On a recent trip that Chris and I took to a local mall (yes, I am a mall rat) I found this amazing vending machine.
It’s full of everything you could possibly want/need. Things you forgot at home, and things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them.
Candy and snacks, diapers, sanitary products, halls, juice boxes, hot wheels cars, teddy bears and even pacifiers among other things are all contained within this one vending machine.
Vending machines used to be reserved for drinks, snacks and things found in Women’s bathrooms that I won’t mention by name here. Now it seems that you can buy anything in a machine. I’ve seen machines that vend stamps, small bags, makeup… When we went to florida, there was even a vending machine there that I could have bought tons of iPod products from (iPod Nanos, iPod touches, iTunes gift cards and headphones).
We are truly living in the future. A time where a machine (dare I say… ROBOT) allows you to buy things you want and need without needing to interact with a human.
At the height of this revolution right now I would have to say is redbox. Redbox, allows you to choose your DVD via touch screen (as many as you want) then once you’ve entered your credit card information (so that they can charge you if you don’t return the DVD) vends your movie using a very futuristic (well to me) slot. Rentals are $1 a day and if you keep it for 25 days it’s yours to keep (the max they will charge you is $25). Not bad.
But wait, it gets better… Become a member of this site http://www.insideredbox.com/redbox-codes/. And you’ll find many codes that will allow you to rent the movie for free. Well, it’ll give you $1 off so if you return the movie within 24 hours the movie is free. So when the library is closed and you can’t borrow the movie you want to see this is the perfect solution!
Chris and I have used this service a few times and only once did we have an issue with a DVD being too scratched to watch. We called up customer service and they refunded our money without us needing to PROVE that it was unwatchable. Not bad customer service for a company that for the most part interacts with it’s customers via machines.
I have realized recently that I am truly living in one of the most exciting times for technology. I am living in the era of the nerd and the geek. As a geek/nerd myself, I am very excited. I love that I can sit in my bed with my laptop and type out a blog, as I listen to music that is stored on my desktop in the other room and check my e-mail on my phone. I love that it’s possible to remote into my computer at home from my phone. I love that I don’t have to be plugged into a wall, or even connected to a wireless network in order to download applications to my phone (while we’re thinking about that I love that I can even have applications on my phone, 3D apps at that!).
To quote Judy Dench in the newest spaceship earth “We stand on the brink of a new renaissance”.
I can’t wait to see where else the digital world takes us. Anyone plan on making a machine that can dispense a computer?
Over the last month or so I’ve been playing Little Big Planet (a extremely fun Playstation 3 game).
The game is incredible, you run around as a Sackboy (or girl) and collect points, stickers, costumes, vehicles and loads of other things for you to customize your world (and make your own levels). I’m not very good, I tend to take WAY WAY too long on the jumping puzzles. Let me put it this way, long enough for Chris to leave the room, make a snack, come back, and yep… still trying to get up to the third level… ::sigh:: I never claimed to be good at this kind of thing.
Never the less, really fun game, and with a very cute main character. You can change the fabric your Sackboy is made of and add clothing pieces (everything from capes to swim suits, top hats to wigs). The possibilities are endless. Even still, the Sackboy in his pure, un-altered form, is adorable. So adorable that I went on a hunt for a plush Sackboy. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything. Just this guy…..
But… He’s not for sale…
Why???
He was made by one of the developers Mom’s (what a cool Mom! Check it out on their blog -Click Me-). While that’s great for them… What am I to do?
How do I live without my own cute little Sackboy?
Luckily, Chris suggested I search Etsy.com, the place to buy all things handmade. I found someone who crochets Sackboys and sells them. But not only are the finished dolls for sale… So is the pattern. Only problem is that it’s a crochet pattern, and I don’t crochet.
Or….
At least I didn’t until Thanksgiving weekend… Thanks to the pattern, the internet, and a book from Pattie (thanks!). I am now the proud owner of my very own hand crocheted Sackboy (well, Chris is, I gave it to him).
Not as good as some… But pretty good for my first crocheted thing ever… And I’d say… Pretty cute.
Maybe over Christmas break I will make one that looks like my Sackboy (if it works out I’ll post pictures of both my character, and what I make).
One last trailer from the game… I LOVE SACKBOYS!
So I was stumbling around on the internet (http://www.stumbleupon.com/, a great way to find new things) and I was getting all the normal stuff… Quizzes, blogs, photography, Scientology (if you can call that normal, but that’s a different story). When I came across a site (divinecaroline.com) and this video.
I didn’t know what to think so I did some more research on the ISR site http://www.infantswim.com/home.html and now… More informed…
I still don’t know what to think.
It seems like a great resource, but all I can think about is the lessons, and how the babies and children are probably terrified. Although they do address the tears issue… (http://www.infantswim.com/company/self-rescue.html). But this does not really ease my mind.
I have to think that maybe the best idea is to just keep your children away from pools. But I know that accidents happen, and distractions are all around us.
The idea of this training reminds me of the “let them cry themselves to sleep” method of putting your child to bed. Sure they will eventually fall asleep, but at what cost? Sure, your child learns to swim, and will not drown because the instructor is right there, but what about how scared they are?
Like I said, I don’t know what to think. Part of me has a very strong aversion to this… And the other part of me thinks it’s awesome and I want to learn more.
Anyway, I figured since this video provoked some deep thinking in me, I might as well share it with you.
Yes that’s right, I’m writing a post about Tamagotchis. Yes I know, I’m 23. Yes I know it’s a toy.
Don’t Judge Me.
Chris and I went to Target today and they had the newest Tomagotchis V5. Since I am a big nerd when it comes to new electronic toys and I’ve always loved Tomagotchis (I’ve owned three since they were introduced), I was of course drooling. Chris being the nice guy he is, bought me one (now I’ve owned four) Thanks Chris!
It’s a little weird that this particular case has the Tamagotchi poops on it.
But they’re charming.
With the V5 you get a whole family of Tomagotchis to play with (3 to raise at the same time) and as with the last three versions you can go onto Tamatown and play games to earn new items.
So yeah, that’s pretty much it. I haven’t pulled out the tab to start it yet because I’m to excited about the new family and since Chris is leaving for D.C. in 16 hours I don’t want to neglect him. But soon… I will be in Tamagotchi heaven.
I said… Don’t Judge me!
I was out with Chris the other day and we got on the topic of being grown ups, and whether we are ones. I realized that I don’t truly “feel” grown up. I feel a lot like how I did when I was 14 (although much less hormonal thank goodness for that) I just don’t feel like a grown up. But how can that be?
I’ve been out of my parents house for 8 months, I’ve had a full time job for the same amount of time. I’ve been to New York on my own, been a teacher since I was 16… I do my dishes, clean my house, pay all of my bills on time. So when do you become a grown up? When you act like one? Or is it when you feel like one?
If it’s the latter than I am certainly not a grown up…Hmmm… Let’s take a look at a few things I use most days to try and figure this out…
Car/house keys: Pretty Grown up
Winnie the Pooh Stuffed toy (that I still sleep with): Not grown up
Jewel Card: grown up
Glasses: Either/or
Book (not necessarily this one, which happens to be The Tipping Point): Either/or
iPhone: I think grown up?
Credit Card: Grown up. But wait… It has Tinkerbell on it… Less grown up?
Well… that didn’t help much.
Truly though, when do you become a grown up? When you turn 18? 21? When you move out? Get a job? Have kids? Is it when you act and think maturely? If so does that mean children who are very mature and make better decisions than some adults are “grown ups”?
If our actions dictate whether we are grown ups or not, than I suppose I am. But just because I am a grown up, doesn’t mean I have feel that way.
I fully intend to act like a kid whenever possible, playing in the rain, swinging at the playground, running through Disney World, watching movies over and over and over again.
This reminds me of when I turned 13 and became a teenager… Secretly I still played with Barbie’s, because, a teenager wouldn’t do that. But I would.
Maybe a grown up wouldn’t sleep with a Teddy Bear, and maybe she wouldn’t have a Tinkerbell Credit Card, and maybe she wouldn’t have to ask whether or not she was “grown up”…
Then again. Maybe most grown ups don’t feel “grown up”.
Warning: I’m about to be very nostalgic and sound like an old lady…
I’ve been noticing lately that cartoons and kids shows in general are not of the same quality that they were when I was a kid. Kids shows don’t seem to have some of that witty humor that, though it was lost on me as a child, allowed older people to watch the shows alongside kids and not get bored. While I think Teletubbies are cute. I certainly wouldn’t call them quality programing and they surely don’t have that dual audience in mind (and is that show currently being made anyway?).
I found myself on amazon this evening searching for some of my old favorites. Some, have been brought back on DVD, some are just the old VHS tapes being sold. But it’s nice to see that they’re still around. Here are just a few of them.
I miss all of these shows and many others… Mr. Rodgers, The Mickey Mouse Club, TailSpin, too many to mention…. I feel like todays shows for younger kids are just sad. There are a few shows, like Dora and Little Einsteins that are kind of clever. But shows like those are few and far between. And the shows aimed at kids just a little older are full of rude children who get away with everything. I know it makes me sound old, but television was so much better when I was a kid. At least for kids shows.
I hope that children’s programing returns to something like what I remember. I would be so happy if we had a few shows that were just fun, didn’t involve kids being bad and getting away with it. I can’t be the only one who feels like this. I feel like the shows were so much more interesting when I was a kid. Even now I could sit down and watch these shows and be perfectly happy. I have my doubts that there are very many shows on today that will have that same appeal.
Hopefully there are some budding producers and creative people in the television industry that feel the way I do. Hopefully they’ll act on their feelings. If not… When I have children they’ll be watching videos of my old shows and won’t know what live TV is.
I warned you.
