If robots are going to take over the world, I guess we won’t mind so much if they look like this...

Alive cubs from Wowwee, are soft, cute and cuddly robot toys with touch sensors, sound generators and expressive faces.  Although they can’t stand or walk on their own (yet), they do have the ability to respond to your touch with a sigh and a purr. 

Over the last few days I’ve been on the hunt for one of these things, or something like it.

Hamilton Beach® True Air® Permanent Filter Air Purifier
“Powerful and compact air purifier unit is designed to remove dust, debris, pollen and other harmful particulates from the air you breathe.” - Sounds good, now if I could just find one…

My last purifier/ionizer, which was a different make, broke after two years and you’d think that getting a new one of these bad boys should be simple enough, right? Yeah, but, er, maybe not… Of course, like any other sensible member of the electronic age, before hitting the streets, I did an online search at Bed Bath and Beyond and, on the first try, found the one pictured above.  However, when I called my relatively local store, I was politely informed that they didn’t have it in stock and were not likely to ever have it in stock.

On to Macy’s website, no real luck there, basically, fans and humidifiers only.  Then it was on to Ace hardware.  Plenty of possibilities on the website, I had high hopes, but on calling by phone, nothing available at my local ‘friendly’ place.

Ideally, I would just like to be able to do the research online, then do the rest the old-fashioned way, you know, like walk into the store, look at the products on offer, make my selection and buy an air purifier/ionizer in person.

Next… Oh, *desperate sigh* the Office Depot website wouldn’t load, so I’m left all out of ideas… Hmmm…

Last week wasn’t the first time that I had checked postage prices on the USPS website and then after traipsing a mile and a half to the (local?) post office, been given a completely unrelated cost for sending my mail.

I wanted to send various pieces of mail with varying additional services.  The clerk gave me the prices.  I casually mentioned that the website gave different, in some cases, lower prices for those pieces, even with me testing it, by over-estimating the weight and size of the envelopes and her response was:

“Yeah, that’s not my department.”

I told her that I thought it was unfortunate that their website seemed to be inaccurate or out of date, because I always check it in advance so that I’ll know how much I’m going to have to spend when I arrive at the post office.  I knew I was wasting my breath, but I also mentioned that I had told another clerk about the online price differences on a previous occasion.

“Yeah, maybe they’ll get it right one day,” she replied, totally uninterested.  Then she took my money, gave me my change and receipt, looked past me and called out, “Next customer please!”

I have a friend, Jenny, who calls people with this particular work ethic ‘Jobsworths’ which, she explained, means, it’s more than my job’s worth to make the effort to take the initiative to report, or investigate something that could make a difference… Maybe…

Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t mean that this type of person is particularly bad at their job, he or she might even be really good at it, just as it is.  A jobsworth just gives the impression of being incapable of, or unwilling to make a move on their own.  They remain completely uninspired…

While I was standing there at least, neither this clerk, or the previous one, would take it upon herself to mention the possible differences found on the post office website to her supervisor, who may or may not have a similar disposition:  It’s more than my job’s worth to find out who to call, let alone tell some computer nerd how to do his job.  See, that’s not my job, different department.

Basically, nobody cares, because they like the status quo— No effort, no bother, I wouldn’t get the credit for my efforts anyway—You see, even if I, as a customer was using the postage calculator incorrectly, (which I wasn’t) they would never know, or care.  I go to that office often enough to be pretty sure of that.

In the meantime, because the prices for similar pieces of mail (similar weight and dimensions) vary so much in cost from week to week, I still can’t be sure that the prices I’ve calculated online this morning, for sending my large envelopes, are going to be the same when I arrive at the post office later this afternoon.  Probably not, but hey, it’s not my job to tell the post office how to run their business, right?

The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten by Absolutely Everyone (Even The Postman)
Skary.net

“Be the change you want to see...”
- Ghandi

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), when amateur and professional writers alike scramble to write a first draft of a novel in a mere 30 days. For science fiction writers, that’s an especially daunting task, which can involve not only telling a story and creating compelling characters, but also craft an entirely new world.

www.io9.com

At dawn this morning, in between the moving around, getting ready to start the day, I caught a glimpse of the early sunrise.  It was a potent sight.  The clouds awash with pale crimson, a hint of pink spreading across the sky that lent its tint to everything as it leaked through the window shades, splashing onto the walls, spilling onto the floor and flooding the room with a peculiar rosy glow.

Our world has become tremendously noisy on every level imaginable.  In urban life we have been trained to tune it out to the degree that we pay little or no attention to the sound of the traffic, barking dogs, construction drilling, constant chatter in the office and in the street and yes, my favorite, helicopters hovering overhead, at four in the morning, sucking up all the remaining bandwidth...

I often try to compensate for some of the noise, by making more noise—talking louder on my cell, or sticking my earbuds in to listen to random songs playing on my iPod, anything, but it doesn’t really help.  I’m just making more noise, noise I consider friendly, just to phase out the unfriendly clamor.

It seems really difficult to find a space, any kind of quiet moment before 2 a.m.  Though they do occur.  I find myself listening for them sometimes.  I’ve learned to recognize those pockets of quietude as they come and go in cyclical fashion throughout the day. 

Like everything else in life, noise has its periods of activity and moments of rest, which might explain why it doesn’t simply drive us all insane…