While traipsing through Costco the other day and being the wiseacre that I am, I exclaimed to my shopping companion in a loud voice: “Look, honey, they have books made out of paper here!”
She, of course, pretended not to know me, but fortunately there was another couple nearby with a gentleman as weird as I am who added, “What a great idea. You could take them home and scan them into your computer.”
That got me thinking (a dangerous thing) about other developments that we might see in the future. What if you were able to buy a telephone that was connected to your wall by a wire? Imagine, no more dropped calls and the phone would always be in the same place, so you don’t have to go out to your car to see of you left it on the seat.
The best part is that you could leave home without any fear of forgetting your phone. It would be right where you left it and the best thing — anyone wanting to reach you would have to keep calling until they got you at home. The burden would shift to them. No more interruptions while you are eating or talking and you could drive your car with both hands on the wheel. Wow!
Another thought (I told you this would be dangerous): What if you could prepare a letter or other document by just pressing some keys down and they would automatically imprint on a piece of paper. No need for an electronic printer that only someone in India or Pakistan knows how to set up and operate. Any mistakes that you make could easily be corrected by simply placing some white paint over the errors.
How simple. No more expensive ink cartridges to buy, and buy, and buy. Just replace a little ribbon type device every year or so and you are in business. Of course, once this device becomes available there will be people camping out all night in front of stationary stores waiting for the next model to become available. There is talk of one that comes in its own carry-case for use on the road and it needs no batteries or electricity. Can’t wait!
Here is a great one! What if, again what if you could have a TV with no expensive huge screen and that you could simply listen to the sound and create your own images in your mind. You could lie in bed in a dark room and create all kinds of fantastic images in 3D and full color and use hardly any electricity. Perhaps we are not ready for that yet but be patient.
Can you imagine what it would be like, if you wanted to communicate with someone and didn’t want to risk them simply clicking “delete” when they received your email. Well here is an idea that is just waiting to happen. You could hand write a note, place in some sort of thin container, write the persons address on it and give it to a person who would actually bring it to your friend, place the container in a little box in front of your friend’s house and they would at least have to open and look at it.
Perhaps there are marketing people already thinking of this idea but I wouldn’t recommend rushing into it. The technology hasn’t been fully developed yet.
The other day I saw a couple of kids playing in the street. I am not sure what they were doing. It looked like one of them was trying to hit a ball with a stick of some kind. This was actually being done outdoors. Imagine the germs and pollution to which these kids were being exposed.
Perhaps someone should invent something to keep them occupied indoors where they would be safe and could eat snacks to their heart’s content. Come on, parents, wake up!
Now a story that you only will read in this newspaper. I have developed an environmentally safe Solar Tanning Seat that requires no electricity and can be used anywhere there is sunshine. I already have used it in my back yard and it works great. Patent pending, of course. Keep this under wraps for a while, but I already have tested a Solar Clothes Dryer. So far, it seems to work great!
Do you hate running all over town trying to replace those tiny batteries in your watch once you have figured out how to open the darned thing? What if I were to invent a watch that had a spring in it that you could wind up whenever the watch stopped telling time? Give me some time on this one. Technology is sometimes slow.
Folks, I may not be a real Nostradamus, but at least I am looking into the future.
