1826 Whine One One

I know I often whine about technology in this column. Perhaps I'm just reacting to being overwhelmed with all the new techno-stuff being thrown our way constantly. It's tough to sort out. I wonder if there's an app for that?
Still, I have good cause. Because sometimes technology has unintended consequences. Take the poor guy in Alaska. Apparently he was moving there and when he drove off the ferry that brought him to his new hometown, he followed his car's GPS voice's advice and took a sharp right.
Unfortunately, a sharp right sent him down a boat ramp directly into the harbor. Do not depend on technology too much. There's a point where you also have to use your eyes and brain to assess your surroundings.
Then again, he was probably not using his eyes because he was texting.
I had a disconcerting experience with my own phone recently. There was an individual in my parking lot that was acting as if he might be having a seizure. So I called 9-1-1-. It was the first time I have ever done so on my ancient cellphone so I was surprised by what it did.
It immediately went into speakerphone mode and loudly proclaimed, "9-1-1- Emergency!"
Great, I suppose, if you accidentally butt-dialed the number and needed to be warned you may be tying up important phone circuits. But terrible if you were cowering under a bed making the call to police because a home intruder was in the other room.
So much for staying hidden.
Might as well turn on all the lights and invite the burglar over to the valuables. New technology not only robs of us of our privacy, it robs us of our secrecy too.
But it does make it easier to whine...
America, ya gotta love it.