Do... Stuff...

It's funny how the 'Simpsons' used to be a 'bad-for-kids' TV show. "Eat My Shorts" has been replaced by Stewie prank calling Moe at his tavern saying his daughter is being raped. I've got thick skin of course but there's something a little unsettling about the trend of things...

Aside from the crazy stuff that the media brings to our attention, there is something else that I think about a lot. The aliens on the Simpsons... Kang and Kodos.

Sometimes we should take their viewpoint to appreciate what we've immersed ourselves in.

As I was finishing up some work tonight, I looked around the apartment and said to myself.... "I'm having a Mac Attack!" So I'm addicted to Apple. So what? I have the work MacBook, personal MacBook, iPad, iPhone, AppleTV, Apple Airport, 2 iPods....

It wasn't but 15 years ago that text messaging was barely even popular. 15 years ago my computer monitor alone cost more than my iPad! Now my 22 inch flat screen for my desktop computer just isn't doing it for me.

I set my laptop on the counter and had a weird little conversation with myself. If an alien from another planet were sitting next to me and asked what the heck that silvery looking thing was, what would I say?

"Well Kang and Kodos, it's a device that has the ability to affect the lives of every single person on this earth."

Seems like a stretch right? It's not.

So many of us have these amazing tools that typically get used for nothing more than building a pseudo-life to show off to our friends and entertain ourselves when our personal relationships give us no satisfaction.

Of course these devices are nothing without a connection to the world... wide web. But really, that is exactly what the web is. It's a bunch of computers linked together. Maybe not .7 inches thick, but computers nonetheless.

So if I were to explain to an alien how to use this 'thing' to change the world, how would I say it?

"Well, you can join social media and share something 'viral'"

"You can start a business and sell these very same things"

"You can research and invest and make a lot of money and do cool things... in this world"

But those are gimmes. No shit Sherlocks. Thank You Captain Obvious...

In a world which has been overrun by anti-socialism via handheld devices and social media, it's a bit hard to swallow to realize that the very technology that is keeping everyone personally disconnected, could very well be the one thing that saves us all.

There has got to be a better way to put these things to good use.

Revenge of the Nerds... You've won. We got it. Your awesome inventions work. We bow down to you. Now quit nerdifying things and let's get busy. Let's share real knowledge. Let's collaborate without ulterior motives. Let's understand each other.

For the handful of people that may read this, and maybe even share it... I challenge you to stop for a second. Take a good hard look at your phone, or your computer and think about how much we are neglecting the power that we hold... Or are we meant to even have this power?