The weekly newsletter for Fed2
by ibgames

EARTHDATE: October 23, 2011

Official News page 2


THE TIMES THEY HAVE A-CHANGED

by Hazed

Bob Dylan sang that "The Times They Are A-Changing" but this week it was brought home to me just how much they have a-changed over the past few decades. Computers... the internet... mobile phones... there are so many things we take for granted that just didn't exist as little as one generation ago.

 

First, I read an article about somebody completely unable to cope with the changes. A convicted murderer who spent 26 years in jail for a fatal stabbing was released from the prison in Texas in April. He found life outside bars so confusing that he just couldn't cope - so he burnt down a building to get sent back to jail.

 

Randall Lee Church said he found freedom "overwhelming". He said, "I didn't know how to use computers or cell phones or the Internet... Everything had gone fast forward without me." His fellow inmates had warned him he would have problems on the outside, but he didn't believe them.

 

It only took a few days before he realized how right they were. He tried to cope for three months but then poured gasoline through a window of an empty house then threw in flaming rags and paper towels. Three days later he turned himself in, and he's now been convicted of arson and sent back to jail where he no doubt feels a lot happier and more secure.

 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2042065/Everything-gone-fast-forward-Overwhelmed-inmate-wanted-return-prison-burns-house.html#

 

The other thing that brought home to me the changes was the way I used modern technology during an evening out. I went to the theatre with a friend, and we met for a meal first.

 

The technology use started long before our evening out, when I emailed her to see if she wanted to see a particular show and on what dates she would be free, and then used the web to find a deal for cheap tickets and book them.

 

At this point the real world took over, and the tickets were posted to me - but I have previously had e-tickets by email which I didn't even have to print out; I was able to collect the mail on my iPhone then just show the info when I went into the theatre.

 

But back to this particular night out. A few days beforehand, we exchanged text messages to firm up the details, and decided to have a meal before the show. I had been emailed some money-off vouchers for various restaurants so I picked one we both liked, and checked their website for the branch nearest the restaurant. Once I'd found it, I emailed the link and the Google map link to my friend.

 

On the day, I used an iPhone app to check the London Underground (tube) map for the best route to take from work to the restaurant, then another app to look at the tube line status and make sure there were no delays.

 

When I got off the tube, I pulled up Google maps on my phone to find out which street to walk down to get to the restaurant. I got there before my friend, so a quick text message to her and we agreed to have a bottle of wine with the meal; I was able to order it so that when she arrived her drink was waiting for her.

 

I can't imagine how much effort all this organization would have been when I was younger. Perhaps it's one reason why I go to the theatre so much more often now!


Foot (or equivalent) note

The internet came to our rescue later, too, as we were talking about the show as we left the theatre. We wondered about the meaning of a phrase used in one of the songs: "a hard candy Christmas," as Americanism neither of us had heard before.

 

Next day, my friend looked up the phrase online and found out what it meant, then emailed me a link to the explanation. Mystery solved!


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