Apparently. Apple Computers does, that is.
They have applied for a patent that shows they are working on a "smart watch." Wearable technology.
At this point, i'm not sure whether to just say "oh" or "ugh."
No, i do not have a smart phone; i do not need something else around that is smarter than i am, that's why i have kids.
Now they will be wanting us to wear the stuff.
Yes, i know there are a few such thing out there already, that track heart rate, blood pressure, food intake, whether you are sleeping, etc. Those things being health related, i can rather understand using them to keep you on track to restoring or maintaining health.
But this will probably be for entertainment purposes only, and don't we have enough of that?
What's a first-cousin-to-a-Luddite to do?
Well, for now, make lame jokes about Apple and its core, but beyond this? Heave a huge sigh and watch with bemusement as yet another gadget becomes something we "cannot live without."
And watch my 70-something mother play with her smartphone. She deserves one, though, she doesn't have kids at home any more.
Today is:
American Birkebeiner Race -- Cable to Hayward, WI, US (largest and most prestigious cross-country ski marathon)
Chinese
New Year Parade -- San Francisco, CA, US (North America's largest
Chinese community celebrates the Lunar New Year in style)
Clam Chowder Cook-Off -- Santa Cruz, CA, US (if you love clam chowder of any variety, this is the place for you)
Curling Is Cool Day -- embrace the Olympic sport the whole family can play; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays
Defenders of the Motherland Day (formerly Red Army Day) -- Russia and some former Soviet Republics
Homeland Defenders' Day -- Kyrguzstan
Motherland Defenders' Day -- Transdniestria
Desert Festival -- Jaisalmer, India (local culture, contests, and fun; through the 25th)
Easy
Divorce Day -- marking the passage, in 1915, of the Nevada law granting
easy divorces after only a 6 month residency, the first such in the US
FESPACO Film Festival -- Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (Panafrica's Film and TV Festival)
International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day -- internet generated
International Sword Swallowers Day
Iwo Jima Day -- commemoration of the US flag raising
Katsuyama
Sagicho -- Katsuyama, Japan (Chinese influenced fire festival held the
last weekend of every February; large stages are built and decorated,
then burned the next day)
National Banana Bread Day
National Day -- Brunei
Open
That Bottle Night -- time to finally drink that bottle of wine you've
been saving for a special occasion; after all, the final Saturday in
February only comes once a year (sponsored by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John
Brecher of The Wall Street Journal)
Parke County Maple Fair -- Rockville, IN, US (pancake meals, a Covered Bridge Art Assn. show, and more; this weekend and next)
Pebbles Day -- Pebbles Flintstone was born this day around 10,000BC
Purim -- Judaism (begins at sundown)
Republic Day (Mashramani) -- Guyana
Showa-Shinzan International Yukigassen Tournament -- Japan; snowball fighting (yukigassen) at its best, through tomorrow
St. Milburga of Shropshire's Day (Patron of birds)
St. Polycarp of Smyrna's Day (Patron against dysentery and earache)
St. Serenus the Gardener's Day (Patron of bachelors, falsely accused people)
Swamp
Cabbage Festival -- LaBelle, FL, US (also called Hearts of Palm, gear
up for two days of food, entertainment, and family fun)
Terminalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (festival for Terminus, god of land boundary markers)
Birthdays Today:
Michael Dell, 1965
Howard Jones, 1955
Patricia Richardson, 1951
John Sanford, 1944
Johnny Winter, 1944
Peter Fonda, 1939
Donna J. Stone, 1933
Paul Tibbets, 1915
Victor Fleming, 1889
W.E.B. DuBois, 1868
George Frederic Handel, 1685
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, 1646
Samuel Pepys, 1633
Today in History:
Emperor Diocletian orders the general persecution of Christians, 303
Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type, 1455
France begins its fifth "holy war" against the Huguenots, 1574
Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army, 1778
The first US raw-cotton-to-cloth mill is founded, in Waltham, Massachusetts, 1813
The first US pharmaceutical college is organized, the College of Apothecaries in Philidelphia, 1821
Santa Anna begins his siege of the Alamo, 1836
John Newman leaves the Anglican Church and is welcomed into the Roman Catholic Church, 1846
In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, 1847
Great
Britain formally recognises the independence of the Boers in the area
between the Orange and Vaal rivers, signing the Bloemfontein Convention
with the Orange Free State, 1854
The London Times publishes the world's first classified ad, 1886
Charles Martin Hall, assisted by his sister Julia Brainerd Hall, produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, 1886
The French/Italian Riviera is struck by an earthquake that leaves 2,000 dead, 1887
The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield, 1896
In
France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter
accusing the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred
Dreyfus, 1898
The Cuban state of Guantanamo is leased to the US, 1903
The US acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million, 1904
The Rotary Club International is founded in Chicago, 1905
Russian Tsar Nicholas II dissolves the Diet of Finland, 1909
The US state of Nevada enacts a convenient divorce law, 1915
The February Revolution begins in Russia, 1917
Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, 1941
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded, 1847
The first mass inoculation with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh, 1954
First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), 1955
The
United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to
buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach,
Missouri, 1983
Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 1987
A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir, 1997
An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31, 1999
Unknown
criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other
hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an
environmental disaster, 2010
Friendly Fill-Ins Week 443
14 hours ago
I scoffed at smartphones when they came out and now I don't know what I'd do without mine.
ReplyDeleteBut a watch? Unless its big enough to cover most of my forearm, there's no way I could get much use out of such a small screen.
I'll leave those to the next generation I think...
Honestly, I laughed way back, when "they" were saying that everyone would have a computer in their home, one day. I could not imagine or believe that. Between my son and myself (when I'm home) and Frank (who is usually with me when I'm home) we have 2 desktops, 2 laptops, 3 smart phones and one tablet. I no longer roll my eyes when I hear these things.
ReplyDeleteI still do not have, and do not want a smartphone. I want to make a call. I don't need to have all the extraneous 'stuff' held therein. It might be useful for someone like my BIL, he travels, and it helps him not have paper everywhere. Me, I'd probably just lose the thing... And my watch just tells the time (and day). That's really all I need.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Apple. Yet another Luddite kin.
Cat
I thought I was the only one left without a smart phone...or a cell phone.
ReplyDeleteI am also without cell phone, and no desire to ever have one, thanks. I think one of the huge problems with today's society is that too many believe they can multitask, when, in fact, they can't. The times I've been bumped into by numbnuts walking down the street texting astounds me, and to know that people are doing similar while driving truly frightens me. Toys are fun, and I wouldn't deny anyone the right to own any, but use some common sense, people. When you're doing something else, put the toys away - please!
ReplyDeleteCrabby, the way they shrink everything is another problem entirely. The kids laugh, but their day will come!
ReplyDeleteHilary, i may not roll my eyes, but i do think some things i just don't need.
Cat, you are right. They may be handy for some people, but i don't need one.
Stephen, i have a cell phone, but it's not smart, and all i do is keep it so the kids can call me in an emergency. Very few people have the number.
Suldog, you bring up the best point of all. This technology is very distracting!