[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost of y’all saw the movie “The Terminator” where the world was ruled by machines, right? At the time that movie came out, most of us thought it was just science fiction, but today, with all the current technology and stuff that will be appearing in the near future, you’ve got to wonder how far from the truth it is. Just look at what we have now. There are robots assembling cars and other products. Drones are used by the military to attack the enemy. Robots are used by the police to defuse or detonate bombs. And who hasn’t received those annoying robo-calls from political groups or time-share resorts?
Cool, Huh? But hold on! Each new gadget puts humans out of a job. Toll roads used to have booths manned by humans, but now, cameras and computers do most of the work. Crossing guards are rare these days thanks to electronic monitors on crosswalks that say “Wait” or “Walk”. Personally, I’d like to see one that reads “Better move it, old man.”
Who remembers going into a drug store and getting a refreshing beverage from a soda jerk? Today, if you want a soda, you go up to some fancy machine with lots of buttons to push. I used one just recently. Now, I admit that I’m not real tech savvy, so it took a while for me to figure this contraption out. First, I pushed one button for Coke. Then one for cherry and a third button for vanilla. I was so proud of myself for being a nouveau nerd but quickly realize I made a slight mistake by forgetting to put a cup under the dispenser. Hey, there was no instruction on that screen that said “Put a cup in first, old man.”
