Rondayview

Have you been THERE?

The technology of interactive virtual worlds has progressed far beyond the MUDs of the early 1990s: just have a look at There and Second Life. Your avatar can lay on the beach, play gravity-defying sports not possible in the real world, get married, attend parties; an entire lifetime of activities and modes of interaction are available. And there's little question that within another generation or two, the technology of virtual social gatherings will have progressed to a point where these presently impressive offerings look like nothing more than bad IM clients. There's no question it's coming. The information age is moving us toward a society that interacts more in virtual spaces than in real ones.

Is this a good thing?

For a while now I've been personally interested in the effects that increasing virtual interaction are having on physical society. When you begin to research the topic, what you find is that there's not much data yet. There are a few studies that claim that computer-to-computer as opposed to face-to-face communication is damaging the interpersonal structure of society as a whole, and yet others that claim that it's actually contributing to increased and better communication. I've decided that it's too soon to form any conclusions, the jury will have to remain out for another decade or so before any real trends can be positively identified, but there's one thing that concerns me: virtual interaction has an addictive quality that physical interaction seems to lack.

Even when virtual worlds were simple text interfaces like MUDs, I observed several otherwise intelligent and social people become so addicted to their virtual selves that they put aside all other aspects of their life, even eating and sleeping! When I was teaching at Harding University, I had good students--A+ honors level students--end up dropping my computer science classes because they'd let their studies and everything else go in favor of "living" online. Now, the attraction of the current generation of virtual worlds is orders of magnitude beyond those early text versions, and the addictive quality has increased right along with the technology.

The social and psychological and philosopical questions are interesting to say the least. For example, what compels a person to spend $19.99 a month and then dozens or hundreds of hours in a week--that's real dollars and real time-- "building" a virtual house for their avatar to "live" in, while the whole time ignoring friends and family and even basic needs such as food? The answers to questions like these are complex and generalizations will be difficult, but there's no question in my mind that technology is the new drug. Sometimes it scares me to think where society could be headed.

Are we headed toward a society where more of us live THERE than HERE?

The cost of absurdity: $192

Last night I was pulled over in Ritina's van by a Brookfield Police Officer one mile from my house. I'd been doing 30mph in a 35mph. What? Was I going too slow? Turns out the registration on the van was expired. Now, like any rational-minded-law-abiding citizen, I assumed that this would probably earn me a warning and some sort of ultimatum to renew the registration within some reasonable time period or else.

Nooooooooooooo . . .

Instead, it earned me a $93 ticket and an $89 tow bill! What!?

That's right. Last night I looked up the ordinance cited on my ticket. Driving or allowing to be driven an unregistered vehicle subjects the driver or owner to an immediate fine, and the vehicle may not be driven no matter what. I was one mile from my house. Could I just drive it that mile home? Noooooo. Ritina's office was right across the street from where I was pulled over. Could I just drive it into the parking lot and leave it there? Noooooooo. I was not allowed to move the vehicle unless it was towed. Why? I asked. Because it's unsafe and the State of Connecticut cannot assume the liability. What! The vehicle isn't even a year old? Because it has a purple sticker instead of a green one, it's unsafe? The entire situation seemed so far beyond absurd that I was just speechless. I was livid and not thinking straight, but of course behaved myself.

It gets better.

The officer asked me if I knew anyone who could tow my vehicle. I felt like telling him that if he'd just go find a drunk person to arrest rather than harrassing a fellow citizen who serves this community more than most, I'd get it taken care of. I didn't say that, of course, and no, my list of friends does not include anyone with a tow truck. He offered to call one for me, and in my state of mind I let him. So this tow truck driver arrives and hops out of his truck all chipper and wants to know how I'm doing. The daggers flying from my eyes were sufficient to shut him up. It wasn't his fault, I know, and I wasn't mad at him, but it's really tought to think straight when you're truly, honestly angry. Anyway, he tells me that my bill will be $77 plus $4 per mile, and he wants to be paid in CASH. I don't have $83 in cash on me, so he offers to drive me to an ATM. Gee, thanks. I accept, not realizing until later that I'm paying this guy $4 per mile to drive me to my bank! Had I been thinking, I would have had him just drive me home and then would have driven another vehicle to an ATM while he unloaded the van. The extra mileage to the ATM and back brought my towing bill to $89.

So this is government by the people for the people, huh?

If this isn't an example of beauracracy taken to an absurd extreme, I don't know what is.

By the time the towing guy finally had my van unloaded I was actually in decent spirits. Though I was still miffed, the absurdity of the whole thing was just too much to ignore the humor of it all. So, having calmed down, I asked the guy how many of these types of tows he does a week. "Oh, four or five." At least I'm in good company, then.

[Updates]

Hey, the same thing happened to Diana Ross last year in Greenwich. Somehow she managed to get off with a $78 fine, though, and the post mentions nothing about having to have the car towed. So I guess it would have helped if I were a celebrity?

Cool! Here's a guy who faced the same problem and came up with a creative solution! Just checked the Connecticut DMV web site, though. Wouldn't have worked here as Connecticut doesn't appear to offer online renewal.

Where the wild things are

Imagine. You're a three hundred pound gorilla and for thirteen years you've been locked in a small enclosure. Sure, it's an "award-winning gorilla habitat" and the food is good, but what you really want is to be free; the call of the wild is innate, and a decade of captivity hasn't killed the spirit of the inner beast. Instead of freedom, you're a thing on display, to most no different than a statue behind glass in a musuem, and treated with the same indifference. And every day, in the hoards that gawk at you with their empty faces, there are the cruel ones. Kids mostly, disrespectful and centered on themselves, focused only on satisfying their own decadent desires--likely with parents who are the same--they taunt you and tease you, they throw trash and rocks, sometimes hitting you, sometimes hurting you. One day they go too far. The inner beast screams for release, and the wall that forever seemed impossible to climb no longer seems so large. You gain your freedom and your anger rages. Those who caused your pain are all around, and the animal in you attacks. All you seek is to finally be free, but you cannot comprehend that there are no jungles here, no wilderness beyond the walls that held you. Man has displayed you in his world, and outside your "habitat" does not want you here. He fears you, so he finds his guns, and in the end, your moments of freedom are payed for with your life.

Sound like fiction? Sadly, this tragic story is true. I've merely told it from the gorilla's perspective.

No, I don't much care for zoos. They're not where nature intended wild things to be, but unfortunatly they're where many wild things are.

Ahh, Spring in Connecticut

Reminds me a lot of WINTER in Connecticut, actually. Okay, in all fairness Spring is still officially one day away, but I just have my doubts that the winter wonderland that I woke up to this morning will somehow become a vista of green grass and flower blooms by tomorrow. Yes, shoveled the drive again this morning; hoping it's for the last time. As much as I love winter, I am now officially ready for it to move on. Oh, it's the last day of my break, and the kids are home today: snow day, of course. Click the icons below for some pictures I shot this morning.