Everything is amazing

I think I am becoming an old man (newflash, I know.) I sometimes walk around just thinking "You've got to be kidding me. This is real life? It's like magic..."

Paige decided last night she wanted a dresser.

Today she found one on Craigslist. Now, not that long ago, someone would have had to place a classified, pay for it, and wait for it to show up in the paper a week later to sell something. Or drag it down to a swap meet. Or drag everything out onto the driveway for a garage sale.

And we would have had to tramp around to all those garage sales or swap meets to find this deal.

No longer. Now, a quick, free, online Craigslist post, and a few hours later I have a happy wife with a dresser, and some lady in Glendale just made $50.

Of course, I have to find her house in Glendale. Used to be she would have to give me turn by turn directions. Or I'd have to drag out a paper map. Now she just asks... "You have Google?"

Yup, sure do. On my phone.

Work just got me one of them fancy new Iphones. So I type in her address. The phone already knows where I am, and generates turn by turn directions to her house. And shows my progress on the map as I drive.

Seriously?!?

As I drive, I hook up my Ipod. I distinctly recall road trips as a kid. When my dad wanted to listen to Rush Limbaugh, he had two options. Tape a bunch of shows from the week in advance. Or scan the AM stations and spend 2000 miles driving in and out of range of whatever station possibly carried Rush.

Now I just plug a gadget into my computer, and it automatically downloads more right wing talk radio than I can possibly even listen to.

Dad would be amazed.

So I arrive at the lady's house, swap cash for a dresser, and back home I go.

On the way, this sweet Cobra Coupe pulls alongside me on the highway. Man, I wish I could take a picture and share it with my friends.

Oh wait... I can.

Pull out my phone again, and snap a picture.

With my phone.

Then upload it to Facebook in about 30 seconds (no comments about texting and driving.)

Are you kidding me?

While I've got my phone out, I decide to switch from right wing talk radio. I wonder if Pandora works without wifi?

Sure enough, it does. I can now listen to my own custom radio station, playing the type of music I want, from my phone plugged into my car. I can even tell it I like or don't like a song, and it will adjust what it plays to suite my taste.

Unbelievable.

I happen to look down at my dash. I've got 75,000 miles on my car.

In 75,000 miles, other than basic maintainance, I've had to replace the air conditioning compressor. That's it.

Now, first of all, modern air conditioning wasn't even invented until 1928, and most people didn't have them in their homes until much later. And now I've got one in my car. And get bent out of shape when it doesn't work.

Second... 75,000 miles? That is equivalent to driving around the world.

Three times.

I've driven my car around the world three times, and all that broke was the AC?

That's insane.

One the drive home, Paige calls and wants me to pick up apples and milk. I stop by the grocery store.

Used to be that if fresh fruit and veggies weren't in season around you, you just didn't get any. You had to eat whatever you had stored or canned from the previous season. Now I just stop by the grocery store and pick up some perfectly ripe Gala apples.

Ripe... because they just arrived from New Zealand.

And sitting right next to them are oranges from Australia.

Seriously, occasionally I just look around and think "This is just amazing."

And then, to top it all off, it's like God sees me driving around with my jaw hanging open and goes "You think the stuff you can build is cool? Watch this..."

My dad was always a gadget guy. Loved having the latest gadget. I recall having the internet before it really hit mainstream. He got my mom this giant car phone when it first came out. Thing was ginourmous. He had one of those Palm Pilots when they were all the rage. He was always into computers. Etc.

I always wonder what he would say if he could somehow stop by for a quick visit. Even in 10 years, the pace of technology has been amazing. His Motorola StarTAC was top of the line at the time he died.

And it could only make phone calls.

In 10 years, from making phone calls... to email, web surfing, camera, music playing, and whatever else my crazy new phone can do.

Everything really is amazing...