Point to Ponder: Wind-up Watch
It began with a search for a wind-up watch – the kind with a mainspring, no battery, and a stem. A friend wanted one to take on an extended stay in a country where toilet paper is a rare commodity, not to mention batteries for watches. I eventually resorted to buying a pocket watch at a garage sale and having it refurbished. It was all I could do. And I was both annoyed and alarmed that we have become enslaved by the very technology that purports to be our salvation.

Vital documents and records – easily accessible on paper – have disappeared into the bowels of computers more prone to "burps" and "virus infections" than pedigreed cats. Despite ATM cards and other forms of plastic, I always feel better with some good old low tech cash in my wallet. Besides, I need something to give to a mugger besides my shoppers clubs cards from the grocery stores, and my driver's license with the holograms and magnetic strips.

Speaking of driving – once upon a time, it was assumed that if you got behind the wheel of a car, you were supposed to know where you were going. On-board navigation systems now claim to take the fear out of driving. Should the fear be taken out of driving altogether? Isn't a little bit of fear part of the basic set of survival traits? But then perhaps we shouldn't stop the fearless souls who hop in their cars without maps, and set bravely out guided only by the wisdom imparted by several thousand pounds of alloy reinforced plastic and semi-steel. And if they never make it back – who am I to mess with good old low tech natural selection?


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