing orphan squirrel babies or who's dating who in Hollyweird, are miserable from seeing so many stories about how the world is a savage and barbaric place. There can't possibly be anyone of any intellectual worth saying to themselves, "I wish CNN would cover more popular YouTube videos, because that's the best and most important use of their financial news-gathering resources."

In a completely unrelated story, here's a hot Japanese chick doing sexy mouth exercises while not speaking a word of English. Moshi moshi? Indeed!

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In yet another promotion of mindless consumerism, Yahoo(!) gives us the guide to Must Have Road Trip Gadgets. It almost makes me sick to my stomach. Ladies and gentlemen, I just finished the mother of all road trips: coast to coast. Did I need a digital camera, or a waterproof digital camcorder? No, in spite of having a brand new digital camera (I hate digital photography, I think it's ruining the discipline, but my parents got me one for my birthday), I think that I took less than five pictures during the entire duration of the trip.

An iPhone? What possible use could an iPhone have on a road trip - that is to say, what use does it have beyond what can be provided by last week's gadgets of an mp3 player (I'll admit, more compact and convenient than a discman) and your existing mobile phone? Even Maddox, who's usually too busy doing book signings and writing his own comic books, has weighed in on this issue, and given fairly fair comparisons between his year-old phone and the iPhone. The core issue, though, is this: the iPhone as a "must have road trip gadget"? Absolutely not.

When I did my road trip, there was only one essential gadget in my arsenal: the Garmin eTrex GPS. It was an invaluable tool, and actually stopped me from getting hopelessly lost on a couple of occasions when coupled with a road atlas. That's right, ladies and gentlemen: no chintzy dashboard GPS that does the work for me and negates my own innate need to learn how to find places myself. For crying out loud, Yahoo(!) users only gave the TomTom Go 910 three and a half stars! How can something be essential if it got the equivalent of a C grade from people who have actually used it?

Headed out for a road trip? Skip the high-priced gadgets, buy a road atlas (and maybe a handheld GPS, though even that should be considered a luxury), maybe get yourself a reasonably priced Grundig FR200 (no batteries required, and you can use headphones), and pack your rucksack. If you need anything fancier than that, you should probably just stay home.

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Another "tech" article I saw was this one about laptops at college. I started my stint at [Generic State University] in September of 2000, and I was one of the few folks who actually brought a laptop to class. Throughout my time in school, I used my laptop for various tasks, primarily note-taking. In fact, folks like the great Peter, Anachronism and Shamrock can testify to the quality of my notes.

I think it's fascinating that there are actually instructors who are banning laptops in their classrooms. There have been astonishing advances in technology, particularly wireless connectivity, since I bought my first laptop. There has also been an astonishing decline in the quality, dedication, and scholarship of university students over the last twenty or thirty years. Academic credentials have transitioned from an "above and beyond" phenomenon for highly qualified and motivated young people, into a near-essential follow-up to a high school education. Therefore, as usual, I don't blame technology for distracting students - instead, I blame students for being in college without sufficient reason in the first place.

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My "big sister", Mighty Mo, has tagged me in a recent post as one of five blogs that make her think and/or laugh on a daily basis. The tag obligates me to pick five "thinking blogger" favorites of my own, so they are as follows.

Mo-Licious - Not all of her posts make me think, but a lot of them do, and when she's not posting about the cats, or whatever Delighla's done lately (those posts are hilarious, of course), she'll post things that really make me consider how complex people can be... Or in many cases, how stupid they can be.

Bane Rants - I'm not always on the same page as Bane... But I am more often than I might admit. A grizzled old bastard, Bane can go from reminiscing about his days as a military badass to describing the measures he goes to in order to remind his son (who has some special needs) that he's amazing and special. If that's not a thinking blogger, I don't know what is.

BLACKFIVE - I don't read this blog near as often as I should, but every time I do I'm reminded of just why America is so amazing. Originally started by one outstanding soldier, BLACKFIVE now features several different authors. These guys also do a lot of great things to support our guys who are fighting overseas, and combine an educated view of world politics with an "on the ground truth" perspective - too few sources show only one or the other, and it takes both to put things into context.

Iraq the Model - This is another blog I visit far too rarely. It's run by two Iraqi brothers (I'm not sure whether the third is still posting, I know that he had withdrawn from the project at some point) and they give an honest, optimistic view of the things that are happening in that country. Honestly, it's one of the most important blogs on the Internet.

Free Will Blog - A few years ago, I got into blogging after stumbling upon a blog that will rename nameless, that seemed to espouse many of the values and priorities I had decided on for myself. Through that blog (which eventually deteriorated to complete irrelevance), I found Aaron's Free Will Blog, which was and continues to be one of the finest (and most underrated) blogs I've ever had the privilege to read. Aaron combines keen wit with class and coherent thought, instead of throwing pointless rants into the mix for the sake of drama. Definitely one of my favorite thinking bloggers.

I can say for a fact that only one of the bloggers I listed reads my blog, so I won't try to tag them. Go check them out.

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My aforementioned "big sister" is fond of saying "I love me some internets". I had an "I love me some internets" moment this week.

One of the things I've been doing since I arrived at Van Dieman's Station is planning a trip to the United Kingdom. As many of you know, I spent several months in the United Kingdom a few years ago, and it didn't do much to smash the so-called "travel bug". I'm not like several of my friends, who refuse to get a real job or stop going to school because they'd rather be traveling and having fun. Of course, that doesn't mean that I can't take a long holiday, right? So, as a sort of mental exercise regimen, I've been doing budget forecasting, geographical routing, and other preparations for a notional trip.

One of the things I want to do is retrace my steps from my two trips and get not only addresses, but also MGRS coordinates, for all of the places I've stayed. Now, regardless of my normally stellar memory for things like this, the intervening time has dulled a few of my memories. As I've compiled a list of the various places where I stayed over the course of two different trips, I've come up with a list of seventeen cities in four different countries. The challenge, then, is scrutinizing old travel guides and, when I get back home next, old receipts and brochures in order to determine precisely where I've been.

Where do the "internets" come into play? I was able to use a combination of several websites Thursday night to find two of the eighteen addresses I'll need in compiling my list. One in particular, a bed and breakfast in Shanklin (on the British Isle of Wight), was a challenge because it was the Whore*, not myself, who made the original reservation. Using a combination of WikiMapia and a British bed and breakfast directory, I was able to locate the Avenue Hotel. Also using the aforementioned mapping site, I was able to find enough information to locate the Hotel Principe Di Piemonte, where Friar Dave and I stayed during our expedition to Rome for Spring Break '03.

Am I completely and totally bored? Probably. Is this further proof that I need a wife, or at least a steady girlfriend? Possibly. Is my big sister, Mighty Mo, going to leave a snarky comment and make fun of me for this? Highly likely. For various reasons, though, there is a legitimate use for this information... Well, at least the addresses. The MGRS coordinates are beyond OCD.

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I have more things to post, but that's probably sufficient for now. My article on the declining pacifism of Germany and Japan will be posted, in its entirety, early next week. In the mean time, seize the weekend!

* The Whore has been known previously as The Mirror. I'm not sure whether or not the reference change will be permanent.