Smile.

Technology.

More specific: hi tech, has evolved over the past ten years at a speed  I would compare to the wheel becoming a Corvette over a long weekend.

The speed at which technology has developed is not only amazingly fast, but mind numbing.

60 million o fhe Motorola Razr phones
were sold between 2004-2006.

Think about it for just a minute.

Any longer could cramp your frontal lobe.

Think about where cell phones were in ten years ago in 2003.  Don't bother thinking of a "bag phone"
from the 1980's.  That is like comparing spaghetti to mufflers.  Think about the be all, end all Motorola Razr cell phone from 2003.  That phone was not only small, it was thin.  and folded neatly onto itself, and it fit seamlessly into jeans pockets.

Everyone wanted one.

Then, everyone wanted a Palm Treo,  Blackberry, and eventually, an iPhone.  Technology developed so quickly that with each amazing advancement, a new product was developed, and it was like you never owned a cell phone before.

Cell phones are only a fraction, most visible, form of hi- technology.  Technology has developed to the point that there is not a time in the day that it is not known  where you are, what you have just bought for dinner, what highway you took to arrive at the restaurant, the movie you are seeing after that dinner, the brand of soap you use at home, the breed of dog you have.

Technology knows when you left your home to drive to Albany, where you are along the way, and when you can be expected to arrive, even if you do not have GPS in your vehicle.  If there are delays ahead then technology will warn you, and divert you around them.  Technology knows how fast you drove en route, and the speed limits all along the way. It also knows if you went over those limits.

Once you have parked the car in the city, and begin walking to your destination technology can find you in the crowd of hundreds using facial recognition by comparing your DMV license photo to all those other faces around you.  Video cameras are everywhere, and are recording the last time you coughed, checked your zipper, or smiled at a baby.

Big Brother is not only here, he has been welcomed, given the spare room, and keys to the minivan.  We are not the least bit fazed by it.

George Orwell is rolling over in his grave, and I am sure you can view the video of it on Youtube.

If you carry a cell phone with you then your location is known at any given moment.  You have been essentially tagged like a bear in the wrong neighborhood.  When you drive on I-495, or the MassPike, your speed is tracked by your blue tooth phone.  This is how traffic times are calculates, and posted on those digital signboards on the roadside.  They say only the blue tooth signal is used, and then then timed from location to location, but it is just as easy to attach your name, and face to that blue tooth signal as well.

So what is the point of all this?

Awareness.

The tech creep has occurred with great fanfare with each development, but the side tech developments have slipped in quietly.  Are you comfortable with "being out there" for all to monitor, and observe?

What is the alternative?  Going back to 1986, and living "off the grid"?  Possible? Not really.  Not today.  Even if you lost your cell phone, and your GPS enabled vehicle, there are the video cameras at the gas station, and the hot dog stand, your ATM card, and your new home thermostat that knows if you are home, or away.  Facial recognition is here despite what service you subscribe to.  As long as there has been one photograph taken of you you can be found in a crowd.

The new age has arrived, as predicted, not with a bang, but with a ring tone.

Very shortly, you will be able to confront your high school student with videos of just where they have been when they said they were studying at a friends house, check on a friends whereabouts, and check to see if your girlfriend is really at work.

We won't be able to call sick to work with a fever, since the thermal camera in your phone will show you to be cool as a cucumber, and the GPS will show you "recovering" at the beach.

All this amazing technology has been welcomed either openly, or by our just enjoying it.  Could it be used in ways that could harm us?

Of course.  Fire is a wonderful tool, but with the wrong intent, it is terrifying and dangerous.

Can we prevent hi tech from being used against us?  I don't know, but it all starts with awareness, and un-numbing your head.

In the meantime, smile, you're on someones camera, and they know what you're up to today.

Worth The Thought?

Our selectmen voted not to fund a school resource officer for Tantasqua Regional High School last spring.  If the school committee would like one, then they can hire one, and pay for the officer from their funds.  In fact, since, the regional school is a school representing five area towns, the towns could all do their part in funding an officer.

I do not believe the vote last May by our selectmen was a vote against the concept of a SRO, but rather against the funding of one.  Nationally, the need for an SRO has been shown to be there, and for schools as large as TRHS, it is almost a requirement.

Like any small village, that hires a constable, or has single police officer, and TRHS's population is like that of a small village, there is a need for an SRO in that community.

Safety vs. funding.

Why is this concept so difficult to overcome?

Discuss.

A Reminder

"Anonymous comments not accepted, and will be rejected. Please use your FULL, REAL name. Choose Name / URL" and enter your name, and your name ONLY. Leave "URL" blank."

I started using the above wording above the comment box a few weeks ago.  Comments are down, as expected, but there are those that actually have read the paragraph above before writing a comment.  To those people I say, thank you.

Now, there are some other folks that are still trying to sneak an anonymous comment in, or use a name with an initial as a last name.

Full name only.  

If you are passionate about your feelings enough to speak up, then step onto the soap box. If you don't feel that strongly enough about what you have to say to attach yourself to your thoughts, then neither do I.  I set the same standard for you that I have set for myself.  My name is everywhere on this page.

Then there are those that send the same comment under different names in case I didn't choose to publish the first one, or have a buddy do it by "cuttin' and pastin'" their comment from an email saying, "post this for me".

Well, duh.

If I feel your comment is hurtful, hateful, inciteful, or I just don't like you, I won't publish your comment.  If you try again under a differnt name, then you just look stupid.

Remember, my blog, my rules.

By the way, there is no rule that says you must comment on everything you read.  You can just either smile, nod to yourself in agreement, and take another sip of coffee, or mutter something like, "Crazy bastard." under your breath.  Either way, you'll feel as good as if you had typed it out, and I am very used to to both.

Let The Heating Games Begin!

We bought a Nest.

Yesterday on the way from one errand to another errand we stopped at Home Depot, and bought a Nest.  

Nest is the ultimate in home thermostats, and was invented by the very same person that brought us the iPhone.  It is well designed, attractive, and by no means, a cheap set back thermostat.  Not by any means.

We have had a programmable thermostat since we bought this old house, and it worked as it was intended.  We set a low temp for the night, and a wake up temperature.  All other times of the day were handled a la carte since I work an abnormal schedule, we only kicked the heat up if we got too cold.  Yes, it worked.  It worked as it was intended to work.

So is the Nest a big, major improvement in thermostats, or just some good looking hi tech, digital gadget stuck on my wall?

Yes.  Yes it is.

This thing is not only smart, but it learns every time it is adjusted up, or down.  It senses when you walk up to it, and it's black, round screen lights up to reveal the temperature, and what the temp is set to.  When you walk away, it turns it lit screen off.  It knows when you are home, and when you are not home.  It will set it self to the away setting.  It will allow you to check your homes settings, and control it live,and in person, or from your smart phone at work, or the restaurant late in the evening so that home is warm, or cool, when you return.

The Nest allows you to either enter a set schedule of when you want your heat to come on each part of the day, or allowing the Nest to learn your schedule on its own.  The learning part is what the Nest was designed for.  It will learn when you manually adjust your thermostat each day, compare the inside temperature with the weather at your location, and remember it.  If you rise everyday at 5:00 and turn the heat on to 64f  to knock the chill out of the air, then the Nest will determine the time to heat time, and come on early enough to have your home at 64f when you get out of bet.  Or, you can have it just begin to heat at exactly 5:00 AM.  It is entirely up to you.  The Nest will also put some extra thought into those houses that have boilers, and radiators, and radiant floor heating in order to eliminate large temperature swings.

Each month, the Nest will send  you an email report of just how you did with your heating, or cooling, for that month.  It will congratulate you if your settings are saving energy.  It will tell you why your energy use has changed from the previous month.  It could be that there was more cloudy weather, or the Nest was in the Away mode more often, among other things.  The Nest will give advice on how to save more energy based on your overall usage.  Each time the Nest is set to a temperature that will save energy, 62f for heating, and 84f for cooling, a small green leaf will appear on the Nest.  The monthly report will tell you how many leaves you earned.  This is a wonderful incentive, and a great way to put your inner Energy Saving ninja in competition mode for more savings.

The Nest doesn't come cheap, but it can more than pay for itself in energy savings your first heating season.

Since we bought this old house we have tried to do whatever we could to save energy (read that as money).  New windows, caulking up air leaks, and watching how we tweak the thermostat.  We've done well.  From 10 oil deliveries our first year in 2006-2007, to just 3 last year.  All this in a house build in 1858 with little insulation, if any.  This past spring we had a new boiler installed, out of necessity, that will save us even more energy.

This heating season we are ready.  Not as ready as we would be if we had some insulation blown in, but with a new boiler, and now the Nest, I believe we are going to do very well.

I will post the reports the Nest sends to us each month for you to follow along at home.  If nothing else, it may give you some inspiration to become an Energy Saving Ninja yourself.  Heating costs are one of the largest expenses for families outside of the mortgage, and food.  Saving energy will not only make your wallet happy, but the planet smile as well.

Consider It Nipped

I get an "occasional" email about something someone has either heard, seen, or picked up something through their aluminum foil hat about the goings on in town.  I usually don't pursue them, and just send out a "thank you".  Other times, I will just ignore the emails--they are just that off the wall.  I really mean that.  Then, there are the times I get emails from folks that contain information in them that I haven't a clue where the heck it came from.  Today is one of the those times I get to put a rumour to rest right in front of you, and show you how easily it is done.

Recently, I received the following email.  It came from a person that has shared a lot of legitimate concerns, and observations with me, so I was perplexed when this one came in.

Wally

On this last Blue Grass Festival how much money did it cost the residents for running this from the STA.

I heard people saying around $20,000 plus to do this.   And next year they are talking spending $65,000 for the next event.

I hadn't heard any of this, and I do listen.  So, I did what I usually do when confronted with something I know nothing about, I make up a believable response.

Kidding.

I contacted Carol Childress, who is the treasurer of the Sturbridge Tourist Association.  Below is Carol's response.

Hi Wally

Thanks for sending this to me; I'm always amused at how rumors get started, especially the ones that are way off base.

The funding that the STA uses comes from the hotel/motel tax; that funding is split between Betterment and the STA, and it is designated for specific uses. In terms of the STA, that money can only be used to promote and facilitate tourism. It can't be used for schools, roads, or anything else - the use of the funds is specific to tourism only. Also, that budget is voted on at town meeting, so "Steve" appears not to attend town meetings, because if he did, he'd know this.

Therefore: 1) it didn't cost the residents anything; 2) that $65,000 is a whopper and made me laugh - whoever came up with that has a very active imagination because the STA hasn't met since August and there's not yet been any discussion about cost for the next event. That said, the next event will be larger so it will cost more; but since our charge is to promote and facilitate tourism, and we want to do fantastic events that will fill up hotel rooms and restaurants, who knows - it may just cost $65,000.

Please tell your reader the STA holds public meetings on the 2nd Wedesday of each month and if they have questions of suggestions, they can attend a meeting and get the facts. Also, attached is the General Bylaws; Page 12 is where the Sturbridge Tourist Association's responsibilities are listed. I suggest people read this before listening to more gossip.

:)

Thanks Wally! 

Thank you again, Carol.

So, there you have it.  An actual rumour nipped in the bud, and you were hear to see it.