2008-06-02 Segway
Segways. You must have seen one of them. They look like scooters, only with their wheels side-by-side, as opposed to back-to-back. Very spacey. Make you wonder what keeps them from falling over. "Gyroscopes", some say. "Balance spell", say others. Whatever it may be, it's way cool.
But for reasons that elude me, they have a bad reputation. Officials like meter maids and civil servants cannot use them because it would be a waste of tax payer's money. Skaters and other hipsters cannot use them because they're way too slow.
And here's the weirdest part of all: pedestrians cannot use them because they are illegal in most countries! Not in the way drugs are illegal, of course. The thing is, they don't have a brake and are therefore not suitable for traffic. Imagine that! How are clever inventors supposed to change the world when pigheaded lawmakers refuse to keep up with reality?
I know for a fact that car companies have developed technologies (some sort of autopilot, for example) that would make life not only simpler but much safer. Most of them cannot be used however, because the law says no machine can take control over the car, even if the driver decides to be wasted as hell and drive on the sidewalk.
There would be no mobile phones today if the law said every phone must have a dial plate and a string attached for safety reasons, right?
I could go on and on about this, but what's the point. I can neither afford nor use a segway, no matter how much I rant. Too bad.
3 comments:
Funny that you just now come to write about Segways. As luck would have it, last week we had a Segway here for a day—Astaro had a "Catch the job" day and it was meant to let the students have some fun.
We have a long hallway here and, gosh, it was dangerous as hell that day to step out of your office without looking right and left ;)
Those segways can become really fast.
My dearest Marc! Dearer than Hubert, that's for sure, dearer than Bianca, still, forever. But be wary.
"Segway" just doesn't cut it. You go and hide for a month and come back with nothing more than "Segway". That's no way. Try harder. Look at it from my side. I'm recommending your blog and spreading the true gospel, urging people to hold on and endure the silence, promising redoubled joy and insight, and WHAT!? How can I walk the streets ever again without hiding my face!!!???
Ines: I'm envious. But not enough to move back. :)
Salsasepp: I know and I apologize. Here's my excuse: a frozen brain!
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