To be honest, I never heard him say it. But this quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein, a legitimate genius of his time.
It read: “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will be run by a generation of idiots.”
Remember, Albert said it and I just relayed it.
But accompanying that quote was a series of pictures. The first was titled having coffee with friends, and you see four young girls at one table in a restaurant all looking down at their cell phones or whatever electronic gadget they were using that day. The next was called a day at the beach. And what you saw were three boys and a girl, all teens, on a park bench with the ocean or a lake behind them while each was either texting or reading a text.
Next was a visit to the museum. Three young ladies, older than the teens we’ve already picked on, sitting on a bench and surrounded by what some might call classic art. But each had a firm grip on a cell phone; one reading a text, another producing a text and the third either waiting for one or thinking of what to text next.
Another that I liked, but only because it proves my point, was called cheering on your team. It showed a shot of fans at a football game with the score superimposed on the photo showing Michigan leading Michigan State 60-57 with 2.7 seconds left to play. And, while one fan was holding his breath in anticipation, he is with a guy who is reading a text and another who is compiling one.
The cruncher, though, was the last one which was called enjoying the sights. In this one four young girls, possibly teens, were riding in a convertible. One was doing what the title called for and enjoying the sights. But the other three were totally into their cell phones and, get this, that included the driver.
People, we have got to get a grip on things here because it is getting out of hand.
And maybe Einstein, who passed away in 1955, knew something back then that we are not paying attention to today.
Sometimes there is a story out there that can go untold until it reaches a guy who happens to write a weekly column like, say, for the Cochrane Eagle.
One of those is about Alberta golfer James Love, son of former Ralph Klein right-hand man, Rod. James continues to strive toward his dream of playing on the Professional Golfers Association tour, and has been doing so for years now getting close but not getting that cigar just yet.
As part of the program, James, with his father as his caddy, was taking part in the British Amateur tourney. He would not have reached age 20 at that time and was paired with a 17-year-old unknown from Ireland. Earlier on the back nine, the Irishman took ill with severe pains to his stomach. It turned out to be appendicitis and they were forced to take the young man off the course in an ambulance while James continued.
That young Irishman, it turns out, was none other than Rory McIlroy who, today, is considered the No. 1 golfer in the world. Who would have thought?
Certainly not James nor Rod Love.
Today’s joke is longer than normal, but the story has a story. For more than 20 years I’ve been doing a Monday Night Football show at a Calgary sports bar. I give away prizes, but throw in the odd joke for which I am noted in this area. Today’s ditty is the first one I ever got booed for, the crowd of about 100 thinking it was just too corny.
Here goes:
I heard they found 200 dead crows near Saskatoon, and there was concern they may have died from Avian Flu. On inspection, that was not the case. Instead, they all died getting hit by traffic, 198 by trucks the other two by cars. The province investigated further to find out why there was a difference in numbers. (I might note that you need to know a little about road hockey to understand the joke.) It was revealed that when crows eat road kill they always set up a lookout crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending disaster, and a crow would find it easier to say “Cah” than “Truck.”
That one had me chuckling, but certainly not my audience of that night. So I responded with: “Can’t you take a joke?”
My family and I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas.
