i've been reading and hearing about the internet of things and how objects such as my fridge will talk to my mobile phone and tell me when i need cheese or i am low on beer.  i have no doubt that the internet of things will soon be here.  i look forward to some of it such as smart cars talking to each other that will prevent collisions and such.  i really look forward to self-driving cars because i am not fond of driving and i trust computers more than i trust the reaction times of human drivers.  in fact, tonight some dude in a van cut me off as i walked into a crosswalk on a green light.  i don't know if the guy saw me or not.  i had the right of way and he jammed thru the intersection at warp speed.  a smart car would have already sensed my being in the crosswalk and would take evasive maneuvers and reduced its speed.  people tend to over-estimate their abilities and senses so that they are always the safest drivers and can multitask like changing lanes and texting too. 

do i want my fridge to talk to me and all my other devices too?  we have entered new territory here, folks.  twenty years or so ago i read, i can't remember in what publication, a futurist who said we will be reading books and magazines on electronic devices that can stream video and music.  i showed the article to my poetry professor and asked him what he thought.  he said, this sounds like science fiction.  it is not science fiction but now a fact of life.  iPads, smart phones and tablet computers are changing publishing today. 

this new old world.  it is astonishing.  nick will never no an analog world.  he won't know the chore of having to change an old Black&White TV with a pair of pliers because the knob broke off.  he won't know the charm of a scratched LP.  he won't know the chirr of a movie projector.  not that i am lamenting a lost world.  i think the new world is pretty damn cool and exciting.  i look forward to a driverless car.  when i get one i'll take more journeys to the bay area since the car will deal with the horrendous bay area traffic rather than me white-knuckling it in the congested traffic.  i'll be sitting cool and pretty in all that mess reading a book, a real book printed on paper with a binding, as my car gets all jetsons-like and finds me the nearest and most convenient parking space in san francisco.  i won't even break a sweat.